Cannabis By Nikon

[subcool]

Romulan is one of those strains that has almost
mythical status among growers and when I started
doing research I found out there is not that much info
available. First off I dug around at the old BCGA website
and found this:
"It has been one of Vancouver Island's best kept
secrets for a few years. Up till about 18 months ago,
Romulan Joe from the island was all Vancouver knew
of Romulan. Then I showed about 18 months ago at
HBC with some bud and photos looking for advice
about good genetics to cross it with. Boy did I create
a commotion. I was offered some serious dollars for
a clone. I said no but that I would be happy to work
something out with some seeds.
For you breeders, take note that 18 months ago, Vancouver
breeders did not have access to Romulan
genetics. At that time both the Romulan that Joe was
bringing to Vancouver and my Romulan was the
same bud. About six months ago I returned and Vancouver's
Romulan was now more potent than mine
but had lost some of its flavor". Vic High
It's no secret that Vic is one of my favorite breeders and
the fact he worked with Romulan already makes it special
and then this year I was lucky enough to meet someone
that has the cut and grows it in a green house each
year. The first bud I sampled was really impressive with a
perfume oily smell that really got my attention from the
very first bong hit. Pure Romulan is supposed to be a very
stable plant that produces very uniform F1 hybrids. This
combined with its amazing flavor prompted us to create
a Hybrid using this clone only female Romulan and Space
Queen. This will lock down the Romulan traits in large
numbers and add some of the Romulan Funk to the sibling
outcross. When we first got a cutting of the Romulan
I was surprised at how slow it grew and initially I got a
very poor yield but as I got to know her I learned she
liked a lot of attention requiring additional time in veg
and lots of shaping and bondage to form multiple tops
and a wide bush. The first time I budded her I did not give
her ample vegetive time and my yield was very low. I
almost culled the plant but the smoke tasted so good and

the buzz was so pleasant that I gave her another chance
and asked Jem777 for another cutting. He was running
out of room at his grow so instead of a cutting he shows
up with a 24" trained bush complete with LST and
bondage. I had no room in the budding area so I continued
to veg her until she was like 40" tall with 6 heads by
the time my crop finished and I made room for her. I
placed her under the 400 watt HPS with side lighting
from both 1000 watt hoods on the sides and she just
loved the cool temps and 1200 PPM of co2 I run in my
bud room. She packed on the buds by week six and the
smell was just unbelievable anytime you got close to her
at all the **** would just drift over and slap you in the
face. She started fading around 50 days so I topped
dressed the container with super soil and fed her some
organic bloom solution as well as loading her with sugars.
She continued to mature and by day 60 she was carpeted
with oily resin glands that were about 40% amber
telling me she was ready to harvest.
Using this method I was able to increase her yield to just
under 5 ounces in Super Soil. Romulan has quickly
become one of our new favorite night time smokes. It has
a awesome flavor and the Indica make up is perfect for un
winding in the evening hours. It tends to bring on the
munchies and a session is usually followed by a chocolate
snack. Romulan will be staying around here as stash and
also as one of our new mother plants.
1) Phenotypes – Clone Only
2) Height- Short stocky branchy plant
3) Yield- better than average with proper training
4) Indoor/Outdoor/Greenhouse
5) Best way to grow- Multiple topping and training
into a wide bush
6) Harvest Window- 8 weeks
7) Sativa/Indica 30/70
8) Hybrid- BGCA Original
9) High type- Heavy and comforting great for sleep
and relaxation
10) Smells Floral and Oily with a spicy pine after
taste.
11) Comments Thanks Vic High!

 

[subcool]

I can see why friends of mine have said she taste similar to JC but its just the fact its also a lemon smelling plant, the similarities end there as TW grows a lot different than JC and has a more musty smell lurking under the citrus.
This cut was extremely tall and produced way to many naners along her journey for me but it was strong weed and I can see why so many people liked her
The weed taste great with a lemon hint and musty smell. The weed is course and rough and burns harsh in a bowl clogging the stem often I prefer soft weed as it burns better.
It gets me high everytime I smoke it but its certainly not close to JTR in potency or apollo in flavor so as famous and sought after as she is I won't keep her.

This was my first run with Trainwreck and as you will see The Arcata cut is only one of many.

