Help possibly pre-sexing plants

Seed of Memory

Active Member
20191117_022948.jpg20191117_023015.jpg20191117_023034.jpg20191117_023239.jpg20191117_023317.jpgSo I know you aren't supposed to be able to sex a plant until it is ready to flower. However, a lot of articles and blogs i have been reading are also saying it is sometimes possible to see a male in 3-4 weeks or a female in 4-6. I'm very new to this and I have a few reasons I would like to figure this out quickly. Obviously I'm worried about cross pollination. However, I also have feminized seeds on the way as well as a tent and new lights. The tent is a decent size but not large enough for more than 3 plants. These were actually sprouted in the 2nd week of September but due to lighting issues have only grown since I brought them in a few weeks ago. If they are males I would hate to lose all the time I have in them plus the time I will be waiting to start plants I know will be female out of first grow sentiment. I got the clearest pictures my phone would let me take. Can anybody help me out?
 

Mitchician

Well-Known Member
Sorry but it's a bit too hard to see from the photos and it looks like they're not even showing their sex yet anyway.. just from their structure though they look lanky like males usually do, but this can also be down to hermaphrodite or runty genetics, restricted root space, and/or too weak a light source.
Did you try to use the zoom to see the internodes better in the pics? The top nodes where they're all bunched up or the ones beneath them are usually the first place I see their gender. Right on either side of every branch where it meets the main stalk is where they grow. Male parts look like a ball on a stick, and female parts are just a single calyx with 2 white hairs like what buds are made of, and they sit right down in the krux of the joint because they have no stem.
If you could get some snaps zoomed right into those nodes where the branch meets the main stalk, that'd be great. Like I said though I dunno if they're even showing and you'll probably be able to see yourself anyway if they are.
Is there any label on your light that shows actual wattage or do you own a power measurement device like a "kill-a-watt" meter? I'd like to know if your LED is actually pulling 45w.
If you really want to see their sex I heard you can put them under 12/12 for a week then go back to 18/6. Haven't tried it myself though. Maybe you should give it a go. Actually if they're somewhere that can stay completely dark for their night cycle you could just throw them into 12/12 now if you wanted but you wouldn't yield very much if they were girls is all.
Don't be too disappointed if they're males, just write off the time as a learning curve and take all the lessons you've learned so far to make the most of your bought seeds.
 

Boatguy

Well-Known Member
Too early to tell.
Could be either at this point.
You dont have to worry about the males pollinating your crop. They will show sex long before dropping pollen.
 

OGBudz

Well-Known Member
Plants will usually start showing pre-flowers around 6 weeks of life from seed. It can be tricky to identify but when in doubt just wait until you see the sure sign but don't give it too much time or you'll pollinate your garden. Here's a couple pics of pre flowers i had
 

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Boatguy

Well-Known Member
Plants will usually start showing pre-flowers around 6 weeks of life from seed. It can be tricky to identify but when in doubt just wait until you see the sure sign but don't give it too much time or you'll pollinate your garden. Here's a couple pics of pre flowers i had
Pic 1 is male, pic 2 looks female to me. Hard to tell though.
Male flowers stand off the main stalk with a little stem, female calyx sits directly on the stalk.
Male flower is rounded at the end, calyx is pointy
 

Seed of Memory

Active Member
Sorry but it's a bit too hard to see from the photos and it looks like they're not even showing their sex yet anyway.. just from their structure though they look lanky like males usually do, but this can also be down to hermaphrodite or runty genetics, restricted root space, and/or too weak a light source.
Did you try to use the zoom to see the internodes better in the pics? The top nodes where they're all bunched up or the ones beneath them are usually the first place I see their gender. Right on either side of every branch where it meets the main stalk is where they grow. Male parts look like a ball on a stick, and female parts are just a single calyx with 2 white hairs like what buds are made of, and they sit right down in the krux of the joint because they have no stem.
If you could get some snaps zoomed right into those nodes where the branch meets the main stalk, that'd be great. Like I said though I dunno if they're even showing and you'll probably be able to see yourself anyway if they are.
Is there any label on your light that shows actual wattage or do you own a power measurement device like a "kill-a-watt" meter? I'd like to know if your LED is actually pulling 45w.
If you really want to see their sex I heard you can put them under 12/12 for a week then go back to 18/6. Haven't tried it myself though. Maybe you should give it a go. Actually if they're somewhere that can stay completely dark for their night cycle you could just throw them into 12/12 now if you wanted but you wouldn't yield very much if they were girls is all.
Don't be too disappointed if they're males, just write off the time as a learning curve and take all the lessons you've learned so far to make the most of your bought seeds.
I knew you would be of help. I would put money on lighting for the thin stems. They were 3 inches for over a month before i got that cheap light. If you go on Amazon just put in 45W LED panel. It is $17.99. Cheap as hell, like I said. New one is on the way though. I never even noticed the calyxs until I was reading last night and the article said it is sometimes possible. My poor camera did not want to focus on the stem at all. You should see the other 20 pictures i tried. I would try changing the light cycle but it would be my luck that the stress would hermie them.
 

