finding a winner in a pack of seeds?

[MustangStudFarm]

I posted something similar in the general section, but they said the obvious and the tread really didnt go anywhere. I will start by saying that I am addicted to buying seeds. I could be WAY overwhelmed and I would still looking at future seed purchases. There is not a dispensary around, so it is hard to sample. The stuff on the streets are not a good rep around here. So, I am left to make my own decisions on strains and keepers.
I am starting to feel like that every pack does not have a winner and some packs could have 3. Lately, I have been burning through packs of seeds and end up with little. I am talking about $100 seed packs!
My problem has been that I have been looking for bulk... All of my stuff would smell and smoke like lawn clippings. I would look for the biggest plant with most vigor and that was it! I have changed my approach since then... I have found that a small percent of my seedlings have a serious funk to them. They have so much funk that I just want to toss the rest of the shit out the window!
I have taken clones and the mothers are 3wks into flower. Is it too early to tell the keepers? how often does a killer hide its self for? I had two picked from the pack that were ALWAYS stinky from the beginning. I am tired of spending my time on shit that smells like oregano! What are the chances that the funky ones are the keepers? Most of the funky ones seem to me medium sized and an occasional big funky one. It hurts my feelings less and less to cull a plant. I have so many seed packs that I am ready to just ditch the ditch weed.
How do you select a keeper and roughly what percentage is your keeper:trash ratio? I could talk about specific strains because this is the seed review... I thought this section would be more passionate about this subject. Most have a dispensary they can go to, NOT an option here!

 

[racerboy71]

I have taken clones and the mothers are 3wks into flower. Is it too early to tell the keepers? how often does a killer hide its self for?
for one, how do you know something is a keeper or not until you smoke it?? sure, unless you're going after say a smell or plant structure, or flowering time maybe, you won't really know what you've got till you've smoked it imo. sure, sometimes the stinky one might be the winner, it also might not be.. going of of smell alone isn't the best way to pick a winner ime...

What are the chances that the funky ones are the keepers? Most of the funky ones seem to me medium sized and an occasional big funky one..
kind of covered this in the last part as well, but smell, if that's indeed what you mean when you say funky ones, isn't always the best way to judge a strain, that would require smoking.. we used to have a member here who absolutely hated certain strains like sour d just because he didn't like the way they smelled... he also wouldn't grow certain strains based solely on their names, like killing fields, lol, what can i say about good ole hazy grapes that hasn't already been said?



How do you select a keeper and roughly what percentage is your keeper:trash ratio? I could talk about specific strains because this is the seed review.
it depends on whom you talk to, and what they're looking for in a keeper.. even certain breeders, take subcool from tga for instance, will breed for certain characteristics, for sub, it seems he likes to go for smell and flavor over say potency and yield.. other breeders might breed for yield and potency, or structure, or w/e..
i would say clone everything you have till you have a proper chance to smoke it, which to me means a good dry and a cure first.. smoke the samples, compare, and see which you like the most.. maybe you're into the smell and flavor more, so you'd pick the stinky one that tastes like rainbows being farted out of a unicorn's ass, who knows..
as for me, i've only saved a very small hand full of strains over the years that i've run, out of probably, idk, well, over 50 or so plants grown from seeds from various breeders.. my problem is i have a shit ton of beans and keep looking for that perfect plant, and don't have any problems culling something that doesn't live up to what i'm after, which for me would be potency probably number one, smell and flavor, and lastly yields... also, i like something that is under say 13 weeks or so of flowering..
so yeah, it all depends on how picky you are when it comes to picking keepers or mother plants, as well as exactly what you're looking for as some things like yield are much easier to find then say a good structured plant that also has potency and flavor you like..

