The Best Breeder You've Never Heard Of

charlesufarley

charlesufarley

Well-known member
A video showed up on my YouTube feed and when I saw the name Captain Jack, I just about freaked out.

It's enough to drag me out of lurk mode.

I had recently read the book Thirty Nine Years of Short Term Memory Loss by Tom Davis. He's half of the comedy duo Franken and Davis, a writer on Saturday Night Live, creator of The Cone Heads and many other SNL skits all us Boomers know and love. He frequently mentioned the outstanding quality of the cannabis they consumed and a bit about their 'dealer', Captain Jack. The video below is _that_ guy:


As you will learn, Captain Jack went to Afghanistan before Nevil Schoenmakers! He brought back Type II/Indica-Afghanica seeds to the U.S. in the early _70's_. I know Viet Nam vets had access to this type of cannabis in the late 70's and 80's (i.e. NL Seattle Greg, creator of Northern Lights) but this is the very first verifiable, non bullshit/non commercial account I've heard concerning Type II cannabis seed coming to America in that time frame.

He actually _worked_ the variety _exclusively_.

This guy has bred (I never use that term with cannabis growers, myself included, because I feel like Nevil did, "If you don't have access to over 1000 plants, you can't be a breeder") the same strain for over 50 fucking years. He has developed his Afghanica cannabis to grow over 12 feet tall and it has massive BLD leaves.

Look at the massive leaves on those towering plants!

I've always thought I was a dinosaur for working Sensi's Northern Lights exclusively for almost 25 years to transform it into SouthEast Lights cannabis. It's now not only reverse engineered back to it's original constituents but I've made some improvements as well:

big leaf.jpg

I could drone on about how Captain Jack let the plant speak to him and how he communicated with the plant without chasing the latest fad, gimmick or bullshit marketing scheme. But that won't change those who either chase after the newest, chemically feminized, autoflowering wonder weed variety from millennials or the legendary Cannabis Cup winners of the 80's and 90's marketed by inexperienced, seed slinging Boomers to other nostalgia soaked Boomers pining for the high of their lost youth. Just thought of a marketing slogan for those name droppers... For Boomers By Boomers.

I've always known there were other dinosaurs like me around who aren't afraid to actually work a variety of cannabis for years to improve it, but I never thought there would be someone like Captain Jack.

All I know is after seeing Captain Jack's video, I want to get down on my hands and knees like on Wayne's World and scream, "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!"
 
"I fertilize until harvest to maintain leaf color without a hint of yellowing. The only chemical deficiency I've ever experienced was on the fourth recycle of soil, when a severe Ca deficiency developed. Though difficult at the time to diagnose, a Ca-Mg supplement was a rapid and effective treatment. The deficiency was caused by the extensive flushing between grows."

Scheiß! This does not help unconfuse me!
 
longball said:
"I fertilize until harvest to maintain leaf color without a hint of yellowing. The only chemical deficiency I've ever experienced was on the fourth recycle of soil, when a severe Ca deficiency developed. Though difficult at the time to diagnose, a Ca-Mg supplement was a rapid and effective treatment. The deficiency was caused by the extensive flushing between grows."

Scheiß! This does not help unconfuse me!
Click to expand...
"Whatever floats your boat" is in order here I believe.
Guess you should try and see for yourself!
 
longball said:
"I fertilize until harvest to maintain leaf color without a hint of yellowing. The only chemical deficiency I've ever experienced was on the fourth recycle of soil, when a severe Ca deficiency developed. Though difficult at the time to diagnose, a Ca-Mg supplement was a rapid and effective treatment. The deficiency was caused by the extensive flushing between grows."

Scheiß! This does not help unconfuse me!
Click to expand...
I use and recycle whatever potting soil is on sale locally and fertilize with Peter's/Jack's 20-20-20 (which does not contain Ca or Mg) during veg and flowering. In between grows, I flush the old soil with large amounts of spring water to flush out easliy leachable N, P and K. After a year or two, the Ca contained in the original potting soil got flushed out, so had to supplement. The first andonly time I've ever had to use a Mg supplement. After that incident, I started mixing in a bit of epsom salts after I flushed the old soil.

