BBB#1 - BeansByBeans 2020 (I)

BeanswithPork, the next chapter... This will be my first breeding diary. Those in my internal circle knew this was coming, and so it shall be a fun one to narrate with a variety of possible outcomes. The naming convention is the first (#1) breeding diary overall, and the first (I) in 2020. My diary, my rules. The Purpose: Create a bunch of dank and charmingly inconsistent regular seeds, to then plant for the purpose of harvesting the females for product, and tossing the males. Generally, I will be working with the parents, and first generation offspring seeds only. Cloning favorable offspring for my own personal harvest cycle is on the table down the line. Feminizing is not in the cards and not part of my purpose. Selection in general won’t happen and even though it may appear I am systematic and organized, you aren’t *really* doing breeding without planting many and taking the best of the best. I anticipate many first crosses over the next year, plus. I’m not settled on pollen collection, but reproduction will largely happen naturally and with fan dispersal. What am I looking for? I find many strains to be similar, or overly crossed. I only grow photoperiod plants. I won’t criticize distributors, they provide good plants often as freebies, and under great conditions they can be grown into beast plants (I’m not at the level to turn everything into gems). But they have gone way too far down the circle of flavour rabbit holes, fast flowering/autoflowers, and just generally a wash of distant genetics. There is also the overhyped mystery designer world of cannabis seeds. I have particular tastes, oftentimes traditional, and sometimes niche, and so this is a half-rogue venture. I want to take some of the novelty and specialty strains that I seek, and have them take a step back with basic or landrace strains. Its a sham to say I’m ditching the mainstream if I am am just buying genetics from distributors and then crossing. But I bet I can make a bunch of regular seeds for cheap, the variety huge but some will be kickass, and the thing isn’t that hard. I will have total control and lets be honest thats what I really want. I will also have a large amount of regular seeds for my growmies if they dare play with the males. You know my policy: free seeds, free clones, free bud 🤙🏻🐒 The Setting: The entire process will start in my 4’ x 4’ vegetation tent which has two generic 300 actual watt full spectrum LEDs. The tent is hung mylar in an unfinished basement. The breeding will take place in another 4’ x 4’ tent with LEDs, my original tent. This will provide a nice contained environment, but more on that when its time. The Lineup: First up to the plate are the two freebies I received from ordering seeds through True North Seed Bank. They are great! I highly encourage checking them out for your next seed purchase. The two regular seeds are Original Afghani #1 by Canuk Seeds. This was a strategic freebie and I am really hoping one is a male 🤞🏻. To temporarily expand on this hope, I’ve planted three regular seeds for the first go (see systematic/organized but not really selecting), so the worst case scenario is three of the same gender , of either gender. Three males means I’m losing good opportunity and I can only half preserve this strain. Three female means I’m delayed in breeding, but not the worst case! But this strain is then lost. Both Original Afghani #1s being female or male is a bummer but can be partially preserved which is why I planted a third and similar seed to follow-up. But first, lead-off. Of course, the ideal scenario is one male and female and I can backcross and get many of this strain. “Afghani No 1 is a traditional landrace strain collected in the mountains of Afghanistan by Sacred Seeds in the 1970s. It was one of the first pure indica true-breeding strains used in worldwide cannabis breeding programmes. It is well known for its dense buds, copious resin production and its excellent properties for hashish production. ... Afghani No 1 is a vigorous growing yet small bushy plant, with a strong stem that is renowned for its strong aroma when flowering.” Batting Second: I want to minimize my waste but also increase and/or ensure chances so I planted a third regular seed, which is actually my TrueNorth order. This single seed is Afghan Hash Plant by Canuk Seeds. The strain doesn’t appear in the generated list. It is intentionally another similar landrace, both in terms of my tastes, but also in terms of selecting similar genetics to raise seed stock and preserve early on in my program. I’d like for the Original Afghani #1s to produce one male and one female, and this be female, and I can do a nice cross off the top. The description: “Acquired from heirloom gifted genetics, [a] pure landrace indica. The Afghan Hash Plant gives a spicy, fuel, hashy aroma accompanied by a earthy, woody taste, with vanilla undertones. Unlike typical Indicas our Afghan Hash Plant has a slightly stimulating effect with many users describing it as a euphoric, uplifting, creative, relaxing and an extremely long lasting experience. Afghan Hash Plant typically stays short and stocky producing light green, dense buds, heavily frosted in trichomes.” This is Day 1. I germinated the seeds in a peat pod in a cup with HP Pro Mix and Myke Flower mycorrhizae. Took just a couple and Afghan Hash Plant was the first to appear followed by Original Afghani #1 (A). I have some ideas in mind, now its a question of what do I have lined up in terms of timing and tastes, that I want to potentially breed and add to this diary? *Day 2 edit: Hey-Oh! The second Original Afghani #1 has emerged. Thats all three regular seeds emerged.*

