In just 3 weeks, you can go from ungerminated seeds to finding a mother with the cannabinoid profile of your desire (high CBD/low THC for example). Allow me to explain ...
It can be incredibly disheartening to spend several months growing a plant that was advertised as "high CBD low THC" only to find it has plenty of THC and no CBD. It's especially disheartening if you or your friend/family member are a medical patient with neither time or money at your disposal. I've been there.
However, if you're just looking to find a high-CBD/low-THC plant you don't need to grow to full harvest to determine the result, because the cannabinoid profile is genetically established, and the sensitivity of Thin Layer Chromatography (which people can do at home) means we only need to grow the plants for 2-3 weeks (from seed). No flowering period required, just 2-3 weeks of seedling/vegetative phase. A CBD blitz.
And because we're only dealing with small seedlings and such a short time frame, this makes it possible to quickly grow out seeds, and while a small grow chamber may only be large enough to bring 1 adult plant to harvest, it would still be big enough for a dozen or so seedlings. Then after 3 weeks you simply do the chromatography tests, keep the plant(s) you want and cull/discard the rest.
You only need:
- Seeds
- Small pots (or plastic/foam cups
- Grow chamber or sun or sufficient lighting
- Thin Layer Chromatography equipment (see [my DIY TLC link])
- 2-3 weeks time
Method:
- Germinate the seeds.
- Grow for 2-3 weeks (until they're big enough to take a leaf cutting).
- Cut a trifoliate leaf off each seedling.
Use gloves to prevent cross-contamination of samples.
Wrap individually in aluminium foil.
- Decarboxylate for 60 mins @ 125°C/257°F, to convert THCA to THC etc
- Use Thin Layer Chromatography to determine CBD and THC levels in each one
- Keep the good ones, cull/discard the rest.
Criticism:
Ok, after 3 weeks you won't know much about the plant (you won't know how long it flowers for or what her flowers are like, and if it's a regular seed you won't know if it's male or female, etc). In other words, it's pretty early to say "yep, you're gonna be my mother plant!". That's not what this test is for though. This test is to establish the cannabinoid profile of the plant, and it does that beautifully, so it's a great way to
FIND THE BEST CANDIDATES for your potential mother.
In the next post I'll show an example from start to finish ...