Maybe my use of the term "flushing" was confusing because I know some people used to flush their plants with massive amounts of water just before harvest in the mistaken attempt to make a "smoother smoke"? That is something I've would never, ever do... just doesn't make sense and not validated by science.
 
@charlesufarley said: "...flushing...That is something I've would never, ever do... just doesn't make sense and not validated by science."

Hello charlesufarley! :)

Will you please explain why you "would never, ever flush"? I realize that your answer will not be validated by science but I am interested in what made you come to that conclusion. I cannot find any 'white' or 'abstract' scientific papers on flushing. Only anecdotal stories. I flush based on the 'best of 7' concept. I read internet articles on flushing - some say flush, some say don't flush. Whichever opinion gets to 4 first(best of 7) is what I do. Some years I flush, some years I don't, depends which opinion gets to 4 first. Right now I am at 3 for flushing, 3 for not flushing. Your answer may help me to decide to flush or not. So.....why would you never, ever flush?

Longball
 
As far as i understand flushing is a practice that spread from a misunderstood advice, the advice haas been to water the plants with an excess of water so you get a 'flush' - what was meant is a healthy amount of runoff so you dont have an excess of nutrient salts building up with heavy fertilizing (mostly synthetics related). So far the possible background of the technique, it has then evolved to like any usual myth (although i think it can be in cases beneficial) that you have to 'flush' your plants prior to harvest to gain a certain quality of smoke and a clean product - which can be true for - again synthetic nutrient based grows imo (there are guys related to a scientific approach who say thats bs tho). In an epsiode of FSOTD they interview the guy that came up with the Pistaccio 'strain' (forgot his name) and he mentioned when flushed his weed for some weeks really hard the product went out alll the time at smoking and produced black ash, it just didnt smoke...! The opposite of what is hype with the white ash gang going on. He further stated that it was related to a lack of minerals in the end product (if overflushed) because the white ash comes from minerals in the product that do not burn or something like that...now go figure...
 
longball said:
@charlesufarley said: "...flushing...That is something I've would never, ever do... just doesn't make sense and not validated by science."

Hello charlesufarley! :)

Will you please explain why you "would never, ever flush"? I realize that your answer will not be validated by science but I am interested in what made you come to that conclusion. I cannot find any 'white' or 'abstract' scientific papers on flushing. Only anecdotal stories. I flush based on the 'best of 7' concept. I read internet articles on flushing - some say flush, some say don't flush. Whichever opinion gets to 4 first(best of 7) is what I do. Some years I flush, some years I don't, depends which opinion gets to 4 first. Right now I am at 3 for flushing, 3 for not flushing. Your answer may help me to decide to flush or not. So.....why would you never, ever flush?

Longball
Click to expand...

Maybe this helps you to decide which road to take ;)

www.growweedeasy.com

Weed Flushing - How Long to Flush Plants Before Harvest | Grow Weed Easy

Flushing before harvest can increase the quality of your buds, but it can also hurt your yields and even REDUCE the quality of your buds if you do it too early! Learn how to flush properly!
www.growweedeasy.com www.growweedeasy.com

MB
 
@Proud Kraut - that is pretty much how I understand it but it is still running around in a circle of Yes/No. No clear proven answer. Reminds me of an old Autoflower GF with her nonsense of; "Don't! Stop! Don't! Stop! Don't stop! Don't Stop!" I never knew if I was supposed to be starting or stopping or even what I was supposed to be starting or stopping! ;)

Thanks for posting that, @Mr. Brown. I pretty much followed that web site on my first grow in 2019. Had not heard of Mr. Nice yet. As far as her opinion on flushing, I went with this part; "There are a million opinions about flushing. When I first started growing, I always flushed based on the habits I’d learned from other growers. Yet sometimes I’d skip it altogether. One of the most common reasons growers tell you to flush is that not doing so affects flavor. After flushing and not flushing, I personally couldn’t tell any difference when it came to smell or flavor."

