Crow River Posted August 14, 2022 Author Share Posted August 14, 2022 Been mulling this over for a while, but now decided. I'm going to chuck some pollen from my reversed Dr Jack clone on a couple of lower branches of the Auto Duck. Could make for an interesting cross. Will be taking some stored pollen down next visit... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 Dr Jack "Auto" and two clones were chopped. The original plant reached 110 days old. They were recovering from earlier pruning, but older leaves were dying off. So it's just the Auto Duck left standing. Auto Duck 2 reached 60 days old. She's doing fine, not much taller but the buds are bigger. Forgot to take pollen with me, so I'll pop down again soon to pollinate a couple of lower branches with Jack Herer pollen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted August 20, 2022 Author Share Posted August 20, 2022 Auto Duck 2 is 62 days old. She has grown a little since I last measured her, now 70cm tall. Leaves continue to appear, and buds are thickening up a bit. Today I dusted two lower branches with pollen from a Dr Jack "Auto" male. I was going to do the paper bag thing but the buds are just too leafy, and my bags were not big enough. So I just left her with her branches covered in pollen and flour. If some unintended pollination occurs on other buds, it's no big deal - more seeds to collect. She certainly won't be a big girl like her older sister, but still seems promising. Looking forward to seeing her develop over the next month or so. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twigs Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 best of luck with it all dude am I just imagining you got a pack of my hawaiian duck x duck cross too at some point? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted August 20, 2022 Author Share Posted August 20, 2022 35 minutes ago, twigs said: best of luck with it all dude am I just imagining you got a pack of my hawaiian duck x duck cross too at some point? Thanks man. You did not imagine it! I'm looking forward to growing some of those, but I will wait until I have my new setup. So next year... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted August 27, 2022 Author Share Posted August 27, 2022 (edited) Auto Duck 2 is at Day 69. I didn't measure her, but she doesn't appear to have grown taller. Bit leafier maybe. Buds seem to be maturing and bulking up a bit. Probably be quite a modest yield from this girl, but I don't mind as long as she gives me some seeds. There were two snails sleeping at the foot of her stem. After I threw them as far as I could, I checked the plant over. Seems they munched the leaves on one of the pollinated stems, there were slime trails all over it. Little fuckers. Humidity up to over 70%, not surprising given all the rain we had yesterday and next to no breeze today. Hopefully will edge downwards soon... Photos are not brilliant because they were taken on a 13 year old Sony Ericsson. Not that bad though considering. Edited August 27, 2022 by Crow River 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 Auto Duck 2 hit day 76. This girl is mostly unchanged in the past week, not noticeably taller, a few more leaves munched by snails. Buds are ripening, calyxes fattening, but still plenty of white pistils around. Except on those branches which were pollinated. Here pistils are mostly brown, and calyxes plump but elongated. It appears the pollination was successful and seeds are being made. Still some flour/pollen mixture stuck to leaves and stalks on those branches, I gently tried to remove as best I could. Breeder guidance is that she should be ready in two or three weeks' time, however maybe I need to give a little extra time for seeds to ripen? Main issue in the polytunnel just now is humidity - stubbornly high despite opening all the windows. It's the weather - very humid and constantly threatening to rain. So rot has to be a concern. I inspected buds closely and found no sign, but did remove a few discoloured leaves close to buds in case they went mouldy. She's had a small amount of feed today. We'll see how it goes over the coming weeks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 (edited) Auto Duck 2 reached Day 83. I think she's pretty much finished. Pistils mostly swallowed into fattened calyxes. A few fan leaves are faded to yellow. A few more leaves have been munched by snails or slugs. Humidity was crazy in the polytunnel today, despite all windows being open. Not really surprising given the huge amount of rain over the past few days. Today was sunny but there was condensation in places. Frankly I'm worried about mould. Dead or damaged leaves on other plants in the tunnel have been affected. I checked over the buds, some sugar leaves had gone dark and I removed them. I didn't clearly see rot on the buds but I'll check again soon in better sunlight. Ideally I would keep her going for at least another week, to try and ripen any seeds further. But my instinct