 

[MustangStudFarm]

See, I knew people in section were more passionate about this subject. Thanks Racer, I always valued your opinion! By the way, I have 5 packs of TGA among others that I am trying to sort through. I have had bad luck my last run. So, I kinda panic'ed and started way too many seeds!
I cannot have another run with oregano, no matter how strong or big it is...
Maybe that is why I bought TGA this time. Lower yields with amazing smell and potency. I had a pack of Vortex before and there was easily 2 that I still want, so I got another pack of it. It is my only exp with TGA.
Here is a list of my TGA gear I am sitting on. 1st I will list the stuff I already popped. Jilly bean and Space candy. I have 4 promo packs of space candy=20seeds and I planted 5. I also have vortex, ace of spades, and jesus og. \My nephew gave me 2 packs of barney's farm, not sure if they will make it to flower. there may be one crit kush that makes it but pineapple chunk looks weak so far. Was not my cash, so you know.
I have been impressed with delicious seeds and ordered 10 crit. sensi star, 5 cheese candy, and 4 free cotton candy. I have 3-4 packs going right now and some are going to get null'ed very soon!
Is it easier to find to losers rather than the keepers? I need to start a selection process soon. If you saw what I am working with, you would kinda chuckle I am sure. Just way too much going on! I will be damned if I have to smoke grass again tho!

 

[Resinxtractor]

I would pop no less than 15 seeds of any given strain. I always find a keeper if the strain it's self is worth a shit. I have grown out some pricey gear in the past to end up with shit. When pheno hunting I like to pop all 15-20 seeds at once so that I can compare leaf sets and growth. Usually males show fairly early if you know what your looking at. I then toss any mutant or fucked up growing plants out! Any plants that just seem in poor health, grow too fast (hemp trait), or just in general pissed off I toss. I usually end up with 4-5 females seedlings that I then feel are best fit to carry on with.

 

[OGEvilgenius]

About 5% of plants represent the best of the line. That means you really need to run 4 10 packs or 2 10 packs if they're feminized. To find the very best. But some lines will provide you with winners every time with the best being over the top. It really depends.

 

[coppershot]

I agree with what has been posted. Sometimes you can get lucky and get a couple of keepers in a 10 pack other times you may get nothing. I guess maybe I would question the genetics that you have been using and perhaps you can share the breeders that have been used so that you could be pointed in the direction of what you like in a strain .

Aside from that, it sounds like you may have some issues with your drying and curing methods. I have had herb that looked great, smell was good, but taste was like grass cuttings if you will. I have also had herb that looked like rubbish but the smell and taste were there. I have found over the years of growing that the harvest and post harvest techniques are just as important as the growing techniques. If done in a haphazard manner, the result will not be great. Curing properly is key imho.

You came to the right area. Folks here are great and willing to help.

 

[MustangStudFarm]

I just pulled my order history on attitude...
My first order was auto's and I got some reg freebies. I had this plan that I could flower some auto's and veg my regular freebies in the same tent under a 1000w. It worked pretty well lol.
2nd- was Mr.nice black widow and Serious AK47.
3rd- was Mr.nice g13/skunk and crit. mass. Homegrown Fanta Seeds-Cali orange and Nirvana's northern lights
4th was DJ Short blueberry
5th hazeman blowfish and samsara sweet black angel
6th- TGA vortex, serious white russian, and reserva's kandy kush
7th-My nephew talked me into going all in on some cali conn and we bought 8pks. jedi, 818, sour d, bluedream, pre-98 bk, green crack, GSC, and tahoe. I tried to buy reg vs. fem but only 4 pks were reg.
8th- My first order with Herbie's... Delicious-Cheese candy,2pks crit sensi star, and 4 cotton candy freebies. My nephew threw some cash down for barney's crit kush and pineapple chunck.
9th- TGA-vortex, jillybean, jesus og, ace of spades, and 20 space candy freebies.

I have been at this for 3yrs and I still call myself a newb!

 

[coppershot]

Well it looks like you have selected some decent breeders. I will caution you with the Cali con as they have a record of throwing out banners. However, people have commented that the Tahoe and pre-98 are good and have put out some excellent looking bud. I don't usually grow autos, but if u get them I normally throw them in when begging my regs. I have smoked autos a couple of times, normally to test each auto plant that I have grown and then I make hash out of it. I have personally found that autos normally smell like crap regardless of how I harvest and cure it.

Try employing different curing methods and see if it improves your results. Best of luck!

 

[kgp]

I would have to disagree about how important curing is.

If your bud smells like hay, grass clippings, or shit. I don't care how long you put them in a magic jar with the precise amount of relative humidity. They will come out smelling like what you put in the jar.

