Subcool's Library

subcool

Well-Known Member
This is the full collection of article I have had published in one location.

Pics where applicable :)

[h=3]35 Billion Produced by US Growers[/h] In 2006 the marijuana public policy analyst contended that the market value of pot produced in the United States exceeded $35 billion -- far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay.

How the hell can the government continue to ignore this? Are they actually blind to the fact that a huge percentage of the population enjoys smoking pot! It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that no matter how much money they spend, no matter how many non-violent people they arrest and extract fines and jail time from, no matter how many lies or ridiculously biased commercials they run on television, people are going to get high. The act of getting high on Cannabis is so spiritual and fun; opening the senses to enhanced sounds in music, flavors in food or just really seeing a sunset for the first time through stoned eyes. I first got high some 35 years ago and the only downside I have experienced has been the law itself.
When I was arrested the first time I was working and supporting a family as well as paying taxes on some $40,000 US a year. I coached a softball team and we donated to toys for tots, and I had, and still do have, a great relationship with my son.
I was arrested for growing myself some grass to smoke, and my life was torn apart by the people we elect to protect us. I don’t think this is really what our fore fathers had in mind. It's not a war on drugs it’s a war on personal freedom, and that is why we left England in the first place. On that subject I find the UK far more “free” than the USA.
In the land of the “Free” I was arrested twice more for growing a plant and both times jailed and had my life ripped apart and my property seized. I am now legal and protected under state law but we never forget that we are not truly legal or free. We keep our garden very very small and we never give weed to anyone that doesn't have a medical card.
The number one rule is never ever sell weed and get to a medical state.
This Does not apply to Northern California, they sell weed like Corn there.
Nationwide, the estimated cannabis production of $35.8 billion exceeds corn at $23 billion, soybeans at $17.6 billion and hay at $12.2 billion, according to the report.
California is responsible for $13.8 billion alone, which exceeds the value of the state's grapes, vegetables and hay combined -- and marijuana is the top cash crop in a dozen states, the report states. The report estimates that marijuana production has increased tenfold in the past quarter-century despite an anti-drug effort by law enforcement.
So if the US is producing 35 billion in Cannabis where the hell is all the money?
Covert gardens like this dot the landscape in the US.

It seems to me as a tax payer our tax department is doing a shitty job! I see revenue out the wazoo just waiting to invest in better schools, roads, communities and I really think it's time someone wakes up and takes advantage of the kick ass pot growers we have in the US. Don’t think Canada is excluded here. I don’t have the numbers but my homies in the great white north are growing some serious dankage and tons of it!
No Budweiser trucks here.

If you combine these missed taxes with the money the DEA pisses away, that could be used to slow the production of something really dangerous like Meth or maybe diverted into some Intel so tons of Cocaine won’t be imported into North America to poison our kids. If our leaders still think a jar of buds and a bag of meth are equal in their threat to society, it's time for us to fire them and hire someone with a brain!
If you read any pot story online the comments posted after the story are always against the War on Drugs and anyone with a brain can see our economic crisis is a far more pressing issue than Americans filling our bowls with Sticky Icky. As banks Fail and millions of people face homelessness the DEA continues its raids on the Sick. Recent pictures have surfaced of Black Water ops actually envolved in the medical raids in California.


Subcool
 

subcool

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A Dank Mystery
The case of Void got better.

Early this year I selected a really gooey purple male Querkle plant and pollinated the Urkle mother and we sent out 420 seeds for testing. This data is still being collected but while I had the Querkle male live with pollen I decided to also pollinate the Apollo-13 mother plant to give me an idea what traits this new male might pass on using a mother plant we know so well. I gave this hastily created hybrid the name “The Void” thinking it was fitting, as it was a strain created in between two others Querkle and Deep Purple. I germinated 5 seeds and selected the two best looking females out of 3 and grew them to completion. The end smoke was potent and the yield was good as well as both females just covered in raised trichomes but both of them lacked the fruity smell I always look for in Apollo-13 crosses. The larger female tagged “L” gave us almost 3 ounces topped only once grown from seed and the other one “J” was smaller and had a better pistil to leaf ratio. Short and sweet at that time I wasn’t overly impressed, our hybrid Vortex taste better and expressed more of the traits I follow in my lines and I told many people Vortex was simply better.
I always take clones of our new seedlings and I already had 2 nice plants vegged out and ready to be budded so by the time I harvested the seed plants I went ahead and budded both females. Vortex after all is a pretty high standard and certainly everyone that tasted the bud from the first Void plants was very impressed and most did not understand my lack luster endorsement of the cross. Since I already had really nicely topped clones of both females it only made since to run them through the bud room again, I mean the weed was a crusher and extremely potent and my patients certainly aren’t going to complain about free medicine no matter what kind it is. So I ran these in my regular super soil in the same environment and the only difference was slightly lower temperatures less that 10 degrees average. I don’t really add any nutrients with my soil and only feed the soil itself using Sucanat and Sweatleaf a Product by AN both containing high levels of sugars and citric acids to stimulate the Krebs cycle and resin production as well as enhance the taste. I do not deviate from the way I have grown for a very long time so there is not one thing I can point to that’s different in anyway from the seed run and this clone run.

So what Happened?
The plants grew basically the same until the last two weeks when I noticed a slight fading that indicated the plants were turning a slight purple. This is very normal for a plant once the temps fall near harvest time when growing in organic soil. As the plants reached maturity this time they begin to take on a really nice grape smell that wasn’t present in the seed run. The plants both finished at around week 8 and I was surprised at how much different the bud smelled while I was trimming it. The first time the weed basically smelled like strong bud but lacked any definable character, unlike this run where the bud smelled amazing combining the grape flavor of Querkle with the strong sour smell of Apollo-13. My patient called me a few days after picking up his medicine and told me he was very impressed with Void and asked if it was the same plant as last run? When I told him it was the same cutting he was also surprised as he felt it was considerably better on the second run. We can only conclude that the plant took longer than normal to reach its full potential. We kept the smaller female tagged J and we enjoy her each harvest still. The larger female, L was passed on to a medical grower to provide clones to his co-op.
To sum up this report its very apparent that some strains won’t reach there full potential grown from seed and these rare females will only show there true colors if there given more than one run through the bud room. Void is one that we almost judged to quickly and that would have been a great loss to stoners everywhere. Don’t be so hasty when growing something new and give it time to show you her stuff.
 

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subcool

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A Titanic Killer Queen Incident
By: Subcool

Imagine you’re 18 years old, riding along on a nice spring day on your new Honda CBR 600 sport bike. You down shift to make a sharp right hand turn in the city and run head-on into a huge city bus that has drifted over into your legal lane of traffic. In just an instant "BAM” your life is changed forever. This is what happened to my friend "Titan" a few years back. The bus was forced to swing out wide into his lane and since it was a blind corner, Titan never saw that his lane was blocked. In a Coma for some time the legal system rolled right over this young man and he received no compensation for this life changing accident other than the insurance that covered a portion of his medical bills. Paralyzed at the T5 vertebrae with loss of function from his upper chest down, my little bro is now confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life. The injury did not however dim his amazing spirit or passion for life. Titan is a very accomplished musician and a very exceptional grower. I am sure he faces some heavy demons in the wee hours of the night, but his warm smile and his inner passion is contagious to everyone fortunate enough to be around him.
I would like for any anti- medical cannabis person to explain why this young man should be denied any form of relief available to him? For sure he faces challenges most of us couldn't even begin to imagine. If a natural plant can give him some pain relief and possibly a good night sleep, who has the right to prevent him from using anything to get through the day? People that say medical marijuana is just an excuse should be forced to spend a month in Titan’s chair!
I first met Titan on the internet in a marijuana forum, when he responded to a few of my DIY threads, asking me to clarify a few points I had made. He was eager to learn and very respectful so it wasn't long before we became pretty good friends.
I learned of his accident and while I watched people complain about the normal challenges of life I saw Titan operating a medical grow-op from a wheel chair. I bitch about my work while I am able to walk around on two feet, but this young man does everything that all growers do while only being able to move the top 1/4 of his body. The words, “I can’t” are not in Titan’s vocabulary it seems. So the next time you’re having a bad day just deal with it as Titan does every day!
In the summer of 2009 MzJill and I attended the Seattle Hempfest and we invited many of our online internet fans to come hang out with us. Hempfest in Seattle has been a very safe place for us and one of the best gatherings around. On a Saturday afternoon our tent was raging with old friends and new fans, I was talking and sharing full melt bubble and in the middle of this commotion of melting bubble and swirling smoke Titan rolled up. Titan is a Rasta and he has some bad ass duds but what I noticed was an amazing warm cherub smile. I was in the middle of a conversation with others and I stopped in mid sentence to give my little bro a big hug.
He hugged me back and then proceeded to pull out a jar of Pandora's Box, a strain he had grown out from my seed. It was the best sample I had seen at Hempfest all weekend and in the top 5 samples I’ve saw all year.
Regardless if he likes it or not I kinda adopted Titan as my little bro and we have become good friends over the last year. He showed me pictures of a cutting he grew out and it looked really fire. He told me it was a Killer Queen female he had received from a friend as a clone.
I am always on the lookout for exceptional Cannabis, I have said many times some of the best medicine is held by private growers in small gardens all across North America. Because of the variation in Cannabis it is common for many growers to have different cuttings of a strain and each to be very different from the other. Many collectors will run across a strain and after one look decide that it’s not what they are looking for, but I know that selection is everything. A grower who is really in touch with the plant will most likely do a better job of selection than someone who is strictly driven by profits.
Titan and I agreed to swap some genetics and since we are both legal it’s completely safe for us to trade clones with each other. However, pests are always a worry so I put the two Killer Queen clones through a strict quarantine before transplanting and then later taking cuts from healthy fresh growth.
I pretty much ignored the plant until just before harvest when I noticed her literally ‘dripping with resin’. While the plant had a high leaf to pistil ratio every surface was glistening with trichomes. At week 7 I did a sniff test and wasn't all that impressed mainly picking up a G-13 odor, which I am not a fan of. I did a small report on what I saw stating that I did not think it looked to be a keeper strain. Only a week later I re-inspected to find a completely different smell. In that short seven day period the fruitiness of the Cinderella-99 seems to come through. Killer Queen is a hybrid made up of G-13 and Cindy99 and according to the phenotype chosen each female can exhibit traits from mom, dad or both. I have grown out a Cindy Dominant female before but she was not as potent as this plant.
The first surprise was the ultra white bubble the sugar leaf produced when it was run through a set of Bubble Bags. The water hash came out almost completely dry and was very pure, being the color of sheet rock mud and bubbling completely leaving no residue when burned. The second surprise was how potent the dried buds are, this is not creeper weed and one hit smacks you clearly between the eyes and sets you back in your seat. For someone who’s job is describing the subtle nuances of the smell and taste of weed I struggle defining this one. As my back was starting to hurt a few moments ago, I took a break to medicate on some Killer Queen. MzJill, Dioxide (my card holding friend & TGA partner), and I all took turns trying to describe the unique smell of this amazing dank pot. I smell some sort of exotic spiced tea and Jill smells Champagne, Dioxide says it reminds him of some fancy designer candle with a fragrant smell like artificial pineapple. It is a very pleasant smell to a smoker but it is hard to put into words the exact smell and taste.

