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Soft Secrets
the right questions was the difficult step; but humans have an individual way of stepping up to a challenge. This makes it possible for us to do anything without even thinking about it...easy or difficult, it’s all relative. I imagine living in the Netherlands holds certain advantages… Holland is the in and out port of Europe. This makes it an easy place to collect information about growing. I am able to keep an eye on the growworld and keep myself up-to-date on new and exciting products. It also makes travel cheap and simple around Europe. In the least, Holland has its hands in agriculture, world wide… this makes Holland the center of western cultivation. What about the Coppers and the Law? The EU is pretty relaxed when it comes to seeds. In some of the newer EU countries customs do seize seed packs, but not many seizers are followed up. It’s all about playing it right and not stepping on too many toes. Paying your
Did you know that it’s a great pity to let the leaf trim (the small, sticking out leaves around the bud) just be thrown away? Often there is a some really good quality hash to be made from it or even bake a space cake out of it, once you’ve let the little leaf fragments dry out properly. strain I can, then find out who the breeder is and go visit them person to person and let them know what I am doing. The strain is then either bought in or traded for directly from the breeder. Then we use them in the agreed way. Do you start with a clear aim of what you intend to achieve? With medicinal strains I definitely have a very clear mind of what I’m trying to achieve. My mother is very ill, so I am trying to make her comfortable, this is what I am focusing on right now... her liver is shot and she can’t take heavy medication anymore. So I am out to make strains that will help her and other medicinal patients feel
I have seen so many commercial strains die out after a very short time, they get cloned so much and in the end the breeder tries to make some seed with a clone, and this is where things start to go wrong. tax and staying away from bad shit is important. The local Dutch police have visited my house before now (my landlord ratted me out). They came into my home, looked about a 1x600HPS garden and left my house saying “sorry to bother you”. What about expenses, is starting up a breeding operation expensive? Breeding doesn’t take any extra cost than a normal grow. The cost really depends on how fancy you keep your garden. For example, an indoor garden must have good lighting and ventilation (fans/blowers/sucker) and filters- all of which costs money to keep running. Whereas a greenhouse can give a completely control area with free light and free ventilation if used correctly. So it’s a case of suiting your own needs. Security is what really costs me most. Having to move around and never stay in one house to long can make things very stressful and expensive. Starting up does not cost much at all. There isn’t that much expensive gear that is required, but we all like our garden toys. Ultimately any costs fall onto the breeder, so I try to keep things simple. What do you look for when choosing genetic stock? This depends on what is trying to be achieved. With recreational strains taste, smell, outlook, high, size and shape are some of the factors that must be taken into consideration. I go for one factor at a time, lessening the chance for outside factors to contaminate my control area. Once I determine the factor that I am after, I find the best
like a humans, if not only for a few moments/hours… For example, Angel Dust (the father of Bubble Dust) is the best medicinal strain in our collection. It’s used for all kinds of ailments. Recent studies have shown that Angel Dust helps to ease pain and promote appetite in Lupus and Cancer patients, while calming the nerves of people with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. It is these medicinal qualities that we are looking to preserve. What things have helped you most as a breeder? Going to lots of different countries and seeing all kinds of strains being grown in all kinds of conditions. Watching cannabis evolve in natural and unnatural environments. Meeting other breeders and growers with a huge exchange of information between us all. Thanks to all the home growers out there we now have an abundant number of cups, conventions and trade fairs. These are some of the best places to be able to find information and sit down with other breeders for a chat. You can get your seeds straight from the breeder’s hand and look into his/her eyes at the same time. Huge conventions like the Highlife convention (Utrecht, Holland & Barcelona, Spain) are among the biggest in the world and should be seen by all growers that are serious about the industry. The industry is now expanding into many smaller cups, so private cups are popping up all over Europe. Norway had its first cannabis cup in 2003. Spain has at least 5 different private cups each year. Switzerland has a minimum of 3 small cups. And Holland has so many cups that no one
can count how many. On a world basis conventions and cups are popping up everywhere, so it’s very hard to keep track with everything. The industry is now growing in so many directions. As a breeder what major problems have you encountered? The biggest problem for me is the serious lack of original genetics and the exploitation of single strains these days. Like all commercial cropping (for all foods worldwide) original seeds are not taken into high consideration when breeding is conceived. Clones are being used to make seed, which can cause all sorts of long term problems like genetic weakness and mutation. In-breeding is perhaps one of the most frustrating problems we face as cannabis breeders because too many breeders out there are using in-breeding as a way to create seed for sale. Theft can also be a problem! Thieves come in all shapes and sizes and can steal from people in many different ways. I have watched another breeder take my seeds right in front of me, then turn around and sell them on, saying they are his. With all the line breeding that’s going on, do you think some strains are inheriting weaker genetics? Yes I do. I believe that it is because so many breeders make seed from very old clones and not from seedlings. I have seen so many commercial strains die out after a very short time, they get cloned so much and in the end the breeder tries to make some seed with a clone, and this is where things start to go wrong. Why do you think there’s such a big difference in prices, between seed outlets? Like any business there is commercial competition and there will always be people out there trying to take advantage of the little guy. These things must be watch out for. Pick and choose your seed strains carefully. What are Growdoc’s future ambitions?
Hopefully Growdoc Seeds is aimed at bringing down cost to the home grower. Here at Growdoc Seeds we are so tired of all the high prices and B/S products out there that we hope to be able to bring down costs and up quality, so the end buyer (the little guy) isn’t getting ripped off. These days I am working with a twin gene factor that I have found to be very strong in one of my seed lines (that’s 2 plants from 1 seed). We are concentrating on the strongest plants in order to attempt full-expression of this “twin” gene… (it would be great if we could get 16-20 plants from a 10 pack of seeds). At some point in the future I’d also like to build the ultimate grow room laboratory and breed strains for the future. This would include a cryogenic freezer so that many natural cannabis strains can be protected. A cryogenic freezer preserves cells or tissues at ultra-low temperatures. The idea is to prevent amorphous ice crystals from recrystallizing within and outside cells so that both Pollen Storage and Plant Cell Preservation can be achieved. Which advice would you give to any future breeders? When you find a strain that you truly enjoy take your time to get to know it- collecting all the info you can along the way. Stick to one strain for awhile, try to keep it simple, less f**k factors... And most of all, always record info so that nothing is forgotten or lost. What is your top gardening tip? Keep it simple. Don’t go out and buy the most expensive gear you can find and don’t always take the word of other people. Do some research and find out what is best for your situation and your plants…Grow and be Free!
After thoughts… Whilst becoming a cannabis breeder isn’t for everyone, there are very few reasons why the people that enjoy growing cannabis, shouldn’t be crossing their’ own. Growdoc grows to prove that cannabis can be bred for purposes beyond the recreational, and that the breeding of medicinal cannabis strains serves many wider social functions beyond just getting stoned. The secret to becoming a professional cannabis breeder involves; the selection of quality genetics; the recording of information; some travel; keeping things simple; and a good base of seed stock.
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