Cloning for seed production

[Elevator Man]

For the next batch of seeds I'm producing, I've decided to utilise clones rather than pollenating a branch on each plant. The reasons for this are twofold - I'm using two different Flo males on some, and need to be absolutely sure that there's no contamination. Also I want to ensure I get the maximum seeds possible, and that they are the healthiest, plumpest seeds imaginable - hence the 'special treatment'.

What I'd like to ask out is - given that the goal here is maximum healthy seed production, NOT resin or THC production, what would be the ideal nutrient regime to use? At the moment they haven't had any - I potted them into No.3 soil and switched them to 12/12 immediately - they're currently on 24 days and very healthy. They will need some veg nutes soon, but I'm not certain that I should switch to flowering nutes at all?

I'm assuming that seeds will need more N than sensi plants? I certainly don't plan to use any P/K additives/boosters, so I thought a reasonable compromise might be a mix of veg/flower nutes after pollenation for a few days might be enough given they're not going to grow much bigger than this. Also, what about flushing before harvest? The seeds will get at least 35 days dev time before I chop them.

Anyway, here they are, at 24 days flower. I have two copies of two strains to use with both the Flo males - the other two will get the sativa-dom male.

Left to right: 2 Jamaican, G13, 2 Mystery Strain, Northern Lights X Big Bud:




Jamaican:






G13:




Mystery Strain:




Northern Lights X Big Bud:

 

[Guest]

someone posted about it somewhere..

some ferts actually dont help the seeds make he shell hard and wont germ so ive heard

i didnt fert but maybe 2 times in flower and got seed but not enough season to mature them all...

somone asked a while back tho on breeders nute scheme it might turn up under

breeder nutes. it will be in the breeders forum

 

[Haps]

I don't change anything for seed units, some do really suck out the leaf at the end, seems strain dependent. I would not put a time limit on the beans since you want them the best they can be, the seed pods will show you when they are ready. Also... Don't know what you are running, but breeding / seed growing should be under metal halides if possible.
H

 

[TGT]

Is that the norm to use MH's for seed production? I never was told that before - interesting.

TGT

 

[Elevator Man]

I assumed I would be able to grow the whole seed crop under fluoros if necessary. However, due to space issues, and the need to keep new clones growing, I probably will finish these off in the corner of the main growroom.

The seeds I harvested from my main plants, which were on the usual regime, including a two-week flush, all seem to be fine - however, I'm still thinking just mild nutes (including N) should be used up till the end for seed production?

 

[Guest]

the tread i talked aobut was very helpfull

some of the guys on there reported doing nothing special

even seedmoms in 16 oz cups under floros

the hardest part for me has been time. i dont think you wll have a problem at all with Artificial light and gut instinct. good luck!

 

[Elevator Man]

Well, I plan to pollenate these next Monday at 30 days -a friend is going to come and take some pics of the deed being done, so I'll post some up here. May as well do a seed thread - not many of those around...

 

[Guest]

sounds great man ill be looking forward to it

 

[Elevator Man]

The deed is done...

The deed is done...

Well, I did it tonight - pollenated all the clones with one or both of the Flo males. The pollen has been deep-frozen for a month (my first attempt with frozen pollen), so hopefully...gulp...there'll be no problems.

I cut the pollen with polenta (maize flour), as it was handy, and is pretty much the same color as pollen too, so it just looks like they OD'd severely. I could think of many, many crude internet-based analogies of these scenes at this point, but I'll just leave those to our imaginations...

Two strains got dosed with both males, and the others got the sativa-dominant of the two. Fingers crossed, in a couple of days, there'll be shrivelled pistils. If not, my freezing techniques are screwed...

Mystery Strain:






Jamaican:






G13:




Snuggling under the covers, smoking a cigarette:

 

[FGandalf]

yeah it's amazing what can run through

yeah it's amazing what can run through

your mind. like all those asian porn films with 20 guys waiting to give there pollen to this one or few lucky ladies. Love plant porn.

