It all come down to what is a breeder?
Answer: Not Arjan ;)
There used to be a time when breeders roamed the world in search of landraces, a dangerous and difficult task in many places.
They would spend years growing and selecting for traits suitable for thier latitudes as well as indoor.
When outcrossing, they again ran huge numbers selecting for desirability, then ventured to inbreed the line until stable.
At this point they would deem it a new strain and perhaps give it a funky name.
Many of these true breeders only have a handful of lines that they have been working for decades, rather than a new cross every month.
Today, there is an abundance of seed houses rather than breeders,crossing well known producers and getting them to market, which in and of itself is fine.
There is a huge market for the crosses and they certainly supply the demand.
The problem lies in the time to market, folks want thier OG-UberStank-Mindwarp-Purple-(insert latest fad name)-ChooChooTrain-SkunkFunks now!
Creating a market for untested F1's faster than the seed plants can mature; and quite often are the result of someone pollinating a single bud or branch rather than large scale diverse pollination.
Again, it all comes down to supply and demand.
In my view, it all comes down to the consumer.
We must be diligent in researching any strain, breeder or seed house that we are considering doing business with.
Buying F1's with the hopes of a consistent homogeneous crop will only dissapoint.
F1's do present some fantastic plants, but pheno and trait hunting is required and should be expected.
I won't lie, I thoroughly enjoy the surprises that unfold in F1's and grow them often.
But, I am also aware that I will have to put work into selections.
There are still true breeders out there, most are the well known pioneers of yesteryear.
As it was, in the past, these folks are not in any hurry to release thier latest strain, they will work untill THEY feel it is ready.
As a result, one can/should expect some consistency with the product.
So, where does this leave us?
As growers we should research our seed source and reputation, be aware of the differences between F1 (fem'd or reg), IBL and landrace, and guage our expectations accordingly
