What do you look for in a strain?

I am curious about something.

What do you look for when buying seeds?
Personally I used to just look at THC content like that was the only attribute anyone should care about. Now I actually read the descriptions, the smell, the effects, colors and many other attributes.

So what is it about a strain that says to you, "buy me!"?

Mold resistance!

1 who it's bred by
2 lineage
3 flowering time
4 potency
5 production

Those are the first things I consider when I make seed purchases

Look , lineage and taste

Best overall quality. Hopefully it's an easy to clean pheno! Bluebird is on point.

Ok, I see lineage a lot with the posts so far. Is that a feeling thing, or would you say it has actual merit when it comes down to quality?

atrumblood said:

Ok, I see lineage a lot with the posts so far. Is that a feeling thing, or would you say it has actual merit when it comes down to quality?

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lineage is where all the genes come from. You can't have good product with out good genes.

STUDxSTUD= good
STUDxcrap= 1/2 crap
Crap x crap= real crap

That doesn't mean you can't get a good plant not knowing the lineage. Your just taking a risk at wasting your time an effort into a plant that might not produce quality product. Knowing the lineage prevents that from happening.

GOLDBERG71 said:

lineage is where all the genes come from. You can't have good product with out good genes.

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What about the grower? Can a "bad" strain be grown to produce good product? Do bad strains even exist in a black and white context?

atrumblood said:

What about the grower? Can a "bad" strain be grown to produce good product? Do bad strains even exist in a black and white context?

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Genetics are a limiting factor. No matter how "good" a grower is, you can't get great smoke from an inferior plant.

What I look for mainly is effect, smell, and flavor. I don't chase thc percentages. Unfortunately the market is flooded with hybrids that have not been worked, so breeder descriptions are usually more fluff than fact. I try to read as many strain reviews as possible on sites like this before making a purchase. I'll take the word of growers who have grown the strain I'm looking at over what the breeder has to say about it every time.

Taste?

blu3bird said:

1 who it's bred by
2 lineage
3 flowering time
4 potency
5 production

Those are the first things I consider when I make seed purchases

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. Taste?
Smell? Fem/regs. Height?

Depends on your situation. If I have a small stealth grow in a closet I am probably looking for a shorter Indica with low odor. If I'm growing in a warehouse commercially I'd rather have a high yielding strain that'll sell. Otherwise I like seeing pictures and reports from other growers and that is usually the deciding factor.

All good points in here. I'll just add price. Its not the main thing but if its a $200+ pack foh! I dont care how good its supposed to be.

Ease of trimming
Taste
Smell
Effects
Bag appeal
Resin production
Yield
Structure
Growth (I like a bit of stretch)
Days to maturity (I don't keep anything over 80 days for now, I like the 2 months turn around)

atrumblood said:

Ok, I see lineage a lot with the posts so far. Is that a feeling thing, or would you say it has actual merit when it comes down to quality?

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I think it used to and I understand why folks want to know. But these days IMO it means a lot less, since pseudo legalization there have been lots of knock offs and lots of pollen chucking. Not to mention the glut of watered down strains on the market these days, there are a lot of folks that have no idea what good weed actually is?

I recently had a visit from @GardenGnome83 he has smoked for 22 years and grown for 10 and said smokin my herb was as if it was his first time, had no idea the weed could be that good

True.
Now when I "buy" a strain, I want to know what region it came from, what the light cycle is like there, uv intensity there, altitude, etc...
Too many breeders out there getting 200 for a f1 chuck. Funny, but the better breeders cost less lol

See this is why I ask these questions. I would have never guessed that there was so much to know when picking a strain. I really like that the stereotype isn't holding up regarding growers/smokers. We are not just a bunch of potheads chasing a high. We actually have passion. A lot of effort and critical thinking goes into growing.

RM3 said:

I recently had a visit from @GardenGnome83 he has smoked for 22 years and grown for 10 and said smokin my herb was as if it was his first time, had no idea the weed could be that good

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I've come across several of your posts over the months just like this one. Too me, it's painfully remindful of the hype that was spread a few years ago about the supposed mega potent herijuana.

I'd be more than happy to pop a couple of your beans to see if you're claims are close to genuine. Probably after the first of the year, they could get crackin'. PM me w/details, and your recommendation that will make me your fan.

Amos Otis said:

I've come across several of your posts over the months just like this one. Too me, it's painfully remindful of the hype that was spread a few years ago about the supposed mega potent herijuana.

I'd be more than happy to pop a couple of your beans to see if you're claims are close to genuine. Probably after the first of the year, they could get crackin'. PM me w/details, and your recommendation that will make me your fan.

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Well he posted right behind me sayin it was true

Had a couple visit yesterday, he takes the first hit and says Holy Shit, I said, you're close it's Holy Fuck (Holy Diver X Colorado Thunderfuck)

Thing is I grow differently than most, and dry & cure differently than most and by most I mean most everyone. I always thought it was funny to want to grow to get away from black market weed and then grow it black market ways and sure it's better but not all it can be? Seems most folks are happy with that. Having smoked the great weed of the 70's I'm pretty picky bout my highs

Personally which I shop for beans, I usually look into the medicinal values (depression)

Then is:
THC & CBD
Genetics
Height
Flowering period
Yield
Odour
Pref medium or grow method

Hard to beat a few honest reviews & grow reports to show what the seed bank is telling porkies about.

I'm incredibly fussy when it comes to ganja, but due to my location it's grow your own or buy shite I wouldn't burn in a bonfire.

What was I saying?

RM3 said:

Thing is I grow differently than most, and dry & cure differently than most and by most I mean most everyone. I always thought it was funny to want to grow to get away from black market weed and then grow it black market ways and sure it's better but not all it can be? Seems most folks are happy with that. Having smoked the great weed of the 70's I'm pretty picky bout my highs

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Is it your methods, or your beans that create this killer weed?