I've heard this in regards to diesel cuts but having more to do with the smell and flavor profile. The theory is that to get old school diesel to taste exactly like it did in the 90's you have to use the same fertilizers that people were using to grow that cut when it became so popular back then, i.e. nasty ass salt-based chemical fertilizers. Is it a result of the plant expressing its genetics differently based on inputs, or is the terp profile that they like just the flavor of the chemical fertilizer?
Similarly, I have heard of people who only use old school Metal halide and HPS lights to grow old school strains because they feel that those lights played a role in the plant expressing a specific phenotype that they associate positively with the plant.
As an outdoor grower, I've noticed that certain strains just don't express themselves the same under the sun that they do under lights. I've tried strains that indoor growers rave about and they were only so so for me, and there are strains that do much better outside.
I think that any strain will grow well in a balanced biologically active organic soil, but sometimes the thing that people like about a given strain may actually be a phenotypical expression of the strain when grown using specific inputs or in a specific environment.
You are absolutely spot on about this. This is why strain selection is so heavily emphasized to growers of all experiences. That OG or Urkle or whatever strain has spent its entire lifetime and lineage indoors for decades will suffer outdoors. This is because they have adapted to indoor environments, to the point where they'll likely die if put outdoors. The key is going through the motions of getting said strains to adapt to the outdoors. Simple in theory, but quite time consuming and costly if you're buying seeds.
Remember, even just 10 years ago, weed wasn't legal recreationally or even medicinally on such a large scale. Prior to that, most growers around the world grew indoors to avoid being busted.
Imagine how staying indoors affected breeding plants. Many of the strains on the market were bred exclusively indoors in controlled environments; no bugs, limited light (compared to the sun), perfect temp and RH ranges, extra CO2, pretty much all of the stuff you're not likely to find in nature. Consider just how long some of these strains have remained indoors.
As a result of the breeding in this controlled environment, the progeny of the parents will certainly end up adapting to said controlled environment.
The biggest pitfall with new living soil grows is not top dressing enough. This is why most new organic grows you see here will have mediocre yields. Most of us come from salt/hydro backgrounds, and it takes a bit of dialing in to get a living soil on the same level as salt fertilizers. The flavor is the only thing that inspires people to keep trying until they succeed, because most new soil growers will yield about 1/4 of what they used to in hydro.
This is why trying certain strains outdoors leads to heartache, because these strains have been bred for years (if not longer) indoors specifically through many generations. Taking a clone from one of these strains and throwing it outdoors will usually lead to certain death, or mediocre harvests at best. Try growing various OG strains outdoors some time, most of them will not do well. Makes sense, seeing as OG Kush has remained "indoors" ever since it first became a strain.
Diesel, and other strains, have all the terp profiles written in their genetic code. Its just that its easier to provide "perfect" nutrition with salts than living soil, at first.
The same is true with lights. As intense as some LEDs and DE bulbs can be, they still pale in comparison to the sunlight. Plants that have only ever lived indoors are adapted to indoor light exclusively. Putting plants like this outdoors under the sunlight will cause issues until the plants adapt to the sunlight's intensity and spectrum.
You're very right about certain strains expressing themselves better, or not expressing themselves enough. This has to do with the sunlight, and how the plants react to the sun. Indoor adapted strains won't express themselves much outdoors because the sun's intensity will stress them too much. Conversely, outdoor adapted strains won't flourish indoors, as not only can they survive in the intense sunlight but they crave it.
Eventually, you can make said strains survive and thrive outdoors, but it takes work. Easiest with seeds, but possible with mothers and clones if you have enough time and veg room. Seeds are easy, just sprout the next generation of seeds outdoors exclusively. Most won't even sprout, the ones that do sprout will likely do good outdoors. Simply clone and mother the plant, and done. In my desert climate, I'm happy if 1-2 out of 10 seeds sprout. You're not likely to get a good germ rate, but that's the point, we only want what will survive and thrive outdoors right? You'll only have one or two seedlings, but they'll thrive in your environment. Done.
Way more tricky with clones, but possible. Start with the initial clone outdoors, it will suffer and likely not yield very well. The idea isn't to get a yield, but to take clones after its been outside in these conditions for long enough. The idea is to force the plant to stay outdoors until it adapts, once the plant adapts to the environment, then we can clone it and grow it outdoors successfully. As you can gather, this takes a long ass time. A year minimum. The plant will spend months stunted, deformed, and shriveled. But it will survive. Keep it alive until it begins to finally thrive, 1-2 years.
You'll either need to keep the plant in a pot, and move it so as to avoid it going into flower. Or, you can let it flower and take clones from it prior to flower. Then, repeat the process with the clone. The original plant dies and has shit yields, but you still have the clone. The clone has the "memory" of these outdoor conditions, so to speak. So now you take that clone, throw it outdoors, and observe its reactions. Eventually, you'll take a clone from said plant, and it will do just fine outdoors because the clone is finally coming from a plant that has successfully adapted. While the original plants are dying, the clones you're taking are off to a more healthy start while still retaining the memory of being outdoors. Eventually, you'll get to a point where the clone you take doesn't stress at all, and it has finally acclimated to your environment outdoors.
For all life, we either adapt, or die. Only options. Plants will always attempt to choose life, its just a matter of how long we need to baby them to help them get to a point where they thrive. Takes a long ass time, but its possible.
Ultimately? Much less of a pain in the ass to just grow whatever does good in your environment, even if it means going without all of those OG strains.
There's plenty of great strains out there. However, I believe everyone's best chance at getting dank outdoors is by starting as many seeds as you can outdoors in your environment's most brutal of conditions.
I germinate new seeds outdoors in late June-early July, the most stressful part of the year in my climate. I get 10-20% germ rates at best, but that 10-20% thrives in my 120F and above summers.
I would guess that it’s a heavy feeder and longer flowering plant. I knew a guy with fairly large organic gardens and he used to swear up and down that certain strains were shit and wouldn’t yield. After switching to salts he realized he was just starving them the whole time and those strains he thought weren’t any good were just heavy feeders.
So much this, and then you realize you've likely been underfeeding for a while. That still effects me when I'm growing a new strain or new plant of any sort. Very easy to add more, but you're fucked if you've too much.
Why I've always opted for lower NPK amendments at more frequent intervals, as opposed to more powerful inputs applied at monthly intervals. Allows you to top dress weekly, and since the values are so light (4-6-2 or 4-8-4), you can top dress larger plants weekly with no ill consequences aside from possible diminishing returns.
In fact, some of those big outdoor plants will likely need top dresses twice a week.
Consider the NPK values of bottled ferts vs the light ones I listed above, after all. It can be a learning curve getting it dialed in,
especially since everyone's organic grow has different variables and environments, however the results are beyond worth it. Everything grown in the soil will be good, and eventually things become self-sustaining. Zero cost.
Regards all.
renegadegardener.com
