There is Phylos Galaxy, which is a mixed bag. Other than there being complete scam artists with the open cannabis project, I question what their baselines for strains are. As in what is the validity of what people claim for origin? I know my old strains from the 1970s are from the places people claimed, as there was really only Mexican, Colombian, and SE Asian stuff available, and a smattering of Jamaican, Hawaiian, and African stuff floating around. They were easy to differentiate, and they grow different. And Thai came on sticks. No brainer there.
Outside of that, the lab in Oakland, Steep Hill, used to have genetic stuff posted online, but they have since closed most of it off from public view. I downloaded a lot of their results before they took them offline. I also have test results of terpene and genetic profiles from a private lab in Colombia, but that is not available online either. Info in places like High Times and Leafly are pretty useless. Mostly rumors and tall tales there. There are a lot of scientific research papers posted online, but you have to dig through them to get anything useful. And again, in many cases, they use word of mouth for actual sources of strains. Even in localized places like Morocco, Cambodia and Colombia today, the old strains grown as late as 1980 are not available there locally any more. Most are now hybridized with indica to gain potency and reduce flowering time. Or hybridized with ruderalis to create auto flowering strains. Everything out there now is pretty much a mutt. Many strains before 1980s were also already mutts. On the black market, no one cared and no one bred for purity per se. The market wanted potency (as it still does today) and compactness for shipping and smuggling. So hash, Thai sticks and bricked weed were king. Loose leaf bags were rare, but that was the best stuff later on from Mexico and Colombia.
Big Sur Nigerian? Never heard of it called that. I knew one guy that was a big breeder of African lines in Pacific Valley, just south of Big Sur. I have 3 or 4 of his hybrids. They were all called “African hybrids”. No fancy names then. Most weed was named for where it originated, and maybe a color. Like Oaxacan. Or Acapulco Gold. I also have some later stuff from the Euro collectives from Nigeria, and several African lines from a guy in Minnesota that called himself “The Medicine Man”. Congo Black, Congo Red, Angola Roja, etc. I have yet to grow them though. Mexican Red Hair was really common in Big Sur, and made up the majority of the sinsemilla that I used to get from there. Mexican grown outdoors ripened just before the rains set in central California this time of year. So it was ideal for California growing. Colombian and SE Asian strains took too long to grow outdoors there, except in the drought years. I have a lot of those Big Sur Red hair semi-sinsemilla seeds, as well as seeds from semi-simsemilla that came in from Morelos after the DEA Paraquat spraying took out the SW growing in Mexico. Semi-sinsemilla then having maybe 10-20 seeds in a lid. As compared to Colombian that had maybe 250 seeds in a lid. Albeit they were small seeds, there was a lot of them to bump up the weight. Little did they realize that they gave California all the genetics to replace their grows with bag weed seed in the later 1970s and onward.
Good to know they did testing, very important. Would be interesting for me to find out if THE best phenos of a Landrace were strongly inbreed and untouched.
I heard couple Times how Mexican was basically lost already in 1970, 80…
And that these old Mexi Lines were very colorful, some of the prettiest weed ever…
and some of the trippyest, very hard to get a real one.
Mexican weed was always hit and miss. Mexico is a BIG PLACE. Even SW Mexico is a BIG PLACE. Weed from there was typically colorful and had varied terpenes. Most of the terps were stomped out of it drying in the sun, making bricks and transporting it in poor conditions. They did not cure the weed well either. So it often had a dusky taste and all that was left was the myrcene. Grown here in more ideal conditions and cured well, they have interesting floral and mint terps. Mexican landraces were not generally the most potent of strains, as compared to the later hybrids like OG Kush, etc.A lot of Mexican weed was mediocre at best.
SW Mexican (and Zacatecas) landraces were pure through the Paraquat days until about 1978 or so. Paraquat ended the growing of original SE strains from Oaxaca, Michoacan and Guerrero that may date back as far as 1525 when the Spanish first took Cannabis to Mexico. They were grown in large scale plots in remote mountain areas that were hard to get into. Hence the Federales used helicopters and sprayed where they could not get to on foot. That virtually wiped out all SW Mexican large scale weed growing, as designed by Emperor Nixon. In the later 1970s (1978 through about 1981 or so) there was a brief period when the hippies that used to import weed from SW Mexico into the US backed growers inland in states like Morelos to grow smaller plots and grow it as sinsemilla. Hence the value went up and they could get a better price for it, and compete with Colombian and local grown California sinsemilla. That was a short hey day and last gasp of the best old school Mexican heirloom and landrace strains. That was good stuff. I used to send it to my family in Hawaii and no one believed it was from the Mainland. No one. Some of it was the best manicured bud I have ever seen. Small rolled bright green bud with trichomes that glistened. It was cheaper than local grown California sinsemilla. By 1981 the price of local grown California herb was skyrocketing. That was also the last time I saw the old Colombian bricked brown and gold. Briefly in the early 1980s I saw some loose bud from Colombia that was also outstanding. But that was also short lived. Prices soared, and growing moved from central California to the Emerald Triangle in Northern California. I have grown my own from that time on.