Titan is coming for a visit soon and I can't wait to get his opinion of the buds I grew from his clone. I am also happy that we put a clone of this lady into our library because recently Titan lost his due to an outbreak of mites. We will have a healthy clone waiting on ‘little bro’ as soon as he arrives along with a phat bonghit & a huge hug!
Medical Marijuana has many faces; I wanted to introduce you to one of the faces that has touched my life.
As Titan would say; Jah Bless

Subcool
 

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subcool

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Alcohol free Cannabis Tincture
By Subcool

Recently I was introduced to a way to create a convenient cannabis based medicine. It does not require smoking or even the ingestion of baked goods but just a few drops under the tongue. It contains no harmful additives and if made correctly using good bud actually taste quite pleasant.

I’d like to show you how to make this amazing cannabis preparation. It’s a vegetable Glycerin based Tincture that you can make easily with just a few inexpensive kitchen items. You simply soak high quality cannabis shake and kief in the Glycerin for 60 days.
Glycerin is easy to find and the company “Now” makes a very high quality version you should be able to find it at your local health food store. I like to take high quality shake and bud and grind them up well and place in a 2 quart glass jar. I also like to add 5-7 grams of Kief to the jar to increase the medicines potency. Remember this will be ingested so keep everything sterile and use good tasting shake not waste leaf. Once you fill the jar 90% with the ground weed and Kief slowly add the Glycerin until the weed is covered and the jar is full. Make sure to rotate the jar for about 3-5 minutes per day mixing up the jar well. I like to flip my jar upside down each day and let the weed float to the top of the Glycerin. After 60 full days used the 190 Micron Bubblebag to strain out the weed. It was extremely difficult and I think a French Press or some type of fine kitchen screen to strain the shake out of the tincture would work better.
Now here is where some knowledge of Cannabis can be very helpful. For a medication that will provide relief for nausea and stomach pain as well as tremors and shakes it seems that Sativa hybrids work best. These varieties tend to provide a more up buzz that’s best for morning and daytime medication. You can even vary the harvest time and use a Sativa that’s harvested early for a Tincture that is even more energizing and up beat. Indica strains seem to provide better pain relief and make great medication for night time especially sleeping. By making two different types of preparations, using different types of cannabis harvested to suit the individuals needs we can provide long term effective relief from many ailments. I also am very happy to use this as ammo when the anti cannabis people want to bring up smoked medicine.
Glycerin Tincture is very easy to titrate and a patient can take just a few drops under the tongue getting just the relief needed and no more. Tincture doesn’t seem to get you high or stoned and many without serious ailments don’t even feel it’s effects unless thay take a large amount like 30 ml, Everyone is different in this aspect. We have also seen incredible results with migraines. When your suffering from a serious headache all the blood is rushing to your head and not your stomach so taking a pill orally is a slow fix. With this preparation you can brush your teeth vigorously and then apply a few drops into the mouth. The medicine passes across the mucous membrane and seems to have immediate effects on our friends with this problem.
Do not confuse Vegetable Glycerin with the product used to make soap, this comes from animal fats and is not the same thing. Vegetable Glycerin is used in cough syrups and many other products and is safe for human consumption. I do recommend drinking extra water, as it tends to dehydrate you if taken in larger amounts.
MzJill found the following online


Glycerin or glycerine, it is a sugar alcohol, and is sweet-tasting and of low toxicity. Glycerol has three hydrophilic alcoholic hydroxyl groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature. Its surface tension is 64.00 mN/m at 20 °C, and it has a temperature coefficient of -0.0598 mN/(m K). It is a central component of lipids.

In foods and beverages, glycerol serves as a humectant, solvent and sweetener, and may help preserve foods. It is also used as filler in commercially prepared low-fat foods (i.e., cookies), and as a thickening agent in liqueurs. Glycerol also serves as a way, along with water, to preserve certain types of leaves. Glycerol is also used as a sugar substitute. In this regard, it has approximately 27 calories per teaspoon and is 60% as sweet as sucrose. Although it has about the same food energy as table sugar, it does not raise blood sugar levels, nor does it feed the bacteria that form plaques and cause dental cavities. As a food additive, glycerol is also known as E number E422.

In organic synthesis, glycerol is used as a readily available prochiral building block.

Glycerol is used in medical and pharmaceutical and personal care preparations, mainly as a means of improving smoothness, providing lubrication and as a humectant. It is found in cough syrups, elixirs and expectorants, toothpaste, mouthwashes, skin care products, shaving cream, hair care products, and soaps.

As a 10% solution, glycerol prevents tannins from precipitating in ethanol extracts of plants (tinctures). It is also used as a substitute for ethanol as a solvent in preparing herbal extractions. It is less extractive and is approximately 30% less able to be absorbed by the body. Fluidextract manufacturers often extract herbs in hot water before adding glycerin to make glycerites.

Used as a laxative when introduced into the rectum in suppository or liquid (enema) form; irritates the bowel and induces a hyperosmotic effect.
Glycerol is a component of glycerol soap, which is made from denatured alcohol, glycerol, sodium castorate (from castor), sodium cocoate, sodium tallowate, sucrose, water, and perfume (fragrance). Sometimes one adds sodium laureth sulfate. This kind of soap is used by people with sensitive, easily-irritated skin because it prevents skin dryness with its moisturizing properties. It is possible to make glycerol soap at home.

It is also used in de-/anti-icing fluids, as in vitrification of blood cells for storage in liquid nitrogen


The first time I made Tincture I used two ounces of very Up weed with high THC and low CBD. The medicine was incredibly potent but it actually made you feel tweaked and was only good for daytime use. If I used it late at night for pain relief it actually woke me up and gave me cannabis energy. We wanted to create a more relaxing and calming Tincture so I used the following strains, JTR, Space Queen, Urkle, Jacks Cleaner. All these plants were fully seeded and the harvest times were past the 70 day mark. This insured we would have a more sedative form of medicine. Much of the weed used was either Purple or maroon colored. I have seen the Bubble water turn the color of grape juice when using these Purple strains and I wanted to see if the color and the taste came though into the tincture. We also added a large pile of golden kief to the top of the jar before adding the Glycerin.

I think a crank press would work much better as far as ease of production. My way using the 190 UI Bubblebag is extremely tiring and even hurt my hand after squeezing for 20 minutes about what it took to process this run. My arms were worn out from squeezing so look into a press unless your looking for a work out. I think its very important to fully decarboxylate the THC Acids. We heat the oven to 170 ( My lowest Setting) and let warm up and sit for about 45 minutes. At day fifty I washed the jar well and also placed in a bucket of hot water till it cooled. These two steps insure the Tincture is activated to it’s full potential. The plum colored Tincture is really impressive and as we hoped a much more calming effect is produced than the first batch made with early harvested sativas.
I find it this batch helps me with my RLS and if I take 15 ml with unsweetened grape juice its actually quite pleasant. We give small dropper bottles to anyone we know with a medical card and we have had some amazing feed back.


