Grow Journal
01/29/12
DJ Short Blueberry
01/29/12 Summary
***This grow is updated every Sunday***
- 5 DJ Short Blueberry Plants sprouted from seed on 10/30/11; Today is Day 90 from seed
- 3 Confirmed Females; 2 Males Culled
- All Organic; Multiple growing methods
01/29/12 Notes ***NOTABLE DAY***: Today is exactly 90 days from seed/Plants are 3 Months Old exactly today
Good morning and happy Sunday!
Now that I am feeling a lot better, I am grateful to be able to do what I enjoy most...grow beautiful and exotic cannabis plants. It's amazing how easy it is to take for granted health and wellness...until you don't have it anymore.
But, I digress.
The plants are doing well.
I am not extremely happy with the reworked genetics of DJ Short's Blueberry strain; the loss of his original male has made it difficult--if not impossible--to find the original Blueberry phenotype; more on that later. Furthermore, it is to my dismay that all Blueberry plants are showing signs of hermaphrodism now. All the Blueberry Phenos pictured in this thread are now hermaphroditic, as well as Blueberry #6 and BB#9 (both BB6 & 9 are not pictured in this thread).
It is important to note that his original Blueberry strain also had a relatively high propensity for hermaphrodism, especially the crinkled-leaf Blueberry muffin phenotype that everyone looked for. However, this tendency typically reared around week 6 of flowering and was generally easy to manage and control. These genetics I am working with now are all showing hermaphrodism around 3-4 weeks of flowering and is much more intense on throwing bananas than other, former seed packs I have gotten in years past.
Some would say that it is because of the intense topping and training they underwent at such an early age. However, topping and training truly do not "stress" a plant. As humans, we tend to anthropomorphize things that we don't truly understand, in an effort to help explain the world around us. In other words, it's easy to relate to everything on human terms, because we are humans ourselves.
However, plants are not humans and don't "stress" like we do. Plants have limiting factors, and when any one of those is reduced or instigated positively or negatively than all other limiting factors are equivalent to the least limiting factor. That last sentence easily gets reduced into a simple term "Stress", but it is really not stress in how we relate to it on human terms. It basically just limits the plants life-process capabilities.
Aside from past experience of this same exact method, as well as breeder recommendation for topping of this strain, the Blueberries in this thread are still producing male flowers. It is interesting to note that Blueberry #6 and Blueberry #9 were grown from seed and were never topped or trained, yet both are hermaphroditic.
Some will say that it is because light leaks are present in my setup. However, this is negated because I am also running my Black Vanilla (Barney's Vanilla Kush) clone and my Medicine, Man clone right next to the above Blueberry plants and they show ZERO bananas. Light leakage is not the issue.
My determination is that THIS 10 PACK OF DJ Short's reworked genetics of his Blueberry strain have a tendency to hermaphrodite in week 3 of flowering. This is not an all out determination of his entire genetic line...it is possible it is on this lot of seeds only. Furthermore, I do not believe I have found the true Blueberry Muffin, crinkle leaf phenotype that I was searching for. A lot of the Blueberry smell and taste comes out with a proper cure, long after harvesting. However, I have had experience with the Bluberry Muffin pheno and you usually see signs of her around this time in flowering.
I am not calling this judgement 100% right now. These are only early and somewhat premature observations at a very early stage of flowering. I just thought it was important to explain what I have been seeing firsthand as we are getting deeper into flowering, in hopes of helping any future Blueberry growers out there if they experience the same things.
Cannabis genetics are not a perfect science. It is important to note that Subcool, breeder of TGA Genetics and a moderator here on RIU, as well as a EXCELLENT cannabis grower, also has a documented grow on DJ Short's new Blueberry genetics and experienced extremely similar traits as me, such as week 3 hermaphrodism:
Subcool's DJ Short Blueberry Grow
I am not attempting to flame DJ Short's Blueberry Strain Genetics at all. I am merely posting what my experience and observations have been thus far, and referencing an excellent organic grower, Subcool, who has experienced very similar traits as I have.
I do believe DJ Short's genetic line is of an extremely high caliber. I am starting to believe, however, that the original Blueberry muffin phenotype--the one that won the 2000 cannabis cup--is becoming increasingly more difficult to find in his current Blueberry genetic line, almost impossibly so. More testing and packs are needed to give this a more accurate assessment. However, I can not find one grow journal on the internet from DJ's new Blueberry genetic seeds that has found his Blueberry muffin phenotype from years past; I have only found journals from clone cuttings.
Hopefully I will be proved wrong.
On to the pics!
Blueberry #2: SCRoG/Week 4 Flower
Blueberry #4: Staked/Week 4 Flower
Blueberry #5: Staked/Week 4 Flower
I gotta say this thread has made me come out of lurk-mode for the first time on RIU. That should speak for itself. Everything looks amazing and it's great watching the progression!
Props! I'm hoping to be so lucky!