After that the hippies mostly left Mexico and moved to the Emerald Triangle to grow weed. Some attempts were made in the 1980s to grow NorCal hybrids in Mexico, but they were short lived. The grow vacuum in Mexico was replaced with the cartels, and they moved Mexican weed growing to northern Mexico. They also used hybrids and modern strains that were more potent, and hence the old Mexican landrace strains were left behind and/or lost in SW Mexico. So all that is left are from old collectors like myself and others. I had many debates with my oldest brother over the years about landraces vs the new hybrids. He was an early follower of Nevil and grew his strains from seed from Holland. I persisted and grew SW Mexican landraces and preferred the mellow and uplifting sativa highs.
you have a lot of knowledge and experience under your thumb, really cool of you to share the knowledge and stories on the strains and what not, thank you for you in doing so, what has been the best ladrace you have smoked? uplifting, and super high with no ceiling?? where could one attain these orig. land race seed you speak of?
The oaxacan I have is from the early 70s. I have read that the brothers of eternal love might have been in Southwest Mexico at this time making hybrids but I have been unable to find the exact year this occurred. Any idea?
What was the best weed I have smoked? That is like asking which lady was the best in bed. They all had or have appealing qualities. And I always want go back for more! Regardless.
However, of note are several landraces that were exceptional to point out. One was wacky weed, now more commonly known as Colombian Black. That was the most trippy and intense weed I have smoked. I was running around the parking lot of my apartment complex wondering why I was running around the apartment complex! It was so stony and speedy that the guy that brought the weed thought that my brother and I laced it with L S D. He brought the weed, he rolled the joint, and we were high as kites. He left us that bag and said he wanted nothing to do with it. My brother and I laughed at that, looked at each other, and rolled another joint! We were like that. Dangerous. So they say.
The best Mexican landrace was by far a batch of loose cola tops from Guerrero in the mid 1970s. That sold itself. I gave my GF from Hawaii a j after work and I warned her that it was good stuff. She smoked it and had to sit in her car for 2 hours before she could move. She was upset with me for that. So she went and got me an oz of THE most potent landrace I have ever had, South Indian Ganja. It was gooey and black. Likely soaked in hash oil. One hit weed when one joint weed was common. She made me smoke a whole j, but it did not really phase me… at first. Then it kicked me in the ass. I went to my brother’s house, and our older brother was there. My genetic brothers, not Hawaiian friends. Anyway, I roll a pinner of the Ganja and the threee of us smoked it, and my next older brother and I go to a movie. We come back, and our other brother was still sitting in his chair, paralized. Brain freeze weed. So potent people were asking me where I got it months later, and was any still available? Good weed was like that.
Best hash I ever smoked was Kona Gold. Bar none. Old roommate of mine came back from Hawaii, sailing a yacht back to California from Maui. He stopped by our apartment and whips out this gold hash and said it was from the Big Island. We popped it into a pipe and wham! Instant party. Several friends dropped by as was the norm, and we were rolling on the floor and smoking more.
Of these above, no ceilings in any that I recall. I got used to new weed pretty fast. Like in 2 days. So my tolerance was through the roof. The ganja would give you brain freeze though. Not me, but with others, as did the Guerrero. The only real lock up weed for me was too much Punto Rojo. Or conversely, Punta Roja (Colombian Red) that made me crawl under the coffee table and pass out. I also passed out in LA on one hit of some ‘home grown’ from African seeds. I guess those would all be ceilings.
As for obtaining original beans? I have a collection, but I do not sell or trade or give away the original bag weed beans. Many ask, none get. I have traded later strains that I have come across with people here. Some seed places have to the old landraces and heirlooms. Like Lebanese, Manipuri, Durban, Thai. Those can be had from RSC in London, or its sister company Kwik Seeds here in the states. Snowhigh is also said to be dumping his collection and there are people on this forum that are growing a lot of his stuff. Panama Red, for example. Mr Nice still has some of the old original F1 hybrids made from landrace strains. Like Black Widow (a sibling of original White Widow, a cross of Brazilian and South Indian).
BOEL. They were a Southern California group. They ware famous for having bricked weed and later hashish that had their labels on them. They were steeped in SW Mexican weed and major importers of hash from Afghanistan. But there were many small and independent ‘hippie’ smugglers back then all over California. Read the book Weed by Jerry Kamstra if you want a typical detailed account written about a smuggle trip into Mexico in the early 1970s.