“I take the Tincture on a fairly empty stomach, and brush my teeth very well before taking it. I have one tablespoon of Tincture; I take it in small sips, holding each sip, and swishing it in my mouth for as long as I can. This allows for the most absorption of the Tincture; and provides the fastest relief of my Migrane Headache, Nausea, and pain. It warms me from the inside, and relaxes me so I can eat. If I take a tablespoon, I can do my housework and chores without ill effects. With one and a half tablespoons, I sleep all night without waking from pain; then wake up, feeling refreshed. For me, Tinctures are the best method for Migrane pain control”. Joymum

“This morning, I didn't take Tincture
I tried to keep the bong hits low, to see how my body would respond.
Yucky, I'll say. First my heads seems to be just a little slower, (its always hard for me to think), my housework seems harder to finish; I start o.k., but then my energy just goes away. I'm beginning to feel shakey and nauseas. My non-cancerous Fibroid (fatty) tumors are reminding that they are there. All of this is just after about 22 hours without full med treatment. 2 - 3 days, and I would be in my own world again, because of the pain that would return. But tonight I will be taking Tincture, and wake up feeling just fine. MzJill & Subcool told us when we received this treasure, that not everybody feels the Medicinal Effects, of Tincture. Perhaps its not the right method of delivery for them. I do not feel 'High', or 'Druggy', from Tincture. I only feel a relief from Migrane Headache pain, and a decrease in shaking. I do feel a warm, calm feeling, of over-all well being.”


We have another friend who has a grandmother in the final stages of cancer. Shes weak and in pain and can’t eat and she is basically wasting away. My friend passed some of the Tincture to her son and they put a few drops on her tongue. They reported she asked for something to eat and then went to sleep. Her son called my friend back and asked where he could buy some of the “ Miracle medicine” He informed him it was not available from mainstream doctors but he would get her some more.

I am not trying to make exaggerated claims here I am new to this and I am just as surprised as you may be by these claims but I can tell you these people’s quality of life has improved and main stream medical professionals better open there eyes to what God gave us. I am no scientist but I’m also not stupid. It’s hard to ignore these results and since were not smoking the Cannabis there number one argument against medical cannabis is silenced with this preparation. This is a great way to heal ourselves without dangerous toxic chemicals
Subcool
 

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subcool

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‘Amber Alert’
by Subcool


So you have worked hard for 8 weeks! You have invested money into equipment and possibly genetics; you have invested time and dedication to get to this point. How can you tell when it’s time to harvest your gooey girls? Well ‘fire one up’ and let’s take a look at the best way to be sure you’re harvesting at peak potency, or at least you will better understand what happens in the final weeks, so you can harvest for the specific type of high you prefer.
The harvest window is one aspect of the craft which unfortunately, gets over looked or the grower simply doesn’t have the patience to wait-out the last few days, to insure max THC content. Some strains are better harvested before their peak THC production and some are better harvested after their peak THC production. This is what Robert Clark wrote in his book “Marijuana Botany” about trichomes and what they tell us; “The elevated resin heads appear clear, since fresh resin is still being secreted, often being produced in the cellular head of the trichome. At this time THC acid production is at a peak and CBD acid levels remain stable as the molecules are rapidly converted to THC acids, THC acid synthesis has not been active long enough for a high level of CBN acid to build up from the degradation of THC acid by light and heat. Terpene production is also nearing a peak and the floral clusters are beautifully aromatic. Many cultivators prefer to pick some of their strains during this stage in order to produce marijuana with a clear, cerebral, psychoactive effect It is believed that, in peak floral clusters, the low levels of CBD and CBN allow the high level of THC to act without their sedative effects.”
What the hell does this mean?
When growing Indica hybrids, unless you want to end up on the couch, it’s best to harvest when the trichome heads are fully formed but before they start to cloud over and turn amber. According to the maturation time of the specific strain this could take as little as five days or as long as two weeks. If you allow an Indica to go too long you can dramatically affect the taste and high. Fortunately going too long is not a real problem for most people. I like to study close-up photos taken with a high resolution digital camera; however an inexpensive hand-held microscope works wonders. It almost looks like you are in an alien world when looking at resinated buds using fifty-times-power.
With the Sativa dominant hybrids you want to make sure that all the trichome heads are fully formed and also about thirty percent amber. Letting a plant mature beyond this will risk flavor as well as, the finished smoke may be harsh with very little “high”. There are exceptions as I mentioned; Haze has three different harvest windows all being very late into flower. It is every grower’s job to learn what he or his patients prefer in the terms of “High”.
We have not yet addressed yields because if you are at the third stage of floral maturity with fully form trichomes, then we will have to assume most strains have packed on all their final weight. Even then, there are variables but we can use the guide-lines spelled out below to help gauge the best harvest window for your plants based on the trichomes.

1. Fully formed but still clear will provide a cleaner ‘up’ high with less sedative effect; this is the best window for heavy Indicas.
2. Fully formed and turning slightly cloudy or milky; this is probably the best time to pick most hybrids available today.
3. Fully formed completely cloudy or milky with at least thirty percent of the heads turning amber; this is usually best window for the late maturing Sativa’s such as Haze. This is also a good window when using the plant primarily for Hash production.

Take for instance the Jacks Cleaner harvested at fifty-six days; all trichomes are still visibly clear with very few turning cloudy. At this point it has a very ‘up’ high and an ‘in-the-head’ buzz. I get some good visuals and the lemon flavor is sour and a tad tart. The same plant, left just one more week at sixty-three days flower; the trichomes have turned milky white and a good portion, about thirty to fifty percent, are deep amber almost the color of cola. Taken at this time the smoke is heavy and thick, the lemon zing has been replaced with a musty sweet lemon smell that reminds me of ‘Lemon Heads’ candy. The high is now all body high and very much a sedative. We would smoke this only as our night time medication. It is almost an example of a plant taken too late, however we do this because of the medicinal properties she takes-on at this late stage.
Another example is Killer Queen. At forty-nine days flower, she has a candy-like smell and taste with that same ‘up’ high. If you were to harvest her at sixty days flower, she becomes ‘Super’ Killer Queen, with a more skunk-like smell and a thicker trance-like high.
The mistake to try and avoid is harvesting before the trichomes are fully formed, so as mentioned in the guideline; most growers whom use this method, harvest at the point in which the majority of the heads are cloudy. Harvesting before this window will produce bud that is less potent, containing less essential oils and trepans, causing your finished stash to take on a grassy or green taste, even if it is dried and cured correctly.
Another good method would be harvesting some of the more mature buds, usually being the upper or main colas. This will allow more light to shine down on the lower portion of the plant, not only will the buds mature further but they will also pack on some extra size.
If you have a nice digital camera with a macro feature, try taking some close-up photos and use a photo editing program such as Adobe. This will allow you to zoom in close so you can see what the necked eye cannot see. If this is not an option, Radio Shack sells battery-powered hand-held microscopes for about fifteen dollars.
Take advantage of this information, it will help maximize the results of your favorite strain, or help you determine the harvest window of something new.
 