 

[Elevator Man]

Maybe porn films should start referring to jizz as 'pollen' in a bid to regain some style...?

"OK folks almost done now - we've just got the pollen shot to do again, and then it's a wrap - quiet please..."

 

[clowntown]

Snuggling under the covers, smoking a cigarette:

 

[BeAn]

Nice job dude...

 

[Elevator Man]

I'm just nervously pacing up and down outside the bridal suite at the moment, smoking spliffs furiously, waiting to hear if my girls are pregnant or not. It's feels like I'm some weird cross between a midwife and a pimp. A Pimpwife...?

Good name for one of the crosses, if nothing else...

 

[BeAn]

Pimpwife.......

 

[Elevator Man]

I did these the other day partly as I've just (2 hours ago) had radio-iodine treatment for a thyroid problem, and I didn't want any chance of 'strange' things happening, as I'm now highly radioactive for a week at least. Not too worried about the vegging plants, but I thought the 'moment of conception' might be a bit more risky for inducing mutations. After all, if you were trying for a baby, you wouldn't ideally go and have sex in a nuclear power station...

However, this does make a great treatment for a trash horror film:

"Deep in his illegal laboratory, the mad hippie scientist experiments with radiation whilst pollenating his cannabis plants. Little does he know that one tiny gamete in one pollen grain is severely affected by the radiation, and creates a mutant strain. Months later, innocent stoners smoke the mutant weed, which at midnight turns them into raving, drooling patchouli-soaked zombies..."

 

[BeAn]

^^LOL....

Hey EM, is the G13 your making pips with one of the cuts(SoCal, Airborne) from the USA/Canada, or is it from seed?

Many thanks dude.

 

[Elevator Man]

No, it's from the UK - I was given it 18 months ago. I've never met the guy it came from, so I can't track it down - to be honest, I was hoping someone would ask, as it's puzzled me for a while.

It doesn't look like many G13s I've seen on here - the leaves are far more 'droopy' and wide than others. Also it's very, very branchy, not columnar, and has some sativa traits I wouldn't expect in a supposedly pure indica. Grown next to the skunks, it has some very similar features. Also the pistils are the fattest, creamiest pistils I've ever seen on cannabis - very thick indeed. The buds almost have the appearance of an Old-English Sheepdog at the end! The stems are relatively weak compared to my other indica-dom plants.

The buds are not dense when dry - more fluffy like skunk. The smell is gorgeous - lemon/lime with ginger. When it's curing it has a slightly rotten meat smell around it, but when properly cured, this changes almost to toffee - delicious. The high is also not narcotic at all - very dreamy, but certainly not indica-dom - 50/50 at most. Very potent.

Given the relative lack of interest in the lineage of strains in the UK, I suspect this could be one of Soma's G13 crosses, or maybe from the G13 collection - dunno? There's plenty of pics of it in my gallery though - if you can wade through them all - it is getting quite large...

 

[Elevator Man]

Seed update...

Seed update...

Phew - the seeds are finally growing. Obviously cooler temps, small pots etc. were causing the slowing-down of progress.

Mystery Strain X Flo:


G13 X Flo:

 

[Elevator Man]

Harvest update at 36 days...

Harvest update at 36 days...

Well I just chopped these Flo-pollenated clones at 36 days - I could have left them longer, but to be honest, they were getting in the way now. They've been on the floor of the main growroom getting much more intense light, but as the main plants have grown larger, it's been more and more difficult to find pools of light big enough to sit them in.

I couldn't see many calyxes splitting either, which would usually be a good guide they're ready - one or two sure, but not many. So I pulled a couple of seeds out from most of the plants, and they look pretty much done, so I thought, fuck it. Even if I only get 20 or so good ones, it's enough - and assuming my main plants that I pollenated take OK, there'll be a few hundred of each cross in a few weeks. And if they don't, then it's a good job I did these eh? Safety first always...

And it will also provide me with some welcome quality smoke to help keep me going until the first of my main plants comes down in three weeks...

All:


G13:


Mystery Strain:


Northern Lights#5 X BigBud:


Jamaican: