Recently started a few hybrid seeds. The front 3 are Coastal Seeds Malawi x Burmese and back 3 are Swazi(Puna IBL) x African 75 (Equilibrium seeds). African 75 is Malawi x (Nigerian (Reeferman) x Afghani). Lighting cycle will approximate that of Hawaii and vary between 13 hours on (veg) and 11 hours (flowering). Plants will be grown under LED in a small setup.
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African Hybrid Grow
- Thread starter Lolo94
- Start date
Thanks for sharing your work with us friend. Those strains sound interesting. I'm going to ride with you for a while.
Plants growing slowly, but healthy. 2 Malawi x Burmese on left (darker green) and 3 Swazi x African 75 on the right. 1 Malawi x Burmese was pulled because it stopped producing new growth after the first set of leaves. Grow area is located in nonheated room with temps varying between 50s F and 70s F. Not ideal temps, but should work.
Hoping the Swazi high comes through in the Arican75 cross. Quality of the African75 was ok (and not dopey) but not the ride that the Swazi takes you on. The African 75 produces nice buds and flowering is initiated quickly due to its Nigerian Nightmare and Bodhi Afghani side of the mix. Hoping the Malawi x Burmese has a nice up euphoric effect also. Long ways to go.
Hoping the Swazi high comes through in the Arican75 cross. Quality of the African75 was ok (and not dopey) but not the ride that the Swazi takes you on. The African 75 produces nice buds and flowering is initiated quickly due to its Nigerian Nightmare and Bodhi Afghani side of the mix. Hoping the Malawi x Burmese has a nice up euphoric effect also. Long ways to go.
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Plants are healthy, but noticed (much to my surprise) that both Malawi x Burmese are showing female preflowers. Wasn't sure at first but then confirmed it with a magnifying glass. It seems a little odd based on the heritage (at least the Malawi part) and the fact that the plants are still under 13 hours of light on and 11 off. I did previously grow the pure Burmese and it also flowered similarly early, so it's possible that the cross is Burmese dominant. This Burmese strain (from what I've read) is a highland Burmese that is likely related to Southern Chinese Yunan varieties vs. the more typical SE Asian phenotypes. I'll probably have to transplant sooner than I wanted.
The Swazi x African 75 hasn't shown any preflowers. The African 75 also flowered early when I grew it pure, but the Swazi typically requires 8 weeks or so of 12 hours of light before flowering is induced. I've grown this particular Swazi for 30 years (mostly outdoors in the tropics), but have also grown it a couple of times indoors since moving away from Hawaii. When root restricted, It was suprisingly adaptable to my tiny setup.
I like the contrast between the dark green Burmese x Malawi and the lime green Swazi x African 75.
The Swazi x African 75 hasn't shown any preflowers. The African 75 also flowered early when I grew it pure, but the Swazi typically requires 8 weeks or so of 12 hours of light before flowering is induced. I've grown this particular Swazi for 30 years (mostly outdoors in the tropics), but have also grown it a couple of times indoors since moving away from Hawaii. When root restricted, It was suprisingly adaptable to my tiny setup.
I like the contrast between the dark green Burmese x Malawi and the lime green Swazi x African 75.
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That's really fast for sexing your plants. Keep us posted.
It is really fast. Both the African 75 and Burmese x Malawi were bred outdoors in Santa Cruz, CA. 13 hours of light transates to the end of August outdoors, which would be a normal time for flowering to occur at that locale. Both strains are 50% Malawi (Afropips Malawi in the Malawi x Burmese and an old Malawi strain adapted to Santa Cruz in the African 75). I would have thought that Malawi influence would have required a light cycle of at least 12.5 hours in hybrids to induce flowering, but with F1s who knows. Based on my previous African 75 grow, both strains take similar light cycles and time to induce flowering.
I am curious to see the increase in flowering time that the Swazi will impart on the Swazi x African 75 cross.
Since I'm currently limited to a small indoor grow, my goal with the 13 to 11 hour light cycle is to test and then select/create strains that will have the best chance of doing well in Hawaii.
