Seeds - looking for the absolute cream of the crop.

[Andy]

Hi all, I'm a new member of the forum and my sole focus is to raise the quality of my weed to top shelf quality.

As mentioned in my introductory thread, I'm a relatively competent grower in terms of production, but my sole aim is to raise the quality of my average-level product to the highest level possible, at the expense of profit and time if necessary. As such, I'm looking for some seeds from various sources that demonstrate the best, leading edge genetics available in the world at the moment. Cost is absolutely not an issue - I'm happy to pay more for the best, because to me it's a worthwhile investment.

I have limited knowledge about breeders etc., but from my research, my first point of call has the Jungle boys. I'm in the UK so it's hard to get their seeds here - but I have found a legitimate source, costing around £250-£300 per pack. I realise this sounds very expensive (and it is - around double the cost vs the US), but for me the investment is worth it if the quality of the strain is leading edge, as it's a strain that I'll be able to keep. I'm not interested in feminised seeds and will be keeping mothers of each strain long term.

So from this starting point, I'm looking to get suggestions of say 4 or 5 more excellent breeders that I can get seeds from that produce plants that really are in the same league as the Jungle boys stuff - i.e. world class. I'm looking for indica-leaning hybrids that produce dense, potent smelling buds.

Thanks - any input is very appreciated!

 

[Vagician]

TGA Subcool - Their "Ace of Spades" was incredible. I miss her.
Red Eyed Genetics - Pretty much anything they have is great. "Locktite" was very tasty, and melted stress instantly.

 

[cottageman]

Why not feminizes seeds? Same quality with little to no males and a lot of great breeders have amazing feminized lines now. Exotic genetix always puts out amazing lines and everyone seems to love what he breeds. Symbiotic genetics also has an amazing reputation of breeding some of the best genetics around as well. Umami seeds also has a good reputation and specializes in terps and has some really good strains that recently came out or are coming out soon!

 

[Andy]

TGA Subcool - Their "Ace of Spades" was incredible. I miss her.
Red Eyed Genetics - Pretty much anything they have is great. "Locktite" was very tasty, and melted stress instantly.

Thanks for that :)

Why not feminizes seeds?

You sent me down a research hole! It was actually very useful - it took a bit of sifting, but after some online research and talking to the Cannabis college in Amsterdam, I found a few tidbits:

1: Feminised are absolutely fine & work great, unless you're using them for breeding or wanting to keep mothers.
2: Using fems as mothers gives a higher risk of hermies.
3: Using Regs can give clones that are closer to the intended characteristic the breeder intended.
4: Using regs, you get the full expressions of the strain so it makes pheno hunting more interesting & fruitful.
5: Cuttings get going much faster than clones, so pheno hunting a mother from regular seeds will save time.
6: Plants that originate from seeds tend to have more hybrid vigour and can be more potent.
7: Once you have your mother as a result of your pheno hunt from regular seeds, all the resulting cuttings will be uniform and reflect the best attributes of the strain.

Saying all this, a friend of mine just pointed me towards Strainly.io, so I'm delving into that now. Getting a good strain from a reputable seller would be a lot cheaper and less hassle than growing regs and pheno hunting. I've created a thread to see if anyone's had experience with the site..

 

[Buzzer777]

Be very careful on Strainly..there are ripoffs everywhere! I suggest, at least at first, letting the feedbacks be your guide. There are lots of sellers that pack up and leave getting good feedbacks for price and delivery..they don't stick long enough to hear grow reports. I use them at times, and was burned once with bogus seeds. Not for big bucks but it was the wasted time that hurt.

 

[Moshmen]

Be very careful on Strainly..there are ripoffs everywhere! I suggest, at least at first, letting the feedbacks be your guide. There are lots of sellers that pack up and leave betting good feedbacks for price and delivery..they don't stick long enough to hear grow reports. I usr them at times, and was burned once with bogus seeds. Not for big bucks but it was the wasted time that hurt.

Money can be replaced time cannot

 

[Andy]

Be very careful on Strainly..there are ripoffs everywhere! I suggest, at least at first, letting the feedbacks be your guide. There are lots of sellers that pack up and leave getting good feedbacks for price and delivery..they don't stick long enough to hear grow reports. I use them at times, and was burned once with bogus seeds. Not for big bucks but it was the wasted time that hurt.

Thanks for the warning, much appreciated.

 

[Buzzer777]

Thanks for the warning, much appreciated.

If you wish..I can tell you (Pm plz if interested..I don't want to be a shill) about a few that I had positive luck with..One in particular in Canada..
He actually used a few of my pictures on his FB site and on Strainly, for one of his strains.

 

[JWM2]

Thanks for that :)

You sent me down a research hole! It was actually very useful - it took a bit of sifting, but after some online research and talking to the Cannabis college in Amsterdam, I found a few tidbits:

1: Feminised are absolutely fine & work great, unless you're using them for breeding or wanting to keep mothers.

Fems are fine for mother’s or breeding.

2: Using fems as mothers gives a higher risk of hermies.

Not necessarily true. Depends on the source and genetic factors.


3: Using Regs can give clones that are closer to the intended characteristic the breeder intended.

This statement doesnt make sense. Breeders don’t breed for clones they breed for offspring. We clone in order to keep and reproduce a particular plant because we like the results and want uniformity.


4: Using regs, you get the full expressions of the strain so it makes pheno hunting more interesting & fruitful.

This is just grasping at straws. Few care about phenotypical expressions and just want something good to grow and smoke.


5: Cuttings get going much faster than clones, so pheno hunting a mother from regular seeds will save time.

Cuttings are clones. Whoever wrote this statement has no idea what they are talking about. If you meant seeds this is only true with F1 seeds with true hybrid vigor. You don’t need to pheno hunt a clone as it is an identical copy of its mother with predictable results.

6: Plants that originate from seeds tend to have more hybrid vigour and can be more potent.

Please stop.

7: Once you have your mother as a result of your pheno hunt from regular seeds, all the resulting cuttings will be uniform and reflect the best attributes of the strain.

Again this statement is just wrong and comes from someone who is inexperienced. The attributes are dependent on selection the grower makes. Cuttings will be the same as whatever is chosen to be cloned. If you choose a shit plant to clone then you’ll get shit results, period.

Saying all this, a friend of mine just pointed me towards Strainly.io, so I'm delving into that now. Getting a good strain from a reputable seller would be a lot cheaper and less hassle than growing regs and pheno hunting. I've created a thread to see if anyone's had experience with the site..

 

[Andy]

JWM2 - I appreciate your comments, although there's no need to be so acerbic in your tone; I'm here for friendly conversation and constructive research. You may well be right in some of your points - really, I'm just repeating what one of the senior growers Cannabis college in Amsterdam is teaching. They're a well respected organisation, but even so, I never just blindly believe everything people tell me and prefer to do my own research so I don't necessarily take their word as gospel truth.

Just to point out - point 5 was my mistake - I meant that clones get going faster than seeds. In point 6, I obviously meant clones from a decent plant, which you would have after a pheno hunt. I'm not inexperienced with clones & have been taking them for 20 years with 100% success rates - not that hard. Many very experienced people disagree with you on point 1 and I should have said 'using fems *can* give a higher risk of hermies' in point 2, so I give you that.

As I say, your input is appreciated, but there's no need to be toxic - correct my points and I'll respect that, take note and research further accordingly.