2nd Grow attempt

A rare 1982 strain of Durban Poison found on Strain.ly plus some wild South African Landrace sativas and a token Blue Dream CBD. Hoping to cross breed. Outdoor growing only, emphasis on living soil conditions. Fox Farm Ocean Forest plus worm castings, chicken manure, and homegrown compost.

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Lots of issues this week, weather being most of it. Went from 85 and blazing the 55 and pouring in 24 hours. To further complicate matters, I have something eating my plants. Guys at my grow shop seem to thing they are caterpillars, I think they are slugs, but so far I cant find the culprit. Dosed the whole yard with BT and a light neem oil mixture. That should kill the fuckers, if thats what they are. Sour Diesel CBD is a serious laggard still here. Trying to do my best to salvage the two that remain but I'm not hopeful. Still, I'm struggling here. Not much growth. Still signs of transplant shock with the Durbins and Blue Dream. Serious pest damage almost took out the Blue Dream but its holding on. Last year's grow was simple, this is testing my patience.

Had some setbacks. Unfortunately none of the Critical Sour Diesel survived. Cant tell what the issue was, but I have some extra seeds I'll start this week. The larger the seedlings get the less burning I'm seeing so I'm going to chalk it up to the compost I used in the mix being a little too hot. Also, temps in the 80s have helped quite a bit. Bugs keep munching on the Blue Dream CBD, but I'm dousing them with Trifecta every few days. It seems to have slowed whatever it was that was eating them. Completely laid off any and all nutrients. Cut back the watering. I realize that I transplanted into pots way too large for them, but its all that I had available at the time and they were dying pretty quickly in seed sprouter. Fun fact I learned about OG Durbin Poison, it absolutely DESPISES humidity fluctuations. After consulting with the guy who gave me the seeds, I came to find out that taking them from the humidity dome to any outside environment causes these issues. It also didnt help that we went from near freezing and 50s during the day to 85 in a week. Learning experience for sure. Pests are still an issue. I had to completely tear out the cabbage and kale that was growing. It attracts caterpillars like crazy. They werent around the last time I grew, so chalk it up to another learning lesson.

Pretty uneventful week. The new Sour Diesel started to sprout. I opted for direct pot planting because I'm lazy. 3 out of 3 sprouted so yay!. Pests are still an issue. I believe they might be cut worms as some smaller seedlings show obvious signs of cutworm damage. Dusted with a little bit of Azomite and humic acid this week. I noticed also that my soil PH is way lower than where I'd like it. I have absolutely no clue how it ended up around 5.5 but I'm going to try and raise it a little with some dolomite lime this week. **UPDATE** Tore off the top layer of mulch. Hand mixed in some perlite and vermiculite to seedlings and plants. It was indeed way too wet to have any growth. Also, something seems to have been using it as a litter box, which is gross. Had some heavy winds so I propped up a couple that seemed to be falling down. Thank you everyone for your advice.

Girls (and boys) are starting to stretch this week. Finally. Still havent sexed any of these plants. Still hoping for some males and females. The change in weather and the change in soil (adding vermiculite and perlite) have really helped. Wind has picked up, so adding humic acid was a must this week. Other than that, just water these past few weeks sparingly. Pest damage is still and issue, but seems to have subsided. Pulled a few caterpillars off the larger plants. Have several in backup in case I dont get males (or females). Sour Diesel CBD is still coming along nicely (at least better than the last one). South African landrace is still the largest by far, followed by the Blue Dream CBD.

No real issues this week. Its been dry and warmer. Some pest issues, but nothing too major. Girls and boys are starting to stretch. Still cant really make out the sexes just yet. Put some of the larger cuttings in a new soil mix. Want to see if it will jump start the growth.

South African Landrace is still the largest and gangliest by far. Its also asymmetrical in that its nodes shoot off in different directions, whereas the more tame breeds tend to shoot off branches pretty evenly. Very interesting to see up close.

Pretty normal week here, with no great weather fluctuations. Ladies have really started to stretch, which is a relief. I've got one Durban that perplexes me. Its growing almost like a willow tree. It seems healthy overall, but its leaves are thin, and they twist when they are young. Could be a variation, might be some sort of pest I'm not familiar with like root mites. Hopefully next week I can place the Sour Diesel in a larger pot. I'm always unsure as to when to do this as there are so many conflicting answers around.

