10 Years with Sweet Seeds.

In the 2015 season, we celebrate our tenth Anniversary.

In the 2015 season, we celebrate our tenth Anniversary. A decade has passed since the foundation of Sweet Seeds and we have seen many changes in the cannabic scene during these ten years. We take this opportunity to look back in time and commemorate with you all these ten years of Sweet Seeds life.

We publicly presented ourselves as Sweet Seeds to the cannabic scene in the 1ª Expocannabis at La Cubierta de Leganés in 2005. We attended this cannabic fair, which was the first held in Madrid, with 1200 feminized seeds of our first three strains and a presentation letter introducing our project. The seeds were handed out to users from Cannabiscafe, associations and companies from the sector.

1st genetic Revolution, the feminized seeds

In 2005, the cannabis seed market was monopolized by the Dutch banks that emerged in the mid to late 80’s. At that time, the seeds sold were mainly regular seeds that produced males, females and hermaphrodites. Without underestimating the work performed by the Dutch pioneers with regular seeds, which at Sweet Seeds we definitely recognize and admire, by that time the Dutch feminized seeds didn’t have a good reputation among cannabis growers around the world. The main reason for this bad reputation was the high percentage of hermaphrodite plants that appeared. A few Dutch pioneers decided to bet for this type of genetics that produce no males and started putting them up for sale since 2000. In those first Dutch feminized seeds, many plants turned out to show both male and female flowers.

The arrival of premium feminized genetics, extremely resinous and aromatic, free from males and hermaphrodites, would be the beginning of a genetic revolution that is still a reality today, profoundly changing the cannabis seed market. The percentage of hermaphroditism in Sweet Seeds feminized seeds is incidental. It is inferior to 0,1% (1/1000) and always a consequence of environmental stress.

Regaining public trust

When we presented our first three feminized strains in 2005 – Black Jack® (SWS01), S.A.D. Sweet Afgani Delicious S1® (SWS02) and Sweet Tai® (SWS03) – we previously performed tests to the offspring with hundreds of specimens and tested the seeds with the help of a wide range of collectors and friends who grow cannabis. We produce our commercial photoperiod-dependent plants (non-autoflowering) using always the same parental (selected elite clones from the Sweet Seeds bank of mothers). By doing this we can ensure high standards for quality and stability that are known beforehand. 

At Sweet Seeds, we feel very proud for our contribution, together with other pioneer feminized Spanish seedbanks, to a present time when feminized seeds are the favorite of cannabis growers worldwide.

Ten years ago, feminized seeds also had to overcome a lot of hoaxes and urban legends without any scientific support. Time and the experience of thousands of cannabis growers managed to expose all these myths.

More accessible and affordable feminized seeds

Before Sweet Seeds started as a seedbank, cannabis seeds were sold in packages of at least 10 or 15 seeds. Besides that, the few feminized seeds that could be found in the market were extremely expensive. To get a feminized version of a regular seed, the grower had to pay twice the price or even more. In 2005 the cheaper feminized seed available in Europe was in the market at €110 for a pack of 10 seeds (11€ per seed). To facilitate the access of our potential clients to different feminized varieties we decided to package the seeds in packs of 3 seeds, which considerably reduced the access price for our varieties. Besides that, our first three varieties hit the market with a price per seed that was 50% cheaper than the cheapest feminized seed that could be found by then. The great quality-price ratio of our seeds has been one of our main identifying marks since we started as a seedbank.

Taste and Aroma

The first Dutch seedbanks and the first North American (USA and Canada) cannabis breeders focused their efforts on producing seeds that are easy to grow, with high cannabinoid levels, massive resin production and dense buds. They were also focused in the selection of traits that might better suit the requirements of growing indoors with artificial lights. At Sweet Seeds, from our first days as genetic collectors, we are focused in the selection of genetics with exceptional organoleptic qualities (taste and aroma). For us, the flavor and the aroma are as important as the cannabinoid levels, the amount of resin or any other desirable traits. In the same way that when choosing a wine we tend to look not only at the alcoholic contents but also and even more at its organoleptic qualities, when we choose a cannabis genetic we also pay attention to its taste and aroma traits along with high cannabinoid levels, high yield and other desirable traits.

2nd genetic Revolution, the autoflowering seeds

In late 2007 at Sweet Seeds we started our first experiments with some curious genetics that started flowering regardless of the hours of light per day that they were subjected to. These genetics start flowering automatically when they reach sexual maturity. Their first flowers become visible after the 21th day from germination and appearance of the first round leaves (cotyledons).

These type of genetics had a bad reputation in 2007, as it happened when feminized seeds first reached the market. Most cannabis growers and breeders despised them, mainly due to the primitive genetics of Cannabis Ruderalis, from which the autoflowering traits proceed. These plants produced very little resin, with extremely low levels of cannabinoids. The taste and aroma were also quite unpleasant.

