African landraces and heirloom thread

[US3RNAM3]

Thank you for the insight and background! The culture there is very ancient and interesting, I believe they were one of few countries that were able to resist the might of colonialism, or atleast becoming totally subjugated. There seems to be a strong tradition of spirituality in that land. I would imagine the upheavel of the civil war with the Tigray people is not helping with accessibility.

To provide more context, the preservationist in this instance is a self-acclaimed Rasta and has been involved in local projects to benefit the Ethiopian community. So one can see how he had the opportunity to build in-roads into the local community. However, he flat out refuses to release these genetics in seeds/cut (and will only be providing the flower) b.c “…it is sacred and should remain in the hands of the Ethiopian peoples” (and for the exclusive use of his outfit/business ofcourse that pledges to continue supporting the Ethiopian community). I’m getting Arjan vibes, but the involvement with the locals and projects to improve their QOL is a positive note assuming it’s all legitimate.

[Upstate]

@US3RNAM3

Would love to hear the community’s thoughts on the likelihood that the pictures below are indicative of a continuation of original line or whether there has been something added to “stabilize” / or “jazz” it up:

You didn’t really need to ask, lol.
Answer anyway…uuuuh…yeah🤣

[Upstate]

Ethiopia isn’t known for any indica genetics that I am aware of, Although it’s possible they exist and it’s likely they once did long ago. I’ve never gotten a flower that looked anywhere close to that 1 from a plant that looked like that first photo.

[deeez99]

@US3RNAM3

thoughts on the likelihood that the pictures below are indicative of a continuation of original line or whether there has been something added to “stabilize” / or “jazz” it up:

Last season I grew out four Ethiopian plants from ACE with three of the plants being taller, long internodes, wispy/airy buds, and very long flowering. However, one plant was short and stocky with more dense buds and fast flowering. I kept a cut of this last plant because it tested high in THCV (along with a little CBD) and I wanted to play around with it a bit.

Here is that exact same short / fast flowering plant growing outside this season:

Here are some bud shots I took today from last years harvest which kind of look similar to the image you posted. They are fairly dense.

Is my plant hybridized? Possibly but I feel like I would need to grow out a much larger number of plants before I would conclude anything. The main reason I didn’t feel like it was contaminated because the smoke is a crystal clear high that is like a slightly dreamy mood booster that snaps my thoughts into focus. It doesn’t feel very potent at all and there is zero heaviness and no feeling of lethargy.

I feel like if there was any indica in this one then I would have experienced some sort of heaviness (or even just slightly heavy) comedown feeling but this one doesn’t have that.

In conclusion, yes it looks like a hybrid but how does it smoke?

[Budderton]

This is a Malawi Gold female out of seed from @Tejas . Around 4 wks post flip and touched by a MG male.

[420noob]

East Africa Genes - The Authentic Supplier of Landrace Strains from East African Countries

East Africa Genes was launched in 2020 because I love collecting African landrace strains. It’s the only seedbank that provides growers with a full menu of landrace sativa varieties found in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Malawi. Some of the most popular African sativa varieties you’ll find are Ethiopian Shashamane Kilimanjaro sativa aka Elephant Stomper Malawi Gold Migori sativa - originates from western Kenya and has a special function during annual bull fighting tournament…

New sponsor I just leave this here.

[US3RNAM3]

For anybody interested in seeing how East Africa Genes Shashamane line grew out, check out this repro by DistrictFlora>

FBSC Shashamane Reproduction Run

Hey y’all Doing my first Freakers Ball preservation run of the Shashamane, Ethiopian sativa Landrace strain. I started with 16; one seed didn’t pop and 4 seedlings couldn’t handle the soil I put them in so I lost 5 total which is unfortunate, especially for the ones that were burned alive by the soil RIP. I chopped another 4 that turned out to be hermies so that leaves us with 7 plants (6 females & 1 male). I actually started loosely documenting this grow over in this thread, linkin…

[holygroveseed]

I only grew out two seeds from ACE’s Ethiopian this year, one ended up male, one ended up female. Both have a very vigorous NLD growth habit. The stem rubs from both have this fresh pressed earthy sweet carrot root with a hint of turmeric/helichrysum, wood sawdust, and sweet (but not zesty or acidic) orange citrus note. The male (the one I crossed with ACE’s Beldia Kif) when flowering also had a lily of the valley / lilac aromatic which the female has not expressed so far.

Morocco Beldia Kif, 9/7/23, two days before harvest. I sun dried the first harvest (8/22) and found it to be a pleasant balanced smoke with an initial fast-hitting clear calm energy that faded into a sedation that was not foggy headed the way some cannabis sedation can be. I will be cob curing the second harvest, which is currently wilting in the shade of a sweet autumn clematis. Hopefully we don’t get into the mycotoxic side of cob fermentation from all the rain and molds but at least I know what to expect if I do.

Ethiopian female, 9/13/23. Preflowers just starting to form. I would be nervous but you should see my Filipino Kibungan Highland plants.

[allotment]

@holygroveseed

I sun dried the first harvest (8/22) and found it to be a pleasant balanced smoke with an initial fast-hitting clear calm energy that faded into a sedation that was not foggy headed the way some cannabis sedation can be

What did the trichomes look like at harvest?

[holygroveseed]

No amber trichomes, mostly cloudy, some still clear. Don’t have an exact percentage because I wasn’t paying too close attention, going more off aromatics and trying to take advantage of a hot dry week for sun drying.

[Budderton]

Malawi Gold, short pheno. The smell on this one right now is not grassy or celery. It’s foreign to me and a bit hard to pin down. Is cheap, musky cologne a thing with the Malawi Gold @Tejas ?

[Tejas]

I’ll tell you I’m not good with smell nuances. Beyond sour, sweet or vegetal, it goes down hill fast for me.
But I can tell you that the two I cured for a year, the pearl pheno had no discernible taste on inhale or exhale. The effects were very clear and focused. Where as the bushy pheno had an earthy, hashy like taste with a clear headed but racy effect. I preferred the latter for taste and effect.

[Tejas]

Here is what I know trying both. The pearl pheno had no discernible taste on inhale or exhale. The effects were very clear and focused. Where as the bushy pheno had an earthy, hashy like taste with a clear headed but racy effect. I preferred the latter for taste and effect.

[Mrgreenthumb]

Malawi gold is looking good @Budderton, is this from ACE?

[Budderton]

Nope. The Landrace Team repro by @Tejas .

[Mrgreenthumb]

oh ok, can’t wait to see how this girl turns out. I have some malawi coming in from east Africa genes. How nute sensitive has she been?

[Budderton]

@Mrgreenthumb

How nute sensitive has she been?

Not too bad at all. Been feeding Mega Crop 2 part, mixed at half strength, every watering pretty much.

[Mrgreenthumb]

Thanks for the info, also what size container do you have her in? Are you going to transplant?

[Budderton]

It’s in about a 2 gallon, homemade bag. Yeah, I’ll up pot one more time to a 4 gallon probably soon and that will be it.

[CocoaCoir]

The beldias are very stable. I was able to get 100-200 seeds. I would say have a good starting selection or use proper IPM. I’m hoping to do a larger run and find more pest resistance because fuck IPM. Good resins to be found. They are very fast flowering. Hardly any smell at all. When it was really hot, I would get a whiff of some black pepper and maybe wet dankness a lil. I thought the plants were smelling one time but then that was just the kids down the street smoking. I will continue to pursue further observation but they are very wild and untamed. Would be perfect for discreet growing. They do well in heat but weren’t as drought resistant as I had hoped for.