Hashplants

[therevverend]

Nice work on the hashplants Browntrout. Looks like a fast finish I could use some of that. Most of my stuff seems like it'll be late this year. Just the way it works out sometimes, I had a bunch of early males but I collected the pollen over a month ago. It's probably lost it's fecundity. We've had beautiful weather, after last year it's just what I needed. It's still worrisome looking at the calendar, I know I've still got over a month for most of mine.

One plant I'm worried about is my Flashbang. It's Hammerhead's breeding, (Snowman x Biodiesel) x MAC I believe. It's surprised me, it's an extreme throwback type hashplant. More like Deep Chunk then any strain I've seen. Doesn't get tall, short upright branching, strong hashy type odor. I love it but I'm worried because it's slow to flower and has already had a few bouts with stalk rot. It's similar to my Burkle 2.0s last year that I lost to boytritis. The Burkles were done by early October which is fine most years, last year was such an anomaly. Here's pictures of the Flashbang.

You see how gnarly and bushy it is, beautiful hashplant structure but extremely susceptible to boytritis. I've tied a few of the branches out from the plant to let in more light along with plenty of leafing.

My earliest plant this year is probably my G13 dominate 88G13HP. It's already turning lime green with some yellowing and purple tips on a few of the big fan leaves at the top. The flowers are super frosted with an amazing sweet smell that takes me back to the mid 90s. I'm in love but it's also got mold issues, the main stalk has been rotting all season. The branches are weak because it's got a large bushy structure, they tend to elongate and get too bushy and heavy. We'll call it ELB, early, large, bushy. Here's a look.

Her hashplant dominate sister is much later, still hasn't formed clusters. The branch structure is stacked, she keeps tucking and tucking. It looks like she wants to form big colas. Fine with me.

I keep waiting for tufts to form, thinking any day. I need the hashplants to finish fast, I know it's only a matter of time before the autumn rains start.

 

[Mimpi Manis]

The Rev said:

I wanted to get back to this thread sooner, I was waiting to get pictures of my friend's Pot of Gold Hashplant. I visited him but smoked so much I spaced off the picture, along with everything else I planned to do that day.

The more I make hashish the more fun I have playing with it. Even if there weren't good reasons for pressing it I'd still do it just for the opportunity to mess around with such a wonderful substance. The best way to press hashish is the simplest, hand pressing. It's a great way to press small amounts for personal use. I've been watching videos made in the hashish motherlands, they're always pressing and squeezing their hashish by hand. Much more then I would think necessary. I've realized there's more to it then just the obvious stuff like keeping it from blowing away in the wind.

In a lot of hashish cultures there's an idea that if you smoke unpressed resin you'll lose your mind. Sam the Skunkman has posted about this, how it's prevalent in a many hashish cultures. He came at it from the point of view that it's bullshit, which it is, but myths can tell a lot about cultures. It's not surprising there's rules for cannabis smoking, it some ways it's an anti-social activity that separates you from the rest of society. With psychedelic and dissociative type drugs there's a fear of going too far beyond the threshold and never coming back. Turning into a wing nut. Sieving the plants and pressing the resin is a civilizing act, something that cultured people do. Pressing the resin grounds it and you. Maybe I've been smoking too much, over thinking but I think there's something to it.

When I first started pressing resin I was worried about degrading the terpenes and THC. I preferred hand pressing because it's low temperature and you can press it without messing with the chemistry. When I researched hashish pressing more, watched a Frenchy Cannoli video, I realized that there's a purpose behind heating the resin. When you heat THC it decarboxylates it, turns it into it's active form. Drying and curing do this but very slowly. This is why you can't get high from raw cannabis. You have to expose it to heat, smoking or cooking, to activate it. Decarboxylating the hashish before smoking it makes it easier for your body to absorb. I don't know if it makes it more potent but it changes the high. I've found I prefer it. It's like an accelerated cure.

Heating also changes the smell and flavor. It's subjective of course but I like the changes, seems to be more intense and tasty. It increases shelf like quite a bit, keeps it from getting too dry and is much less harsh then raw resin powder. I'd recommend at least experimenting with pressing, trying different temperatures and types of pressing. I've been heating my press to 180 degrees F, packing the resin into it, then standing on the press. Then I put weight on top of it and let it sit for half an hour or so.

That was a very interesting and erudite little rave on your hash making. Enjoyed it. The oft overlooked pleasure of a few well constructed ideas and paragraphs. I would also happily try your well constructed product Mr Rev... no questions asked! Lj

 

[lLucky]

This thread has given me a new appreciation for hashplant type genetics!

 

[Nexus7]

I wanted to get back to this thread sooner, I was waiting to get pictures of my friend's Pot of Gold Hashplant. I visited him but smoked so much I spaced off the picture, along with everything else I planned to do that day.

The more I make hashish the more fun I have playing with it. Even if there weren't good reasons for pressing it I'd still do it just for the opportunity to mess around with such a wonderful substance. The best way to press hashish is the simplest, hand pressing. It's a great way to press small amounts for personal use. I've been watching videos made in the hashish motherlands, they're always pressing and squeezing their hashish by hand. Much more then I would think necessary. I've realized there's more to it then just the obvious stuff like keeping it from blowing away in the wind.

In a lot of hashish cultures there's an idea that if you smoke unpressed resin you'll lose your mind. Sam the Skunkman has posted about this, how it's prevalent in a many hashish cultures. He came at it from the point of view that it's bullshit, which it is, but myths can tell a lot about cultures. It's not surprising there's rules for cannabis smoking, it some ways it's an anti-social activity that separates you from the rest of society. With psychedelic and dissociative type drugs there's a fear of going too far beyond the threshold and never coming back. Turning into a wing nut. Sieving the plants and pressing the resin is a civilizing act, something that cultured people do. Pressing the resin grounds it and you. Maybe I've been smoking too much, over thinking but I think there's something to it.

When I first started pressing resin I was worried about degrading the terpenes and THC. I preferred hand pressing because it's low temperature and you can press it without messing with the chemistry. When I researched hashish pressing more, watched a Frenchy Cannoli video, I realized that there's a purpose behind heating the resin. When you heat THC it decarboxylates it, turns it into it's active form. Drying and curing do this but very slowly. This is why you can't get high from raw cannabis. You have to expose it to heat, smoking or cooking, to activate it. Decarboxylating the hashish before smoking it makes it easier for your body to absorb. I don't know if it makes it more potent but it changes the high. I've found I prefer it. It's like an accelerated cure.

Heating also changes the smell and flavor. It's subjective of course but I like the changes, seems to be more intense and tasty. It increases shelf like quite a bit, keeps it from getting too dry and is much less harsh then raw resin powder. I'd recommend at least experimenting with pressing, trying different temperatures and types of pressing. I've been heating my press to 180 degrees F, packing the resin into it, then standing on the press. Then I put weight on top of it and let it sit for half an hour or so.

Thanks for the insight into your hashmaking process Rev!

No doubt pressing would have some effect on the quality of high as well as the aroma. I'll have to give it a try next time.

In fact I did have some sift from an early harvested Kali China recently. It was quite edgy and not so enjoyable to begin with but after 9 months or so of storage it was my favourite smoke. So you could be on to something with the oxidation and decarbing prior to smoking ...

 

[Guest]

Huckleberry V2 by dynasty. Oregon Afghani is the mother by a Huckleberry male.
Pole plant hashplant, big resin heads like sand. I'd grow this again.

 

[therevverend]

What's the lineage of the hashplant in your Blueberry hashplant, Brown Trout? It looks a bit Pakistani or Middle Eastern, maybe Lebanese which would account for it's early flowering. You said, 'Not much crystal due to it's hashplant lineage' which sounds like an oxymoron but actually makes sense. Outside of Afghanistan a lot of hash strains have small granular type resin glands that are easier to sift then the huge crystals we're used to. It's different then the resin glands on tropical strains which also tend to be small but are greasier and stickier. You see the small gland size in the old Moroccan, Turkish, Egyptian, and Lebanese hashplants. I think some or all of these strains were hybridized with sativa hemp lineages at some point. They haven't been bred specifically as hashplants for that long, they're likely multi-purpose strains for fiber, seeds, and resin.

