“Hemp” landraces

[Sgt. Stadanko]

Been years since I’ve posted due to not growing for a while, but that changes this year.

Looking at currently available landrace seeds I’m noticing some old “hemp” type lines available, which has me thinking that these cultivars might not be getting the attention they deserve compared to our beloved tropical NLD types. Lines like ace’s hokkaido, Siberian from RSC, and even (if real) the North Koreans and Chinese botanical garden from TLT. These lines could hold some key traits for future breeding, and more importantly they could be crossed into oblivion from modern hemp farming putting them in a dangerous situation. I think it’s important we preserve these old hemp type plants, as they’re as much a part of our history as drug types and aren’t likely to be grown large scale due to negligible psychoactivity yet still being over the arbitrary .03% THC needed to be classified as “hemp” by the government. They’re part of cannabis biodiversity as well as just being damn fascinating!


I think it’s great that RSC has shone a giant, benevolent spotlight on Himalayan multipurpose strains, as these fit into the bracket of “heirloom hemp” in my opinion.


To get to the point and skip over my word vomit, is anyone messing with some neat old hemp? Maybe ACE hokkaido? I’m considering giving it a shot in the future, after this years repro run of some NLD and afghan types. Hell, show your “dati” type Himalayan multipurpose plants too, or plans to grow them. Anyone tried retting their stems to make cordage? That’s my plan for some RSC Melana this year. Homemade hemp wick!

Apologies in advance for being all over the place as far as topic. If this thread has too many talking points or is off topic, no hard feelings if it’s moved or deleted.

 

[Creeperpark]

Interesting thread friend, thanks for sharing. It may be hard to find someone willing to spend much time working with hemp around here. I think squeezing a hemp plant into some genetics may be fruitful with yield. I'm not sure what all the benefits are however I've heard of people doing it with good results. Rev from skunk does it. Give it a try let us know how it turns out and keep us posted.

 

[OldCoolSativa]

There's some pretty interesting feral hemp to be found in the US, especially upper midwest. These varieties are acclimated to the climate, and for that reason alone they're interesting breeding stock. I've read that some of them have very skinny leaves, a lemon aroma, and are powerfully psychoactive. I think some also remains in Australia's Hunter Valley.

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

Interesting thread friend, thanks for sharing. It may be hard to find someone willing to spend much time working with hemp around here. I think squeezing a hemp plant into some genetics may be fruitful with yield. I'm not sure what all the benefits are however I've heard of people doing it with good results. Rev from skunk does it. Give it a try let us know how it turns out and keep us posted.

If I find any desirable traits after repro runs on some old hemp types I’ll definitely start toying with crosses again. For now every new landrace I get is a repro run first and foremost, as many individuals as I can grow, no selection, just keeping a genetic logbook of what our ancestors decided were the best plants to grow.

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

There's some pretty interesting feral hemp to be found in the US, especially upper midwest. These varieties are acclimated to the climate, and for that reason alone they're interesting breeding stock. I've read that some of them have very skinny leaves, a lemon aroma, and are powerfully psychoactive. I think some also remains in Australia's Hunter Valley.

Agreed, there’s repositories of old DNA being threatened right now with legal hemp cultivation coming back. Nothing against finola or fiber cultivars, but the pollen drift is going to make it so the ubiquitous “Midwest ditch weed” is just a weedy hybrid of modern and pre-marihuana tax act hemp. Anyone who has access to these seeds, whether they see value in them or not, should collect them asap.

Same with hunter valley. I’ve seen old articles about beatniks in the early 60’s, in the northeast USA and later college kids near hunter valley, harvesting feral hemp tops to smoke. My theory is this wouldn’t have been a yearly occurrence if these old weedy populations didn’t have some kind of effect.

Point is, your ditch weed that pollinates your females on accident could have some value with proper selection or at least desirable traits if not worth keeping pure solely for historical value.

There was an eradication effort in grants pass, OR in the early 60’s of feral plants that the hippies were plundering. This fall I’m making a trip there in hopes that at least some of it stayed around, then comes the selection to see if the local industry hasn’t caused it to show modern drug type or hemp type morphology

 

[goingrey]

There was an eradication effort in grants pass, OR in the early 60’s of feral plants that the hippies were plundering. This fall I’m making a trip there in hopes that at least some of it stayed around, then comes the selection to see if the local industry hasn’t caused it to show modern drug type or hemp type morphology

Hope you find something good!

But yeah the feral hemp eradication efforts didn't end there..

98 Percent Of All Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Is "Ditchweed," DEA Admits - NORML

Washington, DC: More than 98 percent of all of the marijuana plants seized by law…

norml.org

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

As a long winded aside, my hemp project is starting with the RSC varieties. I have some old Melana beans that go first. Then the other Himalayan multipurpose cultivars, johaar and kumaon, possibly nanda Devi #2. I’m of course going to rub charas, hoping growing them at high altitudes will make the best of them. But I’m also going to rett the stems to make cordage, use the leaves as a vegetable (I saw it mentioned in RSC’s blog once) and use those massive Himalayan type seeds in all sorts of healthy goodies. I truly think hemp was ancestrally a multipurpose plant in at least some cultures, and breaking down the hard square line between “innocent CBD and fiber” and “regulated drug” cannabis is unfair, wasteful, and detrimental to landraces that don’t shine the best in either category. Later on, perhaps next year, I want to grow some Hokkaido from ace. Anyone tried TLT North Koreans? They seem like a similar drug/medicine/fiber type.

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

Hope you find something good!

