Golden Tiger

[zachrockbadenof]

my GT's are just starting to show their little heads above the ground... can't wait till pickin time....

 

[mr. fiskars]

my GT's are just starting to show their little heads above the ground... can't wait till pickin time....

You've got a long wait ahead of you! They take a lot of patience. Good luck.

 

[ThaiBliss]

Please Help Me Interpret Ripeness

Please Help Me Interpret Ripeness

My Golden Tiger has changed dramatically in the last week. The buds started “fox tailing” and spreading out to make the bud look more airy. The fresh growths at the ends of the foxtails have bright white new pistols that contrast sharply with the ones that have died.

Did I just miss the first harvest window?

I’m so tempted to take it now. I generally like my grass without the effects that make me tired, but I really want to try this plant at its maximum power.

I’ve clipped a flower to get it under the scope to look at the resins, and to post some decent photos. Here they are at 67 days:









I’m hoping for a speedy reply with advice to help me out on when to harvest.

The best plant I ever grew had no buds at all. It did push out a calyx once in a while like an occasional bead on a string, and continued to do so for about 18 weeks. I kept letting it go longer in the hopes that one day it would explode in size and actually have buds. Finally, one day it looked like it had no new pistols. I took it, and it was the finest smoke. This was my first sativa lesson that patience can pay off very richly.

I tried to replicate this experience on some other strains a few times, and it was always better when I cut it earlier, like the way my Golden Tiger looks now.

I don’t smoke often, but when I do, I want to blast off into outer space and soar back down to the earth slowly. I’m tired of sampling mediocre product. I desperately want that soaring, intense, trippy experience that is so rare for me these days. I have literally spent decades smoking every chance I got. I just don’t enjoy mediocre buds anymore.

I often hear people say that I’m just romanticizing the good bud I had when I was growing up, but I know this is not true because I have had very good weed as recently as a couple of years ago.

If I don’t hear from someone today with a strong opinion, I’ll cut half of it down tomorrow.

Here is an image through my digital microscope:



If I were to interpret this image, I’d say that I don’t see any amber trichomes, so I’m definitely not too late in harvesting. I’d say I’m seeing about 2/3 starting to get cloudy, and 1/3 clear.

What do you think?

It is difficult for me to interpret since the out of focus ones look cloudy, and sometimes the reflection of the microscope light makes the trichomes look cloudy. Of all the hundreds or thousands of trichomes captured in an image, only dozens of them are captured at an angle that shows clearly which are clear and which are cloudy.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

ThaiBliss

 

[Kangalunacy]

Gday thai bliss ,
from your close up trich pic it looks as though you may have a few more weeks left to get a few ambers happening
harvest timing its a very subjective and personal experience and subject to the vagaries of your particular grow and environment

take a few buds for a smoke test until you are satisfied with it
maybe take one plant all the way until you have a great % of amber to compare it ?
either way they look good already ,
best of luck getting to the business end of the grow
KL

 

[stimp]

Hey ThaiBliss, I havn't grown gt yet (next grow) so im not the best to ask, but I figured I would respond because you asked for a speedy one. I would think you didn't miss the window yet as that pic looks exactly how you interpreted it, 2/3 cloudy 1/3 clear, no amber yet. also 67 days of flowering would be very fast for gt. 2 of my Malawi are fast flowering ones have pistils die off and a whole new wave appears, but still no amber trics. I know dubi says for maximum potential let gt and Malawi mature fully, but I guess if you want no tired effects you could harvest now. sorry I couldn't be of more help, good luck.

 

[yoss33]

Most people would say it is way too early, but, man, do I love so-early-picked trippy sativas
A few years ago me and a friend were scared to walk out of the city park after testing an early sample of a Durban Poison, we were truely poisoned and could see bad people sneaking in the trees' shadows everywhere I love this wild paranoid trip among nature with a friend once in a while. Later harvest loses this "wildness" of the high, it still is very trippy, but also stoning and so it doesn't deliver pure psychosis
I guess this is true for the Malawi high too.
I put 6 Zamaldelica seeds in the dirt a few hours ago and hopefully will have a taste of the different stages of the african trippiness this autumn

 

[ThaiBliss]

Yoss33,

Thanks for commenting. Very funny descriptions about the wildness. When someone describes weed as "making me paranoid", I perk up and want to try that one! Never smoked weed that made me paranoid that wasn't strong.