We've had high humidity levels overnight the last week. Every morning I find the plants dripping with dew along with a bit of stem rot. I was arguing with a friend the other day about it. He was saying the reason I have the boytritis and he doesn't is because he does such a good job spacing his plants and providing air flow. Then I saw one of his branches with grey mold on it. I wasn't impressed. He has lower humidity where he's at, 15 miles inland from where I'm at which explains why I have more boytritis. He also has the benefit of not growing in a blackberry patch.

It switches around once the rain starts, he's up against the mountains and down in a bowl, a double whammy that gives him horrific boytritis problems. I should have tossed him a bone, given him credit for his 'air flow management' and left it at that. Since he'll get hammered again when the rains come. Air flow is important but it's growing outdoors, there's limitless air. I think what he means is that by creating too much shade I'm not allowing light to penetrate in around the stalk and dry things out.

There's not much you can do about it when you're growing big bushy plants but I'm not convinced it's the cause of the stem rot. I've found when you grow a cluster of plants they create their own micro-climate. The leaves and stalks actually suck more moisture out of the air then they transpire. When the outside of the patch will be dripping with dew, in the middle where the stalks and inner leaves are is bone dry. Even in a rain storm the driest place will be the middle of the patch.

The entire time I've grown here I've always seen stalk rot and it's always random. Two factors are necessary, humidity over 80% and genetic susceptibility. I have two 88G13HP, one doesn't have a spot on it, the other has the worst in the garden. It's been losing branches all year. If your curious the early flowering one that's frosting up is the susceptible one. I just found the boytritis working on two new branches. The good news is that the weather pattern changed this afternoon. The humidity is dropping from 88% at 7AM to 45% at 7AM the weather forecast reports. A 10 mph wind has kicked up, I couldn't be happier, all week it'll be hot and dry. Goodbye boytritis, at least for now.

I switch around and post pictures in different threads, I feel like I've been neglecting this one. Haven't posted pics of some of my best hashplants. Maybe my favorite hashplant this year is Cherry Queen, (Fat Cherry x Old Mother Ghani). Both the fat cherry and OMG are Afghan hashplants. It smells amazing, sweet cherry hash. The branches are shiny with resin. As wide as she is tall. She's dragging her feet, taking her time to switch into flowering. Still hasn't tufted up, today it looks like she threw a few more hairs. Maybe the latest plant in the garden. It's strange because she's been tucking for almost a month, throwing a hair now and then. I'm hoping for a fast finish.

I've got a couple Dogwalker OG x Ancient OG. They ooze potency, smell like rank hashish. They're just starting to cluster up. They have a tall upright growth pattern, steep crotch angles. My bigger one got it's top nipped by a slug, otherwise it might be my tallest plant. I believe there's potential in this line for huge yielding plants. I'm noticing resin already on the fan leaves. They're slowly switching into flowering, a lot of my stuff is at that point. Throwing tufts along with a bit of resin. Here's the tall lanky one. The tall Azad Kashmir is right behind it. They look like twins.

Here's the bushy one that got nipped by the slug.

 

[browntrout]

Rev,

It’s known as “hashplant”, it’s likely very heavy in early afghani genetics, possibly early skunk/mighty mite genetics mixed in and possible back crossing. Can’t be sure. Early as in vintage.

It totally has the structure for giving up trichs, but you have to think about these old afghanis and other hashplants. They really look nothing like the afghani varieties we have today, I’ve seen some very old local lines somewhat bred to finish outdoors here and a lot just don’t have the trichome coverage that modern varieties have. A different story when comparing to what was grown in 70’s/80’s I’m sure. These older afghani lines separate from this hashplant are interesting, some very putrid petroleum/grease smells and very sticky. But usually nothing great to look at, very “vintage”. Most still ring the bell something fierce.

