Best way to determine when seeds are fully ripe?

[billyblog]

Hey there Growers,

Just seeking your thoughts on the best way to determine when seeds are fully ripe?

I've been at it for many years but had some mixed results along the way and just checking in to see if anyone can chime in with their thoughts and experience on the best way to be sure your beans are ripe on the bush and ready for picking and drying?

TIA

billy

 

[Donald Mallard]

the calyxes often open up to reveal the brown seed inside when they are ready ,

you can also time it by when you pollinated ,

pollinate only once , wait 5 to 6 weeks ,

check the calyxes for ripe seed ,
usually when the buds are ripe , so are the seeds ,



it takes a minimum of 4 weeks for the seed to form and ripen ,


the longer u leave them to mature , the better it seems ,
they will stay viable for longer this way ...



is this what you have been doing ,

what do you think has gone wrong previously for you to have mixed results ??

 

[billyblog]

Hey Donald,

Thanks for sharing your wisdom here! I'm right on around the 3 week mark, the pollination was done lightly quite early in flowering (buds still have a fair way to go), so beans are on the extra large size and already splitting a fair proportion of their calyxes to reveal themselves, however, they're still looking a bit on the pale side, despite the unusually large size of such immature eggs.

I guess when I look back on my mixed results over the years, a lot of it could be due to losing track of pollination dates and therefore not being sure of the time lapse from pollination to harvest. I've also had to pull them early some seasons due to bad weather or security issues.

From what you're saying, it sounds like I still need to sit this one out for a while. They're Kangativa's line of Mullumbimby Madness; precious beans to say the least and I really want to get it right this time as I'm all out of the stock beans I had to reproduce them with, so this is sort of my last chance to get it right or kiss them goodbye.

Thanks,

billy

 

[Donald Mallard]

patience billy ,,
thats all you need for making some nice ripe seed ,
even waiting till the bud is overripe and the seeds are falling out just to be sure ...



sounds like they are well worthwhile , nice work and best of luck ...

 

[billyblog]

Donald, you ever noticed how sativa beans seem to take longer to ripen than indica beans? I guess that might come down to their respective flowering times.



billy

 

[Sunshineinabag]

Donald is our encyclopedia cannacopia and I love it

 

[unregistered190]

Donald is our encyclopedia cannacopia and I love it

Yes, Donald is very generous with his knowledge. Thanks DM

 

[Creeperpark]

Perianth

Perianth

Its important for the seed to completely dry in the calyxes. If you let the calyxes dry well with the seed in them they will rattle when they are finished. Perianth covers about two thirds of the seed with a split. When the seed perianth dries and there is a "loose seed" then they are ready. Mature seed in its bracts.

 

[Mr. Stinky]

Theres no loss in letting them go long. Just make sure they never run dry in the pots. Not much will shorten the life of seed worse than a drought in the milk/dough stages of development.

Leave the girls alone 8 weeks if you can. Slide them off to the side in the flower room and let em sit till they die of old age if you want. This makes the seed harvest real easy, just pull a garbage bag over her head, tie the bottom and cut, flip, shake.



Most importantly, tho... always send some beans to helpful folks just in case something ever happens to your stash!

 

[Vesti]

One good trick, if you have the space and means, is to make seeds using two small clones, one for pollen, and the other for seed.

Whether male or reversed, the pollen plant can fairly easily be isolated from that larger grow area in some random closet or whatever somewhere under just a little light, and keeping the seed plant independent means you can just let it go as long as you want without being tied to the maturation schedule of your sensemilla gals.

I've had good success with this using just a little clone in a gallon or two of medium - obviously it doesn't take much at all to get a few dozen to a couple hundred seeds. No reason she can't just hang out in the corner of your flowering area even as the next crop is going into 12/12, giving her plenty of time to develop ideally mature seeds that become visibly mature or even rattle in their bracts as others have noted.

