Is it possible that some really frosty strains are just flat-out impotent?

Yes, the legendary stories of the skunk are real! Someone who had a bag of that skunk on them could walk into a 30,000 sq ft commercial grow-op at peak harvest time and the only smell anyone would smell would be that bag of skunk -in the baggy...inside their pocket!

The "success" of breeding out all those dangerously-detectable qualities out of the old landrace strains just means that smart breeders are just going to have to throw out the new and bring back the old..They are going to have to try and get rid of a lot of the hybridization fads and start selecting for the absolute most terpenes/stink possible....until the old, high-terp/lower THC weed makes a comeback and people start really getting high again (or, maybe for the first time!).

...The problem of stinky weed should have been approached from a standpoint of improving filtration instead of breeding and selecting for low-odor phenotypes.

I think it is totally possible to grow a beautiful strain perfectly well....and still have it turn out to be a disappointing/non-existent high. I absolutely agree that genetics is everything and that you can't rely upon looks or trichome production to guarantee anything other than a pretty picture to look at.

I'm glad to read these comments from everyone. Thanks!

MichiganMedGrower said:

I know this weed. It used to flood Colorado in the local off season. It looked like it should be good but it was never potent enough compared to the local strains or the California stuff.

I used to think Beasters meant "B" grade.

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Oh but the old school lambsbreath! That was/is mind numbing.....there has been a trend in growing new strains from the EU seed markets in Jamaica over the last handful of years. Steady temps of 81-82 with lower RH then you would think. Along with that rich old soil and mountain grown.....Makes for some damn fine product...

The wife and I go down for festival in late April now and then....I can still get it (lambsbreath) from the same group of Rasta's that we met in Ocho when we got married there in Ferngully.

I've had a couple plants grown from seed that looked absolutely wonderful but did not put out good results in terms of the high delivered. Genetic roulette is my best guess. I'm open to the idea that my grow environment was also not suitable, but hard to explain why the plants still looked so damn healthy.

Dr. Who said:

Oh but the old school lambsbreath! That was/is mind numbing.....there has been a trend in growing new strains from the EU seed markets in Jamaica over the last handful of years. Steady temps of 81-82 with lower RH then you would think. Along with that rich old soil and mountain grown.....Makes for some damn fine product...

The wife and I go down for festival in late April now and then....I can still get it (lambsbreath) from the same group of Rasta's that we met in Ocho when we got married there in Ferngully.

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In high school in New Jersey in the 80's we would be offered little sealed grams of exotic weed from around the world.

Lamsbread from Jamaica was one. That had the "shit"smell for sure. It stunk up the house bad and we only cut open a cigarette cellophane of it.

We used to get early "hydro". Light green lightly seeded bud with a different higher THC high. We didn't know why back then but it was definitely more narcotic than the land race stuff. We stared quietly more.

We liked all of it back then of course.

But the most powerful strain I ever smoked looked awful. It was a little smashed bud of real African Ghanja. It looked like a black grease stain and we could barely keep it lit in the bowl.

But once we got a decent hit out minds would start racing and seriously tripping out.

And my favorite. And it was sweeter smelling than the shit skunk was the real 80's Hawaiian We got for $50 a quarter. We always paid the price. We didn't need much to get high and enjoy it back then.

I bet it was 8% THC.

I've been buying bud lately, can't grow my own currently. I've now basically stopped smoking weed because everything I find is complete fucking shit. It can be strong as hell, but never a good high, physically and mentally unpleasant feeling, not a trace of happiness or good vibes. I miss growing my own weed, and others miss my weed.

Psyphish said:

I've been buying bud lately, can't grow my own currently. I've now basically stopped smoking weed because everything I find is complete fucking shit. It can be strong as hell, but never a good high, physically and mentally unpleasant feeling, not a trace of happiness or good vibes. I miss growing my own weed, and others miss my weed.

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well said!

Ahhh lambs bread (that's what we called it lol). Use to get it out of Pearson in tomato crates from the island. It was packed into super hard brick, almost needed a hammer to break it up. It was a long time ago but yup remember it well so that means it was a good one lol. My buddy would get loads shipped up every few weeks and store it at my place (we had adjoining balconies) great arrangement for me, the 20 year old kid lol.

In my experience, yes. I had a SpaceDawg plant that looked like it'd been rolled in glitter, but had a really thoroughly mediocre buzz. And some strains that have no bag appeal have knocked my damn socks off, Bubba Kush has done that to me a few times.