 

[subcool]

I started growing cannabis some 30 years ago outdoors in the US down south where the laws and the cops are no joke when it comes to cannabis. I had many run ins with the law and have traveled across the world seeking more knowledge and running from courts and stupid laws. I have lived both in the UK and Amsterdam and Canada and have tried to gain as much knowledge as possible while traveling in order to become better at my craft. I now live on the west coast and am a legal medical grower along with the love of my life MzJill. I have spent the last decade collecting unique clone only strains in order to collect the proper effect for certain ailments. I have developed a love for photography and combining my love for both, created a Huge data base on cannabis genetics complete with in depth grow guides posted online on many internet sites.
Working with TGA we have helped create some 25 new hybrids and have changed the way the business is done my offering live support and instant feedback using our large data base of medical/professional growers that work with our strains. When a new strain is created it is grown out online for the world to see the results along side of test grows run by happy volunteers that receive free seeds One of the strains we ran across that has almost urban legend status is DAB ( Dank *** *****) now there is a short story behind the name and I will disclose it here for the first time. The plant was created using a Herm fem that was labeled D and the Clone mom was B it only took on the silly iconic name when people started growing it out and mistakenly added the A.

This strain has huge following in the underground I have been wanting to run it for many years. About 9 years ago I actually had a cut of DAB, but a trip by the cops assured I had to wait a few years to give her a go again. These genetics were collected by the great A/B Hybrid. This is a famous under ground grower that helped pioneer “Selfing” a technique used on females to create all female seeds. He also was famous for his Purple Sativa and his Emerald Triangle Funk. He used these two very different strains to create his own Sativa/Indica hybrid. There used to be vast amounts of information on these two strains but with the fall of Overgrow/Cannabis world this information was lost. I feel very lucky an old friend was nice enough to share his small stash of seeds with me. One of the main attractions to this hybrid was the seeds are almost 15 years old! A few breeders warned me about herm traits, as the rumor is this hybrid was created using male flowers from a female plant. This would be passed on to future generations if I used this in breeding projects. This is always a danger with working with unknown crosses but the only way to eliminate this is to grow out the strain and cull these problem plants from the gene pool. Nebu probably is the best authority on these genetics. Nebu is well known in the US for his work with purple cannabis mainly Mendencino Purps and is a leading authority on the original cut, he actually had the DAB clone from what I understand. This is what he had to say” The AB Hybrid is a jewel of an example of this level, purpling very dramatically in the leaves with splashes amongst the calyxes. We’re on to some serious bag appeal now! The AB Hybrid is a hermaphroditic cross between Emerald Triangle Funk and an old Oregon Purple indica/sativa hybrid. The taste is just dank and funky (inherited from the ET Funk). In fact, the particular AB Hybrid phenotype pictured has been appropriately dubbed “DAB,” an acronym for dank-*** *****. However, this hybrid also possesses some very sweet, exotic perfume notes, and is so distinctive that it is quite difficult to put into words. “Smells like hippies,” some have said. Perhaps this is because of the combination of dank and incense. It definitely fills the room with its aroma, which lingers for hours.”
One trick we use to force out these unwanted plants is, once a plant is budding we subject it to irregular light cycles. Interrupting the dark period and extending the light cycle any plants that have herm tendencies will show us quick. Unfortunately using this technique we eliminated the best looking phenotype based on early observations. Z was a bushy girl with nice short spacing but at day 21 she showed male flowers and was killed. I was looking for a new short purple Indica what I found inside this pack of 14-year-old seeds was kind of unexpected. This phenotype labeled #6 grew fast and tall so she was placed in the back of the grow room in the corner and her buds were bent over into the light. I cringe as I think about how many times I almost dragged her tall *** out and tossed her. She took up the space of 2-normal sized plants. I am so glad I am stubborn and waited to see the final outcome. There are also 2 plants that are very similar in looks and smell but there very small and will not make it on a second trip through the bud room.
This all got started when an old friend contacted me and asked if I was interested in growing out some A/B. I cracked 10 and selected the best 7 to transplant. You can see how nice and deep green with purple stems the seedlings were. As they grew up I cloned each one and then transplanted each and placed into 12/12 to bud each plant out. I kept watch mainly on the short plants with widest leaves, as these are DAB like qualities.
The 3 more Sativa like plants didn’t get a lot of attention but somehow I was out of 5 gallon pots when I transplanted Phenotype 6 and she was placed in one of my full size containers holding 7 full gallons of soil. I placed her in the back as I mentioned and she has been ignored for the most part. Out of the 7 seedlings all were female, which lends credibility to the warnings I received and the assertion A/B was created using a stress herm female plant to create Female seeds. I have only located the one herm at this stage. Phenotype 1 and 4 are a wash as they are both to small to consider running a second time between the two I don’t see even on ounce of meds and no matter how good they may turn out there are minimum standards. Phenotype #2 has the same incredible smell but her yield and finished product will have to be compared to #6 but based on 40 day results #6 is superior mainly based on size alone, however the smaller dread like buds on #2 intrigue me so she has been left to finish even though I have no room and have to manually move her into dark each day and then back into the vegetive room where the light timers are set for 18/6 but the only location that we have any room.
Day 40
You can see phenotype #2 is also beautiful it’s one draw back as I mentioned is the cola size which amount to monkey paw sized buds and were need Gorilla arms if it’s going to outshine phenotype #6. We will keep an eye on the rest inspecting every 2 days for male flowers it’s obvious now warnings were correct and Nebu’s information is also confirmed now we have to just wait and see if any more show herm traits.
Day 45
Sadly I found more herm flowers on Phenotype #3 so the shortest thickest one is now culled from the heard. I took shots of Phenotype #6 today 2/20 and she is even more spectacular than before. I hope it’s extremely good because with 2 herm plants in my main bud room I am bound to have seeds which will all have to be tossed in the trash due to there origins. That now has us down to 2 out of 7 females and based on size #6 has the lead and there is a good chance she will not run again so we have now have 1 female to watch and she has been searched from head to toe and she is free of any male flowers at this point. I don’t think I have ever seen a cooler looking plant. The buds almost have a Jade like appearance and the contrasting maroon/burgundy just heightens this effect.
It reeks at this point and entering the grow room is a blast of Funk and candy from all the other TGA gear.
Week 9
Well the results are now in. The one phenotype that did not herm is one hell of a plant. The bud has a very thick oily smell that reminds me of Garlic and skunk. It seems the leaf itself has a very strong odor. We turned the plants that exhibited herm traits into Bubble hash and it’s truly spectacular. I don’t feel I would add this strain to my stash as it takes over 60 days to finish and simply reeks like no plant I have ever grown before. The bubble is without the musty taste and melts like caramel in the bowl. While it is not a keeper strain I am very happy I ran her and will enjoy every speck of hash I make from her. I am not disappointed with the results, as a grower you never stop seeking knowledge and the only way I know to find out if a strain is any good is to grow her out. After drying the buds were also a bit fluffy but the patient we gave the buds to was extremely impressed with both taste and high. I hope you enjoyed this documentation of this legendary strain.