As for smaller glands there’s likely something too that. She is starting to “frost up” but not like the other hybrids made with my blueberry. My comment was just in regards to this specific strain named “hashplant”

But for what this plant lacks it trichs’ she’s got the resin and stickiness to more than make up for it, a real extract makers plant. Friends have done very well with oil... She has this wonderful thick bottom end Smell from the hashplant mom. It’s a little spicy and peppery and lot skunky and something akin to kush. Think sesquiterpenes, A smell just totally ingrained in the buds.

Your plants are looking great, hoping your harvest goes as planned.

 

[mexweed]

just sunk 4 heirloom pakistani from aficionados of cannabis colorado gonna see what's up

 

[burningfire]

just sunk 4 heirloom pakistani from aficionados of cannabis colorado gonna see what's up

good luck with that, why not get it from ace or other breeders?
I've never heard of Afocionados, their prices seem okay but the quoted THC levels are way too high.


anyway, here's my Nepal x Pakistan from last year, I've been messing around with this line for the last 9 years ( there's some oth but not much in this selection) , I've got three growing at the moment outdoor, I will probably turn the smaller two into hash. It has the stature of the Pakistan but the structure of the nepal, aromas are clean and somewhat orange like at the moment, around the time those pics were taken, near harvest it becomes a sinus wrecking funky coffee citrus aroma, it's a nice middle ground between the two plants.

 

[mexweed]

I'm also starting some of their colorado chemdog s1 and chemdog#4Xheadband, other places that have paki don't have gas like that and they're euro, being in state I get the seeds really quick

 

[therevverend]

It’s known as “hashplant”, it’s likely very heavy in early afghani genetics, possibly early skunk/mighty mite genetics mixed in and possible back crossing. Can’t be sure. Early as in vintage.

Yeah I remember that strain. Almost got it a couple times of times, for my guerrilla grows. It was from a BC seed company, can't remember it's name but they had Mighty Mite and other photo sensitive and main run strains for northern temperate climate. I always wondered what genetics they used, they have some Afghani traits but also traits I'd call Middle Eastern, Himalayan or Moroccan. Lethal Purple was one I tried years back. They claimed it was a heavy Indica purple Kush with KO effects and huge yields but that was bullshit. It had airy light colas, maybe 1/4 lb per plant, with moderately wide leaves. The effects weren't that strong but stimulating, you could stay up all night smoking the stuff. Great for work for instance. I'm guessing Lebanese, maybe even red Leb. Great White North still has it. Vancouver Seed Co still has Mighty Mite and a few other old strains. Mighty Mite's problem is the low yield, the Hashplant is a big improvement.

As a grower in a Mediterranean type climate, Spain or California for example, it's a waste, the earliness and mold resistance is less important then potency and yield. In northern Europe, Canada, and the northern US these type are useful, either on their own or in hybrids.

That Huckleberry looks interesting. When I looked it up I saw high CBD versions. The Oregon Afghani shows up in a lot of strains I like, I've always wondered what it's like on it's own. There always was a lot of unique stuff in Oregon, a lot of sweet, berry, purple, and fruity type stuff that was potent. DJ Short has nice stuff but it's only the tip of the iceberg of those type of Oregon strains. Of course modern medical and rec has changed that all up.

here's my Nepal x Pakistan from last year, I've been messing around with this line for the last 9 years

Looks nice, I notice similarities to Bangi Haze, Mextiza, Nep Jam. Differences too, in the structure and resin. That's one I'd like to smell. Just from the look I can tell the floral notes are impressive and your description makes it sound tantalizing.

I'm also starting some of their colorado chemdog s1 and chemdog#4Xheadband, other places that have paki don't have gas like that and they're euro, being in state I get the seeds really quick

Cool. Their stuff looks interesting and I've heard a couple good things. Their THC % numbers do seem high, or rather too consistently high without enough fluctuation. But that's typical now, THC % has become important to people and it could be accurate for a tester that scores on the high side. What's more important are the THC-CBD ratios. The European seed banks that name themselves after American locations seem silly to me but I guess that's what they think will sell seeds. I'm curious how that Paki turns out keep us updated, especially since it's new. The Chemdog and Headband too, Chemdog is a great example of a modern hashplant that turns up in a lot of breeding. I've got strains containing it this year and they look kill.

