It's selection time for the Nep Jam and Orient Express. What to look for?

[The Hatter]

I'm a medical grower so my license is very specific about how many mature plants I can have so now that the babies have shown their sexes it's time to make the final picks, but I'm very new to this and I'm having a tough time choosing the keepers. (I'm looking at the males also, since I wish to make some simple crosses and second generation pure offspring.)

What are some good traits to look for in 4-5 week old Nepalese Jam and Orient Express plants?

Are there any scents particular to the more desirable individuals or is it just personal preference?

I am looking mostly at their structure, vigor and how "fuzzy" the stems are right now. I find that the stems that are covered in little resinous hairs smell strongly when lightly brushed against. I'm guessing this is a good sign.

With these strains, does the structure tend to equate with the effects much? For instance I have some OE that are classic Christmas tree sativa kind of shapes and others that are more compact and indica in stature. Will the Christmas tree ones have a more VB sativa effect or will they be roughly the same?

The Nep Jams all tend to be large leafed, fuzzy stemmed plants with big thick stems. They all look quite similar except for one funky wide leafed male. They do vary in scent though.

 

[Cryptlord9999]

I grew the Nepalese Jam, i got a pretty short squat pheno with almost indica like growth patterns (i did top it and tie down 4 main branches) near the end of flowering it started to "fox tail" like a lot of sativa plants do (or heat stressed indicas in later flower). It started out smelling skunky/astringenty and then developed more floral/fruity smells with skunk undertones and a hint of pine. The taste was very sweet like candy and is noticed as soon as you start to inhale but is very mild and as you inhale the taste becomes stronger and after you exhale there is a very floral/fruity type aftertaste with a very very mild pine flavor. The effect was definately an "up" type high with a mild body stone, no couch lock effect at all but definately not the psychedelic get up and go effect of a lot of tropical sativas. Overall it has good appetite stimulation, wakes you up and motivates you into wanting to do something, good pain relief for stomach ailments like my own, id definately grow it again personally, i also took mine at exactly 9 weeks from the first sign of sex, would have liked to let them go 10 weeks to really develop that sativa punch.

 

[The Hatter]

That'a good news that nep jam works well for stomach problems. I have chronic gut problems on top of neurological issues and a crushed lumbar disk. I wish I didn't hate the effects of indicas so much since they kill pain well. Maybe the Nep Jams will turn out to be a nice balance.

The odors coming from the two female nep jams are similar. Both smell a bit skunky, but with a definite sweetness to it. Almost like skunk dipped in honey. There is also some floral incense kind of undertone to one of them. One has a thinner leaved bushier structure and the other is large leafed and open structured with a thick prominent main stem. If anyone has any input on which might be the better choice let me know what you think.

Both of the OE females are more musky, but they have an almost overripe fruitiness to them as well. It's a complex odor for sure.

I won't be doing any selection on the lone Super Lemon Haze and Destroyer females. The Super Lemon Haze has been pretty sorry compared to my ace and cannabiogen strains. It's small and it smells weakly of grass clippings and incense. I'm almost tempted to give it the axe despite it being my only example of a sativa from the big named seed banks. I've heard grass clippings is not a desirable smell for a plant to have and its half the size of the best OE and Nep Jams.

The destroyer smells amazing like spicy skunky goodness. Very thin leaves and open structure.

I hate having to decide which of my babies get to live and which have to die. Pesky laws making me choose. I am so tempted to keep an extra OE or NJ instead of that SLH, but I should give it a fair chance I suppose.

 

[Cryptlord9999]

From the sounds of it i would guess that the pheno i grew was closer to the thinner leafed bushier Nepalese Jam you are growing.

 

[dubi]

Hello The Hatter,

Honestly, i wouldnt avoid any plant till you finish and test them. Since you are selecting for flower quality, it's not a good idea to select/avoid plants just looking at growing traits, experience tells me you never know what plant is going to be the best till the end.

Every grower has different needs and taste, maybe some prefer the short flowering compact phenos cos they are easier to grow and they work better indoors ... and may other prefer the branchier taller more classic sativa phenos cos they are more vigorous and higher yielding.

My favourite Nepalese Jam expression has a sweet honey aroma, very resinous medium sized flowers of good density, strong uplifting effect that is quite long lasting (2 hours or more) and short flowering time (9 weeks or less). The non sweet, spicy incensey expressions are usually not so strong.

I usually prefer the taller Orient Express phenos, they take a bit more to flower but yield is higher than chinese indica pheno, with better flower/leaf ratio and stronger effect too. But you can find great expressions in both phenos (taller Vietnamese and more compact chinese), the aroma and kind of effect is usually quite similar between all the plants.
Select for vigorous easy growing traits, warm social effect and deep composted organic aromas.

Hope it helps, good luck!

 

[The Hatter]

I would love to flower all of them to see how they turn out but sadly the license I have is very specific about how many females I am allowed to have in flower so I am going to have to cut two of my babies down. I chopped the males today which was sad enough. Losing a couple of my favorite females is going to hurt. I've been considering chopping down the sorry looking super lemon haze and keeping either a second nep jam or orient express. They are much nicer looking and smelling plants.

Thanks for the input. I will probably pick the sweeter smelling and more vigorous of the Nep Jams as the keeper.

My two orient expresses are so similar I might just have to flip a coin. They are both thin leaved bushy sativa looking plants.

 

[mayan]

Can you keep some of the plants in veg, or clone 'em, so that you can great out the non-selected ones next time around?

Enjoy your grow...you have great strains!

 

[The Hatter]

I really wanted to get a few separate spaces put together for clones and also to flower the males separately, but just getting my original room set up has proven quite an expense so I'm afraid it will have to wait until funding permits or in the case of the males I just need winter to end.

I figure I can just dump the males off behind the shed or something during the warm months and water them occasionally. I doubt anybody would be stupid enough to steal a male... then again humanity never ceases to surprise me in this regard.

Although I certainly don't need a clone/mother box for purposes of improving my turn over rate and production, I do desperately want one so I can keep those special plants I find for years to come. It will likely be my spring project. I figure I can put one together for under $150. The fans and lights won't be anywhere as expensive as they are for the main room.

 

[The Hatter]

My favourite Nepalese Jam expression has a sweet honey aroma, very resinous medium sized flowers of good density, strong uplifting effect that is quite long lasting (2 hours or more) and short flowering time (9 weeks or less). The non sweet, spicy incensey expressions are usually not so strong.

Is there any particular pre-flower structure the sweet honey scented plants will have? I have one that is columnar and very vigorous with huge leaves. The other is smaller, bushier with smaller thinner leaves. I should add that both seem to vary a bit in odor although both have a sweetness to them now.

 

[bombadil.360]

phenotype expressions are not a reliable indicator of chemotype, is what dubi is trying to tell you; also, keep in mind that environment plays a big role in the development of pheno and chemotype, the only way to truly test which plant can be a keeper is through testing the harvest. good luck and peace!

 

[The Hatter]

I feared as much. I was just hoping there might be some sort of pattern. I'm having so much trouble picking which ones get to live and which have to die. It's such a shame. Oh well, I shouldn't complain. I should be happy that I am allowed to grow them at all. Thanks for the advice.