” Who’s got the best OG Kush?”
Anyone who is older than 35 years-old and is serious about growing cannabis can agree that the question that will illicit the most automatic visceral reaction is answering a new growers question about which breeder has the best OG Kush. Other honorable mentions are the questions of ‘Where can I get real Blueberry” and my personal favorite “Do you think this guy really has Road Kill Skunk?”
We hate these questions. Not because they are dumb questions to ask for a new grower, but rather they have no real definitive answer and in most cases nobody has those genetics…at least good versions of those genetics. But if you check places like Instagram, you will find hundreds…that’s right…hundreds of seed makers and so called breeders claiming they got the most fire shit and the most exclusive old school genetics that nobody has. They even have these crazy stories of monks and shamans in the recesses of the San Fernando Valley who secretly gave them their genetics to create more intrigue and credibility.
But can this many people really have the most fire genetics when we are in the heyday of cannabis growing & breeding? Of course not…but that isn’t stopping people from trying to get the uninitiated to believe all this bullshit. With so much competition, seed makers & breeders have resorted to all kinds of tactics to draw attention to their brand which has created brands built on hype & sex rather than actual quality.
So just like in our article about figuring out what seed bank is the best to choose from, we felt it was necessary to create a guide to help new growers figure out what breeders to choose from so they are not wasting time and money on genetics that are really just expensive boof. So we asked our staff to provide their insights to help growers have more intentionality with their seed selections in the future.
Staff Advice
Not going to lie, we sucked at picking the right genetics in the beginning. Because most of us took long breaks from growing , we didn’t have many genetics from the 90’s still so we had to start all over again. The fear of getting caught buying seeds online was no joke, so we often just stuck to generic seed banks that white labeled all of their seeds. Long story short, we grew lots of mediocre weed until we started to figure out that we needed to source seeds from different breeders. So what did we learn along the way?
Breeders and genetics are the most important thing! But just because a breeder does one thing really well, doesn’t mean that they do everything really well. So once you find a breeder that you really like, don’t be afraid to ask them what they recommend or what their must buys are.
The best breeders that we have worked with all have one thing in common…they are great at communicating with their customers. Some are way busier than others, but a sign of a quality breeder will be that they will answer your questions and be more than happy to help point you in the right direction. This comes in handy down the road when you are growing their gear out and you are having some problems or just have some questions that can help you bring out the best in their genetics.
Making friends in the growing community is the best way to find out who the best breeders are. Why? Because growers are posting their grow logs to their IG accounts and will provide in-depth details on how a particular breeders plants are performing. This is the way that most of our staff began to find out who the best breeders were…by simply making friends with people in the community and seeing who they were growing out. While breeders can be notoriously shady and confabulate results, growers are infamously brutally honest in their grow reports, especially if they paid a lot of money for seeds and they ended up being garbage. Our favorite discord server The Breeders Syndicate even has a section on their server dedicated to people posting their grows reports separated by breeder and even has a section dedicated to outing bad breeders and scammers.
A good breeder’s stories will check out and they are connected to the people that the community all agrees are stand-up people and are accurate in their place in cannabis history. For example, Lucky Dog Cannabis Company is most known for their Chem family genetics. One of the reasons that they have the reputation they do is because the owner of the company, Skunk VA, is one of the people who originally had Chem D, Chem 91, etc. in the 90s and all the people involved with these genetics all validate each others genetics and stories. So if you are looking for really good cultivar, do your homework on the history of that genetic, find out who the people associated with it are, who still has it, and does that breeder have a clear connection to those people, places, and time periods? Look up breeders and seed companies who are owned by those people and that is one of the best ways to help focus your efforts in finding the best versions of that particular genetic.
If you really want to know if a breeder is good or not, ask them about why they made a particular cross or why they work with a particular line of genetics. A good breeder has intentionality with the genetics that they choose to breed with. For example, when listening to Shabud from 707 Seed Bank talk about why he uses the SFV lines that he does, he specifically talked about the effects that the SFV cut has with him and he wanted to create a line that had those effects in it. Or you could listen to Pico from Pico Brands talk specifically about a structure to a cultivar that he wanted so he used a particular cut in a cross to specifically bring that structure into whatever he was making for that project. A pollen chucker, however, doesn’t have any intentionality in their breeding but will just put two crosses together because they had a cool name picked out from the parent genetics. Intentionality in breeding is perhaps the most important thing to look for in a good breeder.