I grow nothing but og's, sours, and chems.

They smell great on the plant, drying, in the jar, out of the jar, and crumbled up in some paper.

Either your growing skills need sharpening, you harvest early, or your growing shit genetics.

I think you should work on them before worrying about a magical cure.

Don't get me wrong, cured bud is great, but it will not transform shwag into dank.

 

[Amos Otis]

Have to mostly agree w/ kgp here. Probably the best smelling/tasting weed in the cupboard is 4 month jarred Goji OG [ berry pheno ]. It was good when jarred, but became superb about 5 weeks later; and cured c-99 is smoother and tastier than one chopped 12 days ago. But even the first dried/smoked c-99 is extremely tasty, just a bit harsh.

Plants that I didn't like the taste and smell of after drying have never been transformed into something good by jarring, but sometimes become decent, like Sannies Kolossus. More often than not, bad taste going in a jar = not quite as bad coming out.

 

[genuity]

I think a plant needs to be ran a few times(4) or more to get the "keeper tag"

 

[coppershot]

I would have to disagree about how important curing is.

If your bud smells like hay, grass clippings, or shit. I don't care how long you put them in a magic jar with the precise amount of relative humidity. They will come out smelling like what you put in the jar.

I grow nothing but og's, sours, and chems.

They smell great on the plant, drying, in the jar, out of the jar, and crumbled up in some paper.

Either your growing skills need sharpening, you harvest early, or your growing shit genetics.

I think you should work on them before worrying about a magical cure.

Don't get me wrong, cured bud is great, but it will not transform shwag into dank.

I agree with what you have said. I don't think shwag or really bad smelling bud can be as you said magically cured, but from my experience cured bud tastes better and definitely brings out more aroma. I know the legitimacy of cured bud has been widely debated on here. I have experimented with both cured and not cure (or limited cure) and I found that a cure does substantially improve taste and smell, albeit from already good smelling bud.

Harvesting early could also be a contributing factor that I forgot to mention.

 

[SeedHo]

one mans keeper is another mans trash. i think that you need to define what a keeper is, and in doing so you may find the answer to your question. your the one that is growing it and your the one smoking it, with that being said how can anyone else answer the question. you have picked up a lot of different strains, the question to you would be what do you expect from each and everyone of them. now answer that question and i believe you`ll be able to get some constructive answers to your question.

 

[MustangStudFarm]

I will be honest. My biggest problem for a while was cloning! Until a couple of months ago, I was using a clone machine and was having great luck at first. Then, after my first bad batch in the machine, I could not clone for the life of me. I even bought a water chiller and put it on 68F. It was like I put it in the fridge and I believe it caused stasis.
I am using cubes now for cloning and I have always used foxfarm light warrior for seeds. Some of my first seed packs might have been abused also. BlackWidow, when I planted 6 of them I put 18 back in the vial with the cotton. I think that the cotton was wet and it ruined them! Damn newb. I really should try it again.
I have had good keepers before but shit like a tornado would come through and take out power poles and neighbor's houses. I could not feel bad about watching my crop sit in the dark for a week when the neighbors lost their houses, right?? That was when my blueberry was babies and I ended up with only 4of10 after that and all my veg'ing plants had been in the dark.
What would I consider a keeper? I will use critical sensi star as an example. I got it as a freebie, so I really didnt pay special attention to it or the other freebies. It turned out to be a true 8wk that I was able to handle. It had rock hard buds, medium yield, lemon/licorice flavor, and it was fast. An experienced grower might not appreciate it as much as I have. I could say the same about vortex and G13/Skunk. G13/skunk was a little bigger yield and heavy hitter. I might join the MNS Auctions and start bidding on some of these.

https://www.mrnice.nl/auctions/index.php

I am having trouble with 10+week strains. It is like they dont want to fill in and they are not worth the extra wait for me unless it is seriously bulky.
I held on to the wrong cut of black widow for a while. It was frosty and yielded nice at 10wks but I had one of the floral/fruit smell to it. I read that the piney one is the real deal. I didnt get a piney one out of my 6 lol.
After dealing with cali conn, I have started to value stability in genetics. To be honest, I should have waited until I was more experienced to take on the cali seeds. There came a point where I stopped cloning them and put them all into flower. If they didnt herm, I burned them up. It hurt, but I am over it!

