Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
Popular Market names of different grades of grass, such as Colombian commercial and Mexican regular, are familiar to growers, but each grade actually may encompass many different varieties. For example, there are Colombian Golds that are similar in most respects, but some varieties grow no taller than six feet. The more common types grow 12 to 15 feet under the same conditions. Some Oaxacan Cannabis forms several strong upright branches by maturity, and at a glance may seem to have several stems, yet more often, Oaxacan is conical-shaped and grows about 12 feet.
Most of the fine marijuana sold in this country comes from type I plants with THC as the predominant cannabinoid. Type II plants are less common. You might recognise type II plants by the high. The grass takes longer before its effects are felt, but the high lasts much longer than with other marijuana. Type IV plants are the least common; this marijuana seldom reaches the general American market. This type will get you high after only a few tokes. Type III plants are considered non-drug varieties because they are predominantly CBD with little THC. The effects of CBD are not felt unless it is accompanied by a sizeable concentration of THC, such as in type II plants. However, a lot of marijuana from these plants is sold in the United States. Some Mexican and Jamaican regular and much of the low-grade domestic is harvested from type III plants.
You may not be able to tell what type plant you're smoking, but you can tell what you like. Seeds from high-quality marijuana will grow into high-quality marijuana plants. If you like the grass you're smoking, you'll like the grass you grow.
The name of your grass has little to do with potency and may have originated in the mind of some enterprising dealer. Always choose your seeds from what you consider to be the best grass. Don't be swayed by exotic names. If you are not familiar with grass of connoisseur quality, ask someone whose experience you respect for seeds. Smokers tend to save seeds from exceptional grass even if they never plan to plant them.
The origin of your grass even if you knew it for certain, has little to do with wether it will be dynamite or worthless smoke. In both India(45) and Brazil, hemp is grown which is worthless for marijuana. Likewise, extremely potent marijuana plants grow which are useless for hemp fibre. These plants are sometimes found growing in adjacent fields. Most of the fine-quality marijuana varieties develop in those countries nearer to the equator. How much this had to do with environmental conditions or cultural practices is unknown. In either case, marijuana traffic has been so heavy that fine varieties now grow all over the world. For example, in the United States thousands of people now grow varieties from Mexico. These fine varieties originated in Asia and Africa, and many were brought to Mexican farmers by American dealers during the 1960s. As more farmers grew these new varieties, the quality of Mexican grass imported to the United States improved. Already people are speaking of varieties such as Maui Wowie and Kona Gold.
The colour of the grass does not determine its potency. Marijuana plants are almost always green, the upper surface of the leaves a dark, luxuriant green, and the undersurface a lighter, paler green. Some varieties develop reds and purples along stems and leaf petioles. Occasionally, even the leaves turn red/purple during the last stages of growth (plate 6). Grasses termed "Red" more often get their colour from the stigmas of the female flowers, which can turn from white to a rust or red colour, giving the marijuana buds a distinct reddish tinge. The golds and browns of commercial grasses are determined by the condition of the plant when it was harvested - whether it was healthy (green) or dying (autumn colours). How the plants are harvested, cured, and stored also has a serious effect on colour. Commercial grasses from Colombia, Mexico, and Jamaica are often poorly cured and packed. Too much moisture is left in the grass, encouraging microbial decomposition; with warm temperatures, whatever green was left disappears, leaving the more familiar browns and golds. Bythe time they reach the United States, commercial grasses lose about five to 20 percent of their weight in water loss and often smell mouldy or musty.
Colour also depends on origin - varieties adapted to tropical or high-altitude areas have less chlorophyll and more accessory pigments, giving the plant their autumn colours (accessory pigments protect the plant from excessive sunlight). Varieties adapted to northern climates, where sunlight is less intense, have more chlorophyll and less accessory pigments. The dying leaves often turn light yellow, grey, or rust. Variations in pigment concentrations are also influenced by local light particularly the soil conditions under which the plants are grown.
The taste of the smoke - its flavour, aroma, and harshness - also depends more on when the marijuana was harvested and how it was handled after it was grown than on the variety or environmental influences.