Day 8 for the first Beans breeding program involving Original Afghani #1 and Afghan Hash Plant. Big plans in the works (not really), but I did spend all week thinking of this particular grow. I’m going to tease the potential crosses, ... will it be the clones in the veg. tent? I thought a few, actually. But then clones take off and you forget how long seedlings take. So, I will have to figure out my options - no tease this week. The seedlings look great though. Just watering regularly and watching them get batted around by the fan breeze and toughen up.

Day 15 for the breeding diary *potentially* including Original Afghani #1 and Afghan Hash Plant. I transplanted the regular seedlings into larger containers filled with HP Pro Mix with a small amount of worm castings and perlite, Myke Flower mycorrhizae, and 4-4-4 All Purpose Gaia Green. The root structures were a pleasant surprise - healthy! I treated the top layers of soil with potassium based insecticide soap and neem oil as I saw fungus gnats buzzing around. I just want to be thorough. I’ve narrated some clone struggles here and in other diaries, so I had to ensure the valued reader some excitement with this breeding diary. If I acted now, I could plant a female seedling and add a guaranteed cross breed. Do I have copious amounts of single female seeds on hand? And which one? 🤔 Presenting Chrystal by Nirvana Seeds which is a cross of White Widow x Northern Lights. I gifted a seed of this to a good friend, GreenHouseLab, who is crushing it, thats all I need to see. I’m willing to bet I get a sample of that plant (not a hint), and so yes I would be willing to fully sacrifice a seed to a breeding of a strain I have yet to grow out. I think Afghani or Hash Plant would blend nicely with the genetics, note that Northern Lights has Afghani and Thai genetics. And who doesn’t love White Widow, classic. A safe play, but this is my first breeding experience afterall. An observant reader would ask about the apparent other seedling container in the back ground, and the showman in me would say, “stay tuned.”

Day 22 for the Afghan Hash Plant or Original Afghani #1 breeding diary (the age of those plants). Some discolouration on one, otherwise no change other than growth. Everything seems fine and any would be suitable as males. The Chrystal seedling is doing well, growing away and very soon ready to be transplanted. I had my heat pump installed and though its not using the air conditioning because of the season, I have the centralized fan circulating the air. In general, its likely just on the fringe temperature wise, right on the (shelf on the) ground. Not concerned but I suspect the environment is not completely ideal. Now, revealing next hopeful bred female, but first ... a story. I broke a glass piece of my vaporizer, “nooooo 😫🙀” pretty much the worst thing other than running out of weed. Rather than order online I force myself to partake in one of my favourite activites, the local headshop visit. This presents an oppourtunity to purchase seeds and I highly encourage everyone other than those in strictly policed jurisdictions to buy locally and open yourself to random strains or distributors. Much more adventure and much more fun. So, I chatted up the two ladies running the shop and eventually spent way more on other supplies than replacing the glass piece - I got seeds for breeding. I was looking for a potential future male but the selection was more limited than usual, so next I looked for a female to breed knowing I could quickly fit it into the current generation. Here is Jack Herer by House of the Great Gardener. All my seedlings have been germinated in a peat pod, in HP Pro Mix, with Myke Flower mycorrhizae. A “BC favourite,” I like the Canadian 🇨🇦 description. A general rundown of specifications just through Google lists it as a byproduct of a skunk and northern lights (I’m being general). The pine is not my preferred aroma, but I have noted how this strain is often bred, and is a cliche stoner favourite, so it seems fun. I had never heard of the distributor and this is the fun of the local headshop. In the group shot you can see lots going on, do I have more females to breed? Tune in next week, same channel! (I have to maintain ratings)