While thinking about flushing this year, Ed Rosenthal sends me his newsletter with thoughts on flushing: "Flushing cannabis plants is a controversial subject. Some growers think its usefulness is a myth, while others think it’s an essential process that creates the best buds for smoking and vaporizing. There is little science to support one side versus the other, however. Many cannabis connoisseurs suggest that there is no difference between flushed and unflushed bud and the yields are relatively similar. Simultaneously, there are industry professionals who swear by flushing and claim that the difference in the finished product is profound.......To rinse, use tepid water (about 75°F/24°C) that is adjusted to a pH of about 5.8–6.0, which is the range at which the nutrients are all soluble. With warmer water flushing, more nutrients dissolve and rinse away."

I have flushed and not flushed and the conclusion that I have come to based on this tiny sample size of 4 grows is that proper drying and curing is more important than flushing. You could flush perfectly but if you screw up drying or curing you can be left with crap. This year, with the strains that I have more than 2 plants of, I may flush half and not flush the other half, and compare. An idea I got from @Swifty. Thanks, Swifty! Of course, as I started from seeds, this would not be sure-fire scientific evidence. But it could help me spread internet myths!


More importantly though, I am awaiting @charlesufarley's answer on why he "would never, ever flush".

Longball
p.s. - I hope this discussion on flushing is helping first time growers to decide to flush or not! o_O
 
I believe Bigsby states in one of his movies that flushing does not improve taste or curing. I assume that he did some research on this subject. His approach is to give the plant what it wants no more no less. That being said there are times that you may need to flush when using synthetic fertilizers. But in that case the plants are showing signs of stress from over feeding previously. He also states that there is no difference in taste or potency between organic and synthetic fed plants.
 
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I've had mixed results with flushing. There are more variables to consider than most assume.

I've found that past a certain point, flushing does zilch. I had a plant, which I idiotically fed late in flower because I was trying to get better yield. I did not get better yields 😅. Anyway, it was obvious the extra ferts had done no good and the plant was a DARK green right up until harvest. I tried flushing the usless nites out of the medium to improve flavor, but the plant was nearing the end of its reproductive life and wasn't taking up nutrients nor using up stores nutes.

It just sat there, taking a week at a time to dry out when before it was dry every two days. The plant no longer needed the nutrients, stores or otherwise, so no amount of flushing would help.

Now, in the same grow I had another plant, a different chemovar, which was still actively taking up nutrients. I'd hit it with flower nutes, just like the aforementioned plant. Again, yield wasn't improved but, Unlike the other, the second plant actually developed a nice fade and was a much smoother smoke than the first which was chock full of nutes and minerals and such.

These were organic grows btw.
 
Some good points have been made.

1st the cure, last step before consuming, one of.the first things to be 'mastered' - while you can buy finished soilmixes to water only or just follow stupified measurements to the ml most of it wont have the ability to shine thru either way if you fuck the harvest up. Before i ever grew myself i saw some beautiful HPS Bubblegum plants getting totally ruined after harvest. They smelled superb in flower. The guys then went on to 'cure' 'dry' or whatever excuse they want to call it the bud in a closet in cardboard boxes and managed to not only lose the aroma but also make it smell like a wet dog. Simply cruel. I followed some easy schedule to begin with with good success. Cut the plant, ruff trim, hang upside down in a dark reasonably ventilated place and after 5-7days when the stems snap do some fine trimming and from there multiple choices arise and if you manage to gradually slow dry it to the amount of moisture that feels good to the touch you basically cant go wrong for your own usage.

