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Germinated 4x seeds of Sour 60 Regular for breeding, hoping to get at least one of each sex for the intention of seed yielding plants. These will in turn be used to create Feminized seeds in the next grow as I'd like to have regular and feminized seeds on hand in order for another project. Current dirt mixture (making 75% overall) is of almost 2/3 Miracle Grow Potting Mix (w/os. fert.), 1/3 super Brut soil, with the rest of the overall mixture being perlite in 3 pots with the last one just having Brut Super soil and perlite. Idea behind the MG is that cut down with another good soil, the fertilizer might last and won't have to use any nutes until flowering period. Lighting will be 24/0.
Plants are growing just fine, been watering with spray bottle 2-3 times a day, currently the Maxisun PB 2000 is at 40%, 2' away from the sprouts. Have noticed fungus gnats and have been spraying the Amazing Dr Zymes and turning the light off for 2-4 hours a day, have H2O2 and fly strips on their way, think the Miracle Grow soil was infected with the fungus gnats but we'll see. Hoping to get a gallon of solution to soak the pots upper soil, then hit it hard with Dr Zymes for 3 days. If gnats are still present, I plan on repeating it again a week later as it looks like their life cycle for larvae is 2 weeks and pupate for 8 days, if things don't run well I may just have to do it for a whole month. Difficulty is that I don't care to kill off any bacteria/fungus if I don't have to.
Overall the rate of growth has been impressive, compared to the last photoperiod C99 I grew, it's going twice the rate. The fact that sets of leaves are coming out this early is quite amazing. Hoping that over the next weeks the sexes show so I either ditch multiple males or segregate 1 male and 1 female together. Ideally 3 females and 1 male would make things easy, still hoping that I can mature one female out for some smoke-able bud.
Had to cull one plant as it was pretty much dead, I assume due to either fungus gnats or genetics, thinking probably both. Fungus gnats seem to have been taken care of, with a mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide, Dr Zymes, fly adhesive roll, and diatomaceous earth. Haven't really noticed which one works the best, assume that making the environment the least hospitable with all factors probably did the trick.
The new struggle has been increased humidity, running around 65% which worries me for another grow I have going on that is in week 5 of flower and has potential of being at the 1lb mark. So far it has been making a difference, it's a 1500sqft capacity in a 12'x12' room, has knocked it down to below 50% during a rainy day. Would recommend getting a decent dehumidifier going into flower for a first time grower.
Plants seem to be fine, even one that has some yellow patches which I assume were due to fungus gnats eating away at the roots. Size has increased significantly and different leaves are forming. Size differences are apparent, with the largest one in the Miracle Grow Mix, the non-MG plant is smaller as well as the yellowed one which is in the MG Mix but assume it's size was stunted due to the gnats.
Still haven't noticed signs of sex and sure hope to see them this up coming week. Overall progress has been great! Still trying to finish my other grow that isn't recorded but learning lots from a photo-period, biggest lesson learned was PH'ing water/feed as lockout sucks. Starting out, probably beneficial to have started with photo-period, although wasn't considered a beginner plant (C99) but going hard and having lessons learned definitely is more helpful than having something easy where there isn't hardship. I feel that most people want to grow without hardship and have the best results. Like everything in life, working your ass off, getting experience, and learning the hard lessons will always be the best route.
Plants continue to grow larger, of the three, one female and two males. Definitely going to let things go the course as there is an auto CBD type growing in their from Great Lakes Genetix, Atomic x Cake Fighter that I'll allow to get pollinated. Reason being is that the one female of Sour 60 is showing signs of nute burn and not sure how it'll do since the soil mixture has osmocote so I cant really do much but lesson learned. In the end, if I can get Sour 60 x Sour 60 seed it'll be happy but would settle trying a THC/CBDxTHC cross too...
Males are releasing copious amounts of pollen and the female Sour 60 has white pistils, should hopefully start seeing results in the upcoming weeks. Overall very happy in regards to progress, wish I could have had more than one female Sour 60 at least I'll have a CBD strain and see how that one works. Have noted that the soil seems pretty hot with miracle grows additives but plants seem to be growing right through it, since none of this will be for consumption it should be of interest how seed production fares. As far as when this grow ends, I do wonder how to report harvest. I think the number of seeds with an update as far has seed viability will be reported.