You ever grow a Lebanese strain and you'll see just how weak a very resinous plant can be. Leb is largely CBD, which is why they have to make it into hash for anybody to get high. Even the hash is weaker than any average weed today, often only about 5-6%. Probably why nobody ever uses Leb in any breeding program. I grew some seeds that came directly from Lebanon, total shit, though very resinous and stinky and Indica looking. It's like fool's weed, as in fool's gold.

I just couldn't let this one go....

Do you see any trichomes on any of this buds? Granted...horrible reference picture...but the point being...here are a bunch of old school landrace strains (and I have smoked just about every one of these!) and just look at how "shitty" they look by today's standards....and yet, they were all fucking awesome strains -each one distinctive and unique! These were buds that were used as examples -reference buds, if you will! You'd think they could have selected some prettier examples...but this is what shit looked like in a GOOD bag!

And FYI...that stickless-Thai weed had the most delicious flavor you can imagine! And the red 'lumbo was expando weed to the max!

The seeds actually gave it a nice flavor. Nasty when they popped though. Could take someone's eye out.

tstick said:

I just couldn't let this one go....

Do you see any trichomes on any of this buds? Granted...horrible reference picture...but the point being...here are a bunch of old school landrace strains (and I have smoked just about every one of these!) and just look at how "shitty" they look by today's standards....and yet, they were all fucking awesome strains -each one distinctive and unique! These were buds that were used as examples -reference buds, if you will! You'd think they could have selected some prettier examples...but this is what shit looked like in a GOOD bag!

And FYI...that stickless-Thai weed had the most delicious flavor you can imagine! And the red 'lumbo was expando weed to the max!

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The brown stuff can smoke awesome! Tried fermentation curing for first time this year and in my book it is superior to jar burped!!

Bugeye said:

The brown stuff can smoke awesome! Tried fermentation curing for first time this year and in my book it is superior to jar burped!!

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What is fermentation curing?

MichiganMedGrower said:

What is fermentation curing?

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It is the method used by the tobacco industry to smooth the taste out and drop nicotine levels. I did a variation called cobb curing based on the Malawi Cobb cure process. I know @BobCajun has done a fermentation cure in heated chamber that does something similar. I'll be doing more of it! Sort of bad bag appeal but so far everyone who has sampled says they prefer it too.

MichiganMedGrower said:

What is fermentation curing?

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Here's where I first learned of cobb curing, full description:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=309172

Bugeye said:

It is the method used by the tobacco industry to smooth the taste out and drop nicotine levels. I did a variation called cobb curing based on the Malawi Cobb cure process. I know @BobCajun has done a fermentation cure in heated chamber that does something similar. I'll be doing more of it! Sort of bad bag appeal but so far everyone who has sampled says they prefer it too.

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If you plan to do a fermentation type cure I recommend giving 24 hours darkness prior to the harvest to burn off all the stored starch. Otherwise the starch gets converted to sugar and the sugar makes the fermentation a lot more active, which results in the production of ammonia, which stinks like hell. That's what happened when I was harvesting at the end of the light period, so I could get maximum weight ( starch adds considerable weight). When I tried harvesting after 24 hours dark there was no ammonia smell at all. Came out smoother too. No need to go beyond 24, and 12 may work nearly as well. I just like to make sure by going 24.

Bugeye said:

It is the method used by the tobacco industry to smooth the taste out and drop nicotine levels. I did a variation called cobb curing based on the Malawi Cobb cure process. I know @BobCajun has done a fermentation cure in heated chamber that does something similar. I'll be doing more of it! Sort of bad bag appeal but so far everyone who has sampled says they prefer it too.

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I thought it might be the Cobb process. I am far too allergic to mold to try this. It I will say a friend in co said some Cobb cured weed was absolutely delicious and really stood out for flavor.

MichiganMedGrower said:

I thought it might be the Cobb process. I am far too allergic to mold to try this. It I will say a friend in co said some Cobb cured weed was absolutely delicious and really stood out for flavor.

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Yeah, I hear ya, I can't take mold anymore either, severe asthma like reaction. But no mold in any of my cobbs. Pulling all the oxygen out after first 24 hours sweating seems to work to prevent mold. You might want to wrap just one up to see for yourself!

Bugeye said:

The brown stuff can smoke awesome! Tried fermentation curing for first time this year and in my book it is superior to jar burped!!

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any plans on trying a freezer cure(sublimation)?

mr. childs said:

any plans on trying a freezer cure(sublimation)?

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Never heard of it. But I'm game if you can point me toward a primer. Cheers!