Diary 2023 on the Chernozem: Zacateca Tribute and PCK crosses

[RobFromTX]

My Zacatacas are coming along. 12 days from seed in this pic. I cant wait until flower so i can get those delicious fruity smells everyones describing. Good luck with your grow

 

[yoss33]

Good luck to you too, Rob! I'm following your grow in the Green Mountain Seeds thread. Would be interesting to compare the indoor and outdoor grown plants, at least visually

The outdoor plants are taking off! I shut down my grow box as all the seeded plants are outdoors too.

Zacateca Tribute
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The 2 seeded Zacateca Tribute plants (with F2 seeds) seem to be the first that will be harvested. Great smells coming from them, unfortunately one of them is the only plant from all the seeded plants that is getting some mold in the summer rains. And it's the more "sativa" one (with fruity, pine and cola/cinnamon/canela kind of smell) that was pollinated with the more "sativa" ZT male (citric smell).
The other seeded female smells a bit more pine-and-fruity (without the sweet spicy thing) and was pollinated by the more "indica" ZT male (hashy smell).
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[yoss33]

Purple Mexican x PCK
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The seeded plants:
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This plant (the green PM x PCK) was slow to start flowering, very quick to revert to vegging once outdoors and somewhat hard to pollinate - it was initially pollinated with ZT pollen (like the PM x PCK next to it), but after I saw that it was unsuccessful I pollinated it with Kullu (or Kullu x (Zam x Kullu)) pollen, which too was unsuccessful... at the end there are a few seeds on the plant but I don't from which pollination..
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China Yunnan x PCK
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And the 2 seeded Kullu's, pollinated by the more sativa Zacateca Tribute male. Unfortunately the pollination wasn't of great success and only 10-15 seeds will be produced:
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[RobFromTX]

Good luck to you too, Rob! I'm following your grow in the Green Mountain Seeds thread. Would be interesting to compare the indoor and outdoor grown plants, at least visually

The outdoor plants are taking off! I shut down my grow box as all the seeded plants are outdoors too.

Zacateca Tribute
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The 2 seeded Zacateca Tribute plants (with F2 seeds) seem to be the first that will be harvested. Great smells coming from them, unfortunately one of them is the only plant from all the seeded plants that is getting some mold in the summer rains. And it's the more "sativa" one (with fruity, pine and cola/cinnamon/canela kind of smell) that was pollinated with the more "sativa" ZT male (citric smell).
The other seeded female smells a bit more pine-and-fruity (without the sweet spicy thing) and was pollinated by the more "indica" ZT male (hashy smell).
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Nice plants man! i'll definitely post up when they start flowering and those pretty colors come in

 

[Creeperpark]

Purple Mexican x PCK
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The seeded plants:
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This plant (the green PM x PCK) was slow to start flowering, very quick to revert to vegging once outdoors and somewhat hard to pollinate - it was initially pollinated with ZT pollen (like the PM x PCK next to it), but after I saw that it was unsuccessful I pollinated it with Kullu (or Kullu x (Zam x Kullu)) pollen, which too was unsuccessful... at the end there are a few seeds on the plant but I don't from which pollination..
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China Yunnan x PCK
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And the 2 seeded Kullu's, pollinated by the more sativa Zacateca Tribute male. Unfortunately the pollination wasn't of great success and only 10-15 seeds will be produced:
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Damn, I love your plant's friend. Seeing them makes me wish I could grow in the wild again. I can't wait to see them flowering.

 

[Perdido]

Greets @yoss33
I planted three Zacateca Tribute plus 22 more strains this weekend close to the Danube in Vienna. I have some more ACE strains amongst them. Zacateca is cool, one of the most vital plants this season. Only Malawi and Bangi Haze are equally fast.
I am posting this here just to show how these plant are doing a few miles up the Danube on latitude 48.
But mine have to stay really small and hide from hunters, so I start late, bend or train them and cut them back.
So its no real contest. Romulan in the foreground, Zacateca Tribute in the back.

 

[yoss33]

Wow, 23 strains! It's going to be a challenge to water them all... Good luck!

And thanks for the nice words, Creeperpark! I wrote a long post starting from your "grow in the wild", was writing it more than an hour... and now that I clicked to see Perdido's post who was writing in the same time, mine is gone... going back in the browser didn't help... frustrating...
Whatever, the photos:

The Zacateca Tribute and its peculiar petioles:
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And the lanky lanky Kullu:
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[Perdido]

Wow, 23 strains! It's going to be a challenge to water them al

I try not to water them at all. I use Hydrogel which, together with composting horse dung, keeps my plant holes moist for months, and in September it should start raining again. It worked smoothly last year and back then I started 6 weeks earlier.
Still, 23 strains is STUPID!

 

[yoss33]

I have used Hidrogel in my guerilla adventures too, and it works Unfortunetely, here it's more dry, and there's no way I don't water at all, August is scorching.
I already water each of the 3 big plants with 10L of tap water 2-3 times per week.

Zacateca Tribute
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And the 2 pollinated plants (for F2 seeds), which are starting to re-veg. I guess their seeds will be ready after a week.
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Purple Mexican x PCK
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China Yunnan x PCK
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And to give some contrast with the extreme-sativa looking Kullu, which are revegging. They were pollinated the latest but their unfortunately-few seeds look almost done.
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[Perdido]

here it's more dry, and there's no way I don't water at all, August is scorching.

This year will be dramatically hot I am afraid.
But isn't your spot close to the house? I remember a story of the old lady from next door and goats.

The development of your plants is incredible.
The Kullu is from Khalifa Genetics? I want it!

 

[yoss33]

Yep, I'm growing in a neighbouring deserted property, so I just do some "farmer's walk" with large bottles with water, like 50m from tap to plants. But some 15 years ago I was growing guerrilla and had to carry the large bottles longer distances and August was a fight. Hydrogel was useful to hold the moisture for a few more days, so instead of every 2 days I could water every 3-4 days.
Now I can afford to water my plants with more water

The Kullu is a nice extreme sativa which has strong stimulating high, but like an extreme sativa it has awful yield and long flowering time (end of November harvest).

The last several days I've been smoking mostly seeded Zacateca buds and I like the high, even from these barely dried very seeded buds. It's potent, sharp and stimulating. Refreshing and can dissolve the mental fog after a whole day of smoking. The smoke is very smooth but of weak taste and flavour, which is a bit surprising as everything that I've tried and that has had some Mexican genes was tasty. Let's see the sinsemilla autumn bud...
This year I'm having unexpected lower yield of seeds because of birds! Both the Zacateca Tribute and Purple Mexican x PCK plants have some of the seeds eaten, with the sativa Zacateca being with the highest loss. I still managed to harvest about 50 seeds from it, so I'm happy.

Zacateca Tribute
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Purple Mexican x PCK
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China Yunnan x PCK
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[yoss33]

Two weeks later...
Unfortunately there're lots of mosquitos and eventhough I use repellents it's hard when you have your hands busy (with watering or taking photos).
By the way, the 2 seeded Purple Mexican x PCK plants that I harvested have great effect and taste. Can't wait to try the sinsemilla one in the autumn.

Zacateca Tribute
Close to 3 meters height, it was hard to fit the whole plant into the photo, there was no place to step back.. As sativa as this plant is, it's also getting very stinky in veg. It had the most hash-smelling top out of the 8 ZT plants that I started, and now it's like Skunk, you can smell the ganja smell before you see the plant!
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Purple Mexican x PCK
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China Yunnan x PCK
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[terroirist]

Two weeks later...
Unfortunately there're lots of mosquitos and eventhough I use repellents it's hard when you have your hands busy (with watering or taking photos).
By the way, the 2 seeded Purple Mexican x PCK plants that I harvested have great effect and taste. Can't wait to try the sinsemilla one in the autumn.

Zacateca Tribute
Close to 3 meters height, it was hard to fit the whole plant into the photo, there was no place to step back.. As sativa as this plant is, it's also getting very stinky in veg. It had the most hash-smelling top out of the 8 ZT plants that I started, and now it's like Skunk, you can smell the ganja smell before you see the plant!
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Purple Mexican x PCK
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China Yunnan x PCK
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Hi Yoss,

They look really happy and healthy ; They love that Chernozem ! That soil lives up to its legend !