You can detect subtle differences in the overall bouquet between freshly picked varieties. The environment probably influences bouquet too, but with most commercial grass the harvesting/storing procedures for outweigh these other, more subtle factors. A musty, harsh-smoking Colombian marijuana can give the mildest, sweetest, homegrown smoke when properly prepared. Don't be influenced by the marijuana's superficial characteristics. Choose seeds from the most potent grass.
Grasses of comparable potency can yield plants of different potencies. This is because fine sinsemilla (homegrown, Hawaiians, Thai weeds, and some Mexicans) are carefully tended and harvested at about peak potency. They are also cured and packed well; so they are fresh when they are distributed in the American market. When you smoke them you are experiencing the at about its peak potency. The seeds you plant from this grass will produce plants, at best, of about equal potency. Sometimes they are slightly less simply because of differences in growing conditions. Colombian grasses are not usually harvested at their peak potency. A significant amount (20 percent and up) of the active cannabinoids (THC,CBD) are converted to much less active cannabinoids (CBN,CBS) or inactive ingredients (polymers-tars, resins, oils, etc.). This is also true of many Mexican and Jamaican grasses that are heavily seeded and poorly handled. Homegrown from this grass can produce plants of higher potency than the original, simply because the homegrown is fresh, and is harvested and cured well so that the THC content is at its peak.
When choosing seeds you might consider the following Broad Generalisations. Mexican, Jamaican (if you can find goof Jamaican anymore), and homegrowns, including Hawaiians, often develop quickly and have a better chance of fully maturing in the shorter growing seasons over most of the north and central states. Colombian, African, and Southeast Asian varieties, such as Vietnam and Thai sticks (from Thailand and Japan), more often need a longer season to fully develop/ Under natural conditions they seldom flower in the short growing season that covers the northern United States.
For indoor growers, the growing season is all year; so it doesn't matter if plants need longer to develop. Mexican and Jamaican plants usually reach full potency in about six months. Colombian and Southeast Asian varieties may need eight or nine months until they reach their maximum THC or general resin content under indoor conditions.
The grass you choose should have a good stock of mature seeds. Thai weed and fine homegrowns (sinsemillas, which are by definition female flowers buds without seeds) may have no seeds at all but more often have a few viable seeds. Most Colombian and Mexican grasses contain between one and two thousand seeds per ounce bag or lid of grass. This may sound like an exaggerated figure, but it's not. Look at the photos in Figure 21 showing the yield from some Michoacan buds. The yield is 40 percent grass (1.22 grams, about three joints), 50 percent seeds (1.56 grams or 120 seeds), and 10 percent stems (0.3 grams).
Relative to smoking material, seeds are heavy. Colombian grasses average about 50 percent seeds by weight. A film canister holds about 1,200 Colombian seeds. {Figure 21, Seeded buds often contain more weight in seeds than grass}
Depending on the variety, healthy mature seeds (which are botanically achene nots) vary in size between 1/12 and 1/4 inches in length. From any variety, choose seeds that are plump and well-formed with well-developed colour. Seed colours range from a buff through a dark brown, and from light grey to almost black colours. Often seeds are mottled with brown or black spots, bars, or lines on a lighter field {plate 11}. Green or whitish seeds are usually immature and will germinate feebly if at all. Fresh seeds have a waxy glimmer and a hard, intact shell. Shiny, very dark brown or black seeds often mean the contents are fermented and the embryo is dead. Fermented seeds crush easily with finger pressure and are hollow or dust inside. Seeds that are bruised or crushed are also not viable. This happens to some seeds when grass is compressed or bricked.
Fresh, fully matured Cannabis seeds have a high rate of germination; 90 percent or better is typical. It is sometimes helpful to have an idea of how many seeds to expect to germinate. You can tell simply by placing a sample number between wet paper towels which are kept moist. Most of the seeds that germinate do so within a few days of each other. After a week or two, count how many of the original seeds germinated. This gives you a rough idea of what to expect from the seeds when planted.