I think I'll go down the middle road, only because the plant seems to be increasing the resin noticably, and I don't see any amber. I'll Probably go only one more week.

Thanks to Stimp and Kangalunacy for the input also.



All the Best

 

[dubi]

I want to show all of you my Golden tiger. It's BIG. And all organics.
I'm so pleased. I'm also wondring...is this really Golden tiger.....that what it says, on nametag, and I try to be ever so careful with tags that follow plant?
View Image

Greetings scai,

I can not guarantee 100 % till the plant is flowering but for the look of the main leaves i think is not a Golden Tiger.

 

[Ur Humbl Nr8tor]

ThaiBliss, beautigul GT's. Well done.

 

[smk8000]

I'm quite interested in this strain. I am just like you Thai in that I don't smoke very often ( now about 1 or 2 times a week, used to be 4-5 times a day years ago.) but I want something that sends me soaring to the moon and lets me down nicely. I run about 6 strains at a time and am a little concerned about the extra long flowering of the GT and how it may slow down the perpetual garden. Really want that psychedelic, soaring, you're on top of the world sativa high.

I just wonder if it's worth it to wait on the Tiger or if there is something maybe slightly shortly flowering that gives the same effects.

 

[scai]

Greetings scai,

I can not guarantee 100 % till the plant is flowering but for the look of the main leaves i think is not a Golden Tiger.

That's what I suspected---must have mixed labels....
Thanks Dubi

 

[ThaiBliss]

Really want that psychedelic, soaring, you're on top of the world sativa high.

I just wonder if it's worth it...

smk8000 - I have found a precious few that give that kind of high and are also quick. They all slipped through my fingers over the years. I really wish I still had one.



However, even if I find the high I want and it takes a very long time, I think it is well worth it to love the experience of the one you have in your possesion. If you find it, inbreed it, and spread cuttings around generously in case you lose it. If you lose it, you'll have seeds to look through or it may be gifted back to you.

I checked another bud this week and I still see lots of clear resins and no ambers so I'm going at least another week.



The calyxes are getting larger, more resinous, and buds are stretching out.



I cut back the hours of light to 10 per 24. This plant was at 11.75 for most of flowering, and has been at 11.25 for the last two weeks.

All the Best

 

[dubi]

Greetings ThaiBliss,

Thanks for the pics, beautiful and helpful.

It's a very dominant malawi pheno, around 10-11 weeks they are usually already loaded of flowers and resins, you can harvest now and it will be really powerful but if you want that extra potency, then wait till 13-14 weeks

 

[ThaiBliss]

Greetings ThaiBliss,

Thanks for the pics, beautiful and helpful.

It's a very dominant malawi pheno, around 10-11 weeks they are usually already loaded of flowers and resins, you can harvest now and it will be really powerful but if you want that extra potency, then wait till 13-14 weeks

Dubi - Thanks for the help. I'm feeling much better about knowing when to harvest this now. I cut about 30% today when I saw that the resin glands suddenly and mostly at once went cloudy. It is easy to find clear ones still, and no amber. Today is a few days short of 13 weeks. The rest of the plant is going one more week.



Here are todays photos:





The aroma is very different from the first GT I grew. This one is much more pungent. The carrot smell has become somewhat earthy, and the kerosene smell that I detected once when it was young is back faintly. Also has the slightest honey and spice smell. All together, it penetrates my nasal pasages like some dangerous substance.



Way different than the first one I grew.

Very excited about this.

All the Best,

ThaiBliss

 

[ThaiBliss]

Harvest Completed

Harvest Completed

I just harvested today as it was 2 days short of 14 weeks since the light cycle was turned below 12 hours a day. There were almost no new pistils coming out, and I started to find areas on the bud were I could see ambering being widespread.