I am starting to believe that the Malawi x Burmese was actually just plain Burmese. It looks and acts too similar to the pure Burmese I grew the last time. I never got a chance to fully finish it before. This would make for a great Norhtern latitude strain. Hopefuly, it's as euphoric and not dopey as advertised. By the looks, the Swazi x African 75 is Swazi dominant. Just changed the light cycle to 12 hours and transplanted them all.
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Those look really good for dixie cup plants.
Thank you. Since I have such a limited, space I need to keep plants small. I'll typically initiate flowering in the Dixie cups, then transplant all the plants that grow similarly to a single larger container. The idea is to keep the roots restricted and if I create seed to be able to select the most vigorous plant. I'll have to be creative to keep the Burmese from getting overshadowed and will likely stack it in Dixie cups
Very little stretch on the Burmese. Getting more convinced that its not a Malawi x Burmese. One of the pure Burmese traits is that it hardly stretches during flowering. I envisioned a much bigger stretch if it was. One of the Swazi x African 75 is showing preflowers. The others are still holding out.
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Latest update. Reduced flowering to 11 hours today. Burmese x (Malawi? ) well into flowering. One of the Burmese is much darker green than the other. The lighter pheno is also a much heavier feeder, as evidenced by the more pronounced yellowing of fan leaves. As someone that doesn't typically grow early/ fast flowering plants, I'm impressed by how quickly the buds are stacking on such small plants.
The Swazi x African 75 are much more typically of the sativas/mostly sativas I've grown. The latest plant has finally started to show preflowers. Had to bend them to slow vertical growth and keep them from dwarfing the Burmese. One stem actually snapped and almost broke. Had to use the scotch tape splint. This technique works well and typically within a day or two, the portion above the snap recovers.
The Swazi x African 75 are much more typically of the sativas/mostly sativas I've grown. The latest plant has finally started to show preflowers. Had to bend them to slow vertical growth and keep them from dwarfing the Burmese. One stem actually snapped and almost broke. Had to use the scotch tape splint. This technique works well and typically within a day or two, the portion above the snap recovers.
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Burmese x Malawi Gold? are flowering quickly. I was pondering giving them another dose of nutrients but decided against it and will let the leaves yellow as it ripens. The way this strain grows reminds me of some strains I brought back to Hawaii after college. They only grew to less than a foot under natural light. The Swazi x African 75 is slowing down its stretch and starting to come out of the preflower stage. Had to bend the stem 3 times to hold the growth down and encourage the lower branches to grow vertically. Hopefully, this is enough to fill the canopy, once the Burmese are done
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Malawi x Burmese are turning into 90 day wonders using the Hawaii light cycle. One is almost done while the other appeared close, then started showing fresh pistills. I'm a little leery of this late reflowering, because on other plants I've grown, this is sometimes followed by sporadic male pollen. Plants are very small, but the bud is dense. The smell is light, but kind of fruity. The plants are not at all what I was expecting, but I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised with the smoke test. Based on bud density and quick flowering, these plants would be a cash croppers' dream (especially if grown using a more traditional light cycle). The Swazi x African 75 is behaving more like a heavy sativa hybrid. I'm anticipating at least 8-10 weeks more of flowering. It is 20% or less indica (presuming that Nigerian Nightmare is only 50% sativa), although phenotypically it looks more like the Swazi. Not sure what the Malawi ancestor looks like, though. The one main difference from the Swazi (so far) is less elongation and slightly wider leaves.
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Harvested the Burmese x Malawi and will sample a little this weekend. This strain finished very quickly (about 90 days from seed) and stayed very short with no branching. Drying buds have a very light, mostly fruity smell. Considering how short it was, it did produce nice top buds, and could easily be induced to gorw into popsicle type plants under a tropical light cycle. One of the most creative grows I ever saw were small (under a foot) single stem plants grown on top of a rock wall. Plants looked like a single bud, and were interspersed with other local flowers and flora planted in a trench along the length of the wall. If it wasn't for the fact that I was working on the adjoining property right next to the wall, I would have never noticed them. It was a very creative way to beat Green Harvest, which flew heavily in the Kapoho area at the time. The Swazi x African 75 are budding more like typical sativas, and will likely be much looser than the Burmese x Malawi.
