Colombian Gold from 1972-78...? How was it "made"?

Alcupoco Gold and Panama Red were more rare, and the subtile differences were wonderful but I have a question about that "commercial" Colombian Gold that was in the NE US in the mid 70's.

This was the first weed that we really got fresh as it were, sometimes still a bit moist in probably 25 pound bails. It was generally bright yellow, and I mean bright on the outside of the bail and sometimes as you dug deeper it turned almost orangish... It was great pot, half of your bag by weight was seed but you took it. IIRC QP's were sold for about 125 and 112 to buds.

I got a lot of that weed and "helped" folks for a 75 mile radius smoke it too but...

I never really ever got a real story as to how it came through with all that beautiful fresh bright, consistent yellow color. Rumors back then were "the field workers went out and cut a strip around the bark of the plants in the field and all the chlorophyll ran to the ground. Well I had several problems with that theory but mainly "then why didn't they just kill the mails when they were there and get rid of all that seed?" And really, I didn't believe that they hired enough guys to go through all those fields just to what? Make the plant Yellow with no other benefit??? Just didn't buy it then, don't now.

I am more leaning toward they let it go real long and because of climate, the chlorophill just dropped before they had to harvest, or they took the time and used a chimney type cure with lot's of tending to make that sweet tasting, looking, and smelling weed...

Anyway, in all my years I have never run into anybody that could honestly say "I was there and this is how they did it".

On a side note, after reading so many posts here I realize I may be one of the few very lucky who have tasted Colombian Gold (the real piney stuff), another great but less lamented weed "dirt brown Colombian" that was around at the same time and just as good in my opinion, three bags of Lambs Breath one summer, twice I copped a half ounce of Alcopuco Gold, and my all time favorite was a bag of Panama Red in the summer of 75....

Thanks all for reading, if you can tell me more about the Gold, let me know..

Mr. Grimbo

It is simply genetics


I'd love to hear any stories with as many details as possible about your memories of the strains of yesteryear

I wasn't around back then but I have a deep love for those pure sativas ,particularly Colombians . The Gold always sparked my interest because of reports of incense

I'd appreciate anything you can share pics would be amazing


1luvbigherb

In the 60s and 70s in the tropics the main crops were planted at the beginning of the wet season and harvested at the beginning of the dry season. Because weather patterns were more reliable 30-50 years ago, ganja farmers could dry their crop in the field without much fear of it being ruined by the rain, thus negating the need for large shelters to effect modern drying techniques. Sam the Skunkman who is considered the most respected source of general cannabis information on Icmag, if not the most reliable has stated that Colombian highland farmers would ringbark or gridle the base of plants ready for harvest thus enhancing the already golden color of much of the Colombian mountain weed.

Sup Bushy

Nice too see ya postin ,I miss those monsters brother


I knew i had it saved but couldnt find it b4 as i posted from my phone

I traveled and lived in Mexico, and visited Guerrero many times, the farmers do not cut a rim to deprive water, although I have seen a couple of plants like this, the normal way is with genetics and sun drying for a few days before sticking in the shade to finish drying.

Try it, they come out looking like imported "gold".

-SamS

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IME both nevilles haze an hillbilly haze both hada golden tone .Several of the NYC hazes ive smokled over the years have had a golden look .IMO genetics is the biggest factor


This has me pondering on why all of the older cats dont have more pics of the buds golden ETC



1luvbigherb

Girdling. And genetics help it get the nice golden color.

I love hearing about weed from back in the day. Has anyone tried any modern strains that resemble the highs of Colombian gold and original haze ?

I read that the Mexican sativa interbred exceptionally well with the (already existent? ) Colombian "indica"

Well cured Original Haze grown outdoors

bigherb said:

Sup Bushy

Nice too see ya postin ,I miss those monsters brother


I knew i had it saved but couldnt find it b4 as i posted from my phone




IME both nevilles haze an hillbilly haze both hada golden tone .Several of the NYC hazes ive smokled over the years have had a golden look .IMO genetics is the biggest factor


This has me pondering on why all of the older cats dont have more pics of the buds golden ETC



1luvbigherb

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Thanks everyone for your responses. Yes, the wet/dry weather makes sense. If you saw the weed, you would know that this makes sense... As to Pictures, remember every shot we took back then went in an envelope with our parents shots (we didn't have our own cameras) and then off to some place to get developed where we all knew pictures of Marijuana wouldn't go over too well

As to stories about the great Sativas and such back then, you also gotta' remember, we didn't even know sativa from indica, from dog poop back then and only hoped the bag we bought was real weed and not parsley or oregano...

We had two kinds of pot and they were "Mex" which was anything previously bricked, usually at least three quarters of a bag of chaffe with a few small buds on top. Those cost us from 5-10 dollars an ounce... Then there was "Tops" or "Colombian Tops" which was supposed to be better and usually was better packaged and the bag might have been 3/4 buds with a line of seed and chaffe on the bottom, might have been 15 an ounce. Both were brown and dry. Every once in a while someone like my bud would get off a plane from somewhere like Jamiaca or such with a few plants stuffed in a backpack or a couple Thai sticks, but that was rare.. This all was happening when Pot, was Pot.. Years before Sens, Hash, and all the rest started flowing in say, 71..72... Before every bag had to have a commercial name LOL!!! Even now sometimes a smoking partner asks us "what are we smoking today" and I still answer... "Pot"...

More to follow, Mr. Grimbo

Raco said:

I read that the Mexican sativa interbred exceptionally well with the (already existent? ) Colombian "indica"

Well cured Original Haze grown outdoors

View Image

View Image

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Just WoW Raco man!!!
That looks delicious!

Peace
BM

Hi, I too was around during the 70s and most of what I got in TX at the time was bricked Mex and it was shit, full of seeds and stems but very little buzz ($10 a "Lid"). It was really bad, forcing you to burn many fat joints just to get a passenger buzz from it. Sometimes we would get good Mex for $15 or $20 a lid but not often. Then came Colombian and it was 100% better, it was bricked but very strong and had a better look, smell and taste the the Mex. Now I live in Colombia and grow my own Gold as well as imports. I deon't know about what growers here might do to the plants to turn the bud gold but I do know that when I cure my domestic (Colombian) most turns a beautiful shade of gold without doing anything to the growing plant.All the bud that we use to get imported from Colombia is still being grown here and can be found. Yes there is alot of mixed "hybreds (and they are good) but the real deal is still here just not exported.
Peace from Colombia

bigherb said:

IME both nevilles haze an hillbilly haze both hada golden tone .Several of the NYC hazes ive smokled over the years have had a golden look .IMO genetics is the biggest factor


This has me pondering on why all of the older cats dont have more pics of the buds golden ETC



1luvbigherb

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I have a few of my HillBilly HAZE strain plants Vegging indoors right now. They are getting a full 60 Veg and will be ran indoors. These ladies should be monsters. I will be detailing it in the Landrace section (trying to isolate the Mexican gene within these for a project).

Colombian Gold Sinsemilla

Colombian Gold Sinsemilla

I grew this out high in the centeral Mountains of Colombia (2,700m) in 2006. The seed came from the Santa Marta region where it has been grown for decades. The very best of highs!!!!

Peace from Colombia

Thanks so much Red Rider for your input here.. I think it really clears things up for me here

No off to find some more of those brick weed seeds from Colombia

Mr. Grimbo

The pleasure is mine!

The pleasure is mine!

Mr_Grimbo said:

Thanks so much Red Rider for your input here.. I think it really clears things up for me here

No off to find some more of those brick weed seeds from Colombia

Mr. Grimbo

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Your very welcome Mr Grimbo, you know the fine Colombians of yester year. I am searching here (in Colombia) for the old strains and its not too easy for me because the only smokers I know are young and really like the Colombian grown "creepy". However I do have my old contact here who I should be meeting up with early next year. He is in Santa Marta now (his family is from near there) and he is going to have some new samples for me from the region. I wish you the best!!!!

Peace from Colombia

red rider said:

Your very welcome Mr Grimbo, you know the fine Colombians of yester year. I am searching here (in Colombia) for the old strains and its not too easy for me because the only smokers I know are young and really like the Colombian grown "creepy". However I do have my old contact here who I should be meeting up with early next year. He is in Santa Marta now (his family is from near there) and he is going to have some new samples for me from the region. I wish you the best!!!!

Peace from Colombia

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Oh man, got my glasses on and taking a better look at the pics from you and Raco, and I have so many observations I need a few to collect my thoughts. I am very excited and I think I am putting things together that have been avoiding me for decades.. Be back soon, gotta' roll one and look at the pics again. This to me is sacred, I don't want to get it wrong...

