Old Timer W/ New Questions

[Jimster]

I've been growing the same strain since the late 70s, which was supposedly Manatuska Thunder something or another, but I digress. Recently I was given several clones of Grandaddy Purple, Sour Diesel, and Durban Poison. I have these along with my original strain and the two look nothing like each other at all. My older strain, which I thought was mostly Indica, grows pretty straight forward with the main stem pinched. The others I was given are more like an Azelea shrub, with tons of growth but almost too much, since light has difficulty getting anywhere deeper than the outer perimeter. I know plants have evolved greatly over the years, but is this the new trend? I prefer the massive colas that I typically see, instead of the smaller buds which appear by the millions. I'm strictly old school with 2x 1000W MH, 5 gallons buckets, Promix and manure, and Peter's/Miracle grow as needed. I'm considering a HPS for flowering, but waiting on a Solis-Tek ballast to arrive.
A buddy of mine saw my old school plants and said he never saw anything like them before...have things changed this much since I last ventured out of the 'hollow?

 

[MIMedGrower]

I agree that many new popular (on the forums) strains are way to leafy.

 

[oldskol4evr]

the worms have turned friend,way back hahahahah,i got a clone a bro sent,damn bushy as hell ,leaves eer damn were,i got 2 main stems laying on edge of bucket ,were the small shit inside can get light,no clue what it is,but a true 80 bitch,my plan is some bonsai in the middle to make a cat to match them long legs,hahahha that be awesome to pull off,ive grown lot of bluedream that was bushy i thought to i come cross this one,thinking gorilla glue or roy walker,bushy as hell,im like you them big colas,i got some fire ass mex that 4 plants gave me 22 oz,im planning on a cross with another sativa ,oh hell ya you been in that holler way to long hahahah

 

[SmokesalotofVT]

well hell I'd Like to see some Photo's of that Older Strain .. My guess is that the plants havent changed that much.. depends on Strain etc etc etc.. :-)

 

[Jimster]

well hell I'd Like to see some Photo's of that Older Strain .. My guess is that the plants havent changed that much.. depends on Strain etc etc etc.. :)

I had to divide the reply into two posts:

The plants haven't changed much as they were raised from both original seeds that I managed to get 1 or 2 to germinate, VS the same strain that were fortunate enough to provide a couple feminized seeds. So both the original and a few later generations look pretty similar. I think they were outdoor plants, although back then, the indoor process was just starting, using commercial repurposed equipment. They grow very tall, typically 9'+ if allowed to grow unchecked. I have to bend and twist it quite a bit to keep them manageable at all, unlike the newer clones I was given. The stems get hollow and not too woody, with lime green coloring and very wide leaves. Photos are hard to take due to crowding.

 

[Jimster]

I had to divide the reply into two posts:



I got my money's worth out of the equipment, though. I'm still using my original magnetic ballasts and a base up MS-1000 MH. Low tech, but like moonshining around the mountains here...it's more of an art than a product. Things, techniques, and strains sure have changed, but I prefer the old style of doing this...I'm sure there are a lot better operations out there but the old strains are more distinct and much less variations, IMHO. It keeps an old man off the streets, too!