I never saw any BOEL weed, but many of my friends in LA talked about it. I moved to SouCal later after the BOEL was history. Most of the good weed and hash I had was through multiple sources in Northern California. Colombian weed there tended to be from SouCal though. I am not aware that the BOEL made or grew any hybrids. Hybrids were not common until the late 1970s. I know others claim otherwise, but it was not common until Skunk and other hybrids were locally grown. Much later the cartels grew hybrids in Northern Mexico from Dutch and NorCal seeds. They did not grow landraces. I heard of some guys in Humboldt that went to SW Mexico some years later and try to grow NorCal hybrids there, but I never saw any of that in Mexico or in California. But a bag of weed does and did not come with a place of origin stamp. I did see some hashish that was pressed into a Star of David once though. It was from Israel.
what do you know about big sur weed? i hear this term and i am wondering what you know of this?
some real funny stories for sure. so maybe not asking whats the best weed perhaps i should say what is your favorite strain to date,? you and your brother sound like my brother and i.
nice to meet you man, here in this land.
yeah i have been on the hunt for the black widow from mr nice, he does have a lot of nice strains, i remember way back rolling pinners, the weed now days seems like it is not what i remember it being
who knows maybe my blood is thc syrup by now. thanks for sharing your experiences though cause like i said reminds me of stuff we did
Big Sur (AKA: South Coast) is a term I loosely use for the coastal region along Highway 1 between Monterey and Cambria, CA. Including Polo Colorado, Garrapata Canyon, Pfeiffer ridge, Partington Ridge, the Old Coast Road, Big Sur, Fernwood, Lucia, Eselen, and down to Pacific Valley. When I say weed from Big Sur, it could have been grown in or near any of the above places. Early on (1960s through the mid 1970s) it was almost all weed grown from bagweed seed, meaning it was second generation landrace like Zac Purple (so called Big Sur Holy) Oaxacan, Guerrero or Michoacan weed. Later (late 1970s) guys bred the local sativa weed with Afghani and African strains to make some early very potent hybrids.
Now in Big Sur they have all these later names given to local legal weed grown there by the children or grandchildren of the original hippies that lived there. Most of the hippies were driven out by the insane real estate prices and moved to the Emerald Triangle to grow weed. Like a lot of other people did. Mendo was cheap then in comparison. But they left behind some strains that the late locals gave new names to. I am not aware of what they were bred from. After my time.
Big Sur Holy weed now is listed as all kinds of strains and brought into the Big Sur area by all kinds of people in the later 1960s. However, the fact is that the name Big Sur Holy was coined by Jerry Kamstra in his book titled Weed. He states specifically that it was a landrace strain from Zacatecas, Mexico called Zac or Zacatecas purple. No more, no less. But like the BOEL, the internet is filled with many other spins about Big Sur Holy. The later SAGE strain I saw from there was a cross of Big Sur Holy and an Afghani. SAGE: Sativa-Afghani Genetic Equilibrium. Many online now claim that SAGE was a Haze cross. But I never saw anything called Big Sur Holy or Haze sold locally from the 1960s through the late 1990s.I saw local Purple weed from Big Sur and Skunk from the Santa Cruz mountains. And all kind of second generation red hair weed grown around there. Most of it was unnamed nearly seedless sinsemilla. And it was cheap at first. We were sooooo spoiled with good weed in the late 1970s.
ok yes that makes sense on big sur and i have researched it where they(whom ever they are) \state that it was or is the Zacatecas purple, i heard the term and thought it was a land race, so prob. came from south america to the states, by plane, ect.
but yeah man that really cool that you were there, now you have stories.
i can only imagine the hash that was around then, i got the tail end of the good hash era, that was a treat for me, i still remember the taste of it, texture, ect
now dont get me wrong @PanchoVilla i like smoking my weed just as much as the hash.
so you remember when then dead was around? any shows you went to?
i got the tail on that too, weed was always stinky and sticky. thanks for the story man
Them some good looking plants brother healthy and happy. That’s some good looking soil too man do you mix it up yourself or do you buy pre bag down there?
double Panama grown in Panama by Panama you got to love it
Ye soil here is ok…it’s black soil from the volcano.lately the local hardware shop in town has been stocking Black gold, perlite etc…
I mix them and add some living soil…I make. Also if there’s no perlite I add volcano pumice rock crushed.
As they grow I will feed with a tea I make with Banana skin papaya and aloe.
Heck yeah! Triple Panama lol. nice looking plants @Panamajock. Can’t wait til they get some size. How big will you allow them to get? If you get a jungle girl phenotype Jack might be coming down that stalk to pay you a visit🤣. You’ll know soon. I definately see a 74 Panama pheno front center and maybe front right. More serrated leaves on them. Hopefully you get a male and female out of the two. That one will be special i think.
Dude I’m so happy to hear that organic is the only way to go herb should smell and taste good. Your soil sounds very similar to what I make I usually do a compost tea and a little earthworm castings in there I do banana and egg shells feedings. never tried papaya and aloe though I will have to give that a look see. @Upstate that’s so funny I really like the one in the middle in the front too didn’t notice the one in the back row but I see it now that one front row center is going to be special I think.
@YoBigdaddy I like using 30ml of coconut water and 60ml of cold pressed organic aloe juice per gallon of water. I use it every second or third watering starting in late veg.
It’s like a super shake lol. Within an hour you can see them start to respond, the leaves pray like I’ve never seen before.
nice looking plants 