Then off course smoking and vaping make a huge difference. While vaping will express more of the resin quality and true taste and clearer effect vs burning inhalation it can be more forgiving to a product with to much chlorophyll which could ruin it for smoking. There are definitely some difference here to notice. A good cannabis bud should express taste and effect in all three departments, when smoked (the classic), when eaten raw as bud (yes it works without decarbing- mythbusters alert!) or when vaped. If you smoke and have a dark green product that tastes like rubbish maybe doing a drysift or bubblehash extraction can save your day if you dont mind putting in work and using supplements like tobacco to smoke it with...

And then of course i think regardless what sciene or bro science says, you should do what your comfortable with since your probably not running a lab where all parameters are dialed in to the max. Ive had good runs without flush, good runs with flush, overfertilized with organics to the point some plants hermed on me and still ended up with acceptable product from the ones that didnt. High in terpenes defintiley but lacking in yield and bag appeal because each sugar leaf was dark green and if you didnt trim before smoking it wasnt the highest pleasure but vaoed it made you sneeze from the terpiness...

I think a good rule of thumb is to keep things in balance and that can mean to flush or not to flush...it totally depends on you i guess...and organic vs synthtic DOES make a difference for sure, no doubt in my books about that.
Both can grow fire for sure.
 
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This topic of flushing versus not flushing reminds me of the "other" great debate concerning cannabis. I try to look at it from all sides. On the flushing part cannabis plants grown in ground can not be flushed properly as they will always have some nutrients left in the soil similar to an all organic grow with supersoil.
My take on this is that why would you starve your plants during the final week when the plant is still looking for and uptaking nutrients. Kinda counterintuitive if you ask me lol. If overfeeding with synthetic nutrients has happened a good flush followed by a light feeding can only help the plant express itself fully.
As far as the organic vs synthetic I do not believe it makes a difference as the plant still takes up the same "salts" when it comes down to it. All the organic inputs need to be converted into the same salts which is the only way a plant can uptake them . I would grow in either and notice no difference . Only difference is if I have a deficiency synthetic is taken up by the plant more readily which in turn means the deficiency is remedied faster. So I do not flush personally. If fed just enough for the plant and cutting back on the nitrogen when in flower a few weeks will still cause some yellowing of fan leaves which we look for . My 1.5 cents ....
 
Proud Kraut said:
Some good points have been made.

1st the cure, last step before consuming, one of.the first things to be 'mastered' - while you can buy finished soilmixes to water only or just follow stupified measurements to the ml most of it wont have the ability to shine thru either way if you fuck the harvest up. Before i ever grew myself i saw some beautiful HPS Bubblegum plants getting totally ruined after harvest. They smelled superb in flower. The guys then went on to 'cure' 'dry' or whatever excuse they want to call it the bud in a closet in cardboard boxes and managed to not only lose the aroma but also make it smell like a wet dog. Simply cruel. I followed some easy schedule to begin with with good success. Cut the plant, ruff trim, hang upside down in a dark reasonably ventilated place and after 5-7days when the stems snap do some fine trimming and from there multiple choices arise and if you manage to gradually slow dry it to the amount of moisture that feels good to the touch you basically cant go wrong for your own usage.

Then off course smoking and vaping make a huge difference. While vaping will express more of the resin quality and true taste and clearer effect vs burning inhalation it can be more forgiving to a product with to much chlorophyll which could ruin it for smoking. There are definitely some difference here to notice. A good cannabis bud should express taste and effect in all three departments, when smoked (the classic), when eaten raw as bud (yes it works without decarbing- mythbusters alert!) or when vaped. If you smoke and have a dark green product that tastes like rubbish maybe doing a drysift or bubblehash extraction can save your day if you dont mind putting in work and using supplements like tobacco to smoke it with...

And then of course i think regardless what sciene or bro science says, you should do what your comfortable with since your probably not running a lab where all parameters are dialed in to the max. Ive had good runs without flush, good runs with flush, overfertilized with organics to the point some plants hermed on me and still ended up with acceptable product from the ones that didnt. High in terpenes defintiley but lacking in yield and bag appeal because each sugar leaf was dark green and if you didnt trim before smoking it wasnt the highest pleasure but vaoed it made you sneeze from the terpiness...

