Holy crap

[Macster2]

I've some Critical mass .Ive been growing from seed about 12 which are going to be future mothers. there about 20" tall 5-6 weeks in age. there were up till a week ago under 24 hrs light and I've been waiting for them to show me sex.
Well a week ago I went 12/12 reluctantly as I after determining their sex I have to switch back to 24hrs light.
STILL NOTHING (stubborn bastards and bitches).
After finding out their sex and eradicating the males,how soon after swiching back can I take clippings? How much longer till sex shows?? This is frustrating.

 

[Ms_Weekend]

if youve gone a week 12/12, I would switch back to 24 now and they should show within the next week.....then you can take clones immediately when they show sex......or if your planning on flowering them anyways at this point, just keep them on 12/12 & take clones of the females as soon as they show.....they will be alright

 

[Macster2]

Tks Ms Weekend
I'm looking forward to this bud and I promise to never let it happen again (let my mothers die out).

 

[Macster2]

Hey Ms.weekend
Couple out of 11 plants showed as males today I'll leave them 12/12 till tomorrow and switch back but if I get 9 females WOW no probs with the number of cuttings I can take. I've a couple that are short and fat.One that's tall and thin and the rest medium sized. which for you were the best producers??

 

[Ms_Weekend]

its been a while since I did seed so i kinda forget......I know I didnt keep the short ones because the stretch was very low on them...they would be good for sog or vert......lots of golfball sized buds on my short ones, no huge producers on my shorties....I cant remember if I kept the tallest one or not, might have been......my keeper just happened to be the frostiest & the biggest yielder......either way your about to be very surprised by ur best seed run EVER......hope you get a nice keeper

 

[Macster2]

Photo bucket dropped all your photos any chance you can repost them?

 

[oregon024]

Man your going to stress them out and make hermies possible if you put them on 12/12 leave it alone.

 

[EvilTwin]

Man your going to stress them out and make hermies possible if you put them on 12/12 leave it alone.

Not true. This used to be the traditional way of determining gender. Never had a herm from doing it either.
ET

 

[superultramega]

I wouldn't switch back to 24 now.

just take clones of all of them and number them corresponding to the plants you cut them from. When you find a male, pull it and the clones.

If you F with the light now, your grow won't be as indicative of future mono crops of the one you pick. It'sll take another grow to dial everything in.

 

[superultramega]

Not true. This used to be the traditional way of determining gender. Never had a herm from doing it either.
ET

Some strains herm easier than others.

just sayin'

 

[EvilTwin]

Some strains herm easier than others.

just sayin'

All due respect Superultramega...but revegging isn't really a herm trigger.

Guest222 is planning on reverting to veg mode after gender reveals itself. Ms_Weekend obviously is familiar with the technique. When I say that this was the standard technique...I mean if you opened up a grow book from the 70s...turning lights to 12/12 and back again was the method presented.

I've been growing since the early 70s and never had a herm using that technique and that included original Thai-stick Thai (which eventually hermed in bloom).

So not to worry guest222, you'll be ok. Just be patient and take care of your clone Mommas!

And a better technique for sexing plants is to take a cutting off of them...and root the clone under 12/12. Once the clone shows gender, then you know what the gender of the parent plant is. It's faster then having to go through the re-vegging.
ET

 

[FreezerBoy]

just take clones of all of them and number them corresponding to the plants you cut them from. When you find a male, pull it and the clones.

That's what I do. I use colored toothpicks to match cuts to donors. Note the 4 cuts at left but, 5 at right? I miss set my aquarium heater which left the bubbler steaming hot, well into the 90s. The "green" cut looked dead but, the green toothpick told me exactly where to go for a replacement.

 

[Throwgar]

'Aint finding that right bitch a bitch?

I'm in the same process right now, I germed about a dozen different varieties, each with 5 - 15 seeds. Keeping everything straight is mind boggling, especially since I'm taking the rooted clone route to sex the mother plants.

