"West Coast Chronicles" by GK Genetics

[Jewels]

@Jewels is the last person I remember running Charastar

@Phylex , the Charastar is everything I hoped it would be.
Yield is phenom, and the terps are truly unique.
As beautiful as mine were, @Amarok grew one out with super tight buds. Either he got the golden child pheno, or he knows something I don't.
I am comfortable thinking it's both !

so he may have some left.

Deebs has a 1k+ pack, no worries.
Mine are in the cake safe.
You know -some cake is for eating, some cake is for having 🐰 Those seeds were sent to me by @jaguarlax , so they bend the needle on my sentimental meter.

F2's were the first order of business.
After evaluating them over the course of a few grows, I realized there was no pairing that would take the Charastar to 'another level'
Better, I thought to to compliment it with a similar mate, in order to reinforce its best qualities.
Next Generation, Lillooet (BlackxRomulan) was the ticket
-Columnar spike, to reign in the Charastar stature
- tighter buds, to increase bag appeal
- north of 49th acclimatized, to speed up the finishing time.

Sometimes ,a plan comes together
Sometimes a kid gets exactly what he wanted
I hope you are well, Phy, and wish you luck in all your future endeavors.🐇

 

[Phylex]

@Phylex , the Charastar is everything I hoped it would be.

Charastar is one I haven't had the opportunity to grow yet. It was bumped by the Zamal hunt and I haven't grown since. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it.

 

[Jewels]

*Love it

Did somebody say Chara ?

 

[Phylex]

The Dragon Terps Male



He's starting to express a little color.



He's also gifted me with an easily identified marker for the future. The extra leaflets aren't abundantly over done here, but sporadically enough to pick up on some future cues if desired.







The Dragonia Moon Female. Both the Mother and Father selected were Sour Kush leaning phenotypes



I feel like her nickname should be "Knuckles"

 

[Phylex]

Update: Since growing outdoors is a first for me, I'm not 100% sure where we're at since I don't have control over the light. My best guess is somewhere in the middle or nearing the end of stretch.

Skunky Moon - She's the loudest but also the shortest of the four coming in at 6'



Durban Moon - She's the bushiest of the four and coming in at 7'



Dragonia Moon - Every branch is very independent of the others. The mother selected appeared to lean heavily toward Sour Kush. The father selected appeared to exhibit the same characteristics as the selected Sour Kush mother. I can foresee each branch producing arm length colas. Time will tell. She's currently standing at 6.5'



Moon Dragon Bx1 - She's the tallest of the four coming in at 8'



@GthaEnigma; Do you think I should play it safe and just wrap them in cages now, or do you think I can wait and see if they'll be able to support their own weight once flowering begins? The last thing I'd want is to have branches snap off from the weight and or high fall winds, but I'd also prefer not to spend the $200 on a roll of 6' metal mesh fencing if it isn't needed either. This is my current conundrum. What do you think?

 

[GthaEnigma]

I personally would cage, the extra support equates to greater bud weight

 

[Phylex]

I personally would cage, the extra support equates to greater bud weight

I appreciate the insight brother. Thank you 🤝

 

[Jewels]

How do you feel about stakes and lash ?
I don't know if this option saves any money, but it may be less conspicuous, when stored in the offseason.

Perhaps stakes only work on a smaller scale,,,
I am trying to visualize tressing up a plant that large, and the cage is starting to sound like a good idea.

 

[Phylex]

How do you feel about stakes and lash ?
I don't know if this option saves any money, but it may be less conspicuous, when stored in the offseason.

Perhaps stakes only work on a smaller scale,,,
I am trying to visualize tressing up a plant that large, and the cage is starting to sound like a good idea.
View attachment 177906

Indoors it was easy with bamboo and pipe cleaners. The plants are too large for bamboo stakes to be effective in the pots. I'd need beefier stakes, most likely the metal fence posts, and they'd need to be pounded into some pretty solidly condensed dirt. Two of the four plants also have concrete on one side of them. I just don't think the stakes themselves would be the best option. I haven't priced metal fence posts, but I'd probably need a good amount of them if I went that route and while they would most likely be a slightly cheaper option, I'm not sure if the cost savings vs. effectiveness would make them the best option. The wire mesh fencing is 6' tall which is perfect, but online it shows they come in 100' rolls. Which is $200 here. I certainly don't need 100' of it, so I'd be over paying for what I need, but I also haven't looked in-store yet to see if they sell it by the foot or if there's other options like 50' rolls. I'll spend some time later this week and head down to the store to see what some of my options are regarding the fencing. While the cost isn't ideal, I have a feeling it's the easiest and best option available to support the plants and hopefully prevent some unwanted damage to the branches.

 

[GthaEnigma]

Cage and green garden tape combine for a very effective, adaptable support framework for monster nugs. I got sick of the white poly trellis and wanted something stronger and more customizable.

 

[Phylex]

Cage and green garden tape combine for a very effective, adaptable support framework for monster nugs. View attachment 177914 I got sick of the white poly trellis and wanted something stronger and more customizable.

I definitely have a roll of that tape and some baling wire. This Summer is a good test run outdoors. I’ll be better equipped next year for sure. This year I’m just using some 10 gallon pots. The plan for next year will be much larger raised beds for them.

 

[Phylex]

The store didn't have what I was looking for unfortunately but I did find a 50' roll of it online. It'll arrive early next week and I'll finally get these ladies caged up. After four months of veg. I'm getting excited flowering is finally around the corner because its been such a long wait. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the ladies have in store for me. Even though they're "One and Dones" growing outdoors seems to be working. Because of this, I'll certainly be better equipped for next year and I'm already getting it planned out. There's only a few wrinkles that still need to be ironed out, but I already have a back up plan just in case. After this years trial run, next year will be the start of a new beginning and I have a little nasty formulating up my sleeve. It's been a long time coming but I'm fairly confident the path is still open and I'm getting ready for it. Can't wait

 

[Phylex]

Update: I have some gnats really enjoying the base of Dragonia Moon. I released some nematodes last night along with some containers of lady bugs. Hopefully the lady bugs will put in some work for a few days before they venture off into the world.

Dragonia Moon - (knuckles) Flowering the quickest.









Moon Dragon Bx1 - Still the tallest. She's got to be getting close to 9'. The 6' caging should arrive on Tuesday.





Durban Moon - The bushiest of the four and the second tallest. I believe she's got to be approaching 8'. She's also the slowest to flower.





Skunky Moon - She's the shortest of the bunch sitting around 6.5 feet. She's the loudest of the four and she's dangerous with her aggressive "Rambo Knife" serrations. So far, I'm not noticing any influence from the Moon Dragon male I assumed was used. If you've been following along, a lot of the seeds I found were labeled with unknown fathers. They were a side stash I found of discarded seeds for this very reason. Since there were a lot of single branch pollinations through the years, if any seeds were found on unmarked branches, they were discarded into the side stash container. I unfortunately threw away all of my binders of notes so I had to dig through my journal here to try and piece together a timeline to ascertain a "best guess" of who the father was. The only definitive posting was a mention of using a Moon Dragon male, and some stored Moontang pollen for the BX1. (BX1 was labeled accordingly) However, at the same point in that timeline, I had already selected exceptional males of Terp x GOW and HD x GOW too. I mentioned wanting to F2 the ladies I had already selected. To muddy the waters further, Dragonia Moon could actually be a HDxGOW F2, or as it stands, "Dragonia Moon" if hit with Moon Dragon pollen as I originally suspected. As I digress, back to "Skunky Moon." Another wrinkle to consider is I didn't post everything I was doing and working on. I know I had selected a Skunky D male (#9) I was planning to use later. I also have some Zamal x Skunky D #9 seeds. So this "Skunky Moon" could potentially be a Skunky D F2 and have nothing to do with Moon Dragon at all. This uncertainty is exactly why these unknowns get tossed to the side. I can't do anything with them other than what I'm doing now and growing some personal. With all that said, what I'm referring to now as Skunky Moon only resembles Skunky D to me from my past experiences. So far, her sharp serrations and very early trichome sheen could point to Skunky Brewster. The dual serration and odorous funk could be coming from the Chem D. This is nothing short of "I have no clue who the father is."

 

[Phylex]

Even being a few hundred miles north of this tropical storm entering California, we're already getting some pretty decent gusts thrashing around the plants. I wasn't expecting much if at all until late tonight and mainly tomorrow. Ironically the cages I bought for support don't arrive until Tuesday after this all passes. Fingers crossed the plants can handle everything being thrown at them as the winds begin to get stronger through tomorrow.

While checking on them, I couldn't help myself to a little stem rubbing.

Skunky Moon is foul. Once I sniffed my fingers I literally felt it just below the xiphoid process. Almost like a subtle gag reflex. Which is weird because I actually enjoy how foul she smells. I'm not nailing it down exactly, but it's best described as a dirty, rotten, foul smell.

Dragonia Moon is the opposite. She's very sharp and pierces the nostrils. Almost like a cleanse to the airway. I can't put my finger on it, but I was caught off guard for it. The first reaction was "Oh man. Wow." The second sniff was, "Oh Man." again. So I guess she smells like "Oh man." lol. I wouldn't say she's fruity. Possibly some sort of floral, but I'm not even sure I'd describe it as floral. I'm very intrigued by this scent and find it very pleasurable. It almost reminds me of Zamal. The Zamal I grew had a banger nose.

Moon Dragon Bx1 is very similar to Dragonia Moon though I'd say it's more subtle. Like the volume was turned down a little.