A bit of housecleaning this week. Some of the smaller durbans got moved around along with the Blue Dream. The height of the nearby Durbans was putting a damper on sun exposure. I moved them temporarily to the center of the yard for more sun exposure. Its been consistently overcast and cool lately which is unusual for this time of year. A slight uptick in insects munching on plants but not much. I discovered some sort of bean plant growing in the Blue Dream which is odd because I dont remember planting a bean plant there. I blame the squirrels. I had to top them finally. Not because I am worried about yields mind you but they are starting to peak over the fence and the less nosy neighbors the better. Smell has noticeably increased. Probably around that period where they tend to start early flowering, at least with the Durban. The Landrace is showing signs of...well being wild. I cant even sex it after this many weeks, it just wants to grow. I dont expect much of a yield if its a female, but thats not why I grew it. I planned to backbreed it with the Durban just to see what I could get. Durban is showing signs of red streaking on some leaves, which is something I've never encountered with this strain before.

Lots of rain this week. Nothing major to report. Repotted some of the smaller Sour Diesels. No major issues to report, just hoping for more sunshine.

More rain this week. South African landrace doesnt like it much. Not a whole lot I can do about it. Also sprayed with neem oil as I found several large green caterpillars munching on my plants. Everything else seems to be taking it like a champ.

Not much of an update here. Still waiting on some of the wilder strains to sex out. I know most of them except for the damn Durban. Blue Dream CBD is really bushing up. Sour Diesels still lagging behind a few weeks. I've also started to encounter a weird leave discoloration on most of the plants. I'm on a reverse osmosis system, so I'm thinking it might be a CalMag deficiency? Not every plant has them, but its enough to cause some concern.

I topped most of these weeks ago. They dont seem to care. The largest Durban is over 9ft tall and still unsexed. Your guess is as good as mine. Lots of minor insect predation issues this week, and some weird leaf issues I've yet to rectify. I added some Cal-Mag to the watering schedule per the advice here and sprinkled some ground up oyster shells in the soil. Added some Bu's Blend Manure, which is a great local product here. Man, the Sour Diesel SMELLS. There isnt even any flowers on it yet and you can smell it from several feet away. I've got one Durban in a pot that had a sunflower randomly sprout out of it. Said pot has the same mix as everyone else but this Durban is a DEEP shade of green. I dont know if there is some weird synergy effect going on or this is just a random mutation. No other plants show excess nitrogen production. This isnt new, its always been like that. Also had my smallest Durban suddenly sprout burnt tips after adding the CalMag. No other plants have this issue.

WE HAVE PRE-FLOWER. Well, at least on two of my plants. Both the Critical Sour Diesel CBD and the Blue Dream CBD are now starting to flower. This is both good and bad. Good because weed, bad because I originally planned to breed them both with my Durban Poison. Unfortunately for me, I didnt take into account that Durban Poison takes about 10 more weeks to flower compared to their more tame cousins. Oh well, lesson learned. I'm finding it extremely interesting to me the difference between my wild and domesticated plants. Both the Critical Sour and Blue Dream are starting to line up colas on every surface, where the Durban and South African Sativas might as well be trees at this point. They seem completely uninterested in flowering, just growing. The largest Durban is more than 3 meters tall and thats with topping. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that one.

Bu's Blend manure went pretty far in clearing up the yellowing. I'm not sure if this is a local product or what, but I highly recommend it. Blue Dream has started its preflower, so kiss any change of breeding DP with it goodbye. Oh well. Not much of a status update here. Getting warmer and dryer. Winds in the forecast. No real major pest issues to speak of, which is...new.

Some minor pest issues, mostly due to the cat breaking off lower branches TO EAT. If I didnt have such large trees, I'd be pretty upset. Got a couple minor aphid infestations. Some weird unidentified bugs and a few grasshoppers who seem to leave my stuff alone for the most part. Added in some Mendocino Producers Choice 5-11-26 per advice here to start loading up on the carbs and potassium. The wilder sativas are still immature, which is nuts considering they are well over 10ft tall at this point. No other major issues to report.

Durbans really starting to stretch this week. They remain stubbornly un-sexed. I see how this strain might have been a pain in my ass for my dad back in the day, but its fun doing it the hard way sometimes. Still trying to figure out what to do with all of this when I'm done. I know it comes as a shock, but I dont actually smoke marijuana. I just enjoy gardening. Caught something laying eggs on a plant today. Cant tell what it was. Other than that, no real issues. I have some of the larger fan leaves falling off, but as far as I can tell its just normal growth. Caught a few grasshoppers hanging out too. They dont seem too interested in the plant, but they like to sleep in it.

