Jamaican Pearl

Blackbird_diary Sown somewhere at the end of April and now finally hoping to have started flowering. It's typical for this strain to have a pronounced pre-flowering, but the actual flowering comes quite late for seeds that are labeled as outdoor varieties. Last year, I saw more than half disappear due to rot; even then, these seeds were very late to flower. I find it particularly strange because I've grown this strain before and was able to harvest in September. Will this be my last sensi grow, or will they surprise me after all? To be continued…

Blackbird_diary Second week of flowering, slow but steady, can't say much more. Discoloration on one branch that got a bit torn by the wind but it'll be fine 😊

Blackbird_diary The flowering is really starting to get going now since the last stretch seems to be over. They are beautiful lush plants, it's week 3 and they are already starting to produce resin, so that’s promising. However, I remain disappointed in the slow start of the flowering. It will be a fight against the weather influences, and I can only hope for a good outcome. Jamaican Pearl doesn't really seem to be that outdoor strain from back in the day anymore, I also don't notice those typical Jamaican traits anymore. Maybe I just had bad luck with this pack of seeds 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

Blackbird_diary It's starting to progress, this week the ladies took a great leap thanks to the good weather. The fertilizer pellets I added to the soil before flowering seem to have been fully absorbed by the soil life, and that's visible in the leaves. The plants look amazing right now, and the buds are really starting to form. The smell is still subtle but already reminds more of the Jamaican genetics. 🍀

Blackbird_diary Week 6 has passed and I'm happy with how she's developing. 1 of the 2 plants clearly shows deficiencies, but I suspect this is due to the dryness of the past weeks and that I haven't given enough water. It's no longer the intense heat, and there has been some rain, but apparently not enough for the plants. During this wetter period, I might dare to forget about watering since it rained now and then, but way too little... I gave them a layer of worm castings 2 days ago and watered them well and deeply. The dryness will come to an end this week, and the weather will start shifting to autumn. I'm holding my breath for these flowers, but every week is now an extra week. They're already producing a ton of resin, so if it leads to an early harvest, I can at least make some nice hash, although I do hope for ripe flowers 🤞🏼🍀🌸

Blackbird_diary Week 6 is coming to an end and as you can see, fate is striking, I've been pulling rotten buds from the plants for 4 days in a row. For a plant that needs to flower for at least 9 weeks, it’s still very early, so I'm trying to delay the full harvest for as long as possible. The weed itself looks mega beautiful already, and you just know these could be gems, but having to deal with bud rot this early for a strain that Sensi Seeds claims is highly suitable for outdoor growing feels premature. This is the second year in a row, and this autumn hasn't been extremely wet at all, quite the opposite... Sensi is a Dutch company, and you would think their outdoor strains would be really suitable for the lowlands, especially since they claim it with a lot of big words. A few years ago, I had 3 Durbans from them, and they mostly succumbed to rot as well... Both Durban and Jamaican Pearl used to have much less trouble with that. You would think that after so many years of breeding these strains, they would be getting better at handling the weather, but the opposite is true. It's a shame and very ironic that certain Spanish seeds are early, fast, and super resistant... I don't see why I would ever want anything from Sensi in my garden again; you simply can't trust the genetics, and every time it's a lottery where you see the most beautiful buds disappear or get mangled by rot. It's a shame because there is potential in them, but if you can't finish them, it's pointless and a waste of all the space and time you gave them.