I think a good rule of thumb is to keep things in balance and that can mean to flush or not to flush...it totally depends on you i guess...and organic vs synthtic DOES make a difference for sure, no doubt in my books about that.
Both can grow fire for sure.
Click to expand...
Here is my take on the matter as a grower of plants in general.

Good grow first then combined with good curing is the way.
Bad grow it can not be saved by a good cure.
A good grow can be ruined from a bad curing as Proud Kraut said, I agree.
Also the drying method description sounds very effective (when the branch snatch is rule of thumb)

But I totally disagree on the nutrients information shared that are organic vs synthetic has the same results.
Is day and night the difference between them.

Go in any shop and buy organic tomatos or fruits and no organic, taste them and you will see a huge difference.
Synthetic fertilizer kills the soil and will never be able to produce the taste organic does. Is not the same there is no debate on that.

Flushing is done also in outdoor grow but is done bit different.
We traditionally dont water tomatoes before harvest if you water them the pop but also the taste is not there.

The blueberries that grow wild in the forest if rainy much at the last weeks of the harvest they get bigger but tasteless if you compare them whit dryer seasons.
So no water before harvest.

Now cannabis is the same If you want medicine go the organic way, if you want dope go synthetic.

If you feed your plants, You have to flush before harvest and you get smother smoke that is what I have seen but with organic fertilizers is like you grow in living soil because they keep it alive so I find it also beneficial the 36 hours dark time


I hope this helps.
 
@Apollo nailed it. Organic growing gives way more options to the plant, as our digestion is not done by us but by microbes, bacteria and enzymes and the same is true for plants.
Jeff Lowenfels isnt popular for no reason in the canna scene...
Synthetic nutes are just taken up by plants in a manner that resembles fattening a goose and the soil isnt really soil in this case its usually a more or less dead peat perlite blend, or coco.
So anything going on is mostly artificial.
How can this not translate into the end product?
Plus growing organic is usually not only better in crafting a great garden, its also better for your health and environment.
The microorganisms, funghi and bacteria also enable the plant to take up more complex compounds than a simple nutrient salt plus you've ever hear of Bioluminescence? All living beeings radiate a light, expressing a living energy and i rather make my garden glow than just sparkle by all the salty residues... ;)
A salt btw is one of the lowest vibrating forms of manifested energy...
 
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Water is also way more complex than just PH...check out Masaru Emoto or Viktor Schauberger - both dedicated a big part of their life to the structure of Water, carrier of life, blood of the world. Viktor for example held a patent to a device that was abled to purify water resembling different layers of sand and gravel mimicking the processes of nature. The japanese do a similar water cleanse in the present days with grains of sand with a diameter of 0.6 - 0.8 mm if i remeber correctly and have also developed a way to clean the sand from impurities after long term usage to recycle. Their more or less isolated culture and environmental circumstances paired with a craftiness has led them to beeing great inventors...we should take mire ideas from nature and less ressources will be needed, nothing will be ever lost because it will be abled to recirculate in the ongoing reign of the living vortex... ;) thats how it was designed for in the beginning...
 
Thanks everybody for sharing your thoughts here.

Flushing soil is something I dont do anymore to improve the harvest, tried this also with the same cuts in grows before and the smoke just was the same for my kind of growing.

Organic vs synthetic fertiliser is an interesting topic.
I started on soil with synthetic feeding and made the switch a couple of years later to organic.
I did prefer the organic product over the synthetic but I lacked somewhat in yield.

A friend of mine started combining the two without telling me at first.
We always exchange some buds of our harvests and he impressed me everytime with his smoke and size of buds.
It always seemed a bit better than mine.🙃

A couple of grows later he told me what he was doing and after trying I came to the conclusion that starting with a light mineral based soil in combinations with an organic feeding throughout the grow and small doses of organic/ synthetic boosters does keep the quality and yield.

Since then I never turned back but after reading al the posts here it convinced me to re-try the 100% organic way.
It just makes sense to me.
 
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