[bmiss]

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[bmiss]

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[Mystic Funk]

Hi bmiss

without seeing the plants I can't give you a clear answer. as far an males go. the only real way to find out if your male is any good. you'll need to do some test crosses..
I would start out by picking two of your favorite plants and crossing them together and see what the male adds to the cross..
what I look for is: healthy fast growth, thick stems, good root growth, pest resistance, leaf shape/size, node length, pretty much anything you want to add too your female. some males will even produce trichomes!
some people smoke males. some people rub the stem and smell. some people reverse male. it's all up to you. find what YOU like and go with that. most of the time other people will like it too.
I could go on for days about this but that's the short answer..

also there are threads on Dj Short breeding on icmag.

peace!
-mystic

[MJPassion]

I'd go through those a couple varieties at a time, so as to not overwhelm yourself, and choose the best (personal opinion) plants that suit your needs/desires & make filial crosses (F2,3,4,etc.) as well as cross to other existing desirable plants.

The seeds that stand out to me are the C99, NL & Hindu Kush... & maybe the Rawdawg.
I'd keep pure lines of those throughout your projects.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[bigbadbiddy]

I would say that depends largely on your goal as well.

If you are just crossing to see what comes out of it, then any combination will do.


I mean it is easy to say that Peaks NL has a good reputation and NL has been a proven pollen donor in soooo many crosses throughout the years.
And it is pure or almost pure indica which is also preferable for the pollen donor side according to many.


But what is your goal?
If you are trying to refine the Sativa effects from the C99 or Spice or Sweet Skunk, then crossing the NL to it likely won't achieve your goal.
If you want to give those strains more of an indica punch and improve overall potency, shorten flowering time, have more vigor/"better" growth structure etc. etc. then looking for a good male in Peak's NL would be a worthwhile undertaking.

I would discard all the Alphakronik strains though for sure...

[bmiss]

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[bigbadbiddy]

I did a lot of research before spending quite a bit on seeds.

Alphakronik was among the seed peddlers that I could not take serious as breeders.
Not 100% certain but I think I read elsewhere that they use pics of other breeders for their strains and generally just pollen chuck and sell F2s while labelling it as their own breeding work.
Or something of that sort.
The market is full of these types of "breeders" and I am fairly certain that Alphakronik belongs in that category.


Since you don't have a particular goal in mind I suggest the following:
Let mother nature guide you.

Grow out your beans and select the most promising males and females and have at it.

Alternatively do what the others suggested: Open pollination i.e. cross everything with everything (while growing out one variety at a time).


Basically you gotta decide if you want to "preserve" the strain you have or if you want to refine it according to your desires/tastes (some call this "bottlenecking" which I believe is a better description for the risk you have going this route if you make mistakes, not necessarily what will happen if you selectively breed).

If you want to make beans that will stay as true to the original strain you got as possible, then you want to "preserve" and thus should go with open pollination.

If you want to change stuff around a bit, possibly create something new or just overall start on the hunt for your personal grail, then you may want to grow stuff out, test the females, decide on your favorite(s) and then select your favorite males and go at it with crossing.