I'm going to be growing these stupid Sativas forever. Dont get me wrong, I see the appeal of Durban Poison. Its a very pretty plant, and I'm told the smoke is wonderfully uplifting. But god, they take FOR-EV-ER. I wouldnt even be mad if they at least sexed out early. Nothing to major to report this week. The colas on everything that are flowering are looking nice. Cant really spot any major issues. Some larger fans continue to fall off. On a lighter note, I really enjoy growing outdoors as opposed to indoors. Specifically, I dont have to freak out every time I see an errant bug. I've counted a myriad of bugs that are considered "bad" to most growers. Caterpillars mostly, but also grasshoppers, bees, wasps and the occasional locust. Thankfully I have a well stocked bird feeder and the local songbird population has also taken up residence in my "trees" to keep anything from getting out of hand. The one benefit to massive sativas is that you dont freak out when you find bug damage either. The plant is so large you just leave it be. I've pretty much had a hands off approach going on 18 weeks now. Its way less stressful than smaller autos.

The largest Durban has finally showed its true colors! Balls I tell you! Balls everywhere! I didnt notice them because they were 12 FRIGGIN FEET UP. Most of the time people would be quite upset, but this is the only male I have in the garden and I specifically am looking to propagate seeds here. Namely, this extremely rare strain of Durban Poison that was left untouched by CAMP laws in the 80s. Fingers crossed I get a decent combo with the CBD heavy strains. Growth has seemed to have slowed on everything, thank god. The colas on both the Blue Dream and Sour Diesel are really bulking up. I've noticed the wasps and bees love the Durban Poison. The spiders and other bugs enjoy the indica plants more often, leading to a few heart attacks when you find thin webs on your plants. Lots of ant lions and lacewings, which is great. Been having to water twice a day due to the heat. The larger sativas definitely have a hard time with direct sunlight over 90 degrees. Sorry no Sinatra this week. Got the photos later in the day and she was asleep. A sort of related/unrelated rant: I want to start by saying that everyone on growdiaries has been nothing but nice to me, and super helpful at all times. But damn if other cannabis forums are toxic. You post one picture and a legion of so-called experts are telling you you are doing it wrong. I get it, my projects arent the way you'd do it. I'm not trying to maximize my yield and I'm not planning on selling it to anyone. No I am not planning on trellising them further or bending the branches. I try to touch these plants as little as possible, and only so to ensure their health. Will some branches break? In my experience no, unless we get some epic windstorms. This strain of Durban isnt bred to produce heavily loaded branches like the Dutch Passion stuff. Dont get me wrong, its a great strain, but not all Durbans are the same. I even had one commented on reddit go so far as to personally message me on how much of an asshole I was for purposefully growing males outdoors. Sorry dude, seeds happen sometimes. Try not to take it too personally. This is my father's strain, and my grandfather gave it to him. Its more a project of passion than an attempt to get stoned. If we get seeds, I'm happy to share it with others here and elsewhere, but not if they are going to be giant dicks about it. /rant

Everything was fine til it wasnt. Came out one morning after several days of tough heat and wind to discover what I believe is budrot and some other disease I cant quite identify. I havent changed up my watering schedule aside from the occasional afternoon watering due to excessive heat and the leaves curling back. On the other side a cola has formed what looks to be classic budrot.

The bud rot seems to be contained as of now. It was touch and go for a few days but the BT seems to have done its job. It still remains hot and dry here so watering once or twice a day is necessary. Per some advice regarding the Durban and the South African, this years soil has more sand and vermiculite in it. It causes me to water more often, but drains quicker and doesnt leave wet soil next to roots. It also makes the pots easier to move around. I'd like to point out they are rarely this close together. I mow the lawn on Fridays and have to pull them off. They are usually much more spread out. Im not sure if I'm on to something with the Blue Dream. One had a co-planting crop of wheat and barley grass, the other got nothing. As you can see the one with grass is doing much better. I dont know if this is just a phenotype thing or indica based strains do better with grass but it seems to be working out well. Thoughts for next year.

Nothing really to share this week. Except that I learned I'm right under the path of a police helicopter's morning transit. We are on my 23rd week and everything about my grow is legal, so its safe to say I dont need to be too paranoid, I just think its funny. So if you are flying a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department jet ranger, look down and say hello in the morning!