Here are the photos from today:




Between the Bangi Haze and the Golden Tiger in my square meter cabinet, I'd say that the overall harvest amount looks impressive. While the light levels are strong, 90 watts/square meter, the fertilizer levels were very low.

Should be at least a few weeks before I get to test my first sample.


All the Best,

ThaiBliss

 

[zachrockbadenof]

Should be at least a few weeks before I get to test my first sample.

come on.. quick dry a popcorn bud n give us a report...dont make us wait...

 

[stimp]

nice work thaibliss, those buds are beautiful, a very nice colour to

 

[ThaiBliss]

come on.. quick dry a popcorn bud n give us a report...dont make us wait...

Greetings,

I finally got around to testing the highly anticipated Golden Tiger. I’m not a big toker, so my first test standard is three hits. While some show promise at three, but don’t really shine until five or six hits, my generalized experience is that the best highs come in lower doses of very potent strains. Often, unwanted side effects build up with extra tokes and can spoil the clarity of the high. Besides, Thai Sticks from the ‘70s is my gold standard, and three hits of Thai Stick would be quite an intense ride for a long time. For me, smoking the Thai Stick and some of the higher quality Columbian strains required artful titration, to contrast the occasional blow out parties that forego quality for the sake of intense experiences.

There have been some notable exceptions to the validity of the three hit test. I once had Burmese from VISC that was not impressive, potency wise, after three hits. However, after sharing a joint with two friends, I was T-R-I-P-P-I-N-G! That was some good weed. In the lower dosage, Burmese did have a noticeable “life is good” happy effect. This low dose Burmese effect was somewhat similar to the three toke test I did with Bangi Haze last week. I’ll certainly be doing further testing of that strain! I’ll try a larger dose, and search carefully through the rest of the seeds I have for an exceptionally potent individual.

So, what about the Golden Tiger, you may be thinking. O.K. , after the first 5 or 10 minutes after smoking, I’d have to say I was disappointed and distressed that I may have done something wrong. From what I’ve been reading about other people’s experiences, I was expecting to get hit up the side of the head pretty hard with this stuff. I was even a little apprehensive as I lit up.

Like my Bangi Haze test, I was planning on smoking, then heading to the shop I am building and putting in more insulation. Unlike the Bangi experience, instead of getting sidetracked by other undone chores, I found myself on the couch having to “will” myself to get to work. Once I did get going, I noticed that I was higher than I initially thought as I kept doing stupid mistakes. For instance, I had to go downstairs, grab some staples, and plug in my extension cord. When I came back up with the staples, and the electric staple gun did not fire, I realized I had forgotten to plug in the chord and had to go back downstairs. This type of thing played out a number of times during the afternoon. Again, I contrast with my last experience with the Bangi Haze, I felt like the Bangi Haze made me smarter, and the Golden Tiger made me more stupid, if that makes sense to anyone.

I can definitely see why Dubi gives a warning with this weed. If someone found a particularly good individual, and grew it correctly, they could find themselves in trouble if they have a few drinks, smoked, and took out the car for a spin afterwards. You could find yourself spun out into a ditch.

There could be some obvious reasons why I am not overly impressed, so far. I have a particular preference and idea in my head when I think of the term “high” that this strain does not match, I am not growing this strain correctly, which is a distinct possibility, or I am suffering from overly high expectations. I think I liked the first Golden Tiger individual I grew better. I’m going to kill this one, and try the first individual one more time before I try any of the other Golden Tiger seeds. I’ll also get a chance to test a male from a cross I made with SAGE. Unfortunately, I only have room to test one to three plants at a time.

I see the various highs of different strains as different musical chords. Each high has various notes, or effects that in combination make it unique. This is part of what makes cannabis so intriguing, and popular with so many people. My preference is to have what I call trippy or euphoric to be the dominant notes in the chords that I prefer. I also like a floating feeling or an “out of body” experience. Contrary to most, I don’t mind paranoia or raciness, as I have associated these effects with highs that I like, even though the high would be even better without it. By the way, while Bangi Haze got me on my feet and active, I did not find it to be racy at all. Perhaps I let it get a tiny bit over ripe, or I did not smoke enough.