Mr. Grimbo

Clive said:

I love hearing about weed from back in the day. Has anyone tried any modern strains that resemble the highs of Colombian gold and original haze ?

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Yes, it's out there... In another thread I told of a big tan colored chunk of brick weed my bud brought up from Florida a decade or so ago. He thought it was great weed so he put it in his freezer and saved it wrapped tightly for about 6 mos till he came to visit. When we opened it, it smelled exactly like the Colombian "Gold" we got as kids in 72, sandalwood, pine kinda smell, the taste was there and the high too. This was just something he had picked up on the street back home. He grew out a bunch of seeds from that chunk and there were some great mostly sativas in there (which were lost a few years back) but no more incense / Pine smelling bud... Of course it would be almost impossible to duplicate the growing conditions and curing environment which may have a lot to do with the taste and color of the weed produced indoors in Florida.

Mr. Grimbo

red rider said:

Your very welcome Mr Grimbo, you know the fine Colombians of yester year. I am searching here (in Colombia) for the old strains and its not too easy for me because the only smokers I know are young and really like the Colombian grown "creepy". However I do have my old contact here who I should be meeting up with early next year. He is in Santa Marta now (his family is from near there) and he is going to have some new samples for me from the region. I wish you the best!!!!

Peace from Colombia

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Red Rider, your photo really struck me as it puts a bit together a few things for me that never made sense. Same with the pictures from Raco.

Here are my scattered observations. The Gold weed that Raco put pics of is about as close to the look and structure of what we got labeled "Alcopuco Gold". This is based on the width and structure of the dried leaf, and the bud structure. The Commercial "Colombian Gold" was similar but the buds were not as elongated, and were most certainly more round based on what I remember. At the same time we got our Gold in 12kg uh, bales? so this could be a bit off. From what I can see, Raco's "looks" a lot like the exact structure and look of what we were sold as Alcopuco Gold..

Red Riders pics look a lot like the "Santa Marta Gold" I saw (never scored a bag of my own) and smoked with friends. I am trying to remember but while I am typing I am remembering it having a sharper taste than the commercial "Colombian Gold" that was a staple back then which brings me to another part of the equation that makes perfect sense to me.

Now, Red Riders pics also bring in another great strain I noted earlier, we just called "Dirt Brown Colombian"... This was a wonderful weed which I was once told by a guy who was way up the ladder from me that this was also "Santa Marta" but it was brown. Not a nasty tan/brown like cheap mexican, but a deep rich brown like the most beautiful crop soil you could ever imagine and smokes so smooth and earthy, thus the name "dirt brown" never to be confused with "dirt" weed or bunk It was, like the Colombian Gold of the day, packaged more carefully than earlier commercial weed of the 60's and early 70's. It came fresh and smoked a dream. It was a total competetor to our Gold and the guy who did it and I were best friends. I smoked as much of his as my own yellow, it was that good and sold for the same price too. The structure of that bud was *exactly* the same as the bud Red Rider put up with hair thin leaves and the bud structure. I am not sure if the deep brown color was because of genetics, or the cure (I use a chimney cure sometimes and turn weed that color), but either way the weed was well tended and very well could have been yellow cured or harvested in a different manner. In the paragraph above I note that the weed Raco has up is very similar and very well could be, I am even more sure about Red Riders being related or the strain that made up "Dirt Brown Colombian" and/or, maybe the same weed cured differently, "Santa Marta Gold"..

Side notes, and I am sure I will have more and edits as this all comes back to me but I never really understood why the Dirt Brown is never talked about. Maybe it got lost in the memories of typical brown pot but trust me, it was every bit as good as any commercial Colombian Gold I ever smoked..

On another note I remind you all that I am totally hampered in a lot of this "comparison" as back in 1970, we didn't know sens from buds, from chaffe, from Indica, sativa, etc... Before Gold and Dirt Brown, we had "Mex" and "Tops" (mex with more buds than chaffe and the occassional Michauacahn, or Hawaiian or whatever other cool name the dealer gave Mex and Tops

Stay safe
Mr. Grimbo

Hey Mr Grimbo,

spelled Acapulco...please

Raco said:

Hey Mr Grimbo,

spelled Acapulco...please

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Yes, my apologies. Absolutely no disrespect meant.

Mr. Grimbo

Raco, I believe he was using quotations around "Alcopulco" to denote the funny spellings and pronunciations we get in the state. Like the good old "Oh-Ax-A-Can".