The last major piece of advice that our staff has for finding a good breeder is to look for signs that they actually test the gear that they are selling. When a breeder makes a new cross, F2, S1, etc., there are no guarantees that the progeny will share many of the characteristics of the parents or that the seeds will be healthy. Problems such as tapping out, hermaphroditism, mutations, poor quality, etc. can rear their heads even with the best of genetics from the parents. The only ways a breeder can weed these things out is to test hundreds of their seeds and actually grow them out. This can add months to a release date which makes some poor breeders decide to release their seeds without testing causing all kinds of problems. The more a breeder posts pictures of the testing process and talks about the testing their seed lines, the more you can be sure they are a quality breeder.
Lifted Spirits Breeder Recommendations
I cannot tell you how difficult it was to make a breeders list for this article. It was one of those writing assignments that make you want to yell at your editor only to realize you are the editor and brought this pain on yourself. It’s difficult because we had to leave some names off this list for brevity’s sake and leaving some names off the list felt like I wasn’t inviting a friend over to a party. But that being said….I love this list and know if you grow out any of these company’s genetics you are going to be happy and high as fuck.
Nerds Genetics
Why We Love Them: Nerds Genetics was probably the first genetics company that completely reset my expectations for what I should expect in a cannabis plant. Aretha absolutely reset the bar for me and almost set unfair expectations that I had for any genetics that I grew after it.
What exactly makes Nerds such a killer cannabis genetics company? Easy…it all comes down to the mad scientist behind the wheel and his philosophy of cannabis breeding. While some breeders make cultivars for hype, Nerds firmly believes that cannabis is all about how it makes you feel so effects rather than hype should be the building block of any cultivar.
What Are They Most Known For: Nerds is most known for their blending of old school powerhouse cultivars into new combinations that bring a whole new vibe, taste, and look to familiar favorites such as Headband, Blueberry, Strawberry Cough, Lemon G, etc. Our staff’s personal favorite is Aretha, but don’t sleep on any of their Dr Hoffman or WhoOody crosses either.
Santacruz Goat Farm
Why We Love Them: Santacruz Goat Farm is one of those genetics companies that takes being an old school genetics company and takes it to a whole new level. Their genetics library is stocked with powerhouse genetics such as blue dream and trainwreck but offers unique phenos that are specific to the Santa Cruz & Arcata growing scenes. What really separates SCGF from other breeders is that they are meticulous with their selections and breeding which gives them the ability to hit that sweet spot of old school flavors/effects while also delivering the structure/looks that the consumer loves. So in other words, if you want to sell shit that the customer loves, but don’t want to grow another cookies hybrid, this is the company for you
What Are They Most Known For: All you have to know is that anything with Arcata Trainwreck or Santa Cruz Blue Dream is an absolute winner winner chicken dinner.
Mass Medical Strains
Why We Love Them: Perhaps the only man who hates Cookies more than some of our staff members is none other than our man Mass Medical Strains who also happened to be a guest on our podcast incase you haven’t checked it out yet. What makes Mass such an awesome breeder is his passion for cannabis and wanting the absolute best experience for cannabis smokers. That is why he puts so much focus on organic growing techniques and sourcing genetics that are based on how he thinks people should feel rather than what the traditional market is calling for. What is especially dope about Mass is that he offers up so many free genetics to people and will put great effort on social media to help people understand that we focus too much on looks and not enough on how it makes you feel.
What Are They Most Known For: While Mass has a huge library of genetics for people to choose from, the star of his library is Star Pupil which was one of his first breeding projects. Star Pupil serves as the backbone to many of his hybrids such as the famous Putang.
Riot Seeds
Why We Love Them: Riot Seeds is one of our favorite breeders because the man behind the company, Matt Riot, is one of the most vocal advocates for legacy cannabis growers and cannabis history. While Matt can be a bit of a polarizing figure (we here think he is just a misunderstood punk rock teddy bear), nobody can argue the quality and authenticity that you will find in his genetics. Riot seeds has an extensive catalogue of selections that appeals to us 40 something year-old growers, but also something new and frosty for the kids in the audience. Not only that, with every order Matt will give you tons of freebies to help you get some variety in your garden.
