It was a no brainer to outcross this to our Jack the Ripper Male and see what the two power house strains would produce as a sibling cross. The mechanics however are a bit more complicated but Danny Danko asked me to reveal how we do it so pay attention here. As a rule of thumb you start budding the female plant 7-10 days before you place the male plant into the budding phase. This allows ample pistils for the male pollen to settle on assuring a large number of seeds are produced. The only problem with this rule of thumb is all Cannabis strains mature at different rates according to the origin location on the planet. Some plants especially Indica dominant mature very fast and produce a great number of pistils early one. Sativa hybrids can take much longer and we will sometimes delay a male flowering as much as two weeks. Once both plants are budding and the females approach the third week of flowering we hit what I like to call the "pollination window" or simply the best time to allow pollen to come in contact with the female for best seed production. If this is done to early very few seeds will be made if its done to late the seeds made will not have time to mature into viable seeds.
We use a separate area to breed in that has it's own ventilation system. We use a 465 CFM exhaust fan and a 14" Can filter to remove smells. This set up makes the breeding area to be negative in pressure so theoretically no pollen can drift into other rooms where unseeded medical plants are budding. During the time we have stray pollen all grow room doors are sealed after CO2 tanks are filled and we use a sprayer of water to keep any unwanted pollen away. Water activates pollen and in some large commercial greenhouses water curtains are used to prevent the infiltration of pollen. I use a much more low tech system that works well for us. If you wonder why TGA sometimes runs low on a certain strain it is because this is how we work on a small scale, by hand up close and personal. This assures quality and consistency in our seeds.
We like to place the male in the breeding room all by his self untill he is dropping pollen everywhere. No fans are on at this time so the pollen sits on his leaves and in close proximity to the male plant. Once we are in the " Pollination Window" I will carry the budding female plants into the breeding room with the water sprayer and bucket of clean water and close myself in. I then lift the male plant shaking him roughly and a cloud of pollen is released. I like to work in the dark wearing only a small green laser light that allows me to see the flying pollen grains. I will repeat this process twice making sure I have covered as much of the plant as possible. Once I am sure I have done a good job the male plant is cut off at the base of the plant and submerged under water in the bucket of water. Then I use the water sprayer to mist all the areas of the breeding room and then I quickly leave the breeding room spraying a fine mist over my head and in front of me as I exit through two sealed doors. I immediately head inside the hose and shower off placing the cloths I had on in the laundry. Before the pollinated female plants are placed back into a main bud room they are washed three more times with clean water. Its a great deal of work and I can tell you that others than have tried to re-create my methods have ended up seeding plants they did not intend too. I note this because I don't want people mad at me if they try this and end up with seeds in their sinsimellia.
I looked to Dioxide to produce this new hybrid for a number of reasons, he brought the cross to the table for one. He also has a deep love for the plant and more importantly the people around him. I have never met a young man who looks after humanity like Dioxide and I can think of no one better to pass on my knowledge to. Lastly hes much younger than me and has a great deal of energy, I am not saying I am burnt out but new blood never hurts a project.
We promptly got them into the hands of Growers and caregivers that do a good job of data collection as well as taking great pics. I also started 6 seeds myself and ran them to maturity and the new strain couldnt have been easier to grow. I ran them in my super soil using simple 5 gallon containers and giving them just plain water until day 40 where I started applying Sugars and carbs. The plants grew effortlessly and very fast all with the same structure and appearance. The buds produced were a perfect mix of the two parents and my favorite female had a unique lime sherbet smell and taste. It was extremely potent and while I was very excited I anxiously waited on everyone elses input.
As we started getting feedback we discovered a huge plus with this strain, seems the Trainwreck momma passed on her mildew resistance and even in grow rooms with heavy outbreaks of powdery mildew Chernobyl remained spotless. The new hybrid also seems to hold on to the color changing trait of the mom and near maturity the buds turn amazing colors of lime green, dark purple and even shades or plum and black.
As our test growers started harvesting the buds and sampling them one work kept being tossed at me. POTENT was the word from everyone and a complex THC profile that everyone found very unusual.
The first smoke report came in from Speakrsrfun a long time friend and tester of all of gear, this is what he had to say: Chernobyl, Oh boy your in for a treat....
OK Ive been smoking herbs a long time, recreationally at first when I was younger and after my head injury medicinally to combat seizure like episodes, so basically a long time
. Now when I say something is stellar I mean its top shelf above most others in quality, but when I call something SPECTACULAR its something that blows me away and says that theres some majik in them there plants. Well Chernobyl is a SPECTACULAR cross and some superb meds to boot. Phenotypic variation was minimal showing really only two phenotypes. I got a super lemony-fuel smelling wench that was much more indica in stature and growth pattern and the other a more fuel diesel smell with earthy undertones that showed more of a stacked calyx growth patern and a much more sativa habit. Both were good yielders but not behemoths by any stretch, but as I dont have a reason to weigh anything I couldnt give you a estimate on yield. Easy to grow and I will be starting more ASAP to find a keeper mom.
High Description: Total body annihilation and wreck shop head
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Smell: Smells of earthy diesel fuel to lemony fuel haze loveliness
Taste: Earthy to lemony, almost like Keif, kinda that strong resin taste
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Medical Effects: Total body effects and the mind relaxing effects make this one great for those with sleep disorders and pain while you sleep, I slept well the first time in a while due to a phattie of Chernobyl
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<9> Medicinal Strength
KEEPER?
Absolutely a keeper strain, Ill be running these again soon and are vegging as we speak, I didnt keep cuts from round 1 but will take some from these seed plants without doubt.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Alright without sounding like a kiss ass or like Im fattening the heads of my two friends Sub and Dioxide I want to say what I think about this combo. Completely and utterly without a doubt the best cross you have made to date when it comes to sheer potency, ease of keeping them alive and healthy and overall enjoyment factor. Words taken from a fellow veteran five minutes after I burned one down with him
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WOW THAT WRECKED ME
Speaks
The Herbilizor a grower in the UK also gave her a run for us and he was completely blown away.
Here are just a few of his comments :
Ah man, Where to start.....
I have sat at my pc for the past week with my remnants of Chernobyl ready to make smoke reports.
ITS TOO BLOODY HARD - THEY ALL WRECK ME TOO MUCH.
All 7 phenos are very similar, especially in effects. SO, what I am going to do is do a report on Phenos 1&8 - Which are my winning phenos. The real prob is they all so good, I want to keep them all.
Photos of all phenos, dry, are in my gallery. So come tomorrow or next day I shall do the smoke report.
But let me say this, I will be very upset when my last buds of Chernobyl are gone. But I have 2600w of it cooking away atm, so some more coming in a month. Yipee.
Every night on the Chernobyl has be very well rested and a good nights sleep had. Does not do good things for short term memory tho.
Stupidly strong herb is the Chernobyl and loved by all that try her
Herbilizor
So there you have it a detailed look at how and why Chernobyl was created and some in depth reports on the results. I personally dont like the strong taste of Trainwreck but I smoked every crumb of the Chernobyl I produced and found I concur the stuff is incredibly strong and unlike anything we have every created before. You can find Chernobyl at reputable distributors of fine cannabis genetics.
Subcool