Flowering will be beautiful to watch

 

[yoss33]

Thank you for the kind words, terroirist! Chernozem is good, and I make it even more "cherno" (black) by adding some compost every year.
We've had a long heat wave that was challenging to the plants and the Zacateca Tribute suffered the most. It's at the sunniest spot that dries out the quickest, and the droopy plant with scorched tops was a pitiful sight on my visit a few days ago, after being away for 5 days and not being able to water. It wasn't so thirsty as heat(+light) stressed. Hopefully it will recover quickly, now it's cooler, though a few more days of above 35*C are coming.

Zacateca Tribute
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PurpleMexican x PCK
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China Yunnan x PCK
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[terroirist]

Thank you for the kind words, terroirist! Chernozem is good, and I make it even more "cherno" (black) by adding some compost every year.
We've had a long heat wave that was challenging to the plants and the Zacateca Tribute suffered the most. It's at the sunniest spot that dries out the quickest, and the droopy plant with scorched tops was a pitiful sight on my visit a few days ago, after being away for 5 days and not being able to water. It wasn't so thirsty as heat(+light) stressed. Hopefully it will recover quickly, now it's cooler, though a few more days of above 35*C are coming.

Zacateca Tribute
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PurpleMexican x PCK
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China Yunnan x PCK
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Hi Yoss,

They all look crazy good but I am really impressed by the china Yunnan x PCK structure, nice branching, such a dense shrub, those 2 genetics blend well !

 

[RobFromTX]

My Zacatecas are about 10 days from chop. Beautiful spear shaped buds and a penetrating fruity smell

 

[dubi]

Great vigor on your plants @yoss33 they are enjoying for sure summer time

The Kullu has very beautiful sativa structure and leaves.

Purple Mexican x PCK grows like a green PCK, but with more vigor and better branching, she later has great looking resinous buds with some pigmentation, guess more colorful with colder temps.

China Yunnan x PCK grew a lot in your last update, excellent branchy structure closer to Yunnan in look and leaf traits.

Good luck for the flowering stage!

 

[yoss33]

Thanks, Dubi!
Unfortunately, the Zacateca Tribute plant died soon after my previous update. Upon autopsy, its biggest root was hollow and full of termites, which invited root rot, I guess. I've had quite a few big plants die like this in the last years. The suspects were root rot and a moth larva that eats the branches' xylem. But this year I took measures against the moth, and so it must be root rot and/or the termites. There were termites in the root ball in all cases of such big suddenly-dying plants, but I thought that they invade already-dying roots. Now, seeing what big root was already eaten, it occurs to me that the termite attack must have started some time ago, not a week ago.
There are a lot of termites in the area, they do a lot of damage to wooden structures and furniture outdoors, and it seems they might eat living wood, not only dead one. Next year I'll add treating the soil against termites to the arsenal.
The other 2 big plants are fine and entering flowering, the CY x PCK is a bit ahead.

A small revegging Kullu x ZamKullu plant that was under the Zac Tribute plant:
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Purple Mexican x PCK:
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China Yunnan x PCK:
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All the developed flowers (seeded preflowers) have a red/magenta hue, so I guess the buds will also become colorful at some point:
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[yoss33]

Hopefully I'll try the Zacateca Tribute, grown by a friend guerrilla style, it's already flowering as far as he told me. I'm not sure if I'll ever grow ZT again as it doesn't seem very strong agains molds (and local outdoor illnesses in general) and is not with an "extreme" sativa high (what I like). But Kullu x ZT should be a more "extreme sativa" worth checking out.
I have time to decide what sativa to grow in 2024. I have jars of Zamaldelica x (Zamaldelica x Kullu) that will last me till next (2024) harvest, so I will not run out of sativa.

 

[Koondense]

Beauties! Sad to hear about the ZT loss
Outdoors can be quite unpredictable sometimes, animals and fungus will always want to eat your plants.
It was a good move to plant a small one under ZT, always good to have backup
About next year.. Have you considered something from India or Thailand? I have a Sheelawathi female in flower and seems very Thai-ish(to my noob eye), I think she would look very good in your garden.
Anyway, I hope your plants will have no more troubles, just smooth sailing until end of flower

Cheers