 

[leafminer]

Amazing post and amazing photos, thanks, terrific!

 

[subcool]

I remember very well the unique smell and taste of Romulan from the old days when I was in touch with Vic High. The exotic taste was so unique and so strong and the Romulan mother passed on this flavor to Romberry making a crazy Blueberry Romulan combo.
Last year I heard of a Romulan cut grown by locals that they had been running for a very long time and I was lucky enough to sample some of their very good green house grown Romulan and that taste came flooding back. My Good friend, Jem777 ask these growers if Subcool could have a cutting and they sent one up pronto. I returned the favor with a few of my favorite cuttings know for their medical effects.
I wrote a story about this particular cutting and it was featured on the cover of Treating Yourself magazine,( The post before this one) The plant loved my soil mix and the buds we harvested were so tasty and spicy, that the next thought was to create a hybrid using this unusual flavor. The Romulan cutting is very hard to clone but after a few attempts we got a few clones to root we created a large bush and pollinated her heavily with our Space Queen male we call “ Space Dude”. Space Queen is made up of Romulan X Cinderella99 so this makes a great cross on paper and should lock down the traits of the mother but there is only one way to find out. So using the power of the internet and the talent of a few gifted growers, we set out to see what magic the little dark seeds held inside.
It was only fitting that Jem777 be the first to get the new cross started and we made sure that the green house boys got a few handfuls as well. Jem777 reported early strong smells and copious resin very early into budding and each female was very close in smell and growth patterns. I was treated to a nice care pack of buds of all of females and I was very happy with the results. Although the clone labeled #5 was selected by Jem777 as his favorite each plant produced very spicy exotic weed that was very potent. The hybrid was named “The Flav” based on its unique taste, a bouquet of floral oils and spices with a hint of Pine on the exhale.
The buzz is very fast and is comes on rapidly
I was at Jem777’s place about 3 weeks before I got the e-mail about Big Book 4 and when I had to select a few strains for the Book it was good fortune I had just done a photo shoot of his Flav #5 and I had nice new pictures for Ed to work with.
The indoor plants were grown in Canna earth mix using Bio- Canna nutrients by Jem777 in a 5x5 Hydro Hut.
The outdoor Plant was grown in a medical garden by Kareem.
This year High Times listed “ The Flav” as one of the Top Ten Strains of 2008


