Genetics are easily the most important part of your grow. If anyone disagrees with that, don’t waste your time Googling things — I’m right.
It’s worth mentioning first that no matter how good a breeder is, seeds can be a crapshoot, as too many variables affect seed quality — from time to random genetic shortcomings that can be mitigated but never totally eliminated (to date, at least).
First, I’m going to start with where you should not get your seeds. It’s always best to cut out the middlemen, so getting seeds directly from the breeder is ideal. However, you don’t always have that option, and breeders are not always the best at logistics, so they use intermediaries. But if you find a good breeder with good logistics, go with them.
Don’t buy your seeds from your local grow supply store. It’s kind of like getting a beer at the bar — the markup is huge because you’re paying for the brick-and-mortar environment. While I love perusing grow stores as much as the next person, it’s not a hangout. When I visit grow stores, I usually see the same seed brands that are sold online but at much higher prices. I’m speaking strictly about Illinois prices here.
With the 2018 Farm Bill (since seeds contain less than 0.3% THC), you can buy seeds in any state because, according to the bill, the seeds are essentially hemp.
So if you’re in places like the Pacific Northwest or Colorado — where cannabis is generally much less expensive than in Illinois and where home grow laws are less stringent — buying your seeds at a dispensary or grow store might be more palatable.
Let’s Get Into Specific Breeders
Royal Queen Seeds
Royal Queen Seeds is the breeder I use for one of my favorite strains of all time, Amnesia Haze, which won the 2004, 2006 (overall), and 2012 High Times Sativa Cups. There is some debate about the original breeder, but online sources say it was a guy named David Paul Watson AKA Sam the Skunkman. Haze is my favorite family of strains for sure, but RQS really swung for the fences with this one.
This strain is earthy and spicy and hits you over the head with rich limonene, caryophyllene, and myrcene terps. It’s so good and so old-school it’ll take you right back to 4:20 after high school in 1998 (yes, I’m old). They have many great strains, but I wanted to mention this one specifically.
Greenhouse Seeds / Strain Hunters
If you don’t know who Arjan Roskam is, get to know him. Arjan is the founder of Greenhouse Seeds / Strain Hunters and is a major contributor to the Amsterdam coffee shop and cannabis scene.
Some strains worth mentioning are Flower Bomb Kush — a perfect marriage of Green Crack and OG Kush — Super Silver Haze, and (I believe) the original Super Lemon Haze.
You can find countless interviews and articles on Roskam, who has been crowned “The King of Cannabis” and is a legend in Amsterdam and the industry as a whole.
Roskam has gained criticism for his work with Strain Hunters, which involves some controversy around how the breeders source landrace strains from local indigenous tribes across the globe — but that’s a conversation for another blog post.
Humboldt Seed Organization
If you don’t know where Humboldt County is and consider yourself part of the cannabis industry — shame on you. Humboldt County is part of the Emerald Triangle in Northern California and the Emerald Triangle is responsible for probably 90% of outdoor cultivation innovation, as well as a (still) thriving legacy market supply in this country.
Northern Cali’s Emerald Triangle area experiences more rainfall than any other part of the country by far (a major contributing factor to the Redwood forests in the area). So, let’s just say that Humboldt knows their stuff.
One specific strain almost all stoners are familiar with is Blue Dream, and the HSO variety doesn’t disappoint. This strain admittedly became so popular that it’s been cast as taboo to like it — well, sheeple, fuck that. It’s an incredible strain. The mix of blueberry and haze is done exceptionally well by HSO. I also really like some of their other Cali old-school classics they produce, like OG Kush and Granddaddy Purple S1.
Brothers Grimm Seeds
Big ups to Marc Emmelmann, VP of Brother Grimm Seeds who was my connection to these guys. They were generous enough to hook me up with some seeds for my crop, and their genetics didn’t disappoint. Vijackra was a major fan favorite for sure. You really can’t go wrong with Jack Herer crosses.
The Bank (from The Clinic) **permanently closed**
If I had to choose one breeder, I’d have to say it’s The Bank out of Denver, which is the breeder for The Clinic. I’ve grown two strains specifically that had a genetic stability and quality seldom seen: Fish Head and Axilla.
The Bank knows that landraces and old-school genetics make up a great deal of the quality strains that exist today. Fall ’97 is a constant genetic component.
Sadly, after searching them online, they don’t seem to exist anymore. This is an unfortunate trend I’m noticing in the industry — a lot of my favorite dispos in Denver are disappearing, furthering my position that we’re continuing down the path of degradation in cannabis quality (at dispensaries) in this country and the further commoditization of it (blog on this coming).
The Attitude Seed Bank
The Attitude Seed Bank is the largest seed bank in the world and is run by my dream girl, Natalia Faehnrich, who keeps a very low profile (good luck finding much about her online — which is why I conveniently hyperlinked one of the few pieces of press I could find on her).
I admittedly thought Natalia was a promotional model for the company and later found out she’s the CEO and owner — not to mention a general boss-ass woman.
I’ve been sourcing my genetics from ASB for 15 years and have almost always been able to find the strains I’m looking for. Not to mention, they’ll give you free seeds depending on how many you buy. These “UFOs,” as they call them, have opened me up to strain families I never would have considered before.
You can find all of the breeders I mentioned previously at The Attitude, minus The Clinic for obvious reasons.
Pro Tip: When ordering from The Attitude, always pay for guaranteed shipping. If your magic beans are seized by customs, they’ll resend them to you free of charge.
Brothers Grimm Seeds are great at logistics as well — they’ve sent me genetics directly. It’s also worth mentioning that BGS has a partnership with Trailer Park Boys, and some of their genetics look absolutely amazing online. I also highly recommend the show — if you haven’t seen it, it’s hilarious. It’s also worth mentioning they are collaborating with the unapologetic OG Ice-T!
Homegrown Cannabis Co.
Homegrown Cannabis Co. is admittedly new to me, so I have not run with their genetics yet, but I plan on it. The reason I am mentioning them here now is because these guys have reached out to me personally after finding my site, and man oh man are we aligned in our mission to empower the home grower and not have to be subjected to the current cannabis retail scene in this country. Check out the reviews on their website which are second to none, not to mention their list of genetics which after personally growing for 15 years I have to say not only look amazing, but based on these phenos they are going for stability and reliability in their genetics. A point further illustrated by their germination money back guarantee, which I have never seen before.
To Recap
Genetics should be your number one priority, and while no seed is guaranteed, if you follow my advice above, you’ll be ahead of 90% of people growing for the first time.
And if you’ve been growing for a while, hopefully this post resonated with you — or maybe you learned something new about a breeder I mentioned.
Happy growing. One love.