says to chop soon in case I lose everything to mould. Edited September 10, 2022 by Crow River 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 (edited) Went to check on Auto Duck 2 this afternoon. Unfortunately rot was nearly everywhere. Main cola, most of the smaller ones, including the two I pollinated. I rescued what I could, but 80% or more of the plant had to be chucked on the compost heap. All the windows were open, but humidity was high last week and nights have been quite cool recently. Rot also killed off two French marigolds in the polytunnel, and dead or dying leaves/branches on the tomatoes were affected too. I should have listened to my gut instinct on Saturday and chopped then. But I was trying to give the seeds a chance to ripen. Oh well, another lesson learned the hard way. A couple of small buds seem unaffected, and one of the pollinated branches only has a couple of patches of rot. I'll wash with peroxide and see what I can salvage. If I can maybe get some seeds from this girl that'll be something at least, but not sure they've had time to ripen fully. Next season I'll try and get seedlings planted out earlier, stay hyper alert for humidity and aim to harvest at the height of summer, before the nights get cooler. Edited September 15, 2022 by Crow River 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 (edited) I've washed the remaining buds, inspected them thoroughly beforehand and had to discard some. Reckon I've saved maybe 10% of the plant, if that. Some is hanging in the drying box, the smaller bits and bobs are in paper bags. She did make some seeds, but they are still green from what I've seen so far. Not sure if they will be viable. Only one way to find out, I suppose... This year's grow was a bit of an experiment. I've learnt loads, and I will be planning next year very carefully to try and minimise the risk of excessive humidity and rot. Definitely need to harvest earlier in the year for a start. Working back from that means planting out as early as is practical. Also not overcrowding the polytunnel will help. I'll come back to this thread next season, meantime that is it for this diary. Edited September 16, 2022 by Crow River 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFord Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 @Crow River So sorry to hear the rot got a grip mate , never easy having to whittle a cared for plant down to scraps due to the rot , gutted for you Just dont be disheartened and get right back on it Big bad momma nature & lady luck do tend to kick us outdoor guys in the bollocks regularly but you just gotta gulp , scream and push on mate. Wish you all the best mate and fingers crossed for a better , luckier & more productive next season. all the best mate 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 @OldFord, thanks man. To be honest when rot struck the bigger Duck in July that was more gutting. Still managed to get a fair bit harvested though. This time around I was prepared for the worst. This wee plant was a bit of a bonus grow anyway, I'd only intended to grow one originally, just to test the water as it were. What surprised me was how quickly rot took hold. A few hints one visit, and a few days later, the whole plant is gone... I'm going to try a bit of guerrilla growing next season too - just small scale. That will supplement whatever I can pop in the polytunnel. Onwards and upwards as they say! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted September 29, 2022 Author Share Posted September 29, 2022 This evening I rummaged through what little I managed to salvage from Auto Duck 2, which has been drying for nearly two weeks. Harvested a fair few seeds, more than expected. They are a bit pale, but potentially some of them may be viable. I will let them dry a bit longer before storing. At some point I'll try and germinate some. If I can get a male and female plant out of these seeds, then there could be some fun to be had taking this cross another generation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 Forgot to mention that after picking seeds out, I vaped some of the remaining buds and sugar leaves. Not cured at all, but a reasonable vape if slightly rough as a consequence of being overly dry. An alright stone, not super strong but nice and relaxing with the White Widow element coming through. If I can get some of the seeds to germinate, will be interesting to see what a Jack Herer/Auto Duck cross turns out like... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 (edited) Here are the seeds. Having dried for several weeks, I put them into vials for storage. Added some rice grains in there to take care of residual moisture. Managed to get 55 seeds in the end. Not all will be viable, but ultimately I just need one girl and one boy to make a second generation. I'm calling this cross 'QuackerJack'. Edited October 23, 2022 by Crow River 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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