But yeah the feral hemp eradication efforts didn't end there..

98 Percent Of All Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Is "Ditchweed," DEA Admits - NORML

Washington, DC: More than 98 percent of all of the marijuana plants seized by law…

norml.org

Me too, it’s not too much of a drive. Funny story from old news clippings, apparently the DEA was watching the grants pass population to bust people coming to pick some of the flower. During the stakeout the local PD came in and uprooted everything they could find. It seems feral American hemp might be one of the most hated and endangered landraces, hell even a lot of us hate it for ruining our sinsemilla!

 

[mexcurandero420]

The only interesting old variety which was grown for birdseed mainly, was the Turkish Smyrna.Dont know which state this variety was grown.

 

[Roms]

In the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway there's a nice list of hemp from all over the world, i received some Syrian, Korean and Argentina, good vibes @Azaghal!

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Svalbard Global Seed Vault: Safeguarding Seeds for the Future Latest news

www.seedvault.no

 

[Movement13]

As a long winded aside, my hemp project is starting with the RSC varieties. I have some old Melana beans that go first. Then the other Himalayan multipurpose cultivars, johaar and kumaon, possibly nanda Devi #2. I’m of course going to rub charas, hoping growing them at high altitudes will make the best of them. But I’m also going to rett the stems to make cordage, use the leaves as a vegetable (I saw it mentioned in RSC’s blog once) and use those massive Himalayan type seeds in all sorts of healthy goodies. I truly think hemp was ancestrally a multipurpose plant in at least some cultures, and breaking down the hard square line between “innocent CBD and fiber” and “regulated drug” cannabis is unfair, wasteful, and detrimental to landraces that don’t shine the best in either category. Later on, perhaps next year, I want to grow some Hokkaido from ace. Anyone tried TLT North Koreans? They seem like a similar drug/medicine/fiber type.

im growing johaar right now about 4th week of flower . its a very cool looking plant smells strange kinda like broccoli

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

The only interesting old variety which was grown for birdseed mainly, was the Turkish Smyrna.Dont know which state this variety was grown.

View attachment 18819587

Interesting, I’ve heard of the old Smyrna plants being grown here in the US back in the day. I’ve also heard stories of other old middle eastern narrow leaf/stocky form hashplant types being used to produce birdseed in other countries years back, namely Iran. That makes me wonder if some of the hashish landraces from that area were originally multipurpose plants.

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

In the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway there's a nice list of hemp from all over the world, i received some Syrian, Korean and Argentina, good vibes @Azaghal!

View attachment 18819590

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Svalbard Global Seed Vault: Safeguarding Seeds for the Future Latest news

www.seedvault.no

Great to see Svalbard is preserving hemp! Where did you receive your seeds from? Friends or ordered online from a business? I’m sure the Argentinian would be interesting, anything to report as far as growth habit and seed size etc.?

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

im growing johaar right now about 4th week of flower . its a very cool looking plant smells strange kinda like broccoli

That’s an interesting smell profile for sure, are you planning on making charas?

 

[alvin88]

I am super interested in "hemp" as well. I feel it is certainly misunderstood in the US and there may be more potential for there use!
I'm gonna be growing out RSC Siberian this season and hope to make plenty of more seeds and a few crosses with other landraces as well.
I'll have to double check but I'm pretty certain I got the Nanda Devi 2 as my freebie. Ill definitely be popping those too!

 

[Movement13]

Johaar

 

[Old Piney]

Nice thread! I'm super interested in hemp strains , that is true hemp and especially multi-purpose landraces .not what the government calls CBD drug strains with less than .3 percent THC. I'm a bit of a lightweight when it comes to THC and like this kind of high. I've grown RSC kumaoni for the last two seasons outside. it's just so cool, a stretchy giant with huge fan leaves and seeds. So I have waiting to grow RSC Rasoli and Nanda Devi. I also have Siberian but from Khalifa Genetics in the fridge .A note Khalifa offers Rasoil as well .when I get around to getting something new it will probably be RSC Dakshinkali .Yes someone should collect up those Ohio ditch weed seeds I'll grow them

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[mexcurandero420]

Interesting, I’ve heard of the old Smyrna plants being grown here in the US back in the day. I’ve also heard stories of other old middle eastern narrow leaf/stocky form hashplant types being used to produce birdseed in other countries years back, namely Iran. That makes me wonder if some of the hashish landraces from that area were originally multipurpose plants.

FYI some history
In 1895, ‘Arabs . . . Armenians
[and] Turks’ grew Cannabis indica in central California to supply hash
to compatriots in San Francisco, and to smoke ‘kiff’ themselves.(Chris Duvall's book Cannabis)

 

[Lebanizer]

@Old Piney

Bear in mind though that Nanda Devi and Dakshinkali are both specific drug domesticates. So unlike the multipurposes types where you could argue whether or not they're "hemp", I'm not sure you'd have that choice with those two.

 

[Old Piney]

@Old Piney

Bear in mind though that Nanda Devi and Dakshinkali are both specific drug domesticates. So unlike the multipurposes types where you could argue whether or not they're "hemp", I'm not sure you'd have that choice with those two.

I know, you could also argue that Siberian is not as well. It is a wild type and according to Khalifa genetics it's used to produce high CBD Charas. Nanda Dev is also described by TRC as simi wild type ’ I'm assuming that we're defining hemp as cannabis used to produce fiber or seed , but perhaps we should throw wild type in the bunch. Dakshinkali is described as something in between a multi-purpose and a tropical ganja but it does sound like it's cultivated for drug production

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