Chapter One - Choosing a Cannabis Variety

      Seed catalogs are fascinating. For instance, the tomato section of a typical catalog devotes pages and pages to the different tomato varieties. Some are early bloomers, others mold-or-wilt-resistant; they produce fruits from the size of a cherry to that of a grapefruit; some are good for canning, others for juice. There are even square tomatoes. Each variety was developed by researchers to meet a specific need.
      When cannabis becomes legal, commercial seed houses will develop varieties to suit each gardener’s requirements: “Let’s see, I’d like something thai grows about six feet in six weeks, develops a giant cola, matures in sixty days, smells like cheap perfume, tastes like heady champagne, and takes me to the moon.”
      There are already illicit seed co-ops functioning on a small scale. Last season, in certain western states, breeders commanded five dollars per seed for acclimated varieties. Even at that price, growers consider these seeds worth buying: they view the seed money as a minor investment in view of the total value of the harvest. Rooted cuttings from proven outstanding plants can sell for $15 per plant or more.

      When it comes to choosing a variety, commercial growers are concerned with several factors, among them: branching habits, drought resistance, ease of manicuring, color, and uniform ripening. Of primary importance is the ripening time. Most outdoor growers want plants that mature early, before the arrival of frost, thieves, and law enforcement Indoors, commercial growers want compact plants that ripen quickly and uniformly, so that light and space are used most efficiently.
      Commercial growers are also interested in the plant’s yield. Some plants bud heavily and grow thick colas; others do not. A heavy-yielding plant may be worth twice as much as a lighter-yielding one. The type of high does not seem to be an important marketing factor, though the yield, the aroma, the taste, and the bud appearance are important in determining the price.
      Home growers, however, have different priorities. The yield or growth time may not be as important as the type of high. Home gardens often contain several varieties of marijuana, some taking as long as six months to mature.
      Seeds-people have concentrated their efforts on developing indica hybrids, which are desirable because of their early maturing (September to early October), and because of the heavy yields available from these compact plants. Some indica varieties are cold or drought resistant. Although the indicas exhibit a range of highs, I find most to be heavy and stupefying.
      Commercial growers have tended to overlook potency and quality of high in their search for plants that mature early. Their reasoning is that they would rather have a poorer-quality sinsemilla harvest than no harvest at all. Very much like the square tomatoes I mentioned earlier, commercial varieties of cannabis ship well but are tasteless.
      Turning to the sativa varieties, most mature too late (three to four months later than the indicas) for outdoor cultivation, and hence are avoided by most commercial growers. Sativas also tend to grow tall with loose branching, so that their yield per square foot is less than that of indicas. However, the quality of high from sativa grown in the equatorial regions (Colombia, Congo, Nigeria, Kenya and Laos) is unsurpassed. It is unfortunate that only the home grower (and his/her friends) can experience these highs; they’re just not available commercially.
      Sativa varieties grow all over the world. At the 15th parallel, in Jamaica and Mexico, there are some excellent sativa varieties that mature earlier than their equatorial cousins. Thailand is also at the 15th parallel, but its plants have a long growing season. Most of the commercial varieties available at the 30th parallel are indicas such as Kush, Afghani, and Lebanese. But in the Southern Hemisphere at the 30th parallel, Southern African varieties will mature early and are often quite potent.

      Durban poison, Capetown gold, Lesotho brown, and Zuluweed are vigorous, short-to medium-height plants with internodes of up to eight inches. They are also the earliest-flowering and fastest-maturing plants ever introduced in the United States.
      Like most cannabis varieties found at the 30th parallel, South African plants tend to vary within a specific population. This is an evolutionary technique of survival for species situated in an environment with a varying climate.
      African varieties are not usually imported into the United States, but find their market in Europe; there is usually a large number of Africans available in Amsterdam, for example.
      Sativa varieties grown above the 30th parallel have been used for hemp, and are commonly regarded as having no psychoactive qualities. But reports from the Midwest, where this “hemp” has escaped from cultivation and grows in wild stands, indicate that potency varies from terrible headache-weed to pot that delivers a fair buzz. Cultivators in areas where such varieties of sativa are growing may wish to use these in their breeding programs because such plants are well acclimated to the area, having survived with no human help. With a little patience, high potency and aroma can be bred into this hardy stock, which matures every year.

      By controlling all pollination and keeping detailed records, it’s easy to develop a simple breeding program, and within five or six generations you can develop and stabilize several characteristics.
      Commercial breeders grow large numbers of plants from which a few outstanding specimens are chosen. Their descendants are again selected, and are often crossed with varieties that have other desirable traits. For instance, a hemp plant that matures very early might be crossed with a potent, later-maturing plant. The first generation will be fairly uniform. The second generation will sort out into early and late plants of varying potency. If only early/potent plants are selected for further breeding, this pair of characteristics will stabilize after several generations. Usually, commercial seeds-people try to stabilize many characteristics at once so that the plants will be uniform.
      A sophisticated breeding program can be developed indoors under controlled conditions. Many environmental factors can be easily controlled and the plants bred throughout the year. By setting the light cycle at 15 hours per day (the number of hours of daylight available in late July), the researcher can select early-maturing plants. Later-maturing plants may need longer periods of uninterrupted darkness, approximating late autumn or winter, before they flower profusely.
      Indoors, full-sized plants can be grown in one to two gallon containers. About two square feet of space per plant are required. Plants can be selected after a few weeks of growth, so that less space is required and the breeding program can be speeded up to between three and five generations per year. Taking cuttings is the only way of preserving the exact genetic makeup of any plant. You may wish to keep an outstanding plant for garden clones or for breeding.
      Over the years, American cultivators have developed tens of thousands of varieties. American sinsemilla is now the most potent in the world. Traditionally, marijuana cultivation extended only to the 30th parallel. However, American growers have expanded the growing area to Maine and Alaska.
      Novice cultivators would do well to borrow seed from a successful local grower whose pot they especially like. That way, they know that the plants will mature in time and will be pleasant to smoke.