Alas, in my old age I have become pickier about the buds that I smoke. I need to find a great individual one more time, then hold onto it and be happy. I must find a way to preserve it carefully and not let it slip through my fingers like the half dozen or so times that I have lost great ones in the past.

To give you an idea of the extent of my pickiness, the last time I bought seeds before my ACE purchase, I bought $2,000.00 worth on a trip to Canada long ago. After more than a decade of looking through these seeds, I found only a few that I liked, and only one great individual. I liked Burmese, Strawberry Blonde, and El Nino. They were all hermaphroditic. The Burmese was the least hermaphroditic, and the El Nino was so bad I got rid of it quickly and without regret. Eventually, I also killed the Burmese on purpose because I was hoping for something stronger, but I wish I had that strain back.

To further clarify how picky I am, all those seeds I bought included a pack of Original Haze, a pack of Willy Jack Haze, and a pack of Neville’s Haze. I was not impressed with any of them. I looked carefully at each one because of the reputation, and because even though the Neville’s Haze was not strong, I noticed that the effects lasted a very long time. This is a trait that seems to be associated with high grade strains in my experience. Then the last seed I had of the Neville’s Haze I tried was fantastic, the best that I have ever grown, and possibly the best I have ever smoked in my life. To me, this proves that I have not been over romanticizing the old strains from the ‘70s. The much more recent Neville’s Haze experience was just like the best of that old era.

Unfortunately, this Neville’s individual only produced less than a half ounce in a cabinet that can produce as much as a half pound with other strains. I spent six or seven years looking for something as good as the Burmese to cross the Neville's Haze with and try to improve the bud size without drastically reducing the potency and quality of the effect. I finally realized that I was never growing the Neville’s Haze due to the limited production and killed the cutting after making some seeds. I have been growing the children from the Neville’s cut about as often as I’m trying new strains, but I have not found anything exceptional yet.

Some strains that people have gifted to me over the years that I have liked were a particular Skunk#1 individual, though I have looked through some Skunk seeds I bought and didn’t find any good ones, Pine Cone, Goo, and Seeing God. Last but not the least; I grew seeds from the last Thai weed I ever bought back in about ’81 that was great. God I wish I still had those seeds. They looked different and behaved differently from most of the Thais that I see being posted in these forums. They would have been so valuable to us all.

To be clear, I’m very happy that Ace Seeds has been doing the hard work of providing us with pure sativa strains to experiment with, I did enjoy smoking the Golden Tiger, and I would describe it as strong. This company is one of the very few that is giving me hope in my quest to find a strain that suits my idea of great weed. This work is being done in the face of ever encroaching indica dominant boring highs, in my opinion. I am likely to order from Ace again, and Dubi has my full support and appreciation for his efforts.

In conclusion, I may not be growing the Golden Tiger correctly yet, or simply just made the wrong choice for me. I think there is some promise in the Bangi Haze line for me, and I think I probably should try one of Dubi’s Zamal or Vietnam Black creations. Hopefully, Dubi still has the pure Zamal to work with. I’d like to see it crossed with a strain that he describes as “clear” like Bangi Haze.

I sit here and fantasize about going back in time and grabbing some of the strains that I lost. However, it would be much more practical to ask for advice. If anyone can see I what I may have done wrong in my grow, or have suggestions on what to try, I’d appreciate it very much.

Thanks,

ThaiBliss

 

[zachrockbadenof]

thai... GREAT POST... really enjoyed reading it... we started our g . tiger about 3 months ago, and moved them (2 plants) into our flower room a number of weeks ago.. on sat we confirmed both are males.. and we culled em, as do not have the space nor time to make seeds... we started another 3 on sat, and hoping for at least 1 lady.. we'll get back with ya in about 3 months time..

again great post

 

[idiit]

i'll be posting my crew's smoke report on organic od 2012 gt with a 6 month cure soon. after drying the 6 month cure will be in effect may 21 (nov. 15 harvest).

i still owe some pics. of organic od grown gt bud. . i need to get the bag of big buds trimmed. i've still got close to a lb. of bud left for pics and smoking pleasure.