What Are They Most Known For: For all of us who were lucky enough to smoke real blueberry in the 90’s, you also realize how unlucky we are to have tried the real stuff and to have been subjected to all the boof blueberry genetics over the years that did nothing but disappoint. But self-professed blueberry head Matt Riot has created an entire library of blueberry and bluebonnet hybrids that even the most discerning connoisseur will appreciate.
High & Lonesome
Why We Love Them: I have never met High & Lonesome, but I just imagine him living alone in the Appalachian Mountains with a shot gun and a room full of cannabis. Of course that probably isn’t close to the truth, but you get that vibe from because of his perspective of cannabis history that he presents to his customers. The best thing about cannabis breeders is them showing you what cannabis means to them and for most of us, cannabis is defined by what was around us during our most formative years. For H&L, that was amazing cultivars local to him such as Green Crack, Appalachia, & Mango Haze.
What Are They Most Known For: Get anything with Appalachia in it! Doubt us…just read our review of Appalachia and see why we love it so much. Try it on it’s own or in hybrid form…we don’t care what you choose just get some Appalachia in your life.
Countryman Seeds
Why We Love Them: They may be one of the lesser known names on this list, but I am telling you, Countryman is quietly one of the most exciting and genuine breeders in the game. Why you ask? It all comes down to heart and purpose. To be a great breeder, you have to have a passion for the plant, respect for the consumer, and have a purpose with your breeding and that is the exact DNA of Countryman Seeds. Whether it is their DEM Pure Certified farming practices or their carefully crafted menu of seeds that resemble a fine dining menu rather than a cannabis seed menu, Countryman offers growers and cultivators modern flavors and looks, but with a vibe and feel of yesteryear.
What Are They Most Known For: Their menu has way too many options to even list, but if you had to start somewhere, we recommend you start with Razzleberry, which we actually kept two phenos for production, and anything with Koffee in it.
818 Collection
Why We Love Them: Did you ever have that friend who had an obsession with something and knew everything there was to know about it? 818 Collection is that friend only their obsession is with OG Kush. You won’t find a person on this planet who knows more about OG Kush then 818 Collection. What does that equal? It equals some of the best OG and OG Kush hybrids on the market. Every 10 pack that we have grown had a keeper in it and I use his stock as the baseline for what I think OG Kush needs to be.
What Are They Most Known For: OG Kush & OG Kush Hybrids…especially the Skywalker OG cut.
Pico Brands
Why We Love Them: In cannabis circles, you will often hear some people referred to as a breeder’s breeder. What that basically means is that people who really know this plant and all it’s nuances look at Pico Brands as a breeder who breeds for them…a breeder that pays so much close attention to the fine details and breeds with such intentionality that it takes cannabis genetics to a whole new level. Pico’s offerings can best be described as a pissed off breeder who was sick of growing hype genetics so he decided to say fuck you to the designer hype genetics and reimagined them or deconstructed them in a way that even old school only smokers can appreciate.
What Are They Most Known For: If we had to pick cultivars that represent Pico’s brand, you can’t go wrong with anything with Nightcap in it or some of his newer fire offerings such as Tayzer and The Schnizz.
Bodhi Seeds
Why We Love Them: For an industry that cannot seem to agree on anything, the only thing that they do seem to agree on is that Bodhi is a good dude and everyone loves his genetics. So what is it about Bodhi that makes everyone seem to love him? It’s easy, he brings his spiritual beliefs into everything that he does and it’s actually authentic. You can see in his offerings that he is more a shaman than a breeder, focusing on lines of genetics that bring an energy and vibe that he feels the world needs. Bodhi has typically been way old school, but recently has opened up his genetics library and making new hybrids with modern cultivars. While this has ruffled some feathers of his die hard flock, it shows a willingness to brings his vibe and energy to a genetics line that is often devoid of any soul or heart.
What Are They Most Known For: This is impossible to answer…my god…his library is way too fucking big to be known for one thing. Here is what he is known for…if you want to feel good and smoke cannabis that is more a vibe than a high…this is the genetics for you. A house favorite is Garfunkel which is a Dumpster x G13 Hash Plant that is absolutely killer.
Lucky Dog Seed Company
Why We Love Them: Remember when we talked about a good breeder being able to verify the chain of custody for the genetics that they claim to have? Lucky Dog Cannabis Company has the easy job of proving the chain of custody of their Chem D genetics considering their owner Skunk VA is widely accepted as one of the founding fathers, per se, of the Chem D genetics. In a world of hype and people lying about the veracity of their genetics, there is a comfort in knowing 100% you are getting real deal Chem family genetics (i.e. you know this shit is going to be dank).