Day 29 for the breeding diary. Lets go through the lineup! The Afghan Hash Plant has not liked me mucking around with pH, CalMag, and the like. I did clean up some discolored leaves from last week because it had been replaced. I felt guilty before photos and did some last second training - made for bad photos, sorry. The Original Afghani #1s are looking good. ‘A’ seems typical, what I expected. ‘B’ is a beast! Looks at those roots. Thick, strong stem. MASSIVE fan leaves with the widest fingers I’ve grown to date. I am really sad I didn’t snap an effective pic before doing the LST. If any of these three are males, I am hoping for this one! For all three of those plants I transplanted this week into HP Pro Mix with a small amount of worm castings and perlite added, 4-4-4 Gaia Green All Purpose and Myke Flower mycorrhizae. The same goes for the breeding females, same soil treatments and transplant this past week. Chrystal, looking fine. No changes! Jack Herer, still having some issues and showing some funk in the leaves. I regret if this is a mutation, but what can I do? I’ll continue through I guess, I’d regret pulling the plug on the breeding. Now, a newcomer ... a Beans favourite ... Romulan! Of course! I’ve had this clone sitting for quite some time, an early rooter before my recent return to success. Thus, its well advanced. It has taken some time to produce normal vegetation though. Romulan comes from Lucky 13 seeds - one of my favourite distributors. This is a “legendary line” in terms of genetics, offered by them. I’ve grown it before! My inlaws are computer programmers, non-stoners, but gifted me some basic sensing technology for fun using basic, cheap tech including Raspberry Pi. I have the ability to play with sensing particles of particular sizes or temperature and humidity which I have included graphs of. I can also upgrade to CO and CO2 if I wish as my friend is handy too. Displaying both yesterday and part of today, you can see where I irrigated last night. Are you surprised by how high-tech. this is for this monkey? 🐒

Day 36 for this Beans breeding diary. No major changes for the core group which I will list. I am also including temperature and humidity data for yesterday and part of today. Everyone just maintaining green and getting bigger. In order: Afghan Hash Plant; Original Afghani #1 A & B. Hopefully one of these three are males! Otherwise, this will be one kickass fem. diary. From there: Chrystal, Jack Herer, and Romulan. Okay, time for a big liquidation sale. I had to organize, purge, make a call on all my clones, and so these are the last reveals for the first breeding diary. Three clones to finish the list. I recently let my tent dry out, more than expected, and so the last of the new additions sustained some leaf damage as it regained hydration. Lets get on with it. First, ... Slurricane. Straight from the heart of Ontario and BudXs (and actually InHouse Genetics) this is a cherished piece of genetics that has been passed to me (and to others). The lineage is Dosidos X Purple Punch. I have not finished a Slurricane yet, the mother is currently in flower, but I assume this would be a kickass opening breed. Second, Remo Chemo. This piece of lineage comes from Dinafem. Not the fastest grower and so I’m not expecting anything supreme, but my experience of the final product is that it is a hard hitter. There is a reason I have went back at growing it. This is a backcross so the genes are Remo Chemo x Remo Chemo. Delicious Candy from the distributor Delicious Seeds. The genes here are Cheese x Carmelo. For Delicious Seeds, Cheese is Skunk and Kush, and Carmelo is Lavender and a parent that includes Super Skunk, Big Skunk Korean and Afghani/Hawaiian. I was not planning on crossing such a complex and convoluted parent all, I’ve been trying to keep things basic (not really, but thats what I’ll say). When I was consumed all day and all night with this project and over analyzing every detail, my plan was to pass. Since then, Delicious Candy (the mother) has blown me away with vigor, strength, size, off branching, and most importantly the flowers. So, ... I have to!

Day 43 for the first breeding diary by BeanswithPork. Things are looking good, at the very least some plants are going to get mature together. My climate had a really warm, humid, but sunny October day, I was able to capture many (about twenty) ladybugs for the tent. Bigtime score. I anticipate they are nearing death and want to hibernate, but useful to see if they have a food source - pests. The Afghan Hash Plant and Original Afghani #1s were in desperate need of a drink before photos. They are also in need of a transplant which will happen tomorrow or early this week. I suspect the root systems will be great. Crystal and Jack Herer desperately need transplants. They are comically tall/stretched for the size of the containers. They also have thicker stalks midway where they poke above the canopy and into the fan, and not supported by other plants. I will be doing some LST anyway. Romulan is in a larger container but the leaves and stem make me suspect it would benefit from fresh food and soil. Slurricane is also in need of a transplant, especially considering how small the container is. Remo Chemo looks fine but would eventually follow the rest in need of transplants. Delicious Candy is similar to Slurricane in terms of size, container size, and needs. Overall, I’d say about three to four weeks to go before the show. Remember, we are just producing seeds, not buds, so the approach is different in terms of preparing nutrients and what we are looking for.