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Malawi x Burmese (Lime Green) Smoke Report:
Smell: Very light and kinda sweet and fruity (good stealth strain)
Taste: Some of the smoothest and easy to smoke I've tried (especially after being harvested only a week or so ago).
Effect: Head high that comes on quickly, with a little body to it. High is lightly energetic, but could be described more as contemplative and euphoric. Head high is felt more in the temples vs the more energetic types such as Swazi, where the high is felt in the back of the eyes (almost like they are pulsating.) Good for low energy activities, while the mind is trailing off down memory lane. I tried working out on it, but it was kind of a struggle to keep mentally motivated (not because it was sluggish, but because it was too easy to get distracted). Perfect activity was cleaning the house with head phones on, listening to old Grateful Dead shows I'd attended in the late 80's to early 90's. The music and high really flashed me back to the shows. Often the journey and not the shows themselves was the most fun and memorable.
Duration: High lasts 3 hours or so and is followed by a light buzzing in the head. No heavy comedown.
Overall Impression: I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't narcotic, even though it finished so quickly. It was kind of a feel good, fun trip (not trippy like mushrooms) down memory lane. I typically like the high energy buzz better, but this high was enjoyable (even managed to get the house cleaned).
Smell: Very light and kinda sweet and fruity (good stealth strain)
Taste: Some of the smoothest and easy to smoke I've tried (especially after being harvested only a week or so ago).
Effect: Head high that comes on quickly, with a little body to it. High is lightly energetic, but could be described more as contemplative and euphoric. Head high is felt more in the temples vs the more energetic types such as Swazi, where the high is felt in the back of the eyes (almost like they are pulsating.) Good for low energy activities, while the mind is trailing off down memory lane. I tried working out on it, but it was kind of a struggle to keep mentally motivated (not because it was sluggish, but because it was too easy to get distracted). Perfect activity was cleaning the house with head phones on, listening to old Grateful Dead shows I'd attended in the late 80's to early 90's. The music and high really flashed me back to the shows. Often the journey and not the shows themselves was the most fun and memorable.
Duration: High lasts 3 hours or so and is followed by a light buzzing in the head. No heavy comedown.
Overall Impression: I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't narcotic, even though it finished so quickly. It was kind of a feel good, fun trip (not trippy like mushrooms) down memory lane. I typically like the high energy buzz better, but this high was enjoyable (even managed to get the house cleaned).
My favorite of the 3 Swazi x African 75 plants (so far) is the slowest flowering. Great tropical fruity smell and really like the fan leaf color as it canabilizes itself. Curious which strain parent exhibits this trait. I'm guessing either the Malawi or Nigerian. I've never seen it on the Swazi either outdoor or indoor. Still a ways to go. The other 2 plants have shown no sign of this mid flowering auburn color. Their leaves simply yellow and fall off. All 3 plants are in the same pot (to keep them small) so all are exposed to the exact same environment.
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The auburn color is starting to show up on secondary leaves on the other 2 plants. The fan leaves have mostly dropped off and the secondary leaves are starting too also. The bud itself is also starting to show hints of purple. I took a few lower buds from the fastest finishing plant to dry out and test. This plant has the irritating trait of showing buds that appear almost done and then several days later new bud growth appears. I typically like to wait until all pistils are dried before cutting the bud, but in this case will likely have to find a balance between ripened calyxes and slowing new growth. Although this strain strain is 80% + sativa, I don't want to encourage a narcotic high by harvesting too late. The smell on my favorite plant has turned to a stronger ripe (almost overripe) tropical fruit smell. I'm hoping it stays like this and doesn't turn into the rotten fruit smell. As the plants ripen, they seem to be less phenotypically similar to the Swazi. They've retained the small calyx size, but the bud density, coloring and smell are distinct.
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