For whatever the reason there isn't really any clear documentation on producing seeds, be it photoperiod or autoflowering plants. I assume that content is primarily around just the growing of flower for consumption and making information easily accessible for beginners to novice growers. So far what I've gathered is that seed production takes a little longer and that certain safeguards should be done to prevent cross pollination on other plants. Further I've learned that males usually becoming sexually viable earlier than females by a week or two, along with water hurts pollen.
Some things I've read hinted at, and makes sense to me, that seeds will have to be fully developed and dried to some extent. I figure as long as the drying process takes place in darker settings, I'd try and collect seeds the best I can figure, whether it's by them falling or picking them when ready (timing I know nothing about). It also noted that seeds should be hard and for the most part stripped, if they break between the fingers, it's too early. Hopefully I can document a little more for others to learn by. At the very least I want this diary more for documentation on getting seeds from autoflower regular seeds. The next step will be making feminized seeds, which I plan on having more plants to try out on, with the exception of tossing out males and using a solution to stress flowering plants to turn into hermies.
So far, compared to photoperiod plants, autoflowering plants are probably the most interesting to grow. A whole lot less labor intensive with quick results making it good for ones ego. However yield will be a whole lot less but probably more fine tuneable since there will be less time and make it more about input and output of nutrients/light rather than veg time, training, etc. Current plants may change but a 4 plant scrog and a 5+ plant sog are planned however current breeding plans take priority as a lesson learning exercise with a good outcome allowing for further exercises in other areas that need to be learnt.
Pollinate the females very early, when they are just small "tufts" of white pistils, let grow for 4-5 weeks and bingo!
Remove the seeds from flowers, either when wet or dry.
I like to use a wooden bowl for seed drying, about three weeks, then store the seeds in an airtight container in the refridgerator until planting time.
Even just half a dozen branches pollinated will give you 100-400 seeds.
Just remember to use pollen from a pure male plant, pollen from a hermaphrodite will produce hermaphrodite dominant genetics in the seeds.
The female plants growing the seeds will need good hydration to produce decent seeds, otherwise, making/growing seeds is super simple with no real tricks or difficulties involved.
Obviously you will have to grow a male plant first and preferably in another location, unless you want your entire crop of females fully seeded! (Reversing females to make feminized pollen is technical and a bit difficult, much easier to do it the natural way)
Pollen can be collected and stored in a dry, dark and cool location, (but not in the fridge!) for later use, for up to 3-6 months with virtually no loss of pollinating power. I use a small paint brush to selectively apply pollen to the chosen female flowers, usually on the lowest branches, that way you can harvest the top of the plant and leave the lower section go a bit longer if the seeds still require extra maturation time. Pollinate the female flowers when it is windless. Fertilization only takes 30 minutes or less and after 45 minutes I spritz the pollinated flowers with plain water to neutralize any stray pollen and prevent unwanted windborne random pollination in flowers you want to be seedless further up the plant.
If you only have a small amount of pollen, it can be "diluted" with flour at a ratio of up to 50:1 and you will still achieve 100% pollination, as pollen is extremely fine and only one grain of pollen needs to land on a white pistil for fertilization to occur.
Naturally, all seeded flowers are sacrificial, so can be thought of as a stepping stone to a bigger picture.
Creating your own hybrids is an extremely rewarding and a fascinating hobby. I have created many strains, one in particular which contain genetics from Gorilla Glue, Girl Scout Cookies, White Widow, G-13, Black Domina, Jack Herer, San Fernando Lemon Kush and Cream Caramel; along with Nepalese, Jamaican, Thai and African land-race genetics too, really is quite spectacular, even if I do say so myself! This multi, multi hybrid has been a few years in the making and has become a real surprise pakage. I am almost satisfied with it so far, but I may introduce a bit of early finishing pure Sativa for a bit more zing!
Once you start breeding, you won't be able to stop, as there is always "what about if I introduce a bit of ...... " or "what if I cross this with that, or that, or that"
Good luck with your own projects, I guarantee you will love it!