Seed of Memory

Active Member
Plants will usually start showing pre-flowers around 6 weeks of life from seed. It can be tricky to identify but when in doubt just wait until you see the sure sign but don't give it too much time or you'll pollinate your garden. Here's a couple pics of pre flowers i had
Technically, they are about 9 weeks old now but i had them outside and had a slug outbreak. The one really stretched one had spider mites and I saved it. Once light started dropping I got a cheap light so they wouldn't die from the cold and brought them in. The best one has almost came up 5x in size. And the sad thing is, even seeing everyone's pictures explaining how to sex them I can't tell the difference until the sacs are more well formed or the white pistils have come out. Thanks for the help.
 

OGBudz

Well-Known Member
The ? in the pic threw me off. She starting to frost up nicely
Thanks! The ? Is referring to the strain. It was a bagseed and I don't know the strain, I'm anxious to see how it smokes, shes come along nicely. Got about 3 week's left til the chop.
 

MrToad69

Well-Known Member
SOM

Unfortunately, its still a little early for sexing from what I see..

Male balls will look like a detached pouch hanging from the joint of the nodes..while calyx will look a little more vase like and more solidly attached..

Perhaps making a little Lemonade out of the situation will make you feel better about the males...Why not collect some pollen? (if need be) and save it to make some seeds when your feminized seeds arrive? Always nice to save money as opposed to buying seeds all the time...

when the pollen matures on the male...shake it off on a piece of glass and let it dry for a day or two...then combine pollen with dry baking flour..10:1 (or higher flour to pollen ratio).might want to microwave flour first and allow to cool...the flour will act as a desiccant..You will need to keep this in an airtight container until you want to use it..I go to the organic grocery store and but the gel caps used for medicine to store in..Make a bunch..Then put those gel caps in a ziplock bag and your good to go..

when the time comes..use a paint brush to paint pollen on pistils selectively to pollinate.

Cheers

.
:)
 

Seed of Memory

Active Member
SOM

Unfortunately, its still a little early for sexing from what I see..

Male balls will look like a detached pouch hanging from the joint of the nodes..while calyx will look a little more vase like and more solidly attached..

Perhaps making a little Lemonade out of the situation will make you feel better about the males...Why not collect some pollen? (if need be) and save it to make some seeds when your feminized seeds arrive? Always nice to save money as opposed to buying seeds all the time...

when the pollen matures on the male...shake it off on a piece of glass and let it dry for a day or two...then combine pollen with dry baking flour..10:1 (or higher flour to pollen ratio).might want to microwave flour first and allow to cool...the flour will act as a desiccant..You will need to keep this in an airtight container until you want to use it..I go to the organic grocery store and but the gel caps used for medicine to store in..Make a bunch..Then put those gel caps in a ziplock bag and your good to go..

when the time comes..use a paint brush to paint pollen on pistils selectively to pollinate.

Cheers

.
:)
Now that is amazing. So when you pollinate does that encourage that plant to make seeds that are strictly female as it is already a female plant? I had not thought of it that way. I was wondering if there was a use for male plants. And if pollinating does encourage that plant to create seeds, do I need to separate it?
 

Kassiopeija

Well-Known Member
Now that is amazing. So when you pollinate does that encourage that plant to make seeds that are strictly female as it is already a female plant? I had not thought of it that way. I was wondering if there was a use for male plants. And if pollinating does encourage that plant to create seeds, do I need to separate it?
if you pollinate a female plant using male pollen the seeds will be regulars sporting both sexes.
for feminized seed you need to "self" a plant, manipulating it to go hermaphrodite using pollen and flowers containing the same genetic material ( same plant )
Once pollinated buds will stop swelling to create seeds - which contain no THC. So in order to make Sinsemilla smoke you don't want any pollen flying around when theres fem flowers present.
Collecting pollen is only to make your own seeds. You could as well do a selection and veg your best by cutting clones.
Or order different seeds
 

MrToad69

Well-Known Member
Regular Seeds are created like anything..male and female..male pollen lands on the female pistils..calyx produces a seed with combined genetics of parents...can be male or female offspring.
As pointed out by Kassiopeija..if you want just female seeds..you need a female plant to do this..Easiest way I have found is with colloidal silver..method: put high quality collodial silver in a spray bottle..approx I week before a female plant goes into flower, lightly spray one of the lower branches with collodial silver..mark that branch with a twist tie as you dont want to ingest any bud/leaf that has been sprayed..spray once/day for approximately 3 weeks or so and female will begin to produce pollen from just that branch to either self fertilize (s1 seed) or can be used to pollenate another female..all resulting seeds will be feminized.
There are lots of video online..just google.GL

Cheers

Toad
 

Seed of Memory

Active Member
Alright. My husband just remembered he has an eye loop to do his tattoo needles and I got to use it. These pictures are from my largest plant. Does this help any?20191118_004459.jpg20191118_004508.jpg
 

OGBudz

Well-Known Member
Alright. My husband just remembered he has an eye loop to do his tattoo needles and I got to use it. These pictures are from my largest plant. Does this help any?View attachment 4422691View attachment 4422692
Just new veg growth not pre flowers. The pre flowers will be a touch smaller than the new growth you're seeing. The Male pre flower is gonna be shaped more like a little ball female is gonna be shaped like a teardrop with a pointed tip that pointed tip is where the pistils are gonna pop out.
 
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