Afghan Landrace's Review.
Good day folks. Today we have a slightly different strain review in which we will be taking a look at 3 different Afghan domesticates from Northern Afghanistan . I don't think these can be reviewed in the typical manner as they aren't bred for any particular traits other than trichome production. Contrary to what many believe, the Afghani landrace's aren't wild plants but are maintained within their regions by farmers who choose the frostiest strains from the seasons crops to collect seeds from. The main purpose of these plants is to produce hash or charas so the overall flower quality is of little importance.
I got my hands on a pack of mixed Afghans and ran them indoors to see how they shape up against some modern hybrids. I ended up with 3 females, one of which I knew was a Tashkurghan, the other 2 were unknown. Let's talk about what we got.
Upon sprouting, the landrace's seem like any other cannabis plant. They begin looking like broad leaf indica seedlings but after a few weeks they start to feel a little different. One of my observations with the Afghans is how vigorous and strong they are during veg. All 3 had thick trunks and stems which were very dense and proved difficult to apply training techniques like super-cropping. Much care had to be taken not to snap any of the branches, which of course, I did. I broke a couple but all bounced back and recovered very quickly.
All 3 plants were very different in terms of appearance with the Tashkurghan having many small, thin fingered leaves which covered the entire plant. The first unknown also developed thin fingered leaves during flower though this plant had a much better flower to leaf ratio. The third plant was more like what comes to mind when you think of an indica. The leaves were much broader and the plant was squat. The colours were all different as well. We had a light green, a dark green and one which was more golden as the autumn fade look appeared early in flower and became more orange/red/purple as the plant aged.
I had some hybrids in there to compare them with and generally speaking, the Afghans have a more wild appearance to them. The differences were quite subtle at first glance but the more time I spent with them the more I noticed. The modern hybrids have beautiful flowers which grow in a pleasing way. The landrace's flowers are all over the place and at first seem smaller but were in fact larger than some of the hybrids. They definitely don't have the density as the hybrids but the shear amount of them makes up that. The plants smell strange as well. Even before flower there is a woody, musky scent which I have experienced a few times before but not quite like this. The Balkh male was the strongest and strangest. It was like smokey charcoal or something similar. You could smell it on your fingers after touching the leaves.
All 3 had good vegatative growth and easily kept up with the modern hybrids. The Tashkurghan was a particularly large and vigorous plant and if I hadn't of flowered it at such a small size then it could have been far too big for its space in the tent. One of the unknowns was very tall but had high flower production. It actually had the highest yield of the 7 strains in that grow. The second unknown which was the smallest still did pretty well and just kept up with the hybrids.
Despite all being Afghans from the same region, all had very different flowers. It varied from tight, golf ball looking flowers to big, airy chicken drumsticks. The Tashkurghan had huge but light flowers which were a little bit fruity while growing but after harvesting and sitting in the jar for a while didn't taste of much. They lost the fruity scent as well which is a shame but more on those later. The unknowns were quite different. The first had a seriously strong and quite offensive leather and chemical scent. It was really quite surprising. The buds were right and went all the the way down the plant. The second had a berry scent which had a tiny hint of something like a chem. It wasn't like the first though and was more delicate. This one had a very workable structure and the flowers were right and nicely spaced. These were similar to the first but slightly less dense and compact. I would say that the smell exhibited by the landrace's during flower was on par with the hybrids though it was, just like with the growth, a little different.
The bag appeal of the flowers isn't as high as what you'd normally expect. The unknown Afghan #1 was close but you can see that the flower is more leafy and you need to pick at them more before they can be used. They do have that old-skool look to them and personally I don't mind that.
Now we will talk a little about the flavours and effects. Before we go into this next part I would like to mention that Afghan Landrace's aren't known for their potency with many tested plants not even reaching double figures in regards to THC. That doesn't mean that there aren't other cannabinoids to benefit from. First we will tackle the Tashkurghan. As I said earlier, this plant didn't taste all that good. It was a bit like dry grass or like spent oregano. However, this thing packed a punch. I was really surprised at how potent it actually was as I had saved it until last to sample as it didn't look overly appealing. She has a serious indica stone, complete with red eyes and munchies. What looked like could have been a waste turned into something quite enjoyable. This plant wouldn't have impressed many connoisseurs but could definitely benefit medical users.
The first unknown strain had the best flavour. It was rich and spicy with a familiar dose of Kush which stank. This was my favourite plant right up until I realised that it was very mild. I could barely feel the effects even after having a couple more joints just to make sure. I did get something from it but it was more of a light buzz. I didn't feel much different otherwise. No feelings of happiness or tiredness. No extra energy or relaxed thoughts. I just felt like me. The only thought I was having was "is this stuff working?".
The second unknown Afghan was somewhere in between. It had a kind of mild berry fruit taste which was little bit funky. Not overly impressive but by no means the worst I've had. The effects for this one were a bit on the mild side again but I could at least feel this one. I felt relaxed but not sleepy and could still get on with everyday tasks with no problem. I would say that this one is below average for me but others may indeed enjoy a more mild effect. Overall, the flavours and effects don't compare as much on average with the modern hybrids in my opinion.
There is a problem with the landrace's which we haven't touched upon yet and that is their stability. As I mentioned at the beginning, these plants are selected for trichome production and other traits are left to run unchecked. One of the negative traits which is common in these plants is that they can hermie. Out of the three I grew, two produced nana's. The Tashkurghan started a few weeks into flower and I decided not to pull it and instead pull any male parts as they appeared. This proved to be annoying and only possibly because the plant was small. If this were a much larger plant then the task would be too risky, impossible even. After I harvested her I realised that I had missed many and was lucky to not have a tent full of seeded plants. The second Afghan wasn't quite as bad but it was still enough to call her no good. I missed some on that one also. We did have one of the hybrids produce male parts also so they weren't the only offenders.
Overall I think that growing these plants was a good experience and it was fun to see some traditional cannabis grown which was a first for me. The bottom line though is that these aren't going to be good for beginners or growers looking for a solid strain to produce their own meds. These plants are for breeders and people looking for the purest experiences though purity doesn't necessarily mean quality. There are obviously gems to be found as these plants are some of the building blocks for today's more reliable and consistent strains. However it would seem that much searching is needed to find the goods.
I certainly don't think that they are useless as a grower though. I have some more of these which I will run next year, however I have decided that dedicating tent space to them would be a bad idea. Instead they will be flowered outdoors as I noticed that the smell isn't as recognisable as modern strains. They are also quick so should do well to finish up in time before the worst weather hits.
That's about if from me. I'm sure I'm forgetting something again lol. Anyway, here's some pics of the landrace's.
Have a good day everyone.
Afghan Landrace #1....
Afghan Landrace #2....
Tashkurghan....
He wanted to know where his cut of the booty was.
Did you start a new journal already?