 

[noknees]

cool thread.


thanks to DM and others


very best of luck to ya @billyblog

 

[billyblog]

Thanks for your contributions, y'all!

Mostly focused on seedless bud all my days; never gave enough thought to breeding and particularly to seed maturation.

Probably nothing much worse than ending up with green, white, pale or tiny seed and now I see there's a bit of science to it, I'll be taking a closer interest in the process.


billy

 

[Switcher56]

One good trick, if you have the space and means, is to make seeds using two small clones, one for pollen, and the other for seed.

Whether male or reversed, the pollen plant can fairly easily be isolated from that larger grow area in some random closet or whatever somewhere under just a little light, and keeping the seed plant independent means you can just let it go as long as you want without being tied to the maturation schedule of your sensemilla gals.

I've had good success with this using just a little clone in a gallon or two of medium - obviously it doesn't take much at all to get a few dozen to a couple hundred seeds. No reason she can't just hang out in the corner of your flowering area even as the next crop is going into 12/12, giving her plenty of time to develop ideally mature seeds that become visibly mature or even rattle in their bracts as others have noted.

Great tip, for perpetual grows only

 

[billyblog]

Hey fellow growers,

I'm now at 4.5 - 5.5 weeks since pollination (open male spent 1 week with the girls) and a relatively small proportion (appx 10%) of the seed capsules are already browning off and shrinking right back from the beans, and so these beans are now hanging quite loose within their shrivelled capsules with little to support them from dropping to the ground.

Others are still in green capsules but most of those (appx 80%) are split open revealing the browning beans inside. So I have a bit of a mixed bag here with some green capsules still sealed shut tight (appx 10%), so should I take these girls now to avoid losing any beans or should I press on and risk losing some to see the majority come to the same point? Or where would you reckon I should cut my losses?

TIA

billy

 

[Big M]

Hey fellow growers,

I'm now at 4.5 - 5.5 weeks since pollination (open male spent 1 week with the girls) and a relatively small proportion (appx 10%) of the seed capsules are already browning off and shrinking right back from the beans, and so these beans are now hanging quite loose within their shrivelled capsules with little to support them from dropping to the ground.

Others are still in green capsules but most of those (appx 80%) are split open revealing the browning beans inside. So I have a bit of a mixed bag here with some green capsules still sealed shut tight (appx 10%), so should I take these girls now to avoid losing any beans or should I press on and risk losing some to see the majority come to the same point? Or where would you reckon I should cut my losses?

TIA

billy

You could spread a tarp or something similar below the plant, then give it a good shake. Then you can collect the seeds that were about to fall off and let the rest mature longer.

 

[troutman]

I let my seed mothers ripen a long time until I notice some of the calyxes dry and crack showing a dark seed inside.
I test a small random bud to see how many good seeds are in it before I cut the plant down. I normally go 8+ weeks
after pollination. In my experience, you have to sacrifice the weed if you want the best seeds.

So go longer if you want the best quality seeds.

 

[G.O. Joe]

Some strains split open quite early yet hold on to their seeds better than others. Seed harvested early is not the best. I harvest by water consumption, regardless of use. And clean the floors very well beforehand and wash the seeds after.

 

[wh1p3dm34t]

if you go for seeds, let her finish her life and let it die, forget the flowers.

 

[f-e]

If the plant falls, composts, and the seeds sprout in it, then you have waited too long.


Some breeders are happy once the seed is firmer than a calax. Amazingly, some of those soft green seeds with indented shells still grow.


Typically speaking, I'm happy when they start to burst out. A nice brown colour. But not all seeds are that big or dark anyway. Round and hard seems the minimum requirement.

 

[Karma G]

As a rough rule, check a bud afther 5 to 6 weeks afther removing the pollen donor.

When very heavy polinated some wont ripen like 10% and seeds could end up differnt sizes.

When normal polinated and wait 7 to 8 weeks almost all should be ripe.

But you always have to do a end selection to throw the pale ore empty (air seeds) out.