 

[Macster2]

I know what you're all saying and I've found most show their sex preflower. this one appears to be stubborn or I was'nt quite patient enough, either way its about the same length of time to sex cuttings as it is to go 12/12 and revert back which is why I did it this way.
from this point on I plan to be more careful with my mothers and buy strictly feminized seeds. Which seem to me to be well worth it.
Tks all for opinions.

 

[superultramega]

All due respect Superultramega...but revegging isn't really a herm trigger.

No I wouldn't be too worried about it either. But I have seen strains herm from the slightest of irregularities, even pre-flower. hence, just sayin'. I would be more concerned with a different initial grow cycle which would put me behind in dialing in the new strain/pheno.

get a notebook and number your clones. This is about as difficult as a junior high science lab if you organize well. I draw out the arrangement and assign each plant a number and my clones are all numbered with a list which corresponds the clone numbers to their mother. When you find a male pull the clone numbers associated with it. Likewise when you find something you like, you know which clones to propagate.

 

[EvilTwin]

SUM...
I definitely agree that it's not the fastest way to go. But you aren't really getting the plant into full-on bloom mode...just enough to show gender and then re-veg and can be made even quicker using Ms_Weekend's suggestion. Us old-timers tend to stick with what works and it was only a few years ago that I started cloning-for-gender.

One problem with the cloning technique...
Not everyone has developed the skill to clone successfully. I see plenty of threads from people who just can't seem to get it right...and not from lack of trying. And taking a cutting and putting it under the dual stress of flowering and forming roots adds another degree of complication to it.

I'd even go so far as to suggest rooting the cuttings first before switching them to 12/12 (if cloning is a problem for you). Another time waster but so would be failed clones. Just some thoughts...
ET

PS: And for those unfamiliar with cloning-for-gender. They sometimes will survive...but all you really need is for them to survive long enough to show sex...so in that way they can be considered to be sacrificial.

 

[Macster2]

Okay I just repotted 9 plants plenty for the cuttings I'm going to take.Only put them in 12/12 for 8 days the the flowers are obvious.Critcal mass is going to flower real fast.
I always did my cloning with spray misters but I might retry the pucks I need fast results any suggestions?

 

[superultramega]

SUM...
I definitely agree that it's not the fastest way to go. But you aren't really getting the plant into full-on bloom mode...just enough to show gender and then re-veg and can be made even quicker using Ms_Weekend's suggestion. Us old-timers tend to stick with what works and it was only a few years ago that I started cloning-for-gender.

One problem with the cloning technique...
Not everyone has developed the skill to clone successfully. I see plenty of threads from people who just can't seem to get it right...and not from lack of trying. And taking a cutting and putting it under the dual stress of flowering and forming roots adds another degree of complication to it.

I'd even go so far as to suggest rooting the cuttings first before switching them to 12/12 (if cloning is a problem for you). Another time waster but so would be failed clones. Just some thoughts...
ET

PS: And for those unfamiliar with cloning-for-gender. They sometimes will survive...but all you really need is for them to survive long enough to show sex...so in that way they can be considered to be sacrificial.

I'm actually talking about the other way around. Put your seeds in veg and take as many cuttings as you need from each. Then put the seed plants into flower and pull males as necessary. Pull the corresponding clones which you've made for your next crop or for mothers. The seed plants go through normal veg and flower. They are telling you which clones are good, not the other way around.

I still can't understand how people have difficulty with cloning. I don't remember ever losing even one. But you're right people do have problems with it.

 

[Macster2]

Okay superultramega
which method do you use for cloning?

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Just take cuts of each [labelled] mum, stick cuttings stems through numbered [permanent marker...] plastic labels, into rooting cube, [that way you never mix them up by markers getting lost] ...put the cuttings into 12/12 light in the propagator, continue vegging mums, the cuttings show sex almost as quick as the parents would have, but without setting the parents back by switching and revegging them, like another poster said, it may provoke Hermis or some other crap, why do it, when you do not need to ?