Durban Moon is a little disappointing on the nose so far. It's still early, so that can change, but I'm being pessimistic in thinking it probably won't turn the corner. Part of that is my fault. When I ran the Durbans, my keeper was going to be the lone Pine scented one. The rest were fruity, bubblegum scented. Which I'm a little bias against at this point because I'm over the fruity scents. When selecting which seeds to plant this year, I didn't pull from the pine scented Durban container. I'd have to double check the journal, but I believe I grabbed from the bubblegum one. Even still, the smell is pretty weak right now in comparison to the others out there. The smoke could still very well be on point, and who knows, maybe she does come around in flower, but right now she's just 'meh' IMO.

 

[HBZ]

Cage and green garden tape combine for a very effective, adaptable support framework for monster nugs. View attachment 177914 I got sick of the white poly trellis and wanted something stronger and more customizable.

Always have that on hand... Usually mark single branch pollenation with that amongst whatever else..half roll of it holding my cherry tomato jungle up

 

[JL2G]

Even being a few hundred miles north of this tropical storm entering California, we're already getting some pretty decent gusts thrashing around the plants. I wasn't expecting much if at all until late tonight and mainly tomorrow. Ironically the cages I bought for support don't arrive until Tuesday after this all passes. Fingers crossed the plants can handle everything being thrown at them as the winds begin to get stronger through tomorrow.

While checking on them, I couldn't help myself to a little stem rubbing.

Skunky Moon is foul. Once I sniffed my fingers I literally felt it just below the xiphoid process. Almost like a subtle gag reflex. Which is weird because I actually enjoy how foul she smells. I'm not nailing it down exactly, but it's best described as a dirty, rotten, foul smell.

Dragonia Moon is the opposite. She's very sharp and pierces the nostrils. Almost like a cleanse to the airway. I can't put my finger on it, but I was caught off guard for it. The first reaction was "Oh man. Wow." The second sniff was, "Oh Man." again. So I guess she smells like "Oh man." lol. I wouldn't say she's fruity. Possibly some sort of floral, but I'm not even sure I'd describe it as floral. I'm very intrigued by this scent and find it very pleasurable. It almost reminds me of Zamal. The Zamal I grew had a banger nose.

Moon Dragon Bx1 is very similar to Dragonia Moon though I'd say it's more subtle. Like the volume was turned down a little.

Durban Moon is a little disappointing on the nose so far. It's still early, so that can change, but I'm being pessimistic in thinking it probably won't turn the corner. Part of that is my fault. When I ran the Durbans, my keeper was going to be the lone Pine scented one. The rest were fruity, bubblegum scented. Which I'm a little bias against at this point because I'm over the fruity scents. When selecting which seeds to plant this year, I didn't pull from the pine scented Durban container. I'd have to double check the journal, but I believe I grabbed from the bubblegum one. Even still, the smell is pretty weak right now in comparison to the others out there. The smoke could still very well be on point, and who knows, maybe she does come around in flower, but right now she's just 'meh' IMO.

That draconian moon and moon dragon description sounds like the one I had that I thought smelled like a flower shop. Not like any specific flower, but all of them together with an almost sweet smell but not quite.

 

[Phylex]

That draconian moon and moon dragon description sounds like the one I had that I thought smelled like a flower shop. Not like any specific flower, but all of them together with an almost sweet smell but not quite.

Sounds about right being almost sweet, but not. I remember your experience with Moon Dragon so your description popped into my head right away after smelling it and after needing a little help. I can't confirm floral, but I can't rule it out either. It's kind of a tough one to describe. But I also get similar tones I experienced with Zamal too. Which a lot of them were hard to nail down exactly. They were strong, but best described as a spearmint, wintergreen, peppermint, minty menthol all smashed together. They were very complex, sharp on the nose, and almost burning but in a strange refreshing way.

 

[Phylex]

The fencing for the cages arrived a day early and everything worked out. 👍

 

[JL2G]

The fencing for the cages arrived a day early and everything worked out. 👍

View attachment 178455

Cage those beasts before they hurt somebody. 😆 🤣 😂
Did the weather even make it to where your at?

 

[Phylex]

Cage those beasts before they hurt somebody. 😆 🤣 😂
Did the weather even make it to where your at?

It did. It started yesterday with some heavy wind gusts thrashing the plants around. Today was supposed to be the worst of it and the fencing wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow. I ordered it before any mention of a tropical storm. Today the winds were stronger than yesterday and the two tall plants were bending over this morning. The tallest plant was bending about 45 degrees or more when it was gusting. The two smaller plants were stout and just laughing at it. The weather itself is no big deal at all. Normally I wouldn’t care less. I just didn’t want any branches snapping off of the girls. That was my only concern with it. Needless to say it arrived early and I was out there wrapping them up in the rain. The weather was quite nice. It felt like Hawaii. Windy, raining, and warm. The girls are all good now and no damage to report at all. 👍