Critical Sour was a great grower and shower until the week it wasnt. I dont know if this strain is susceptible to caterpillars but my particular plant was hit hard just before harvest. I was able to salvage about 75% of the plant but the damage was done. We shall see how it cures. Plan to turn this into a pain balm and RSO. The Blue Dream CBD will take a few more weeks I think. It still seems in full veg mode despite sprouting at the same time as everyone else. The Durbans and SA Landrace will be harvested sometime in 2030.

Blue Dream CBD colas turned out smaller than the Sour Diesels, but there was much less loss due to disease. Got sick half way through harvest so not my best trim job. First batch of sour diesel sugar leaf was processed into balm which was desperately needed for my back. The only decent supplier here raised their prices and I'm certainly not dropping $70 on a bottle this size. The rest will be processed down into oil for capsules. My back is so thankful. Durban Poison is starting to really flower. I'd trellis but to be honest my ability to dry and store this amount of Durban is pretty limited and my curing process is pretty primitive. So if some break off, some break off. I've also never been so stoked to find seeds in my Sour Diesel. Im hoping the Diesel stuck around long enough to get some Durban pollen and this seems the case. Heres hoping for a decent cross. Also, for outdoor growers out there: I know we want to maximize our harvest and yields, but consider not killing every male plant you find. The male Durbans seem to be the honey bees choice for pollen in my neighborhood and the plant is literally buzzing. Its also attracting all sorts of other pollenators Ive never seen in the garden before. Some beekeeper is going to be very happy.

Not much to report this week. I've pretty much given up on the South African Landrace Sativa. I cant for the life of me figure out the issue of the leaves curling. I've literally done everything, and nothing, to try and fix it. Ive tried overwatering, underwatering, adding every nutrient under the sun. I've left it alone for weeks on end hoping it would just correct itself. If its a root mite problem, im SOL. The only thing I could possibly think of outside that is wind damage. I never thought it be so entertaining to grow male plants. I wake up, make coffee and sit about as close as I can get to the big ones. Theres at least fifty to a hundred bees on those plants at any given time and the noise they make is incredible. Everything else is on autopilot til late Septemberish when I even remotely think about harvesting.

Sorry for the lack of an update this weekend, I was out of town. Luckily I got the irrigation drippers to finally work. Not much of an update from hear on out I'm afraid. Most of the Durbans wont be harvested til October. Twin Sour Diesels will get put on the drying racks this week. South African Landrace doesnt look like its going to make it to flowering, which is disappointing. Just going to keep it watered and see what happens. I'm going to also have a major Durban Poison seed problem next month, so if anyone needs any, hit me up.

Not much of an update here. The forgotten Durban Twins in the corner turned out to be a male and female. They arent going to produce much, they are just fun to look at. I've decided to let the last Sour Diesel CBD go to seed. The caterpillars got to it and I'm out of BT. Plus, I've got quite literally pounds of flower on my hands. The rest of the Durbans are doing fine and should produce a ton of seeds. The South African Landrace seems to have stabilized a bit but I dont expect much from it.

No real update this week, so I decided to just show the rest of the garden. We've got all sorts of fun stuff. Some pumpkins growing for Halloween, some weird ukrainian stripped tomatoes that may or may not have passed through customs, various different heirloom corn varieties, three different types of peppers, cucumbers and gherkins and probably a couple things I forgot I planted.

After THIRTY WEEKS, we are done. Unfortunately the South African Landrace did not survive to produce anything. I will keep it around just for fun, but my growing season is over. I was initially unsure as to how many seeds each plant would produce. There really isnt a solid guide I could find anywhere. But given just harvesting a few branches, I'd say plants my size produce between 2 and 3 thousand seeds. Once Durban Poison gets pollinated, there isnt much flower left to try. These plants are just top to bottom seeds, which is great because that is the outcome I was looking for. Just going off the records my dad passed down, it wasnt a huge producer, probably 0.5-0.75lbs per plants this size. I'm sure if someone were to use it in a hydro system it would be much more. Its extremely pine forward, with earthy undertones. It can be pungent when flowering too. But given its height and the length of growing, I see why you dont see this strain much these days. Otherwise I'm very happy with this little family strain. If anyone wants any seeds of this heirloom variety of Durban Poison, feel free to email me at [email protected] . I obviously have a massive amount of seeds at my disposal.

This was a disappointing strain. It grew big, but then it just sorta died. I could never get the leaf curl to go away and could never tell what the plant wanted.