Strains
Harvest Hype: 5 Strains Likely to Crush the Competition in 2019
For the past two years, a strain on this list has gone on to win accolades at the renowned Emerald Cup. Here’s what we’ve got our eyes on from this year’s outdoor cannabis harvest in California.
In recent years, one of the most exciting things for me to work on has been whittling down the thousands of varieties of marijuana grown outdoors in California in a given year to find the top of the pack. I’m looking for where the real magic happens: when great genetics are put into the hands of above-average farmers.
Harvest season is now in full blast as farmers not only work to get the final sections of late running Sour Diesels and various landrace genetics chopped, but also to find space in the stuffed storehouses for the cannabis to dry and cure.
I’ve definitely fine-tuned the process of picking this list over the years, but I’m hoping for similar results as I’ve had in the past; in 2017, 3rd Generation Family’s Roze won second place at The Emerald Cup (the premier cannabis competition for outdoor pot) after making the list and in 2018, Cherry Punch took home third at the Emerald Cup after making that year’s list as well. So the precedent has been set.
Will we hit the three-peat this year? Time will tell, but here are the strains I expect have the best chance of bringing home some award hardware because they are the absolute flame. I’m sure you’ll be enjoying them in the months to come.
MAC (Miracle Alien Cookies)
Recently featured in our print edition, the Miracle Alien Cookies strain from underground breeder Capulator is poised to be one of the stars of the 2019 harvest, without a doubt. This year, more outdoor MAC will drop than at any time previously. While we can’t say it’ll all be grown by green thumbs, plenty of it is going to be insane. We already saw a spread of awesome variations at the Hall of Flowers cannabis conference in Santa Rosa, California a few months back. We’d have to have fairly thick skulls to ignore the fact that the MAC left on the plant for the full season is bound to be exceptional.
Watermelon Zkittlez
From the award-winning hills of Mendocino County, Watermelon Zkittlez — bred by the cultivators at Dying Breed Seeds — is another one that seems like it’s going to have a great run this year. Dying Breed is the exclusive distributor of 3rd Generation Family’s legacy genetics. Getting a pack from the mothership of this Watermelon Zum Zum #3 x Eddy cross will set you back 500 bucks, but it seems like there are some clones going around. Nevertheless, who wouldn’t want to have a crazy propagation project of this? Much like the popular Zkittlez strain, Watermelon Zkittlez has a sweet and fruity smell, with an invigorating high.
Banana Punch
Like Dying Breed Seeds, Symbiotic Genetics has found its way onto many cannabis competition podiums across the world in recent years. While their most famous efforts — like the stabilization of Purple Punch and the creation of the rockstar Mimosa strain — always come to mind first (and there’s nothing wrong with that), the newest generation of heavy hitters from Symbiotic are definitely on par. In that pack of new strains, we think the Banana Punch is a great terpene-loaded adventure. The Village, the breeder and cultivator that comprises half of the Symbiotic team, notes if you like the strain, you can get the seeds: Banana Punch is Symbiotic Genetics’s first-ever feminized line. You can read more about Symbiotic Genetics’s future plans in an upcoming print issue of Cannabis Now.
Peanut Butter Breath vs. Peanut Butter Cup
For the first time ever, a meme war has made its way onto the Harvest Hype list, and deservingly so. The battle puts the gassy cuts of Peanut Butter Breath and Peanut Butter Cup toe to toe. While many a meme has attempted to set the record straight on which Peanut Butter shall rule them all, only time will tell if either will carve a spot in the hearts and minds of all. The Peanut Butter Breath crowd will be repping ThugPug genetics, while team Peanut Butter Cup will be hitting the volleyball court in their Clout King gear. We’re very excited to see who comes out on top.
TELL US, what new strains are you excited about?
