Unstable Genes? Is It Normal!

never know what you will get when growing from seed , almost like a surprise bag we'd buy when we were kids

 

Of course it’s possible. Grow an old school bred white widow or ak and the plants will be very similar. They have been back crossed for generations.

But the flavor of the month pollen chucks that are being sold now are going to be all over the place.

 

I wanted to add. I like growing hybrids from seed. I like the variety and challenge but if I want uniformity I pick a plant and take a cutting and grow them together.

 

I’ve heard quite a few bad things about that cross. I almost bought some seeds myself but ended up with Wonka Bars from Exotic instead. I just don’t want the hassles that folks were discussing on RIU and 420mag.

 

I think I got a good one! LOL

 

Yeah I’m sure there are gems to be had in there. I just didn’t want to sift through them. Opted for Wonka Bars instead

 

I don’t know enough to answer that. And it will still be up to the choices of the breeder for results. Seems many strains used to only have 4 or 5 phenos.

 

There's no such thing as an F1 or an F2 in cannabis because there's no such thing as true IBLs (two unrelated IBLs are required to make an F1).

F1s are actually very stable IF both parents are unrelated IBLs. The F2 generation is where you're supposed to see all of the variety. This isn't true in cannabis, though.. It's just polyhybrids crossed to polyhybrids crossed to polyhybrids, which means it is very difficult to get consistency in seeds.

That's fine, though, because we propagate via clones, not seeds.

 

There are many stable lines still around right now. You just need to know what to look for.

Many of the crosses on the market (right now) are simple pollen chucks and not true breeding. They are looking to capitalize on one or two popular flavors of the month and make their money by duping new growers into buying their gear.

That in itself means you’re going to get many variations and all sorts of results. Couple that with the lack of testing and documentation and you’ve got the current seed market.

This is why I’ve largly stayed away from many current strains on the market except a few. I grow what I know and have loved for quite some time. My purpose in growing is vastly different from many others and therefore my journey has led me in a different direction.

You can’t trust any one breeder or brand. I’ve had varied results from even some of the best breeders from one strain to the next.

The best thing to do is keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t jump on a pack of seeds for fear of missing out (FOMO) and instead buy what you know (or think) will give good results.

Sure it’s a crapshoot no matter what but it’s much less of a crapshoot if you don’t just blindly buy genetics at random based on trends and popularity.

Check out grow diaries, google, Leafly and other sites. Read through an entire diary or two before making a decision.

Years ago I had a pretty decent seed collection. Over 60 strains from heavens stairway and cbay. Some were great, some were garbage. I grew very few of those strains. Maybe about 1/3 of them before I lost the entire collection. Most of my purchases were the result of seeing two great strains crossed with one another or trying to get the latest and greatest so I could “compete” with others on the forum who had vast genetic collections.

That was a massive waste of time and money. Sure I got some gems but I also got “got” more times than I can count.

They say a successful fishing lure just needs to catch fishermen, not fish. That’s because fishermen have wallets, and fish do not. Same applies to the seed market.

You’ll find many of the old timers don’t use whatever is latest and greatest. They use the tried and true and let the youngsters fight over the next “banjo minnow” or “the flying lure”.

Which leads me to my next point. Believe nothing you hear and only 1/2 of what you see. The reason I say this is I’ve grown out several strains that looked amazing and smoked like shit. From a bag appeal perspective they’d win every time. Colors and frostiness abound. Yet when you roll it up and smoke it, it made you regret all the time and energy you put into it. I’ve thrown away pounds of weed due to this. These strains looked amazing. But they all smoked like shit. So be careful in choosing strains by looks alone. Check out smoke reports first before plunking down your wallet and telling them to “take what you want”.

 

I would miss the thrill of the Pheno hunt..I love trying new strains and if I like them..I try to make other strains using different combinations..
It adds a different dimension to growing for me, and I also flower some proven strains just to keep my supply and needs up (only for me and mine).
Just harvested this one and I made a dreadful error! I only got 1 feminized (CS) seed for some reason, and culled her clone because I needed room..she was chopped the other day and sampled today..killer smoke!!

This one had none of her parental traits either! The parents (Cannaventure GW#4 x GPS Cackleberry) finished in over 70 days..this one finished in 48 days..Yikes..good thing she yielded well so I have enough to make rosin too..

 

Name one true IBL that is available for sale today.

 

First I didn’t say IBL but since you asked here’s a few:

Bubblegum
79 Xmas Bud
White Widow
Afghan Kush
Skunk #1
Northern Lights
Durban Poison
Hindu Kush
Malawi Gold
Columbian Gold
Maui Waui

Most are landrace but they are all still available.

As for stable genetics the list is much larger.

Strains like AK47, Sensi Star, Bubba Kush, Cali-O, C99 are all very stable genetics that I’ve grown personally.

The blueberry line has been worked heavily by DJ Short and others.

Hell even Tony Green is bxing gorilla bubble if you want a more recent strain.

 

The saddest part a lot of the time the true hermies ( not from stress , but genetically hermies) are a lot of the time the best bud or best looking plant of the group lol. Kinda like the male a lot of the time is the biggest or nicest looking

Damn


Buy anything from bodhi! I have yet to find less than .5% hermies and I’ve grown 50+ of his packs . Anything from him his worth it

 

Yeah and thats part of the problem with using them for breeding stock. But there are lots of gems to be found. Sometimes mother nature works regardless of what we do to prevent it.