My G13 dominate G13HP is probably my earliest plant so far. I hope it finishes at least by the first week of October since it has very little mold resistance. I want to breed on her quite a bit, already dusted her with Shishkeberry pollen. She has that older type of hashplant resin you don't see a lot anymore. Here's the pics.

She smells so good, it takes me back to the 90s. Very sweet almost like frosting, the original wedding cake.

My Royal Kush x 5 G Blue is Blue dominate, another one with a strong sweet smell. Very floral and fruity, more intense then blueberry. She's loading up on frost.

She's been purple from the start. Really excited to see how she turns out.

 

[burningfire]

Looks nice, I notice similarities to Bangi Haze, Mextiza, Nep Jam. Differences too, in the structure and resin. That's one I'd like to smell. Just from the look I can tell the floral notes are impressive and your description makes it sound tantalizing.

Yes the resin coverage is very typical of PCK,

there's no colour in this selection, this is from the #3 selection... #2 had beautiful purple colours, thanks to the PCK and the purple OTH but the potency just wasn't there...

At 45N it could be a little faster but it has time to finish.. I'll let it go until the 2nd weekend of october. I've seen friesland popping up again and I'm tempted to introduce some of it but I'm too happy with the direction I'm taking the buzz to consider the friesland, I haven't smoked any since highschool but it's a little too lazy from what I remember.

I've started using flora nova bloom in flowering instead of sticking with flore nova grow for the duration and I think I'm already smelling differences, I had a whiff today and it smells more floral than last year. It will build up though.. vaping it fills the room with Oranges and Sage.

this particular one is a nice mix of the two, the structure is closer to a nepalese than the PCK but the stature is closer to the PCK

this was a more PCK than nepal example

 

[axle2u]

leb

leb

below is 1 plant - pure red leb from bekka valley
its a landrace and a hashplant im told

 

[mexweed]

Chemdog is a great example of a modern hashplant that turns up in a lot of breeding. I've got strains containing it this year and they look kill.

yes it is, they list it as afghanica, JJ's stardawg starts off with an afghani#1 male, stardawg is also like 90% sativa, there are indian and nepalese sativas that could be considered hashplants

 

[elchischas]

Hi Brethren
Here some Afghan plants,sorry but i'm misslabeled
The name of this one,pure Afghani with peaches smell colas

 

[art.spliff]

Black Garlic one of Best of the Harvest with Magic Melon. What I learned is to have a comparison a person has to try a smaller amount of each. Chem D won with highest thc.

 

[browntrout]

BBHP 45N, seems to keep spitting out white hairs and developing, but alas she’s molding up as everything does here. Cut Sept. 16.

This ones gonna be a flavour bomb for sure.

 

[therevverend]

Ah fuck that sucks brown trout I can see it in your bud. By the time you can see it, it's too late. Marbles it's way up the middle of the stem. The worst thing about grey mold is that it attacks the biggest frostiest colas the worst. In that situation I take the big nugs early and leave the smaller stuff to fully develop. I'll take the losses on the minis just to have some properly matured smoke.

elchischas has an interesting hashplant, it's got that mighty mite mini structure. Thin leaves for an Afghan, I've seen that in some short branchless phenos. Short plants that aren't autos trip me out, seeing a plant go long season without getting big and bushy.

Another interesting type are the short Lebanese plants, the pink and magenta hairs. Axle's is a good example. There's been a growing interest in 'Lebanese Red' the last couple years along with seed offerings from various sources. 'Lebanese red' is a type of hashish that was common in the 1970s and 80s, not necessarily a strain. I've seen many pictures of red Lebanese hashish, here's a good example from Cannabis Culture's strains of yesteryear.