The viability of seeds gradually declines with time; left in the ground, only 40 percent may germinate next season. Seeds are n ideal pray for many fungi, which are responsible for most of their deterioration. In a warm (70F or over) and humid atmosphere, fungi rapidly destroy seeds. If kept cool and dry in an airtight container, seeds stored in this way and left in the buds also maintain high viability for over two years.
Most of the fine marijuana sold in this country comes from type I plants with THC as the predominant cannabinoid. Type II plants are less common. You might recognise type II plants by the high. The grass takes longer before its effects are felt, but the high lasts much longer than with other marijuana. Type IV plants are the least common; this marijuana seldom reaches the general American market. This type will get you high after only a few tokes. Type III plants are considered non-drug varieties because they are predominantly CBD with little THC. The effects of CBD are not felt unless it is accompanied by a sizeable concentration of THC, such as in type II plants. However, a lot of marijuana from these plants is sold in the United States. Some Mexican and Jamaican regular and much of the low-grade domestic is harvested from type III plants.
You may not be able to tell what type plant you're smoking, but you can tell what you like. Seeds from high-quality marijuana will grow into high-quality marijuana plants. If you like the grass you're smoking, you'll like the grass you grow.
The name of your grass has little to do with potency and may have originated in the mind of some enterprising dealer. Always choose your seeds from what you consider to be the best grass. Don't be swayed by exotic names. If you are not familiar with grass of connoisseur quality, ask someone whose experience you respect for seeds. Smokers tend to save seeds from exceptional grass even if they never plan to plant them.
The origin of your grass even if you knew it for certain, has little to do with wether it will be dynamite or worthless smoke. In both India(45) and Brazil, hemp is grown which is worthless for marijuana. Likewise, extremely potent marijuana plants grow which are useless for hemp fibre. These plants are sometimes found growing in adjacent fields. Most of the fine-quality marijuana varieties develop in those countries nearer to the equator. How much this had to do with environmental conditions or cultural practices is unknown. In either case, marijuana traffic has been so heavy that fine varieties now grow all over the world. For example, in the United States thousands of people now grow varieties from Mexico. These fine varieties originated in Asia and Africa, and many were brought to Mexican farmers by American dealers during the 1960s. As more farmers grew these new varieties, the quality of Mexican grass imported to the United States improved. Already people are speaking of varieties such as Maui Wowie and Kona Gold.
The colour of the grass does not determine its potency. Marijuana plants are almost always green, the upper surface of the leaves a dark, luxuriant green, and the undersurface a lighter, paler green. Some varieties develop reds and purples along stems and leaf petioles. Occasionally, even the leaves turn red/purple during the last stages of growth (plate 6). Grasses termed "Red" more often get their colour from the stigmas of the female flowers, which can turn from white to a rust or red colour, giving the marijuana buds a distinct reddish tinge. The golds and browns of commercial grasses are determined by the condition of the plant when it was harvested - whether it was healthy (green) or dying (autumn colours). How the plants are harvested, cured, and stored also has a serious effect on colour. Commercial grasses from Colombia, Mexico, and Jamaica are often poorly cured and packed. Too much moisture is left in the grass, encouraging microbial decomposition; with warm temperatures, whatever green was left disappears, leaving the more familiar browns and golds. Bythe time they reach the United States, commercial grasses lose about five to 20 percent of their weight in water loss and often smell mouldy or musty.
Colour also depends on origin - varieties adapted to tropical or high-altitude areas have less chlorophyll and more accessory pigments, giving the plant their autumn colours (accessory pigments protect the plant from excessive sunlight). Varieties adapted to northern climates, where sunlight is less intense, have more chlorophyll and less accessory pigments. The dying leaves often turn light yellow, grey, or rust. Variations in pigment concentrations are also influenced by local light particularly the soil conditions under which the plants are grown.
The taste of the smoke - its flavour, aroma, and harshness - also depends more on when the marijuana was harvested and how it was handled after it was grown than on the variety or environmental influences.
You can detect subtle differences in the overall bouquet between freshly picked varieties. The environment probably influences bouquet too, but with most commercial grass the harvesting/storing procedures for outweigh these other, more subtle factors. A musty, harsh-smoking Colombian marijuana can give the mildest, sweetest, homegrown smoke when properly prepared. Don't be influenced by the marijuana's superficial characteristics. Choose seeds from the most potent grass.