Day 50 for the first BeanswithPork breeding program. Lots of green, healthy plants if not a bit stretched, but going good! But first .... I just found out about a local to me breeding program. 🇨🇦 Oh! What a surprise. I mean they don’t have MY Flair (Wooooo), but they seem pretty legit. Check them out here: https://www.maritimeseedco.ca Check out their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGSOr5vsn93/?igshid=13l53dt4o4nwz Oh, and if you want to test out some of their seeds for free maybe you should sign up here and tell them I sent you: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQcyfTkhRYdOhBuWQs1VXZFfn7EcVnJsut_8dKfewCBfOp3g/viewform Now, back to my seeds which are just way more relevant to my ego. The three potential male suitors got transplanted into larger containers of HP Pro Mix, some worm castings, perite, 4-4-4 Gaia Green All Purpose, and Myke Flower mycorrhizae. Roots look good. I ended up topping just to help the overgrowth. All transplants mentioned after are into the same mix. Chrystal was transplanted into a larger container and given some LST. I topped this one in the hopes that the shift of horomones would help with the pitiful side branching. The plant is just getting totally overcrowded and stretched. Jack Herer also got the transplant treatment and is in the same situation as Chrystal. I would like to explain some of the droop/flop. My oldest kid awoke in the morning mid chores, and I didn’t notice this plant sitting beside my furnace was in a draft of warm air. I came back some time later and it was like “ughhhh.” Not great pre-photo conditions. Romulan got transplanted. The leaf petioles went purple and it is droopy like nitrogen. I really find this strain doesn’t need high levels of food. It needs constant food, but not alot of it. Difficult. Slurricane was transplanted and is stretched. A little LST at least gives a chance of multiple crowns. Remo Chemo is in need of a transplant this week. The side branches are desperate for light. Delicious Candy was transplanted and given LST. Looks good. All the plants were proactively treated for pests using Safer’s potassium based soap and neem oil. Gotta pretend to be professional. My digital data is missing as I figure out what is up. My manual data shows a big difference in temperature and humidity above and below the thick canopy. Much warmer at light level and above, I will only list the readings close to the ground. About two weeks left until the flip and the first breeding reproductive cycle!

Day 57 for the BBB#1 diary. One week until things get flipped and its on. I recently cleared out much of my veg. tent and so there is much more light - but its still crowded. Some of these plants have about a week to try to gain some size and branch strength. The big three regulars, the Afghan Hash Plant and the two Original Afghan #1s, are beast. One will (hopefully) produce much pollen. Crystal is a bit bushy and isn’t completely bad, there will be budsites. I may be able to clone this one by the end of the week. Still, overcrowded and lanky. I topped. Jack Herer is a lanky mess. I like the distinct leaf structure. I need to do a much better future job with this one, especially with a non-breeding situation. Romulan is bushy and has side branches throughout. There should be plenty of tops to catch pollen. This should be a success. I can likely take a clone from this plant though it is unnecessary. Slurricane is lanked, much like the others she has been crowded out (And supported) by the canopy. One week to get some structure. Sort of planned sort of an oversight, I realize this is still in a tiny pot. I am willing to bet its not even filled yet. I will look to transplant this week, not my plan or even ideal, but I want it to be able to stretch its roots. Remo Chemo has been topped and I am electing to go with a single stalk. There is no time or point of training now. I transplanted this week into HP Pro Mix, some added worm castings and perlite, 4-4-4 Gaia Green All Purpose, and Myke Flower mycorrhizae. Delicious Candy is much like the others but thrives by off branching. This plant would probably be most successful in this environment where it has been struggling for light. This is why I am breeding it, very vigorous.

Day 63 for the first Beans By Beans breeding diary. Partial transition this week, some of the stats reflect the new environment - the flower tent. I will wait until next week to indicate the lights and other aspects. The tent is 4 feet x 4 feet and is hung mylar in an unfinished basement, my original DIY cannabis tent. As I type these plants are all getting the first darkness of their lives. Soon, we shall see if the main three (Afghan Hash Plant, Original Afghani #1 A & B) are male or female. For once we are hoping for a male! I expect we may or may not lose plants and thin the tent up, but I don’t expect as thorough a photo shoot each week detailing every plant. However, I will still work through the lineup in photos. The only thing to note is that I transplanted Slurricane to a slightly larger container to allow it to stretch its roots. I find the roots are sort of slow with this strain anyway, but all good. This is probably the smallest and most pitiful of the crew, hopefully it still can create some seeds for me. It would be a pitiful flower. I treated all plants with Safer’s potassium based soap and neem oil as they went into the tent which I had sanitized with more soap. I will be looking to top up nitrogen as fading is not really a goal considering I’m breeding. Well, this is what its all about isn’t it? The entire point of the diary. Fun. I’m not the first but I’m glad to join the journey of creating my own seeds/strains. Someone like Wicked_Stix has already perfected the craft and shared genetics with GrowDiary users. I’m just following the trailblazers, much easier. Go give some likes to the trailblazers.