As to why it's that color, the simplest answer is that dirt in the region it's grown in is red. As the plants mature and become sticky the red dirt sticks to them. This red soil is called 'terra rosa' and is found primarily in regions with a Mediterranean climate. Check out this picture I found on Sensi seeds website.

While the soil is red the plants are a normal green color. Of course as they mature their hairs and leaves will turn color but it's not the reason the hashish is red. To confuse things there's a history of fine Lebanese hashplant strains that are purple, yellow, and/or red and that have pink, magenta, and red hairs but that's not the same as the Lebanese red hashish. Seed companies promote their lines by calling them Lebanese red but who's to say whether it's the same or different from the strains that grew the famous red hashish. I've heard mixed reviews of the red hash, some batches were marvelous and some were mediocre. It turns up in coffee shops in Amsterdam to this day.

'Terra Rosa' soil is found in many famous wine growing regions, including the Bekka Valley. Here's a link to the wiki article about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_rossa_(soil)

and a link to an article about soils and wine growing in Lebanon.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/terroirs-lebanon-masterpiece-soils-unexpected-joseph-moukarzel

Like everyone else on the west coast my garden has been smogged in with smoke since last week. It's horrible. Nothing good has come of it. I've been dealing with stalk rot all summer. Every year I deal with it but this year is by far the worst. The wet cool weather in May, June, and half of July was the culprit along with the slugs that thrive under those conditions and seem to spread it. Last week the last of the moisture had dried up, the plants were thriving from all the sun and the stem rot was dead or dying. Then Oregon started to burn. Much of their smoke got sucked out to the Pacific, where it swirled around for a bit and then got funneled straight into my garden and my lungs.

The result is that the temperature has dropped ten degrees F with the sun blotted out of the sky. The humidity has shot up again and with no UV radiation penetrating the smoke cloud to kill the boytritis spores the mold has sprung back into action. We've had a bit of rain, not enough to clear the smoke but enough to moisten things up. At least it washed off the ash which was getting nasty along with the smoke smell. The worst part is I know that there'd be bright sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s F/above 24 C if the smoke wasn't here. Instead it's been in the 65-72 degree range which is the boytritis sweet spot. It hasn't been devastating, I've kept it under control with rubbing alcohol but it's frustrating. Haven't found any flower rot, yet, or PM except for a spot or two on a few lower leaves.

Here's an example of the sort of damage I'm finding every morning. This is a Prayer Tower stalk, a strain I thought would have good resistance to grey mold.

The black stuff is the old dead mold I killed with rubbing alcohol, the grey stuff is new. After I took the picture I soaked it with the alcohol. It's kept in check but I'm losing a few limbs and a few others are getting slowly girdled. I haven't lost a plant yet which is good news.

Despite the smoke and stem rot the plants are going off. Frost, frost, and more frost along with wonderful smells. It's happening fast, overnight. I'm blown away, every time I look the flowers are bigger and oilier and frostier. Here's the 88G13HP, you can compare it to my pictures in my last post a week ago.

Now it's a race against time. I know it has zero resistance against bud rot and there's a bit of rain in the forecast. It's a question of how much, when, and how fast she finishes. Some rain is okay because the plants suck it up and it washes the ash off,
both the plants and the sky. Too much and it's ruination. It's going to be interesting the rest of the way.

 

[RoyalFlush]

Ah fuck that sucks brown trout I can see it in your bud. By the time you can see it, it's too late. Marbles it's way up the middle of the stem. The worst thing about grey mold is that it attacks the biggest frostiest colas the worst. In that situation I take the big nugs early and leave the smaller stuff to fully develop. I'll take the losses on the minis just to have some properly matured smoke.

elchischas has an interesting hashplant, it's got that mighty mite mini structure. Thin leaves for an Afghan, I've seen that in some short branchless phenos. Short plants that aren't autos trip me out, seeing a plant go long season without getting big and bushy.

Another interesting type are the short Lebanese plants, the pink and magenta hairs. Axle's is a good example. There's been a growing interest in 'Lebanese Red' the last couple years along with seed offerings from various sources. 'Lebanese red' is a type of hashish that was common in the 1970s and 80s, not necessarily a strain. I've seen many pictures of red Lebanese hashish, here's a good example from Cannabis Culture's strains of yesteryear.