What Are They Most Known For: All Chem…all the time! That’s all you need to know about Lucky Dog Cannabis Company. We personally love the Dogpatch which is Chem D X Chem 91 which is a great mix of both.
707 Seed Bank
Why We Love Them: If there was an award for second place in the breeders popularity contest, then Shabud of 707 Seed Bank would surely take that award. While Shabud has rarely done interviews, the ones he has done are a window into how he approaches cannabis breeding, going into great detail about what he is looking for in a cultivar and how he mentally constructs combinations in his head. His unique genetics are a window into the past but with a profile that modern audiences will love. More recently 707 Seed Bank has rereleased many of his old offerings as well as a whole new line up of hybrids.
What Are They Most Known For: If you are going to go with 2 choices, one cannot go wrong with his 707 OG Kush which is a house favorite or while many others would say anything with Kush Kleaner in it is the way to go.
CSI Humboldt
Why We Love Them: Okay, maybe we were wrong about there only being 2 people in the cannabis popularity contest, CSI is perhaps the most prolific breeder on this list. While 99% of the time when a seed bank site looks too good to be true it is too good to be true….CSI Humboldt is the 1% of exceptions to this rule. You will find damn near anything you could possibly want ranging from old old school rare genetics like 79 Christmas Tree bud to the most refined Cookies genetics you can find on the market. Everything has been meticulously sourced and selected over 1000s of pheno hunts…in other words everything is fucking fire.
What Are They Most Known For: Shit…this is hard. We would say CSI is most known for authentic refined and selected old school cultivars such as Bubba Kush, Triangle Kush, Mendo Purps, Purple Urkle, and the Irene Kush. An absolute banger is the T1000 so don’t sleep on that!
Blaze It Panda
Why We Love Them: We have talked a lot about passion and intentionality with the breeders on this list and I think Panda is the breeder on this list who’s work drips with passion and intentionality. You hear breeders talk about a cultivar or a line of cultivars that they just fell in love with and just wanted to go down a rabbit hole with those genetics and you see what rabbit hole Panda is going down with his first major release with his infamous Wolf Eel genetics.
What Are They Most Known For: Wolf Eel…Wolf Eel…Wolf Eel. His latest drop is a work of beauty and we scored four packs ourselves of Wolf Eel crossed to GG4 and Crybaby Organics Burnt Offering & Summertime Sadness (editor’s note: who btw is a badass breeder in his own right…he is just focusing on other careers so we didn’t include him in this list for that reason but had to give him a shout out anyways).
Chemma Lab
Why We Love Them: While we were interviewing Chemma for an article on the sexualization of women in cannabis, we fell in love with the passion that she has for this plant and how blunt she is about her views on the industry…but more importantly how she breeds. She says it bluntly on her website…she breeds cannabis that is loud AF and she only rocks some old school shit. If sour is your thing then you have come to the right place
What Are They Most Known For: We personally think Eastbae is the absolute shit and she is very close to releasing Eastbae V3 so keep your eyes open for that on her site.
Souvenir Seeds
Why We Love Them: While the west coast has it’s OG Kush and the east coast has it’s Sour Diesel…Ohio has its Deathstar and Silver Pearl and nobody is more known for these and other Ohio staples than Pipsweed of Souvenir Seeds. Breeder Pip is like a Jedi Knight preserving Ohio cannabis history and unlike many legacy breeders. he actually releases these genetics to the public. While many in the breeding game will argue on who has real Deathstar or Silver Pearl, those people arguing will all agree Pip is the real deal so anything that comes from Souvenir Seeds is 100%…you can take that to the bank.
What Are They Most Known For: Besides Deathstar and Silverpearl, Souvenir has been crushing it with his Kentucky Bluegrass hybrids as well as the hard to find Rubber City work. His work is hard to find but seedbanks do stock some of his older work and chances are if someone says they have a clone of his to sell they are full of it and you should be very skeptical. Most authentic clones were personally sent out by Pip and anyone personally sent a clone by Pip knows better then to resell any of his work. So its either a fake you are buying or a lifetime of bad karma…dealers choice.