Grasses of comparable potency can yield plants of different potencies. This is because fine sinsemilla (homegrown, Hawaiians, Thai weeds, and some Mexicans) are carefully tended and harvested at about peak potency. They are also cured and packed well; so they are fresh when they are distributed in the American market. When you smoke them you are experiencing the at about its peak potency. The seeds you plant from this grass will produce plants, at best, of about equal potency. Sometimes they are slightly less simply because of differences in growing conditions. Colombian grasses are not usually harvested at their peak potency. A significant amount (20 percent and up) of the active cannabinoids (THC,CBD) are converted to much less active cannabinoids (CBN,CBS) or inactive ingredients (polymers-tars, resins, oils, etc.). This is also true of many Mexican and Jamaican grasses that are heavily seeded and poorly handled. Homegrown from this grass can produce plants of higher potency than the original, simply because the homegrown is fresh, and is harvested and cured well so that the THC content is at its peak.
When choosing seeds you might consider the following Broad Generalisations. Mexican, Jamaican (if you can find goof Jamaican anymore), and homegrowns, including Hawaiians, often develop quickly and have a better chance of fully maturing in the shorter growing seasons over most of the north and central states. Colombian, African, and Southeast Asian varieties, such as Vietnam and Thai sticks (from Thailand and Japan), more often need a longer season to fully develop/ Under natural conditions they seldom flower in the short growing season that covers the northern United States.
For indoor growers, the growing season is all year; so it doesn't matter if plants need longer to develop. Mexican and Jamaican plants usually reach full potency in about six months. Colombian and Southeast Asian varieties may need eight or nine months until they reach their maximum THC or general resin content under indoor conditions.
The grass you choose should have a good stock of mature seeds. Thai weed and fine homegrowns (sinsemillas, which are by definition female flowers buds without seeds) may have no seeds at all but more often have a few viable seeds. Most Colombian and Mexican grasses contain between one and two thousand seeds per ounce bag or lid of grass. This may sound like an exaggerated figure, but it's not. Look at the photos in Figure 21 showing the yield from some Michoacan buds. The yield is 40 percent grass (1.22 grams, about three joints), 50 percent seeds (1.56 grams or 120 seeds), and 10 percent stems (0.3 grams).
Relative to smoking material, seeds are heavy. Colombian grasses average about 50 percent seeds by weight. A film canister holds about 1,200 Colombian seeds. {Figure 21, Seeded buds often contain more weight in seeds than grass}
Depending on the variety, healthy mature seeds (which are botanically achene nots) vary in size between 1/12 and 1/4 inches in length. From any variety, choose seeds that are plump and well-formed with well-developed colour. Seed colours range from a buff through a dark brown, and from light grey to almost black colours. Often seeds are mottled with brown or black spots, bars, or lines on a lighter field {plate 11}. Green or whitish seeds are usually immature and will germinate feebly if at all. Fresh seeds have a waxy glimmer and a hard, intact shell. Shiny, very dark brown or black seeds often mean the contents are fermented and the embryo is dead. Fermented seeds crush easily with finger pressure and are hollow or dust inside. Seeds that are bruised or crushed are also not viable. This happens to some seeds when grass is compressed or bricked.
Fresh, fully matured Cannabis seeds have a high rate of germination; 90 percent or better is typical. It is sometimes helpful to have an idea of how many seeds to expect to germinate. You can tell simply by placing a sample number between wet paper towels which are kept moist. Most of the seeds that germinate do so within a few days of each other. After a week or two, count how many of the original seeds germinated. This gives you a rough idea of what to expect from the seeds when planted.
The viability of seeds gradually declines with time; left in the ground, only 40 percent may germinate next season. Seeds are n ideal pray for many fungi, which are responsible for most of their deterioration. In a warm (70F or over) and humid atmosphere, fungi rapidly destroy seeds. If kept cool and dry in an airtight container, seeds stored in this way and left in the buds also maintain high viability for over two years.