View Image

As to why it's that color, the simplest answer is that dirt in the region it's grown in is red. As the plants mature and become sticky the red dirt sticks to them. This red soil is called 'terra rosa' and is found primarily in regions with a Mediterranean climate. Check out this picture I found on Sensi seeds website.

View Image

While the soil is red the plants are a normal green color. Of course as they mature their hairs and leaves will turn color but it's not the reason the hashish is red. To confuse things there's a history of fine Lebanese hashplant strains that are purple, yellow, and/or red and that have pink, magenta, and red hairs but that's not the same as the Lebanese red hashish. Seed companies promote their lines by calling them Lebanese red but who's to say whether it's the same or different from the strains that grew the famous red hashish. I've heard mixed reviews of the red hash, some batches were marvelous and some were mediocre. It turns up in coffee shops in Amsterdam to this day.

'Terra Rosa' soil is found in many famous wine growing regions, including the Bekka Valley. Here's a link to the wiki article about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_rossa_(soil)

and a link to an article about soils and wine growing in Lebanon.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/terroirs-lebanon-masterpiece-soils-unexpected-joseph-moukarzel

Like everyone else on the west coast my garden has been smogged in with smoke since last week. It's horrible. Nothing good has come of it. I've been dealing with stalk rot all summer. Every year I deal with it but this year is by far the worst. The wet cool weather in May, June, and half of July was the culprit along with the slugs that thrive under those conditions and seem to spread it. Last week the last of the moisture had dried up, the plants were thriving from all the sun and the stem rot was dead or dying. Then Oregon started to burn. Much of their smoke got sucked out to the Pacific, where it swirled around for a bit and then got funneled straight into my garden and my lungs.

The result is that the temperature has dropped ten degrees F with the sun blotted out of the sky. The humidity has shot up again and with no UV radiation penetrating the smoke cloud to kill the boytritis spores the mold has sprung back into action. We've had a bit of rain, not enough to clear the smoke but enough to moisten things up. At least it washed off the ash which was getting nasty along with the smoke smell. The worst part is I know that there'd be bright sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s F/above 24 C if the smoke wasn't here. Instead it's been in the 65-72 degree range which is the boytritis sweet spot. It hasn't been devastating, I've kept it under control with rubbing alcohol but it's frustrating. Haven't found any flower rot, yet, or PM except for a spot or two on a few lower leaves.

Here's an example of the sort of damage I'm finding every morning. This is a Prayer Tower stalk, a strain I thought would have good resistance to grey mold.

View Image

The black stuff is the old dead mold I killed with rubbing alcohol, the grey stuff is new. After I took the picture I soaked it with the alcohol. It's kept in check but I'm losing a few limbs and a few others are getting slowly girdled. I haven't lost a plant yet which is good news.

Despite the smoke and stem rot the plants are going off. Frost, frost, and more frost along with wonderful smells. It's happening fast, overnight. I'm blown away, every time I look the flowers are bigger and oilier and frostier. Here's the 88G13HP, you can compare it to my pictures in my last post a week ago.

View Image

View Image

Now it's a race against time. I know it has zero resistance against bud rot and there's a bit of rain in the forecast. It's a question of how much, when, and how fast she finishes. Some rain is okay because the plants suck it up and it washes the ash off,
both the plants and the sky. Too much and it's ruination. It's going to be interesting the rest of the way.

Hey Therevverend, have you tried the 88G13HP before?

If so, which would you say is a lot stronger between the OSH and the 88G13HP? I'm in search of a strong narcotic HP.

 

[browntrout]

Rev, your right I usually do the same and cut tops early leaving the rest to develop. This year it’s not in the cards. Too many plants and to busy working away.

Yes he early cut branch has a wonderful blueberry Jam/muffin smell with the richness of the hashplant in the background. I assume the later cut stuff will be a bit more hahsplant in smell.