Hey Chunger, great topic, glad you, PD, MH, and Odey brought that up, I agree 100%. I prefer F1s that I cross myself. I start with breeding stock from (usually, but not limited to) landrace strains like Zamal, Sinai, Thai, Malawi, India, Mexico, Nepal and Afghanistan and then I cross those in different combinations. Then I know I have hundreds of viable F1 seeds, all potentially incredible. The hybrid vigour results in larger plants with different traits. The Real Seed Company has dozens of landraces to choose from. Ace is great too, but they've usually made their own hybrids, Golden Tiger for instance is a cross between Thai and Malawi, although they do sell some pure landraces. All seem to be excellent.
My goal was to create a potent sativa that could mature outdoors in Canadian weather. Try as I might I had to put some Afghani in the mix in order to be ready by Oct 15th- a month ahead of the 100% earliest strong sativas (which previously I had to grow in pots and bring in by mid-October to finish off). My best cross to date is from several F1 crosses that I've crossed with other different F1s, there is not a single F2. It is 75% mixed sativa and 25% Afghani*. It resulted in a large plant that matured early and had effects that were VERY sativa like. The aroma if I remember correctly is closer to old time Mexican which is surprising since none of the sativas in that particular cross were from Mexico. As far as I can tell the Afghani has little effect except for earlier flowering and size, and thus far in the curing process I haven't felt any body high from it.
Shifting topics the cost of seeds makes some prohibitive. I am not going to pay 20 bucks for a seed that some of the famous Dutch companies charge. So I'll continue to do my own crossing and keep meticulous records of each one's genetic heritage, who knows maybe one will be perfect for more extreme outdoor weather in Canada.
* Original genetics: Zamal 25%, Thai 6.25%, Malawi 6.25%, Durban Poison 25%, South Indian 12.5% and Afghani 25%.