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subcool

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Apollo-13 is one of those strains a grower could spend his life learning and one I have been working with for a long time now. The cutting we have is old and hard to work with. She is a bit picky on nutrients and has an almost vine like growth creating a very wide sagging bush that needs a lot of support to keep her from having bud flop. She has a very distinct peppery, yet also a funky rotting fruit smell. She has many different expressions according to environment. She can go from being very fox tailed with dread like airy buds in a warm room to hard tight colas in perfect conditions. She prefers a daytime temperature of around 75 degrees but does not like chilly nighttime temperatures like some strains. As she approaches harvest her fan leaves will sag and curl under making trimming a time consuming process but every bit of her smaller leaves are covered in resin that yields a red bubble hash that has to be tried to believe. Her downside is trimming. I spend a good 4 hours on just the upper portion when harvesting. The buds are covered in swirling curled sticky leaves that take loads of concentration and small scissors to clean up. I focus hard to remove all the sugar leaf as my main goal here is Bubble! I have noticed that actual sugar leaf makes the best hash. When I use pure bud I never get the same yields as with trim leaf. I think its almost a waste. So my buds get cleaned well to make more Apollo-Bubble.
The original information on this Brothers Grimm strain states that only 500 seeds were ever made so to have an original cutting is a big deal. Brothers Grimm are responsible for the famous Cindy99 and a few other killer hybrids and they were big on back crossing to there mother plants to improve stability by “Cubing” a clone only strain. Apollo-13 is Genius x p-75 the 75 indicates that 75% of the desired traits will be determined by the male that has been back crossed twice already.
This is how it works it simple terms. You have a clone only female cannabis plant youd like to have seeds of. These seeds will produce plants that display 50% of the females traits and 50% of the males. You pollinate her with a male plant keeping a copy or clone of the original mother alive. This is an outcross and these seeds are grown out and the best male is selected based on desired traits. This male is then used to again pollinate the original mother plant. The seeds of this breeding will produce seeds that display 75% attributes of the mother plant. This process is continued twice more until the strain is cubed and in theory 99% of what the mother was. Now the science is much more complicated than this but this is a good lamens explanation of cubing. In fact I find these hybrids add new life to old strains and in some cases the sibling crosses can be as good or better than the mother strain in terms of ease of growth. The Apollo-13 mother plant still is the tops as far as resin is concerned it has a flavor and consistency like no other. Its resin shards up on scissors like clay or plumbers putty and has a deep red color. A small hit of the Apollo-13 red bubble out of a bong on a clean screen is like a heart punch and leaves you making the worst grimace ever seen.
That doesn’t mean I don’t treasure my stash jar of Apollo each harvest I truly do she has a buzz all her own even though she can give you a work out figuring out what exactly she wants each run. I have been growing her in super soil now for 3 years straight in the same conditions and have her just about figured out now as to what she wants and when. She likes a lot of high Nitrogen nutrients all the way up to day 30 of budding or she will start to fade to early making harvest an even bigger nightmare with yellow leaves curled over each bud. Apollo-13 has a harvest window from day 54 all the way to day 65 for a completely different high and flavor. I always top her to make sure she has at least 3 heads and I keep her in the vegetive state ( 18 Light 6 Dark) for a full 2 months to make sure she has a solid root base and enough branch support to yield 3-4 ounces per plant in soil. I use bamboo stakes and plastic coated garden wire to keep her held up once the buds start to form.
I first saw a cutting in the mid 90’s and most of my internet friends grew her for head stash but she was considered a smaller strain because back then we really didn’t understand temperature control and most of the people growing her were doing so in a bud room with temps above 80 degrees and in many cases close to 100 which almost no strain does well in except pure sativas. Since then we have learned to keep our rooms cooler and we have seen some of the older clone only strains shine in these conditions reaching some decent yields while producing simply primo buds.
We have used this clone to produce some amazing hybrids like Sputnik that’s featured on the cover of Big Book of Buds 3 and Vortex our current favorite medical strain it is in high demand for the happy up buzz it provides while still having a serious punch in potency a favorite of bubble hash makers to. I recently created a new hybrid we call “ The Void” using Apollo-13 and our new Querkle male that has a grape smell and purple coloring and this strain is currently a week into budding and already has a grape scent. One day I will find the male I want to work back to the Apollo mother plant until then we will have a lot of fun testing her offspring.
You can find Subcool and the Apollo-13 Hybrids at
www.tgagenetics.com



Breeder Quotes

"Apollo 11 & 13 are from the same mother plant (Genius). The father of Apollo 13 was P.75 whereas Apollo 11's dad is Cinderella 99. Apollo 13's mother was bred from a mysterious hybrid of Jack Herer crossed with an unidentified male which seems to have given it an unusually SHORT flowering period. Its scent is a pungent “Lemon Pledge” citrus with an undertone of acrid skunk. You really taste lemons when you smoke a joint. The high is STRONG, and starts hitting you while you're smoking it, rather than being a “creeper” high. It's easy to grow, matures rapidly, and manicures easily." MrSoul

"The potency of A13 and Cinderella are "on par" in strength, but the character of each high is unique. A13 is a more "happy, social high" although seriously potent. Cinderella has a bit more "paranoia-inducing" high. Neither one has the "couch-lock" effect -they give the smoker an "up", energetic feeling... good for doing something physical, as opposed to lying around comatose." MrSoul


From Brothers Grimm Original Discription

"Apollo 13: This skunky girl will make your eyes water with her pungent perfume. The delicate balance of Indica/Sativa makes Apollo 13 perfect for growers limited to a single strain. The long, fat colas and sparkling, sticky side branches really weigh in at harvest time. This is the type of smoke you can't hold down; it expands and “blasts off” from the lungs. The high is clear and cerebral, without a hint of paranoia. Her citrus flavor and happy high make Apollo 13 very popular at parties! Two hits and you can leave your own footprints on the moon. Flowering: 45-55 days Height: 120 - 150 cm.Yield: 400 gm/m2."
 

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subcool

Well-Known Member
The Brothers Grimm were Cannabis breeders that were only around for a short time but they had a huge impact on my Cannabis collection. One of the strains they created was Apollo-13 and it is without a doubt one of my all time favorite plants. Never mind the incredible red bubble hash she makes, or the fact that the buds produced by this plant will make a novice smoker sick due to it's amazing potency. Her best trait may be the genetics locked inside that produce such amazing hybrids when she is using in a breeding project. I have written extensively on the history of Apollo-13 but just in case your unfamiliar I better cover some facts. Apollo 13 is a cross between Genius and P75, two strains created by The Brothers Grimm. I grew the Genius variety back 8 years ago at the same time I was growing the Apollo-13 and let that cutting go because of her small yields. Back then I was much more concerned with yield over quality and I will always regret that decision as Genius an Apollo-11 phenotype was my second favorite smoke and considering Apollo is one of my favorites to this day I am sure genius would still be also. Only 500 of the Apollo-13 seeds were ever produced so its rare to start with and then from that small gene pool I am only aware of three cuttings that survive today from original stock. I am lucky enough to have saved not only 2 packs but also acquired one of the prize female cuttings close to the source. It is very hard to describe Apollo-13 as she is unique to all other plants excluding her hybrids. She has a strong smell that is a mix of sour rotting fruit as well as black pepper and an underlying citris smell that mixes with a skunky flavor. This is what The Brothers Grimm had to say;
"Apollo 13: This skunky girl will make your eyes water with her pungent perfume. The delicate balance of Indica/Sativa makes Apollo 13 perfect for growers limited to a single strain. The long, fat colas and sparkling, sticky side branches really weigh in at harvest time. This is the type of smoke you can't hold down; it expands and “blasts off” from the lungs. The high is clear and cerebral, without a hint of paranoia. Her citrus flavor and happy high make Apollo 13 very popular at parties! Two hits and you can leave your own footprints on the moon. Flowering: 45-55 days Height: 120 - 150 cm. Yield: 400 gm/m2."
So for years I grow this girl out writing stories about her exploits and making some great hash along the way and finally when I got into breeding Cannabis I used her to create one of my award winning strains called Vortex. Combining Apollo-13 with Space Queen we had an instant winner and one of the best of her hybrids that I had created. Online followers of my work urged me to continue my work with the Apollo-13 and back cross the mother plant in order to produce what we call in the breeding game a BX. This is a method of using a plants sibling male to pollinate the mother plant producing a hybrid with additional traits from the mother plant. In theory each time this stage is performed the resulting seeds produce plants more and more like the mother plant. Each time the step is taken the desirable traits of the mother plant are increased. I said in theory and what I have found is if you continue the process there is not a great benefit as far as stability goes. With one proper back cross of the correct plants can yield an amazingly close replica of the mother plant in high numbers.
The How
Once I was finally talked into this project by Apollo-13 lovers I started by germinating 20 Vortex seeds in order to find 10 males in order to select a breeding male from. As Luck would have it I got 19 female plants and even though the one male was a nice one we scrapped that project for the time being. Later that year I had another legal grower start 40 seeds for me and over time we worked our way down to 4 nice males that we put through our selection process until we found the one male that performed as we wanted. This process in very involved and time consuming as the only way to check the traits of a male is to breed to a known female. The resulting seeds are grown out and then the hybrid that most resembles the mom is noted and the male plant that produced this effect is saved. This is how we created Apollo-13 BX but I have one time saving trick, as a contributor to many medical groups I can donate these crosses to medical growers and collect their information and apply it to my research. This saves a great deal of time and I think works better than one person trying to track hundreds of plants over time.
By compiling all this information in 2009 we were ready to do a test release of our Apollo-13 BX to some medical growers and sat back to watch the findings. At the same time I had people close to me start a few packs so we could observe how the hybrid compared to the Apollo-13 mom. I knew we had a winner early but kept quite as I saw plants in early growth just covered in resin and by week 3 of budding I could start to smell traits I was all to familiar with in the BX. We released the strain privately late in 2009 and again watched as the gardens bloomed until we were sufficiently impressed. The strain went live in 2010 and quickly sold out in the first few weeks leaving us scrambling to make more.
Apollo-13 BX is the spitting image of her mother and I am hard pressed to tell the difference my looking at my own pictures of the two. Whats even more impressive is the collection of pictures I have collected by growers of Apollo-13 BX that look like I gave them my mother clone instead of them starting a few seeds. I am completely satisfied with the results and I cannot wait to get a sample tested for potency. Like her mother the high of Apollo-13 BX is inspirational and Motivating as long as you don't overdo your consumption. It's slightly creeper but you still feel it the second you inhale it just keeps building over time and I have more than once quickly took a few hits in between chores and found myself higher than I expected 15 minutes later. If you on the other hand take a few to many hits then your immobile physically but your mind is running wild with way to many ideas to actually get anything done.
Simply put this is Exceptional Cannabis
Subcool
www.tgagenetics.com


Apollo-13 BX

Apollo-13 X Vortex
Representing thousands of hours of selective breeding we proudly offer our first back cross of Apollo-13. Pain staking care was taken in the male selection and the project to locate him took 60 plants and over a year of research. The high is instant and powerful yet also invigorating and inspirational. Most of my writing is inspired by the THC profile of Apollo-13 as it provides a boost of mental energy. Apollo-13 is so prized for its Red Bubble Hash that many growers dream of processing the entire plant into Hash.
Simply stated I feel this is the best Cannabis produced in Seed Form!



