Greek Heirlooms – A Wise Choice for Northern Latitudes

Greek cannabis strains are a wise choice if you’re working outdoors beyond the 30th parallel and want to use the crop as bud.

Northern cannabis landraces such as those from the Hindu Kush and Himalaya are purposed for production of hash – not bud – with few exceptions.

That means individuals in most populations from the Hindu Kush or Himalaya typically show a range of cannabinoid profiles – from CBD dominant, to balanced THC and CBD, to THC dominant. For a THC-dominant-only Hindu Kush strain, you need a cultivar that’s undergone generations of selection for use as bud – such as Afghaan 90 or X18.

By contrast, ganja landraces from the tropics are selected for use as bud, meaning their populations are typically THC dominant across the board. But the problem is they seldom grow properly north of the 30th parallel.

The advantage of Greek heirlooms such as Kalamata Red, Cretan, or Arcadian is that – following the demise of the Greek hashish industry in the 1930s – they’ve had several decades of selection for use as bud. That means they show a population that’s across the board THC-dominant – aka, Type 1 Chemotype. This is the outcome of the individual selection that comes with bud production, as opposed to the bulk selection used in hashish production.

Being acclimatised to alpine climates at around 40 degrees north, many Greek heirlooms are also early enough for an October finish at most northern latitudes.

The image shows a bud of Kalamata Red outdoors in Europe.