News Joint Grow Journal 22: Jilly Bean by MzJill Genetics
Welcome to News Joint Grow Journal 2.0: Five Signature Strains. As mentioned in News Joint Grow Journal 20, I’m changing the structure and aesthetics for these journal entries and focusing on one strain per entry. This entry spotlights Jilly Bean by MzJill Genetics.
When creating a theme for Grow Journal 2.0, I wanted to showcase genetics created by women. Of course, no other name rang louder than MzJill Genetics. Founder MzJill, who High Times dubbed “a superstar breeder and tireless cannabis advocate,” has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, including sourcing, curating, and cultivating the finest-quality small-batch medicinal cannabis seeds.

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As mentioned in Grow Journal 21, Illinois News Joint wants to work with people who are creating top-quality genetics and creating positive waves throughout the cannabis industry and beyond. I sought out MzJill Genetics because we have several shared interests and beliefs.
- Charity work: MzJill works with People Helping People organizing holiday food, clothing, and toy drives (across Oregon and Northern California).
- Supports those in need: MzJill fundraises for the less fortunate, veterans, and children with disabilities.
- Supports women: MzJill empowers women, especially in the cannabis ecosystem, to blossom in the cannabis industry and beyond.
- Cannabis activism: MzJill as a history of unyielding advocacy for the cannabis plant (long before it became trendy or profitable to do so).
Spurred by her own search for medicinal relief from her lifelong affliction with scoliosis, MzJill found true pain relief and “the peaceful calmness” of her youth the first day she tried cannabis in 1997, and her love affair with the plant began.
“I leveraged my horticultural training and newly found passion, and jolted into growing medicine for myself,” she wrote on her website. “I wanted to offset the cost of the only medication I found that worked, and, in the process, create the best quality antidote.”
In 2003, she co-founded TGA Genetics, which eventually became the first well-known aboveground cannabis-genetics source native to the United States.
“Today, as the Owner and Head Breeder of MzJill Genetics, I continue to take the same gentle approach to cultivating strains, as I did with my own medicine,” she continued. “And, my commitment to creating medication for those individuals and causes I care about the most has led to the creation of some of the most popular strains across the globe.”
Tragically, October 08, 2017, the California wildfires destroyed MzJill’s home and left her with nothing but the clothes on her back. Since, she has been trying to complexly rebuild what she had created. Which is why we suggest that any grower, who believes in supporting quality breeders and people who have supported and contributed to the industry for decades, should purchase at least one pack of MzJill’s new and forthcoming strains here to help kick start her re-launch and new flavorful drops, which include Chiroptera Kush, Jilly Bean Lime, Jilly Bean Grape, Jilly Bean Bubblegum, Jilly Bean Black Cherry, The Flav, and Querkle.

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The more I learn about breeders and the genetics they create the more I realize I enjoy strains from breeders who purposely create for medical needs and specific effects instead of, say, bag appeal. Out of the Five Signature Strains I’m currently running (Tenzin Kush #4 x Hazy Kush by Green Bodhi, Jilly Bean by MzJill Genetics, PuTangby Mass Medical Strains, Peanut Butter Cookies by Tastebudz, Strawberry Cough by Kyle Kushman), Jilly Bean is the only strain I have tried.
MzJill is the originator of Jilly Bean, which has racked up numerous accolades in the industry, including High Times Top Ten (2007), High Times Best Sativa (2014), and, most recently, 1st Place at the Adam Dunn Show Invitational (2018). The 60/40 sativa-dominant strain is a cross of Orange Velvet and Space Queen. I am currently running MzJill’s Jilly Bean (S1).

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Jilly Bean’s aroma is a mix of candied orange, mango, pineapple, and a tropical citrus medley with slight back notes of earthy skunk. The flavor matches the Jilly Bean name with candied citrus and a fruit medley topped with sweet orange, mango, pineapple, and citrus.
The effects are exactly what I am looking for in a Work Sativa. The award-winning strain is an uplifting, euphoric, and happy cerebral high that counters my ADD and allows me to focus on work for hours at a time. The body buzz relieves my daily muscle cramps but still keeps me in the right frame of mind to get work done with a smile on my face. The effects also have been reported to help with stress, depression, anxiety, and menstrual cramps.

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My feminized Jilly Bean seed popped on September 1. The seedling thrived for more than two weeks. Week three, I almost killed it (along with the other four strains) when I premade a gallon of water with a touch of Fishshit (a new add to this grow) and then set the proper pH balance. I thought I’d save time and battery on my pH meter if I premade a bigger batch. What I didn’t realize was that my “down” pH solution was old and must not have been working. I’m not sure how, but the pH balance climbed back to more than 7 without me realizing it.
I fed each plant with the high pH water at least three times before I noticed the plants becoming lighter green. The Peanut Butter Cookies and Strawberry Cough took the worst of my mistake because I unknowingly watered those plants with the bad water an extra time or two (more on that in the next three journal entries). I knew the plants had deficiencies, but I didn’t figure out the problem until I checked the pH balance of the premade gallon of water.

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I rebalanced the pH with new solution and flushed each plant, but that overwatered them. After a few days, the Jilly Bean sprouted new darker green leaves and started to bounce back, but it was already beyond the schedule I’d set for transplanting. I try not to cause more than one shock to the plant at one time (lesson learned from my first grow), and I had already fried the plant and overwatered it. So before transplanting into five-gallon pots (sponsored by Aroma Grow Store), I kept the Jilly Bean (and others) in the solo cup for more recover time way longer than expected. Are any of these the right answer? I have no idea. At this point, I’m just trying to listen to what the plant is telling me and trust my instincts.
Day 46, I transplanted the Jilly Bean. The plant had been regaining the proper leaf color, but I worried more about the roots. I figured if the roots were healthy, I could fix the rest during vegetation. Luckily, I am working with quality genetics that can withstand my rookie mistakes.

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A week after the transplant, the Jilly Bean was back, thriving more each day. By Day 62, the full-color fat-fingered leaves were bursting out one after another.

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In the next installment of the Jilly Bean entry, I will journal my first attempt at a FIM top. The next News Joint Grow Journal (23) will spotlight PuTang by Mass Medical Strains.
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