1) Phenotypes- The Dominant Variation is a mirror of the mother plant
2) Height- Tall thin Sativa Look
3) Yield- Medium yield very resinous and sticky
4) Indoor/Outdoor
5) Best Way to Grow- Easy to shape and train allows any style of growing
6) Harvest Window-55-60 Days
7) Sativa/ Indica 85/15
8) Hybrid- Apollo 13 is a cross between Genius and P75 (a precursor to C99).
9)High type-.The high is clear and cerebral, without a hint of paranoia
10) Taste is almost indescribable, like Rotting fruit, citrus, and baby poo with a hint of pepper
 

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subcool

Well-Known Member
At the Cow
I witnessed something this weekend that I want to share with you and it looked a lot like Freedom for consenting adults. The 2010 International Cannabis and Hemp Expo is what I am talking about held at the famous Cow Palace. Yes this is the place that Keith Moon of the Who collapses and Evel Kineval once jumped his Harley at. Ngaio Bealum was one of the host and Bob Katzman the CEO of the even and considering the size and scope of this massive undertaking I was pretty impressed. There were some problems with Vendor access but Bob has worked closely with everyone and ask that anyone that had problems please let him know in an e-mail so that each time the event gets better. I arrived early Sunday and my crew had already set up both the VIP tent that we set up to chill with people as well as the indoor Vending Booth that sold TGA gear and both looked stellar. The VIP booth was complete with comfy couches and nice stuffed bean bags thanks to my Cali rep and his amazing wife. I think it was a huge hit only bested by the Hash Bar passing out free hash rips all day that you can see in the picture section I hope Ngiao sets up for all the shots we got. This event has already been heavily covered by the media so I thought I would take a different road and give you guys an in depth look into "The Connoisseurs Cup" judges package. Before we get into that though I wanted to go over the highlights for me and my crew. I have always wanted a bong with my name on it and my good friends J and J knew this and not only got Jill and I custom Delta9 bongs with each of our names sand blasted in but four custom TGA bongs that were used heavily during the two day event. The owner of Delta9 and his glass blowers are super accommodating and even gave us extra straight bowls and nice custom ash catchers. MzJill arrived about 10 am just as the event started looking incredible in a cute outfit she picked up just for the show. Lime green and pink bows I looked over when she walked up and knew I was the luckiest man alive. As I told a fan later Dude she came with genetics and she looks like that ad she's my wife!
While we stayed mainly in the VIP booth in the carded access area. Security was actually very tight and while it was easy to get a recommendation on site I do not think many people slipped in without the proper paper work and it was absolutely adults only. Inside my booth was one of the busiest there and we met so many people and gave bud samples to about 75% of them. Most of these came back and bought something which was not why we did it but it was nice to hear how much everyone enjoyed our work. I'd like to thank J also known as Norstar for all of his amazing indoor and outdoor TGA bud. Not only did he enter his own Hash but he donated heavily to this event helping Bob and even coming up with "The Connoiseurs Cup" name which Bob wants to duplicate at other events in Medicinal states.
In the VIP booth there was also a constant flow of visitors as well and I got to meet Dennis Perone who is in his own way very responsible for this event himself. Then Ed Rosenthal came by and made fun of one of the few rules we had that day and mocked the Red Line the fire marshal had imposed. I had promised the nice guts running the place I would smoke outside and even ask Jorge Cervantes to step outside when we got high together. Yep thats right Jorge came over to the booth and was just the nicest guy from the get go. I was honored when he came back by and spent almost 2 hours talking and toking with Jill and myself. I got a kick from people would come in and ask me questions while Jorge sat only 2 feet away. A few times I let people know this and there jaw would hit the floor as they realized that someone actually famous was sitting right next to them. MzJIll also really liked Jorge the three of us were able to get to know each other and just like me he is just a normal guy even if he does smoke mixed spliffs hehe. I was able to get him to sign an autograph for my little bro Titan :) I got some great shots of Jorge but I don't want to go spamming my new friend all over the net so those will remain in my private stash along with some more personal shots of Jack. I also got to spend some time with Richard Lee which is always inspiring and he showed me my section in his new catalogue.
Jack Herer was on everyone's minds and I was impressed to see Sensi Seeds present and handing out nice posters of Jack for free. I'd like to think it was a thank you for being associated with Jack so long. I was supposed to speak with Ed but he wanted his own time so I did my best and was pleasantly surprised to find this review of my talk and Q & A:
Subcool
Subcool is a master bud breeder and longtime grower. He and his team of breeders have developed 15-20 strains, such as Space Queen, Jack The Ripper, and Querkle. Subcool is also famous for stirring up the perfect organic-soil mix for pot plants that taste amazing, smell incredible and pack a potent, intoxicating punch. He is a talented photographer and the author of Dank: The Quest for the Very Best Marijuana.

At The International Cannabis and Hemp Exposition, Subcool said that he was only formally schooled through the ninth grade, and that his not a scientist. However he learned, and taught thousands of others along the way, how to organically grow the finest quality cannabis. Subcool said that he's been asked the question, "Subcool, what do you do when your plant is budding and it's full of powdery mildow?" To which he replied, "I throw it away, and I start over and I do it again right."

He stressed that strain genetics are significant, but methodology was of greater importance. Subcool encourages a technique called 'supercropping' which promotes a great yield of buds per plant and the use of worm castings, calling it "the miracle of the earth."

Subcool, who says he has been to prison four times, believes that, "money doesn't have to be the driving force" for cultivating cannabis. After years of experience and giving tips through online forums, Subcool started a seed company called TGA Genetics. He recalled deciding which strain to grow, "A friend would say to me, 'Grow this brother, I promise it will kick ass.'"

During a question and answer session, Subcool said that "feminized seeds are a gimmick being sold to the American public" to which he received a loud applause. Other growing tips for the day were that cannabis plants do best at 72 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 percent humidity. When asked about containers, Subcool recommended pots which hold seven gallons of soil. His final tip was to use the subcool soil mix and let it sit for three months and you will be growing magical Bud.
**www.indybay.org
Everyone in my crew worked their ass off so I must thank them when we left just 2 hours after the event our areas were clean of trash and cleaned up. Some people left huge messes which is just disrespectful but common with people. It was a great time and a very mellow event you never see problems at weed related events and this one was no different.
Next up The Samples :)
 

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subcool

Well-Known Member
Sample Box
With a legal card or recommendation this Box was only 300$
Yep anyone that was legal could buy this Judges Box

Lets look inside a bit
I know it's hard to believe but this actually took place
GDP Earwax by 7Stars
Easily the best by appearance only, then you load a bowl and this is damn close to heaven for me. Perfect full melt and almost no residue and the flavor is very nice. It's so much fun too smoke, at least for me because I like bubble so much that you don't really figure out its good until you've smoked a few bowls. By the time you start to feel the first few ultra clean hits your high as bat-shit as Carlin used to say. I have to note that this entry is massive and I am pretty sure much more than they were supposed to enter but I am not complaining but some of the other entry's might complain as that did give this one an unfair advantage. generally GDP does not make good bubble as it's an indica with smaller resin heads but I think this might be CO2 extracted. It is a bit harsh on the throat though but it might be chemically grown weed instead of some residue because it sure taste clean. This was the sample I voted as best in the Hash and Concentrates category.
Angels Care GPD X Master Kush
Someone asked me today on a thread online how you actually judge this much stuff in two days which is a good question. I have judged about 2 dozen events and usually the winner is head and sholders above the rest for me anyway. Many times second and third is a much harder choice as there quality is closer. I have always said that only a small percentage of people grow exceptional weed even though all growers think they're the best and this next sample once again proves this right. You are going to see a large percentage of Grand Daddy Purple crosses featured because the med community seems to really like Indica's and many of the Kushes simply don't taste that great. GDP has a nice taste and is so similar to our Urkle that I am not positive its not the same cutting. These samples did have a bit more of a lavender flavor but that could be method not genetics. This sample not only stood out for presentation but also quality, looks, smell the full package on this GDP X Master Kush. I grew MK back in the day and I can see how these two would work well and boy was this a fun sample! Heavy lavender as I mentioned but also very potent. I am going to guess it was chemically grown though because even though it tasted amazing after 4 bowls each which was the whole sample Jill and I both had scratchy throats. I might be wrong but I can tell you that I smoked a good deal of weed over the weekend and it messed with my repertory system much more than our organic bud does. That can't take away from this sample though which was my favorite in the Cannabis section and the winner of the event.
Angels Care Weapons Grade Sour Diesel
There hash sample was not nearly as good to me and in these cropped shots you can see the plant matter in the sample. It didn't melt and was pretty harsh but it did have a great diesel smell almost like an oily rag. it was so strong even with this small piece you go totally smell the fumes. It also gave me a nice uplifting buzz that I needed as I was kind of tired after working out today combined with the long weekend but it picked me right up after I chocked through 4 bowls. Yeah I know I am picky but I try and be fair. For basically some soft pressed sift it is pretty decent.
Organicann Blue Hawaiian
This Indica was also a very nice sample and scored high with both Jill and myself but I just felt the GPD X MK was more potent. This sample actually was a bit smoother to be honest but I still liked the other better. Having a slightly sour smell to go along with the lavender it was pungent but I found the smoke itself a bit flat and lacking the deep rich taste of the other sample. Very slick packaging with biodegradable plastic and a nice container to save. So far my second favorite sample.
 

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subcool

Well-Known Member
Medleaf Purple Candy
This sample looks really nice but it is not nearly as good as it looks, in fact it was quite harsh and both Jill and myself could barely hold a hit down. The smell of the bud was nice extremely similar to Urkle but something that was used during the grow really gave it a super harsh taste and created a hot dry smoke. There was also lots of shake in the sample jar which is kinda lame but I know that they need 12 ounces of a strain to enter and that can be hard we missed entering the Lemon 3d because my Cali guys only had 11 ounes. This was also the case with 3 other of TGA strains he was just short of 12 on any one strain so I should cut everyone who entered some slack I guess.
7 Stars Kush
Maybe the best sample of Kush I have ever tasted to be honest but that just means I hated it even more but props to the grower cause this stuff is over powering KUSH! MzJill liked it very much and it was grown to perfection. The sample was kind of broken up but it was all hard budlets covered in resin. Its clear that the 7 Stars crew knows Dank.
Putty Balls by Medleaf
I can't say anything good about this sample except it had cute packing and display. Pure Butane extraction and it has a after taste thats not good. Very potent and crossed my eyes but tasted very fuelish and not pure. I don't think it's a good idea to make butane extracts for medical people but it takes less work and I think thats why its common to make BHO. My concern is contaminants like nitrates and what long term use might cause.
ChemDawg by HopeNet
Having smoked this strain grown by Chemdawg himself I can speak with authority when I say this is easily as good as any Chem I have smoked. I still find this strain hot to smoke and lacking flavor but it's certainly potent and lots of growers swear by its heavy Indica stone. I thought this sample suffered just a bit by being crammed into this small container which broke up a pretty nice bud but I was still able to get a nice shot so you can see how mature the resin is and how well the sample was grown. I bet this sample placed high in the voting but the Purples took the day.
Shiva Stick by HopeNet
I tested this sample last night and I must fail this one. I am a huge Hash snob though and pretty much rate concentrates by how pure they are and how easily they bubble and melt. This was mostly pressed kief and not very pure. It had a green taste and smoldered on the screen which is a bad sign. I can't speak for the potency as I just couldn't get past the bad taste.
GDP Full Melt by Norstar
I liked this sample very much but again with this one it was presentation and a minute sample that hurt it's placing higher. The small containers seemed charged with static electricity and the small crumbs had magnetized to the sides and was almost impossible to get out and into a bowl. It was very dry which added to the quality of the sample and had a nice musty merlot flavor. I was able to scrape 3 small bowls off the sides and that was enough to give me a nice body high and reduce some of the pain in my knee. I walked a great deal over the weekend and my rebuilt knee was swollen and sore and this sample really helped ease the pain and help me sleep.
SPG Exodus Cheese
This sample was saved till the end for a reason. It was grown by a good friend who is an amazing grower and I knew it would be grown to perfection. The only reason he didn't enter any of the TGA indoor was he was just short of the 12 ounces required to enter of any one strain. His Third Dimension would have got my first place vote for sure. Instead he entered this Green house grown Cheese and he did a primo job on it. His Green house plants are massive so the 12 ounces were no problem, you can see copious resin on the well cured sample and I let MzJill test this one as she is the Cheese lover in our home. When I asked her opinion she commented it tasted just like ours meaning our Indoor Organic so I'd say he did an amazing job!
SPG
Scotland Yard
This sample was a surprise to me again made by my good friend I didn't expect a blend to melt so well and taste so good. You can easily taste the mix of fruit flavors but its also quite potent and as I was testing the sample I was having a hard time focusing on the text. The amount needed to enter the Concentrates cup was again quite large so to be able to produce something of this quality in large amounts is very impressive to me. It melts nicely and leaves very little residue and I am going to have to give this one second place just under the GDP Earwax I liked so much. On a side note this cat gave me some Gooey Full melt during the show to smoke on while I was at the VIP booth and it was the best thing I smoked all week including the GPD wax. Well done Norstar!
There were a few more samples but nothing to write about. I have learned its better to not say anything if all you have to say is bad. Certainly all of the samples were first class but I am a snob when it comes to Cannabis and like every contest I have judges there are always a few entries I am amazed were even entered. Overall though this was the best judges kit I have ever seen and I hope I get to see something like this again. The design and the quality as well as all the little extras like an amazing medible Cookie and papers, Glass One Hitter and the cool joint and bud holders I am pretty sure anyone would be impressed. I know MzJill and I were and I hope you enjoyed this in depth Look into "The Connoisseurs Cup"

Subcool
 

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subcool

Well-Known Member
Black Cherry Soda
First Look
As a photographer I am simply in love with this plant. Each day brings more vivid contrasting colors and just when I thought I had seen the most pink buds ever, it turns a even cooler color. I first tasted a small piece of this strain about 6 months ago and I am rarely impressed with stray samples that come around but this one got my attention. If you follow my work you know that I never really loved the Black Russian strain I worked with a few years back and I let the parents go. This strain which we do not know the parentage of has a similar flavor but the Black Berry is much more pronounced and it has a much denser structure and a ton more visible resin. The trichomes are stacked together and have a pink/magenta hue to them in my macro close ups. I asked one of my colleagues in the medical community" Dioxide" if I could get a cutting and a few weeks later he let me know he had secured a cutting. The only problem was that it was sick and it had mites and who knows what else so Dioxide transplanted the cutting and put her into his plant hospital. Once the plant was free of bugs and healthy enough to take fresh cuttings from he did so. The clones rooted about 7 days later and I was happy to learn one had my name on it. The Cutting came from a Dude named Fat Dave that is all I know but I also know unique when I see it!!! I also put the clone into quarantine which means I kept it separate from my main medical garden and made sure it was pest free for a few weeks before introducing her into my main area.
The plant grew well but very little side branching occurred and I had to top her several times to form a nice bush which took some additional time. I grew the plant under 18/6 light schedule until she was 30" tall with multiple heads. Once the plant was placed into the flowering room (12/12) it was only a few weeks before the pink coloring started to show. I have pictures at week 3 that already show the plants unusual trait of a pink inner bud while the leaves remain dark green. By week 4 of budding the plant was covered in resin and a vibrant light pink color. The plant was grown in my super soil and until day 30 fed only water. At day 30 I like to give the plants some sugars and starches and apply Bud Candy and Sucanat ( Raw Sugar) which increases resin production and enhances smell. This is an old trick farmers have been using for years but it also feeds the many beneficial microbes in my soil. Week six brought a deep magenta coloring covered in resin so deep the upper buds look frosted. The smell was like Black Berry wine or maybe even liquor with a hint of something else we call "Soda". The combination of smells is very strong when the plant is moved around and each time my arms are just covered in resin and feel sticky.
Is the plant good enough to breed with? I haven't determined that but I won't be killing the clone anytime soon. We are growing out a Devil Berry hybrid that has solid purple leaves and is also known for its Berry taste so that is one possible pairing. The first outcross we would consider is with our Space Queen male. He could make a turnip potent if you bred him to one so that's usually my first step. If we do and if that increases potency and the plant looks like a good stable mother we might explore further.
By day 51 the plant doesn't even look real in person much less in pictures. If anyone is thinking these photo's have been doctored they haven't. I don't know how and I use simple CFL bulbs and reflectors and the only thing I do in Photoshop is Resize for the web. This plant is actually this color and in fact as I said maybe a little more stunning in real life. The one big difference though between my eye and my Sigma 105 MM Macro lens and my eye is to me it looks mature. Every hair withered and they have changed to a rust color. The camera how ever allows me to zoom in using Photoshop and magnify the trichome heads. This allows me to see clearly how many are clear, cloudy, and starting to turn amber. This is the true indication of floral maturity and I like to harvest when 30% of the heads are the color of Cola. I don't always pull this off and when I have needed the room I have harvested to soon and missed this perfect window. So I have harvested the two main cola's to allow more light on to the juicy second shelf buds that were shaded the upper buds and the massive fan leaves that were attached.
I have now smoked a few different samples of this colorful strain and I enjoy smoking it very much. It has a high "smokability" (I think I created this bogus word) factor because it taste so good but also because its not as potent as some of my hybrids. The flavor is indeed of Blackberry's and the taste comes through the smell very well. There is an underlying "Kush" smell but its mild and this is one of the best tasting strains of its type that I have tasted to date. I can easily take in 5-7 small bowls of this strain when something like my Vortex or Space Bomb would medicate me in 2-3 of the same size bowls.
We like the traits of this strain so much we are working on several hybrids created with her the first that is just finishing going through the testing process shows great promise, we call her Plush Berry and she seems to have that same amazing smell and Pink coloring but you will have to wait till next time for that story :)
 

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subcool

Well-Known Member
TGA named this Cutting Bloodwreck to distinguish it from the Arcata, TGA is Subcol, Dioxide, TCcurtiss, Jinxproof, Miss Rose and all the other amazing reps we have around the world. Thanks to MzJill for her support during the start of TGA.

I heard of the strain Trainwreck way back on the east coast when I was still smoking brown imports. It was spoken about like it was the long lost epic weed and I always hoped I would get the opportunity to work with a clone or hybrid of the cross. The first time I actually got to sample any of the bud was traveling from Arizona to Humbolt county to visit a friend who had invited me up. The weed scene in Prescott was horrible and we were used to smoking dirt weed about 50% of the time and I will always remember how as I traveled north the quality of weed got better and better. I was broke and on the run back then and I traveled the way many people in those circumstances did I rode the Dog! You meet some colorful people when you ride on a Greyhound bus and this trip was no different. In Vegas a couple got me high on some nice green outdoor but by the time we hit northern Cali at a rest stop a dude broke out a nice glass pipe full of Bubblehash and I knew I was headed in the right direction. As I talked with this cat he told me he was from Arcata and had been down south visiting a relative and was on his way back home. He asked if I had any bud and I said no so he gave me a nice hunk of indoor and as we re-boarded the bus I thanked him and ask what kind? He says that’s Train wreck bud and gave me a big old grin that said without words I wouldn’t forget smoking his gift. Once I actually got to my destination I was pretty impressed that dudes bud was better than anything I smoked while visiting my friend including the Salmon Creek Big Bud and other local strains.
Once I finally moved out west and started growing out all the famous west coast genetics I met a young guy who gave me cuts of Purple Urkle and Arcata Trainwreck and I grew both of them out. We still grow and love the Urkle cutting and used it to create our cross called Querkle but the Trainwreck was a different story. The final bud was very potent there is no doubt of that but from a growers stand point the plant was very tall and very picky producing male stamens ( Herms) as early as week 6 of budding. IT also had a woody acrid taste that I couldn’t get past. This taste I learned is what Train wreck is known for but as I tasted other samples I learned there are at least a few different cuttings of the plant. In the book of Dank I detailed this particular cutting on page 88 but after growing it to harvest several times I decided not to breed with it and to stop growing it.
Last year my best mate, Dioxide ran across a cutting found by Smokescreen, story goes he scored a nice sack of Train wreck buds grown by a cat that has been growing the Trinity and the Trainwreck for sometimes. Smokescreen found a few seeds in the sack and grew them out finding one female that was exceptional. Dioxide was given a cutting of this female and started running it at his place. All 3 of us are legal card holders under state law and we trade cuttings pretty regularly with people that need better genetics or something for a specific ailment. Now while I am not a fan of Trainwreck myself I know incredibly potent weed when I see it and this was some of the most potent I had smoked in a long while. Turning a dark maroon almost black color the plant is completely covered with raised resin stalks crowded together so tightly they seem to form a web entwined glass beads. The plant is also virtually mildew proof, this trait would be very desirable to those growing outdoors in wetter climates.
This particular cutting has another unusual trait in that she will turn almost completely black in color by harvest with just a minimal temperature drop between light and dark periods. Dioxide has mastered this technique and his is fully transformed into a Black Red by harvest. At first the leaves will fade from green to red then maroon and finally a deep blood color. We added the prefix to distinguish this cutting from the Arcata or any other Train Wreck cutting. Everyone out west seems to have a cutting they favor and who really knows the origins of any of them but the taste of the strain is unmistakable and the very first hybrid we created using our Blood Wreck tested at 22.01 THC % which is very high.
The most important factor to me was its stability, unlike other cuttings this one does not produce hermaphrodites even under stress. It tolerates my hot soil and thrives at high PPM levels of nutrients. Outdoors it's slightly effected by high temps and gets wrinkled leaves but this only happens at temps above 95 and does not seem to effect the flowering phase.
When we share some of the finished flowers with seasoned Train Wreck smokers they are always very impressed and blown away by the resin production the dry buds look like there covered in glass dust but are nothing more than but Organic cannabis.
Thanks to Dioxide for pointing out this amazing cutting and urging me to work with it.
Blood Wreck
The most stable Trainwreck cutting I have ever grown out with crippling potency
Sativa/ Indica 40/60
Harvest Time 60 days
Phenotype Classic Train Wreck taste and high with a nice Dark flowering pigment
Height Medium and wide
Parentage Train Wreck X Trinity
Grow Advise Lower temps 2 degrees per day for 1 week 2 weeks prior to harvest
Yield Heavy
Aroma Lime and Sandlewood with skunk undertomes
Type of High At first the high is up and in the head but quickly drops into the body and transforms into a slow stone
 

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subcool

Well-Known Member
There was some confusion on this article because Quick Trading left off the credit to Bong I clearly asked for like 4 times knowing how slack publisers are I made up with Bong and I hope he enjoys this look back. Fucking Amazing pics
All Pictures by Bongorilla!!!

Purple Jacks Cleaner?


Last year I created a new strain called Querkle combining Purple Urkle and Space Queen that has really taken the purple growing world by storm. During the creation of this new strain we had an active Querkle male that exhibited amazing purple stamens. The plant was so deeply colored that even the pollen has a pinkish tint. Even the small trichomes on the male plant were tinted a pink color. When we select a new male we automatically use his pollen on our two most proven females. Because we have worked with these mother plants for so many years tracking the off spring can tell us what traits the male passes on. We use two completely different type plants as each combination of genetics can make something very different with each set of parents. The two females we choose to test with other than Urkle were Jacks Cleaner and Apollo-13. We have learned the best way to test a strain is to let several growers start the seeds and have them report what they see to me.
This allows the new strain to be tested under multiple conditions and skill levels and really puts a new creation to the ultimate test. One of the growers that took on the challenge of growing out Jacks Cleaner X Querkle ( Qleaner) was Bongorilla.
Bongorilla is a well-known and respected grower with the skill of growing really large plants indoors. Bongorilla germinated the plants and grew them out in fox farm and happy frog soil and then transplanted later into 5 gal grow bags with Ocean forest soil.
He will be supplementing with, bat guano (budswell), maybe some worm castings, but later in the flowering cycle he will be adding conniseur as he is a big fan of that formula. It seems to work very well with organics and it rocks in soil too. Big Bud as well as overdrive will also be used so it will be organic with steroids.
He used natural sunlight as much as possible, and put all the little plants in a garden window and they loved it. To keep them from budding the sunlight was mixed with T-5 fluorescents or compact flouros.
Bong noted that the strain is a very heavy feeder requiring additional nutrients to prevent early fading. They are eating Iguana Juice Grow @ 2.0 ec (1000 ppm) with humics and fulvic acid + cannazym. At 4 weeks of age and needed to be transplanted into larger containers much earlier than other strains. Just before transplanting all the qleaners soil was top-dressed with worm castings and iguana juice at full label strength. They were moved to a warmer environment to help with nitrogen uptake. Its a job keeping these girls fed. They like to eat so much.
At 45 days the plants started to show sex and seven confirmed females from 9 seeds started and they were transplanted into larger containers.
Plant A is the most vigorous in the pack and was topped due to height. she has a thin blade sativa like leaf structure that looks a little like spacequeen. While there are slight differences all of the plants have fairly tight internodal spacing and sit fairly squat.
By day 34 of budding there is no room for more trichomes! The plants are completely encrusted with THC jewelry and the plants are starting to take on some amazing smells. Bong was smelling hints of Grape and Cherry and amazingly to his surprise one female smelled like Banana. The most vigourous (pheno A) had to be culled due to naners which is very unfortunate because she smelled exactly like bananas with a skunky undertone.
Phenotype B started fading to a nice purple color as early as week 4. But the stand out at this point was female C. This plants bud structure is very unique and reminds me of a Kush..it looks to be a fair yielder but not the best of the 3..but this 1 is almost as purple as a granddaddy thats growing next to it. This female has the grapey qualities I am looking for and I bet this 1 will be pure purple in the end. This variation will definitely be run again for further testing. There is large variation in this hybrid but it looks like the stand out females, really stand out a lot.
The females are about 50+% purple and may have turned an even deeper purple if it were to go a little longer and the buds weren’t so covered with resin. At day 56 it smelled awesome and the frost really jumps out and the trichomes are cloudy, few clear, and few amber. The smell is about as good as grape gets that is why Bongorilla will probably stick with organics on this and others.
One of the females buds actually ended up with a Banana smell and taste and I don’t think I have to explain how happy the Ape man is over this turn of events. I have never heard of a strain smelling like grapes and bananas but leave it to Bongorilla to turn one up.
Minitrkn420 was another of our test growers for this new strain. He started 9 seeds and from these got 8 female plants. These are not feminized seeds we just seem to have a knack for females from our seeds. Mini also uses a variation of my concentrated soil and loves it! He has become a huge fan of organic buds. He also got great results but his plants were only half way through at the time I wrote this article.
Bongorilla named his favorite plant Ice Grape Crush for the taste and the looks of the completely encrusted buds with a purple tint.
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So if your looking for something extremely potent with the chance of Purple give this one a try while its still easy to grab.

Your kidding me with these pictures right???
I hope I helped Bong advance his Photography career with this door opening.
 

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Veronica@

Member
Thank you for your input Sub. I use allot of the technics you write on. I have enjoy several harvest of TGA genetics. Love to be in the garden. The best part is whipping out the magnifying glass. With momentary screams of "Oh my God, Oh my God"..Peace. Sub & Mzjill.
 

muttt

Member
Sub,

I don't normally come to this forum. But, I saw your post on facebook and figured I'd come over and check it out. I doubt you remember me from the School of Dank. I was just over at the Tacoma Farmer's Market yesterday. Hung out with Rick, Rex, Farmer John and his crew. You should come up and visit again some time soon.
 

Shawns

Active Member
I really enjoyed reading these some I've never read before and they're always so well written witch makes it hard to stop reading. Thanks for sharing
 

subcool

Well-Known Member
Creating Better Cannabis
Many people collect things as a hobby, we are no different except we collect “Elite strains of Cannabis” usually in clone-only format. In the last 25 years I have collected and grown-out hundreds of strains. I have traveled to Holland and attended the Cannabis Cup, 7 times. I’ve also lived in Amsterdam. One thing I believe is that the best Cannabis in the world is still in North America, in some unknown garden and belongs to someone without internet access. We have been lucky enough to collect some amazing examples. Some of my all time favorites are Genius and Apollo-13 by Brothers Grimm, also Killer Queen and Space Queen by Vic High. Our most potent strain is Jack’s Cleaner, a Pluton X LambsBread X Purple Haze freak, which can literally make a non-grower puke if they’re not used to her brutal raw potency. We call it the “they’re coming to take me away” stone. We grow in 100% organic soil mix I prepare myself using potting soil, bat guano, worm castings, and other natural soil builders. We feel the biosynthesis that takes place in soil adds something that cannot be measured. We use 10 gallon containers so the roots have lots of room. We would like to share with you a little of what goes into breeding a new strain.
Breeding has many complexities that I won’t begin to try and explain here today. But I think our main goal was very simple, to combine an extremely potent “Sativa hybrid” with a “heavy yielding, ultra purple strain”. The results would be a purple strain with the potency added from that parent. What gets tricky is many strains like G-13 are extremely dominant and can take over a cross. When you cross BlueBerry and G-13, usually you just make a nasty tasting, watered down version of both. This doesn’t mean that there are not good Blueberry G-13 crosses; its just breeding is not as easy as 2+2=4. There is also a big difference between “breeders” and “seed makers”. Anyone can take a male and pollinate a female. This is not breeding; it is making copies with large variations. Again if they’re sold cheap, a winner can still be found if enough seeds are grown out. The difference is the selection process of the parent strains.
The Momma’s and The Poppa’s
Selection of the mother plant (or P1) was easy, Apollo-13 is in the top 3 of my favorite strains and I think it may be the most unique strain we have. Blending potency and a bizarre putrid-rotting-fruit smell, that make it a one of a kind. Selection of a male Black Russian was not as easy. The first mistake people make in selecting a male is by choosing the most vigorous. Remember those complexities I mentioned earlier? Well, the recessive drug traits we seek are stashed away in non-vigorous males. Think about the plant in the wild, the natural progression of Cannabis is back to Hemp. The drugs strains we have today are a direct result of human intervention. Robert Clark says it better “In the wild, the early males always win the breeding contest. Without proper selection, these early males cause "acclimatization" of the variety, and a decrease in drug quality. This is the "dominant" state of Cannabis. If it were otherwise, why would we need breeders? All you would have to do is let the plants do their own thing and they would become more potent over time, but they don't. The only way drug varieties ever get better is through human intervention in the natural order.”
So, in order to find these recessive traits we choose males based loosely on the following. At time of germination are there any capitate trichomes on the cotyledon leaves? The number and frequency of non-glandular trichomes; this can be a great indicator of future glandular production. The earliest males to show sex get tossed, no ifs ands or buts. Dominant males are useless for drug (misuse of this rule has caused more hermaphrodite strains than the world deserves) Cannabis. If these basics are followed during each male selection process, then this gives us a much better chance of finding the genes we want. This is not meant to be a guide for anyone, just a basic explanation of what a “Cannabis Breeder” looks for when selecting strains to work with and/or improve upon.
Sometimes taste is the desired goal or maybe potency. I have taken cherry flavored Ortega and crossed it with Killer Queen to create a cherry phenotype called Danny Boy. Danny Boy is done in 48 days and the taste is like cherry candy. The famed Jack’s Cleaner was crossed with a BlueBerry to create Batgirl and then JCB males from that cross have created entire seed companies. Our JCB male has blue pollen sacs and drips with resin.
Also in the works is an Orange Velvet X Space Queen that will be our first Pineapple-Orange offering. This is MzJill’s creation so we have named it JillyBean. Orange Velvet is a PNW strain obtained from “some Hippies” as the story goes. Our goal is to create bad ass strains that we want to grow out and smoke ourselves. Once breeding pairs are selected then they are sent to BadBoy to replicate successful crosses or create insane new things BadBoy’s Astro Boy (Apollo-13 X Ortega C99).


Sputnik 1.0
Once we had the Black Russian X Apollo-13 cross complete we gave it a name. Sputnik seemed like a logical selection and I think you can see we were beyond successful. We grew-out several seeds and we found that basically, we get two different phenotypes. The first is an eye-candy lady that you see so much of, starting with pink calyx and just oozing resin; we knew instantly we had achieved our desired results. Smelling like Blackberry jam and swelling to a wonderful large cola-covered-THC-factory. I will never tire of photographing this girl. At 4 weeks the pink stared changing to a magenta color and even the trichomes took on a pink to purple coloring. This particular phenotype, we gave the name Pinky. The other phenotype (Whitey) was a surprise to me and also a valuable learning experience! Whitey exhibited no purple coloring in fact the plant was ultra-white and during flowering, she almost smelled like a “blue cream soda”. As the plant matured it took on a weird pungent smell and before it cured out a bit, MzJill and I both thought it smelled pretty foul. After about two weeks of curing I decided to give it another chance and it knocked my socks off. A grower friend, who sampled it, said it almost gave her visuals. So we knew the cross had potential. Now how to improve on her again?
Back Crossing
The concept of back crossing, again is simple in theory, you only pollinate to your P1 mother plant using sibling male offspring. Selecting a male from the Sputnik 1.0 cross we then pollinated the Apollo-13 sugar mom, using a male selected by the criteria explained above. The first cross can be explained as a 50/50 and the second a 25/75 with 75% of her make up coming from the Apollo-13 mother. That 75% cross, or Sputnik 2.0, is now complete and ready for the final stage. The seeds arrived at Dr Chronic’s on 4/20, and are now available to the public. The great thing about using this breeding method is you don’t have to stop at 3 crosses; you can always do it again and see what happens. We have a different plan though. Once Sputnik 3.0 is complete, we will then grow out 100 seeds and select 10 males and 10 females. The best will be used to create “Cubed” Apollo-13; these seeds will be stable and extremely valuable representing thousands of hours of work. These seeds can be used to create true breeding IBL’s, or used to find more P1’s for future breeders to incorporate into there genetic pool. TGA and Subcool will continue to strive for the best in new crosses and the search for recessive genetics.



P1-The name of the parent to which a hybrid is crossed in a backcross.
F2- generation : The progeny resulting from self hybridization or inbreeding of F1 individuals is called Second Filial or F2 generation.
F1- generation : The progeny produced from a cross between two parents (P1) is called First Filial or F1 generation.
inbred line- (IBL) - A line produced by at least five generations of sequential inbreeding, self fertilization or backcrossing accompanied by selection within and between lines so that the individuals are considered to be homozygous, or nearly so.
Homozygous - An individual possessing (receiving from parents) identical alleles for a trait is said to be homozygous or pure for that trait, e.g. plant with RR alleles is homozygous for the seed shape. A homozygous always breeds true for that trait.
Phenotype - The external (morphological) appearance of an individual for any trait or traits is called the phenotype, e.g. for seeds, round shape or wrinkled shape is the phenotype
Capitate-Botany: forming a head like mass or dense cluster, as the flowers of plants in the composite family. Enlarged and globular at the tip.
Dominant - said of an allele which by itself alone will produce a particular phenotype regardless of which other allele may be present on the other matching chromosome of the diploid pair; thus it takes only one copy of the chromosome to cause a dominant trait to be expressed in the phenotype.
Genome - the total genetic information possessed by an individual, a breed or a species.
Genotype - the invisible genetic makeup of an individual organism, which includes alleles which may be recessive and therefore have no visible physical expression.
 

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