Medicinal oil: Does the sex matter?

[cbdhemp808]

Hi @Munga and welcome to the forum!

What strain are you growing? Is it photo or auto? Are you going to keep growing them outdoors?

Sorry to ask, but... are you definitely growing regular seed (M/F), not feminized seed (F)?

You'll want to make your oil from the dried bud material... female flowers, which is what everyone on this forum is growing.

 

[Munga]

Hi @Munga and welcome to the forum!

What strain are you growing? Is it photo or auto? Are you going to keep growing them outdoors?

Sorry to ask, but... are you definitely growing regular seed (M/F), not feminized seed (F)?

You'll want to make your oil from the dried bud material... female flowers, which is what everyone on this forum is growing.

I have never grown before. Afghani, I have had an expensive distiller for a few years and I decided to put it to use, I read the male leafs do have THC, and I also read contradicting articles. So I’m just hoping for female plants to make my own medicine.

 

[Sativa1970]

Go to www.timeanddate.com/sun and enter your closest city. When the days get down to 12 to 13 hours of light you will start seeing the sex. Where you are at on the globe changes flowing start date.

Feminized seeds have a 98% chance of producing a female plant. Your standard random seed has a 75% chance of producing female plant naturally. One male can pollinate multiple females so it is the plants natural ratio for genetic survival.

Every part of the plant, male or female contains cannabinoids. The difference is how much, and is it concentrated enough to be able to extract it? If your Afgan female flower is for example 14%THC 4%CBD 2% terpene. A male "flower" may be 4%THC 3%CBD and 1% terpene. The fan leaves and stems (male or female) may have a fifth of the cannabinoids of the flower.

I am assuming when you say distiller , you meant extractor. What kind of extractor do you have? If you have owned it for years and never grown, have you used it yet? If it is a butane or alcohol based extractor please do some research and be safe. Those things can work great or explode if you make one mistake.

 

[OGpapa]

X2 on the being safe. Backyard extraction can be very dangerous. Educate yourself thoroughly. Always ventilate more than you think you need

 

[cbdhemp808]

I have never grown before. Afghani, I have had an expensive distiller for a few years and I decided to put it to use, I read the male leafs do have THC, and I also read contradicting articles. So I’m just hoping for female plants to make my own medicine.

OK, so it sounds like you are not sure about the seed – it may be males/females. Just keep waiting, the plants will show their sex. Male plants are not photosensitive, so they will show themselves regardless of your lighting (natural or electric). Cannabinoid production is in the trichomes of the flower, and so the female buds are what you should focus on – i.e. grow the plant out and produce as many female buds as you can, and harvest them at the right time. That approach will make your extraction efforts worthwhile. There are negligible amounts of cannabinoids in the leaves, making them impractical for home extraction.

There are two main types of home extraction: alcohol extraction (ethanol), and lipid extraction (e.g. coconut or olive oil). These are both fairly straightforward, if you are using the right equipment and methods. Extracting cannabinoids using distillation is a lot more complicated.

You have come to the right place! keep us posted and happy growing

 

[Munga]

X2 on the being safe. Backyard extraction can be very dangerous. Educate yourself thoroughly. Always ventilate more than you think you need

Not sure the difference on closed vs open loop. I do have a heart magic distiller. I planned on doing it in shed.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I would think, on average, that performing an extraction in one's backyard would be less dangerous than doing so in one's kitchen.

I'm guessing here - but are the terms "open loop" and "closed loop," in this setting, referring to whether the solvent is recycled for the next batch (closed loop) or not?