3. GROWTH FACTORS
A. Most suitable environment:
The Plant does well both indoors and out finishing in late October.
B. If outdoor is it acclimated to a particular area, or best suited to a particular climate?
The Flav prefers warmer harvest temps to prevent mold and mildew on the dence buds
C. Preferred growing method for this variety: hydro soil either other: describe
sea of greenmulti-branch plant other: describe
The hybrid seems to thrive in any condition and even un-topped develops into a large plant with lots of lower and side D. Novel growth characteristics: Lower branches grow in a hook pattern towards the floor and must be supported well
E. How does this plant branch? Does it branch a little or a lot?
Topped it gets extremely wide with multiple growth shoots.
F. Does it have any unusual flowering characteristics?
Tight dense colas that get rock hard by harvest
G. What type of fertilizer use does it prefer?
She prefers less food than other plants and can be burned if pushed to hard
H. Average flowering time:
9 Weeks
I. Indoor-average time in days from forcing flowering to ripeness
65 days
J. Outdoor-average time in days or month planted (indicate beginning, middle or end)
Planted Mid June plants were huge by mid September and finished in late October
K. Average height of plant:
When this variety is grown using the above listed growing methods and ripening times, what is its average height
Outdoors the plant shown was over 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

at the beginning and end of flowering? What are the minimum/maximum heights it reaches?
Indoor, Budding a topped plant 30” we finished at 60”

 

[Qman]

Great pics as always!

 

[PencilHead]

You know how to use the word copious correctly--you drop the redundant word amounts everyone feels the need to use. Man, I was impressed with your knowledge, your skill-set and your choice of wing joints, but now I'm just blown away.

 

[subcool]

You know how to use the word copious correctly--you drop the redundant word amounts everyone feels the need to use. Man, I was impressed with your knowledge, your skill-set and your choice of wing joints, but now I'm just blown away.

It was probably just a good day I am not that sharp with english hehe.
Thanks for taking the time to respond even after doing this for some 12 years I still want positive feedback.
Sub

 

[subcool]

Years ago when I traveled to Amsterdam one of the first heavy Indica’s I tried was AK-47. I loved the spicy fruity taste and if memory serves we actually got so high I was dosing sitting in Grey Area and Steve poked me and gave me a look that said I like ya Sub but you can’t sleep in my tiny shop. We headed outside for fresh air and then across the street for Handmade Gourmet chocolates. I never forgot that experience, so we took some seeds back to grow out for nighttime medicine. This was 12 years ago and over the years I lost my female and lost contact with the guys that I gave cuts to or the other growers that I split the seeds with. In 2002 I grew out some seeds of AK-47 and I was really disappointed in the results. The strain was nothing like I remembered and each female was quite different from seed. Even Simon the breeder and owner of Serious seeds has stated openly that up to 100 AK-47 seeds would need to be started to find the one cherry female that everyone knew and loved back in the early 90’s. I felt the male or something was lost and the AK-47 seeds sold now were in name only and I moved on to other clone only strains for my medicine. One famous grower Nebu was able to keep a cut and it’s regarded as one of the best Indica clones around but he is very tight with it as he uses the female to breed with.
Over the years from time to time I run across samples of AK-47 and I am always disappointed until this year. I have friend that is a caregiver that I give advise to, his first garden ever was featured in the Last TY in the article “Whats in Your Garage” we call him “Dave”. Dave called me two months ago and said one of his patience had a cutting of AK that came from seeds bought in 1994. I quickly looked online and found the release date of AK-47 of 1992 and at this point I got very interested. I asked if a bud sample was possible and he told me the plants were at 9 weeks and went 70 days and he would have some samples soon. True to his word he showed up about 2 weeks later with a few thick buds and shoved one under my nose. “Smell like cherries?” he asked. The thick oily smell was infused with Cherries and Spice and was the exact smell I remembered from the Grey Area so many years back. I asked for a cutting and sure enough 10 days later a little baby clone was delivered to me. I transplanted her into my soil and placed her in the vegetive room under a 1000 watt metal halide Hortilux Blue Bulb set up. She grew fast and immediately started pushing out wide Indica dominant fan leafs. She grew really fast and it didn’t take long at all before she was a nice short bush with many heads. When she reached 30” in total plant height I placed her into 12/12 HPS lighting with 1200ppm CO2 added to boost growth rate. By day 30 nice colas were forming and we can already see resin in heavy concentrations on all leaves and even the stems. Even this early I am impressed with what I see and the cherry smell is starting to come on. The one trait we didn’t like on this strain was the leaf weight it carries into the finish.
Unfortunately once it was cut the smell went away and the bud was mostly leaf and water so it wasn't kept. I was sad too as I was really hoping it was a decent version of this famous strain.

Like I say there not all keepers.

 

[nvthis]

Sub, if you like to talk strains as much as I like hearing about them, keep goin' brother! We're gonna get along famously

Thanks for the word on the Flav

 

[monkeybusiness]

I, too, love reading this stuff. Thanks man!!

 

[Qman]

You're such a wealth of info Sub! thanks for all of your knowledge :hubba: