Male/Female advice

Hey everyone, new grower here. Need help sexing some "mature" plants. I started with 12 seeds of unknown origin I got from a friend, 11 sprouted and now I'm pretty sure I have 6 females and 5 males. These plants are probably 12 weeks or older and have "revealed their sex" under 18/6 light. The females I can tell because of their little white pistils sticking out all over the place. The "males" have no pistils, instead they have a little ball which on some plants looks like a crab claw. I have done a bunch of reading/looking at male/female pictures, etc etc but can't get a definitive answer.

Would it be safe to say since I started all these seeds at the same time the 5 plants without pistils are males? My grow box is too small to put all 11 plants under 12/12 to determine sex that way so as of right now I just put my 6 plants that are showing pistils in the flower box and the 5 likely males are just hanging out waiting to be chopped....Am I doing this right??? Thanks for helping a newb!!

You got it.

baker440 said:

Hey everyone, new grower here. Need help sexing some "mature" plants. I started with 12 seeds of unknown origin I got from a friend, 11 sprouted and now I'm pretty sure I have 6 females and 5 males. These plants are probably 12 weeks or older and have "revealed their sex" under 18/6 light. The females I can tell because of their little white pistils sticking out all over the place. The "males" have no pistils, instead they have a little ball which on some plants looks like a crab claw. I have done a bunch of reading/looking at male/female pictures, etc etc but can't get a definitive answer.

Would it be safe to say since I started all these seeds at the same time the 5 plants without pistils are males? My grow box is too small to put all 11 plants under 12/12 to determine sex that way so as of right now I just put my 6 plants that are showing pistils in the flower box and the 5 likely males are just hanging out waiting to be chopped....Am I doing this right??? Thanks for helping a newb!!

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Ok, since you have limited space and have determined these plants are likely male...mist them down with water, put a garbage bag over them, remove them from the garden, hack them down, take a shower and put on fresh clothes afterward before going near your garden.

And BTW...

Welcome to RIU, and the wonderful world of cultivating the world's most misunderstood and feared medicines!!!

The only 'advice' I can give you or anyone is to read and learn and then apply what you have read and learned to your garden and you cannot fail. Anyways, remember the search tool is your friend...Lots of folks here willing to help a new farmer get up and growing. But at the end of the day your grow will be only as good as the knowledge and work you put into it.

It is always great to ask questions but do not take anyone's advice or opinions and follow blindly. And remember anyone may have a well-known member status…but that means they have posted and responded to many threads and does not always mean well-educated growerz. Do your own research, you will be much happier knowing you have done it for yourself and by yourself. The first buzz you get from your own budz...is by far the BEST high you will ever have!

Do a search using your current question as the keyword(s) and ZOOOM!! Like Wonka's Great Glass Elevator…off you go to tons of threads answering all your questions. Read all the Newbie Central stickies and learn…

Soaking up all that information and sifting through it, is going to take time. You will likely finish your first grow by then. Viola! grow complete and education well under way.

Thanks guys, I took the plunge and chopped them. I don't have the space for all of them anyway. Just wanted to get a couple females which I'm sure I have. Thanks so much for all the great advice! And yes I plan on continuing to educate myself, ask questions, read, and learn.

One last question, is it necessary to take all of those precautions (mist, cover with bag, take shower, change clothes etc) when hacking down said male plants, or is it just safe practice? They are very young and do not have developed pollen sacs like what you see in pictures online. Could there still be a risk of contamination if not handled carefully?

baker440 said:

Thanks guys, I took the plunge and chopped them. I don't have the space for all of them anyway. Just wanted to get a couple females which I'm sure I have. Thanks so much for all the great advice! And yes I plan on continuing to educate myself, ask questions, read, and learn.

One last question, is it necessary to take all of those precautions (mist, cover with bag, take shower, change clothes etc) when hacking down said male plants, or is it just safe practice? They are very young and do not have developed pollen sacs like what you see in pictures online. Could there still be a risk of contamination if not handled carefully?

Click to expand...

maybe risky...maybe ok...why take a chance? All it takes is one pollen spore and one pistil and your garden is fucked in the very literal sense.

Ok fair enough. Thanks again for the advice. I will definitely be in from time to time until I get it all figured out.