Russian Rocket Fuel - 10 reg Auto seeds

[wlfdgcrkz]

I have time to kill and wanted to make some seed and mess with autos (and some other random seed) while waiting for some regular clone-only mothers to mature for future cloning. I live in Southern California. Indoor grow rooms and outdoor porch will be used. I am fully compliant with state and local law.
Temps are up and down right now in la. I need to replace this a/c quick.

Some days have been in the 90’s . Even with good ventilation in the room, the intake air has been very hot. Temps in that little veg area have gotten into the mid 90’s. This is with more than adequate ventilation and fresh intake. It seems there is no way around the need for a/c, air-cooled lights or whatever. Even in april.

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

Temps, humidity and genetics. I bought 10 reg Russian rocket fuel seeds from a attitude. I got them in about 10 days in a bag that was hanging closed by a thread of glue. I got a mug, 10 reg rrf, free sharksbreath and free cole train (ufo’s both fems).


4-7-10 started the seeds in tap water. Several cracked within 2 days others took up to 4 . Once cracked I planted in rapid rooter’s under a misted dome. The 10 rrf and two freebies all germinated within 8 days. Some of the rrf’s were tiny. Viable obviously but tiny little seeds.




After roots grew from the plugs i planted in Ocean forest and chunky pearlite. About 8 parts ffof and 2 parts chunky pearlite.
The little seeds did not burn but they seemed stunted a bit for a while. They got dark green leaves that curled under a bit. Lacked any kink of vigorous new growth. Meanwhile other seedlings regular strains did fine with this mix.

Recall the a/c situation. Some days in the mid 90’s. By the 27’th of april , 3 weeks after the seeds were placed in water, 8 of 10 of the rrf’s showed completely male On a positive note, 2 of the males were super vigorous and bushy. As if they started 10 days prior to the others. The 2 males I moved to the back porch.


Humidity.. My intake space near the floor of this grow room has a slotted bucket from an old vaporizer. Intake air flows over this water. I also have several containers about with water. Humidity still stays in the 30’s during the day. According to common belief this too could lead to higher male ratios.


Thats 80% males.
I know folks differ on their opinions of the hotness of foxfarm. I think that my fox farm ocean forest mix was too hot for my rrf seedlings, even with plenty of chunky pearlite. About ½ the seedlings got real dark, dwarfed and began to curl under a bit (no burning tips). Several males clearly did better (there were more of them and they were far more vigorous) but im waiting to see what happens to the prospective females once they snap out of it.
I replanted the remaining females in a diluted more aerated mix. Possibly my temp situation encouraged the ratio, perhaps I should, make some feminized seed as well as the reg. Ive heard people say autos can have poor m/f ratios even under better conditions. I’ve also heard people say stuff like they got 80% females.

 

[uptosumpn]

here for the ride....

 

[anikas88]

sitting back and smoking to this

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

Seeds placed in water 4-7-10
Today is 5-1
I'm using a 400 watt mh 24/7. Tomorrow i will likely switch to 18.

Only 2 female rrf's remain. They are just starting to flower and perking-up quite nicely. Probably both time and the diluted soil mix helped.They are short and full.


There are some future moms in the room now keeping the girls company. Blue Dream Haze, Sharkbreath and Cole Train. There are 2 freshly rooted and transplanted clones, larry OG and Tahoe OG.


The 2 best males (easy choice) were put out back on the porch.

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

I should have taken care of the heat issue prior to starting these seeds. Life goes on. My goal is to grow some seed. Im thinking that autos can be a fun easy plant to grow outside virtually any time of year. With various degrees of productivity depending on available hours of daylight of course. Although im not in-love with the 2 female plants It likely the conditions i subjected them to rather that the strain itself. Perhaps lower temps and a light nute ebb and flow would have been better but im still in business.

Here are the 2 males and 2 females side by side. I did not want them to get too close to each other because of potential bug infestation.

 

[uptosumpn]

WOW! 8 males! that's goota suck! but on the bright end of the specturm, u can make seeds to recoupe your losses...about the humidity: autos especially, NEED HIGHER humidity! @ least 60% during first 2wks...more blue light helps too as far as more females...also next time try FF light warrior instead of FF oceans forest to start em' not so HOT! or try Pro-mix BX/HP...no nutes in it...JMO! Jus started germing my 5 RRF fems yesterday..chk out my GJ when u can...

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

Thanks uptosumpn. I didnt know that autos were even more dependent on humidity than non ruderalis type strains.
Also re the light warrior. Do you think a 100% lw medium is better than some sort of lw + ocean forest + additional peralite mix?

 

[uptosumpn]

I think the LW with added perlite<35% would be better..JMO!

 

[TokerOftheSouth]

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!

 

[Dog5tar]

I just do not get the high ratio of males this year.

I've been following several grow threads across different forums and it seems to me that 60-80% males is not uncommon this year.

