ShishkaBerry Medical Clones

This is my second grow, but my first clone-grow experience. When I started this journal, the system didn't allow me to select clones so I chose Barney's ¯_(ツ)_/¯ I ordered clones from a licensed medical producer, WeedMD. They arrived on October 30, 2018. Per their tags, they had all been clipped from the same mother, on 2018.10.01. I'll tag the pics as the age of the clone/plant, so I begin the journal at Day 30, when they arrived. I was mildly disappointed in their variation in size. They all seemed healthy though.

Transferred them into their 3 gallon grow bags. All the perlite floated to the top, but they seem quite healthy. My metal halide bulb burned out after less than a week's use, so I'm using the high pressure sodium even though the lights are still 18-6.

They all seem pretty happy. Number 2 is slightly anemic, but number 5 is out of control so I guess they balance each other out? I prefer growing from seeds, as I'm not sure how to deal with the difference in height between 2 & 5. Also, this is my first time using grow bags to grow anything, and their floppy nature prevents me from doing the LST on some of the more stubborn soon-to-be colas. All pics taken on 2018.11.24 - Day 55 Light: 12 hrs 1000w HPS - Day 2 of Flowering Grow bags: 10.2" diameter X 9.1" tall without handles "3 Gallon"

Beautiful Shishkaberry clones looking healthy! I've noticed the flowering stretch just over the past couple of days. Added the Big Bud Powder @ 1 gram per 2 Liters Added Blackstrap molasses @ 2 tbsp per gallon Clone Day 58 - Flowering Day 6 Clone Day 62 - Flowering Day 10: pics show first signs of pistils!! Clone Day 64 - Flowering Day 12: Fed & Defoliated. First signs of trichomes. They smell GOOD! 😄

2018.12.07 - Clone Day 68 - Flowering Day 16 I'm struggling with how to address the significant difference in height between #5 and the rest of them. I much prefer growing from seeds, where I know how to top, manifold, and LST to create an even canopy layer.

2018.12.13 - Clone Day 74 - Flowering Day 22 I have no idea why #5 is so much taller than the others but whatever, I am NOT complaining! I'm so proud of my little garden {squeee!} 😃

I cut out the Big Bud powder per the manufacturer's own nutrient calculator (I'm still new so I'm just following directions for the most part as I continue to learn). They smell great and they look amazing - tons of healthy buds forming!! A couple of days ago I noticed salt stains on the outside of the grow bags, so I flushed all of them with plain, pH'd tap water at about 80F. They dry out much more quickly now as they get bigger, I try to make sure I don't over-nutrient them. Considering I'm still pretty new at growing, I consider this a good strain for beginners, as I really haven't run into any problems so far. I'm going to ask Santa for Barney's seeds for Christmas this year 😇 I also like that they're starting to look like the pics you see people posting around social media. They should be good to harvest in about 4 weeks.

2018.12..27 - ShishkaBerry Flowering Day 36 (Clone age 88 days) - looking good, smelling great, less than a month to go. Happy holidays everyone!

2019.01.05 - ShishkaBerry Clones Day 97 / Flowering Day 45. Looks like about 2-3 weeks to to go AND THEY SMELL AMAZING! I had a brush with nutrient burn a few days ago but they're recovering nicely. These are very hardy plants, very strong and healthy. Most of the colas are about 15 inches (38 cm) tall, but #5 is 23 inches (58 cm) and it's on the verge of falling over due to the weight (YAY!!) Some of the pistils are starting to brown & I've given them their final haircut. As this is my first "real" grow, I'm not sure how to estimate what the final yield may be but I'm hoping for 50 grams per plant per the clone producer. 2019.01.09 - ShishkaBerry Clones Day 101 / Flowering Day 49 (video) - two of them are top heavy to the point I've rigged a little cord around the stalks and Velcro-anchored them to the wall. I find that the trichomes of this strain are much smaller than the unknown bagseed I last grew. Do they naturally vary by strains or have I done something wrong?

2019.01.10 ShishkaBerry Clones Day 102/Flowering Day 50: Well, this is the beginning of the end, the 8th week of flowering. Barney's Farm lists flowering time for this strain between 49-56 days, so I'm just waiting for more of the pistils to turn amber and then it's harvest time! I've just given each of them 12 litres (~3 US gallons) of plain pH'd ice water and I'm keeping the room cooler now. The trichomes are small enough that taking a clear pic is difficult, as I am using the magnifier feature on my phone but my hands shake a bit (as does the plant!) I've also just realized that come harvest time, I'm not going to be able to cut down and work on all 5 plants in one day as part of my medical condition involves joint instability which causes a lot of pain. I suspect I'll do 2 plants one day, 2 the next and the fifth on the third day. I understand there might be differences in the smoke experience so I'm actually not concerned that I have to take more time than some might. Finally, my last grow (which was my first grow), I accidentally over-dried the harvest to the point that the buds mostly crumbled to powder at the touch, so this time I'm going to do a few things differently to avoid that mistake (my apartment's really dry). I'm going to water them right up until the last minute, I'm going to cut them at the base and hang the whole plant upside down and I'm not going to wet trim the sugar leaves. I'm hoping this allows them to dry slowly.

2019.01.18 - ShishkaBerry Day 110 / Flowering Day 58: Well clearly I've stalled them as they appear almost identical to last week. I'm pretty sure I let them get too cold. Temps are back up and I hope to harvest next week (should have been this week). Live and learn! 😕

So in the last couple of weeks I tried to make the night time temperature go down enough for them to turn color and they did - the sugar leaves turned a deep bluish green, really nice coloring! I harvested over a 2-day period. Day 1 I hand-plucked the sugar leaves off plants # 1, 2, & 3. Day 2 I hand-plucked plants 4 & 5, trimmed all of them and cut them down whole. I hung them to dry in my closet/former grow room with a boot tray of water with a towel for evaporation. My last grow was a disappointment in the end due to me not realizing how dry it is in the house (here in the living room it's 19% RH due to it being January in Canada and the hot water heating radiators are going full time). When they were dry enough, I did the final trimming, removing all the waste and dividing the buds into 2 classes: Top tier which are the nice tops of the big colas, and 2nd tier, which are the rest. I think I'll learn to make hash with the 223 grams of wet sugar leaves. I'll be adding more to this final entry in the coming days - this has been really tiring! Final numbers for 5 ShishkaBerry plants: Top tier buds (dried not cured) 372g 2nd tier buds (dried not cured) 150g Hand plucked sugar leaves (wet) 223g Waste (Sticks, stems, burnt leaf tips) 128g I'm basing my comments on the taste by the glove-hash I smoked - wow it's really good! I'm looking forward to next month when these buds will be ready to enjoy 😁 I'd like to thank all my new friends here and the other growers that have helped me along the way 😚 Finally, I left you with an outtake video from one of the defoliation sessions 😺 Stay tuned for updates... UPDATE 1: Today I might have made some tincture or something, not sure. I slow-roasted the dried but not cured previously hand plucked sugar leaves and crumbled them up and put them in a mason jar (51 grams 100% dry weight) and added a little bottle of Absolut Vodka (375 ml). I shook the mixture vigorously for a couple of minutes then placed it in a cool area of the house to sit for a few weeks before a first test - not totally sure what I'm doing here). UPDATE 2: Possibly made Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) out of the Alsolut vodka - ShishkaBerry mixture: I strained it so that there was no plant material, reduced it in a double boiler style, not sure what to do with the gooey stuff that's left as a result.