Hope this helps or inspires you.
Cheers, Organoman.
Its been a week, looking through a jewelers loop, its interesting the difference between a developed un-pollinated bud to a pollinated one. The calyxes change to a darker green color than most bud I've seen with the hairs retracting into the them. In the past week noticeable swelling has occurred, though not large enough for a full grown seed. Trichomes have developed too, they went from clear to cloudy so some THC is present however if anything will be smokeable is beyond me, I doubt I'll do anything with the plant material to process it into smokeable or edibles.
The one Sour 60 female has been successfully pollinated at all bud sights, 2 male plants were probably overkill but with the physical attributes of both being slightly different ensures a wide range of genetics. Did find out that the Atomic x Cake Fighter is a photoperiod plant as it hasn't started to flower, reason for this is lack of information as it was a freebie. Will likely repot it and put it into another tent for a 16/8 schedule for a week or two, then do a 12/12 to start flower. It currently has about 8 to 9 nodes so it will have to be topped. It's leaves are very broad and doesn't look like cannabis and may have to try growing it outside this spring.
However, per answers, it should be interesting to see the late stages of seed development, hoping that it'll produce at least 100 seeds if not several hundred. Being that it's a whole lot of firsts, growing an auto, growing this strain, and growing seeds, it'll be interesting and has been a good learning experience. Did kill off the males as they're no longer needed, would say one male would be good enough for 4+ plants. Will have to try out some other autos, thinking some feminized ones as I haven't gotten a harvest off an automatic yet.
The plant is definitely showing the purple phenotype, it started off during flower a dark green and slowly changed to purple. Trichome production stopped but is still cloudy and the smell is pretty good but because of its size it's difficult to smell unless the fans are turned off that and my nose hasn't been the same since COVID. Seed pods are slowly maturing, not much size change from last week but I'd imagine it'll change the most nearer to the end of the plants lifecycle.
Probably have a few weeks to go before I start harvesting the seeds and hoping to try feminizing a Sour 60 next. Having my first grow under my belt and doing this one makes things seem easier than first thought. Hopefully my next few projects go equally well.
Been watering plant and added a little nutrients to help sustain the plant while seeds develop. Still don't know when they'll all be ready and I'm not impatient enough to harvest now as it may be too early. However I'm sure if I were to harvest I could get some usable seeds, as far as quantity I'd guess there would be 25-100 seeds at different stages of maturity. I have placed aluminum foil under the plant, it does act as a moisture/light barrier and does do a good job reflecting light up. Hopefully the reflected light helps the seed pods as nutrients seems to be leaching from the fan leaves to the central part of the plant.
Overall really happy with progress, don't know when I'll harvest because at this point I'm more liable to wait until they fall off on their own. To help it along, I've switched it to the flowering tent hoping that with the decreased light per day, it might try and finish sooner, if that is capable with an autoflowering plant, I don't know but the room it freed up in the veg tent has now been filled with new germinating plants.
Currently the plant is still rather healthy but nearing the end of it's life cycle. As much as the green color is leaving all the outlying leaves, a little purple remains and is starting to fade. Seed pods look like they're swelling up and the smell has been good but is starting to change from a sweet diesel to a sour one.
Current plan is to wait until at least a seed or two fall and then harvest, unless impatience happens...
Made it to the end and have seeds so that I can produce more and play around with autoflower genetics but more importantly use them a learning tool. Educating on not only getting more of a yield but rather the in's and out's of something. I think of it like digging a hole, in order to understand something deeper, the breadth of knowledge and experience allows one to dig deeper. Overall very happy with the end results! Hopefully the next plant of this grows some good bud to try out!
Grew a strain with 2 known phenotypes, one dong like and the other purple popcorn like. When you get a hybrid of the two where its a purple dong type and it produced seeds, what is the best way breed in order to retain the new phenotype?
You could grow multiple mothers, grow cuttings from each of the mothers and you will find where the pheno you want is concentrated and breed with those. Most genetics are hereditary and will follow down the line. But we all have the family member with the weird nose...I hope this helps...probably total bullshit but sounds right in my head
rightweedofthefreeworld