 

[MustangStudFarm]

I agree with what you have said. I don't think shwag or really bad smelling bud can be as you said magically cured, but from my experience cured bud tastes better and definitely brings out more aroma. I know the legitimacy of cured bud has been widely debated on here. I have experimented with both cured and not cure (or limited cure) and I found that a cure does substantially improve taste and smell, albeit from already good smelling bud.

Harvesting early could also be a contributing factor that I forgot to mention.

I have been guilty of harvesting early and improper cure tech on occasion. Mostly when I am not impressed with something!

 

[MustangStudFarm]

I think a plant needs to be ran a few times(4) or more to get the "keeper tag"

Maybe I am doing too many at once and not giving them a chance! Since the cali conn seeds, I basically had to start over and I started way too many seeds. If I had it my way, I would have popped all of my TGA gear at once lol. That would not leave me with any room to do any pheno hunting or anything though.

 

[MustangStudFarm]

one mans keeper is another mans trash. i think that you need to define what a keeper is, and in doing so you may find the answer to your question. your the one that is growing it and your the one smoking it, with that being said how can anyone else answer the question. you have picked up a lot of different strains, the question to you would be what do you expect from each and everyone of them. now answer that question and i believe you`ll be able to get some constructive answers to your question.

I have taken clones and the mothers are 3wks into flower. Is it too early to tell the keepers? how often does a killer hide its self for?
for one, how do you know something is a keeper or not until you smoke it?? sure, unless you're going after say a smell or plant structure, or flowering time maybe, you won't really know what you've got till you've smoked it imo. sure, sometimes the stinky one might be the winner, it also might not be.. going of of smell alone isn't the best way to pick a winner ime...

What are the chances that the funky ones are the keepers? Most of the funky ones seem to me medium sized and an occasional big funky one..
kind of covered this in the last part as well, but smell, if that's indeed what you mean when you say funky ones, isn't always the best way to judge a strain, that would require smoking.. we used to have a member here who absolutely hated certain strains like sour d just because he didn't like the way they smelled... he also wouldn't grow certain strains based solely on their names, like killing fields, lol, what can i say about good ole hazy grapes that hasn't already been said?



How do you select a keeper and roughly what percentage is your keeper:trash ratio? I could talk about specific strains because this is the seed review.
it depends on whom you talk to, and what they're looking for in a keeper.. even certain breeders, take subcool from tga for instance, will breed for certain characteristics, for sub, it seems he likes to go for smell and flavor over say potency and yield.. other breeders might breed for yield and potency, or structure, or w/e..
i would say clone everything you have till you have a proper chance to smoke it, which to me means a good dry and a cure first.. smoke the samples, compare, and see which you like the most.. maybe you're into the smell and flavor more, so you'd pick the stinky one that tastes like rainbows being farted out of a unicorn's ass, who knows..
as for me, i've only saved a very small hand full of strains over the years that i've run, out of probably, idk, well, over 50 or so plants grown from seeds from various breeders.. my problem is i have a shit ton of beans and keep looking for that perfect plant, and don't have any problems culling something that doesn't live up to what i'm after, which for me would be potency probably number one, smell and flavor, and lastly yields... also, i like something that is under say 13 weeks or so of flowering..
so yeah, it all depends on how picky you are when it comes to picking keepers or mother plants, as well as exactly what you're looking for as some things like yield are much easier to find then say a good structured plant that also has potency and flavor you like..

I hear you guys! Nobody can tell me what I expect or favor in a plant, so I cannot really ask for someone to pick one for me.

About that unicorn... It reminds me of a time when 16 and my friends asked if I wanted to to the "Rec Room". It was an underage club were under aged gay kids would go... Well, I was under the impression that I was going to the "Wreck Room" and watch the "Drag Shows"... Well hell, I have always been into cars, but not trannys lol. I am tolerant, and it was an experience. I actually saw some kids from my high school there. Shit started to make sense a little to late. Just a little story about my "expectations" and what I really get!!!