I grew AFs last year with great success - RRF was easily my favourite, in terms of what the plant looks like, yield and high.

Last year's haul all told was 5 runs of 5 seeds (AF), plus some Columbian Gold outdoors. From 27 seeds I had 7 males & 20 girls.

This year, I've popped 12 beans so far and got 4 girls, a hermie and 7 boys.

OK, mathematically speaking it should even up at 50/50 over time - however, in previous years, going back 10 years, the ratio of girls to boys has been a pretty constant 70/30.

Any ideas as to what's going on? Do seeds sprout m/f (ones that haven't been b*ggered about with, silver nitrate, etc), or do the plants 'decide' their sex after they've started growing?

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

Seeds placed in water 4-7-10
Today is May 8 2010
Here is that little veg room. Still at 24 hrs 400w mh because i have some unrooted cuttings on the floor of that room (not shown).


here are the 2 rrf females. I started pollinating the very lower pistils on the rrf #1 which is exhibiting more of a full-flowering growth pattern. RRF female #2 is still pushing new shoots and leaf growth. So i have not messed with that one yet.

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

The males on may 8 2010.




I have been selecting individual swollen and mature sacks and have been hand pollinating individual lower pistils on rrf female #1.

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

Dog5tar you have more experience with this but i would not use my 8/10 m/f ratio as totally indicative of the ratio of this strain or even the batch of seed i got in the mail. My temps for a while were in the mid 90's during the day. From my understanding, high temps just prior to a plant showing, wether photoperiod dependent or not, can have influence on gender.

Ive never grown autos before so this is kind of fun. They are funny plants.
If im able to produce some viable seed id certainly just grow them outdoors. In terms of producing a reliable supply of extra medication, forget it. Indoors it may be a waste of resources, space and time. In my opinion the greatness of indoors is the ability to to totally control your environment. We can take a freshly rooted clone, veg it under 24 hrs for a few weeks and then move it to 12/12. We control everything. We maintain an even canopy and plants ripen with regularity.
Thus far the bushy pheno that is all over the net has eluded me in its female form. Probably not statistically surprising as i had an 8 male of 10 seed ratio. Perhaps one of my 2 males will help with that.

 

[uptosumpn]

The RRF are looking great bro!!!! BUT, mines are ???? NONE have sprouted yet!!! They have been in jiffy pellets for 4 days now since showin a lil' tap root....just keeping them moist and warm in humidity dome with heating mat.... how long did it takes yourz to sprout after dropping in water???
BTW, they are fems!!!<so that makes it even more frustrating.....

 

[feziuu]

Nice plants for see.
Go out with the best men and go with him to out, female in box. You can made some nice seeds

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

4-7-10 started the seeds in tap water.
Today is may 11 2010.
The pair of females:


I have been selectively using pollen from male #1 on the female #1's lower pistils. Today I collected pollen from male #2 for the first time. Its a more squat plant that is bursting pollen about a week after its brother. Basically i look at the plants every morning to see if any sacks are swollen or bursting. Ill pick individual mature sacks and put them in a dish. They dry for a while and then i can help the powdery yellow pollen out of the sacks. From there i just use a little paint brush to go over selected pistils on selected lower shoots.

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

RRf female #1 always seems to love to complain about heat. The fan leaves always look heat stressed. I have tried to move her for a few hours even to the floor to the room. The fan leaves always have that sharp upward bend in them. There is no burning and the temps here in the valley have been really cool. The canopy temp is about 85. I guess thats just how she goes. I am pollinating her with my best male.

From what i have read the size of my females at 5 weeks may not be totally indicative of the growth pattern of rrf's or ruderalis a/f crosses as a whole. I mean gosh my flowering females are small. Silly small. Like a freak-show. I may have 5-6 weeks remaining for the later-flowering rrf female #2 and she is certainly going to be larger then rrf female #1.

It will be interesting for me to see the difference between 24/7 metal halide and early spring (april/may) available daylight in terms of growth, maturation and ultimate productivity.

Anyone think, once i kill my outdoor males, i should move my 2 rrf females outside? Im weighing turning this little are into a mother area for 4 plants.

 

[I'm Dykster]

I have never grown that strain before but I have grown some autos outside and they seem to do much better inside with more light. I didn't have much success with them and then one day I understood that autos are a little different than non autos. I have 4 rubbermaid tubs under 2 400 hps and got over a pound from 2 tubs in 9 weeks.
You are doing great...autos love lots of light imo. I am not an expert ..just what I notice in my grow. Nice thread...sorry about the boys...seems to be happening a lot...sent a friend some bs and it was 80% males.

 

[wlfdgcrkz]

RRf female #1 burned today. It was about 86 canopy level but the light have been low. Not shocking. RRf 2 is more vegetative and fared far better even though its taller in the canopy. Regular strains are all fine.