At Sweet Seeds we quickly realized how useful these autoflowering genes could be if properly introduced in the excellent elite clones of our bank of mothers. From the primitive autoflowering genetics, we were only interested in the traits responsible for the automatic flowering.

One of the main advantages of autoflowering genetics is that they make it possible to flower cannabis plants outdoors all year long, in all seasons (as long as minimum temperatures allow for it). Another important advantage is the very fast flowering. These genetics produce perfectly formed buds that are filled with aromatic resin, just two months after germination. The small stature of these genetics, together with the capacity of flowering out of season and its rapid life cycle also make them very discreet.

In 2009 we presented the first three Sweet Seeds feminized and autoflowering strains: Speed Devil Auto® (SWS11), Big Devil Auto® (SWS15) and Fast Bud Auto® (SWS16). Cannabis growing hobbyists immediately found out how to take advantage of the particular characteristics offered by these new autoflowering strains.

We used these first autoflowering strains as starting material for the introduction of autoflowering genes in new strains, hybridizing them with elite clones from the Sweet Seeds bank of mothers. New unprecedented aromas appeared in autoflowering strains. Each hybridization with elite clones from our bank of mothers had a positive impact, improving resin production, flower appearance, cannabinoid levels and all the other desirable traits.

F1 Fast Version, Red Family and XL autoflowering strains

When hybridizing an autoflowering genetic with a photoperiod-dependent elite clone to create a new autoflowering genetic, the first generation of this cross is genetically known as F1 Hybrid. It is 100% photoperiod dependent, which means that no autoflowering specimens will appear. This occurs because the autoflowering gene is recessive. Two additional generations of selection and crossbreeding will be necessary to set the autoflowering trait in 100% of the population. In our work procedures to create new autoflowering strains we observed that this F1 photoperiod-dependent hybrid presented a flowering cycle faster than expected, reducing the flowering and maturation time in 1 or 2 weeks. The elite clone contributes to the F1 hybrid with the photoperiod-dependent trait in 100% of the population, while the autoflowering genetic contributes to the F1 hybrid with the fast flowering characteristic in 100% of the population. Taking advantage of this fast flowering trait in photoperiod-dependent strains, in 2013 we presented a new seed line that we named as “F1 Fast Version”, in which we presented fast flowering versions of some of the Sweet Seeds classics, such as Cream Caramel F1 Fast Version® (SWS40), Green Poison F1 Fast Version® (SWS41), etc…

Also in the 2013 season, we presented a new exotic and visually attractive family of autoflowering genetics. Because of their red flowered trait, we named it “The Red Family”. The red flowered trait found in these varieties was extracted from red flowered genetics native from the Chitral region in the Pakistani Hindu Kush mountains.

At Sweet Seeds we have struggled to gradually increase the size of all our autoflowering genetics, developing a group of autoflowering strains distinguished for their tall size, such as Big Devil #2® (SWS20), Big Devil XL Auto® (SWS28) and Cream Mandarine XL Auto (SWS55).

News for our 10th Anniversary

In the 2015 season, we continue with our autoflowering re-evolution presenting two new strains of this type: Cream Mandarine XL Auto® (SWS55), a tall sized version of our Cream Mandarine Auto® (SWS29); and Killer Kush Auto (SWS56), an autoflowering version of our Killer Kush F1 Fast Version (SWS52).

In the last season of 2014, we presented our “Sweet Mix Auto” package, in order to offer high quality autoflowering seeds at an economic price that is adapted to the present financial crisis circumstances. To improve our offer of high quality economic seeds in the present 2015 season we also introduce a new “Sweet Mix Feminized” package, with a mix of 10 seeds randomly selected among all the photoperiod-dependent strains (non-autoflowering) from the Sweet Seeds collection. These “Mix” packages are available at a retail price of 35€. Each seed will cost 3,5€ making it probably the cheapest high quality seeds in the market today.

With collective bulk purchasing and cannabis users associations in mind, this season we also present new packaging formats of 25 and 100 seeds of some of the most appreciated Sweet Seeds strains. The strains that will be available in these packaging formats are: Cream Caramel® (SWS04), Cream Caramel Auto® (SWS22), Big Devil XL Auto® (SWS28) and Green Poison® (SWS14). 

10th Anniversary promotion 3+1 5+2

To celebrate this anniversary with all of you, we have a special offer that is available for all the Sweet Seeds strains. In the course of this 10th Anniversary special offer, all our 3 seed packages will have 1 free seed and all our 5 seed packages will have 2 free seeds. You can check about the duration of this offer at WWW.SWEETSEEDS.ES. Thanks to everyone for your support all along these 10 years.