Dr. Underground

Soft Secrets: What are the origins of DR Underground?

DR Underground: Our origins go back to several years ago, but it was only in 2007 that we embarked on a proper project. At that time we were only a couple of friends with lots of enthusiasm and ideas and we were willing to work and make money. Little by little we achieved our goals and we are now moving ahead with our project.

How did you choose this name?

The name is something complex to explain, it was something like a revelation. No doubt, my attention was always called to a few seed banks active on the market such as Dr. Atomic or Dr. Greenthumb. All we did was add “Dr.” to the term “underground”, “underground” being a clear reference to the way we started this business, i.e. in hiding, at underground level… since laws have never been in favour of our sector.

How do you select your parent plants?

Selection is normally made in house starting from the original seeds of other banks, landraces or other selections made by friends. In certain cases, such as when we use Critical + Bilbo, it is clear that it is not our own selection, but one made in Bilbo – Spain. What we do is combine it with our exclusive Destroyer parent to create the famous Crystal METH. To do so, if we want to have a good parent that ultimately produces good seeds, we need to focus not only on the fathers but also, and more importantly, on the offspring.

Tell us about your genetic library.

The truth is we have a good library. What we are a bit concerned about is that it continues to grow little by little, and each time we are attracted by additional lines that we would like to work on. Unfortunately, both space and time are limited. We now have varieties that meet all tastes; if you are more into a sweet taste you will have no problem whatsoever, as you can choose between Melon Gum or Brooklyn Mango. Fans of sativas would rather opt for Crystal METH. In the auto-flowering line, we offer Auto Melon Gum and now, in 2015, Auto King Kong too. Aside from our offered strains and their parents, we added a few lines meant for future development. In addition to this we rely on a large portfolio of seeds, which are hard to find nowadays, as well as of landraces that need a great deal of work before you can actually produce something. Ideally, we would love to work on all of them but, as I said before, space and time are limited, as limited as humans are…

What is your philosophy for making a cross?

Parents are indeed important, but descendants are more important than parents. I am saying this because most of the time someone makes a cross between two parents which theoretically should generate a specific type of offspring, but we come across something unexpected, it’s all about genes controlling everything. If you have a good parent, it’s not given for granted that you will obtain good descendants, and testing the descendants is a must.

What is your contribution to the current breeding scene?

Nowadays it is difficult to contribute something really “innovative”, we contribute our work and, to that end, we use the best starting materials. We are also very interested in – to put it shortly and without too much eloquence – ‘revamping’ a few strains, as was the case for Pink Kush. Plushberry is forthcoming and, in the future, we will try to impress you again because, as I said, we never stop working and trying out either completely new combinations or long-forgotten glories of the past.

What genetics would you advise for novice growers?

We generally propose King Kong, but sometimes its buds are very tightly clustered and can easily be affected by botrytis (grey mould) if humidity is not controlled at least minimally. Brooklyn Mango, on the other hand, is significantly gaining ground as a rapid growing, powerful and high-yielding plant with looser buds more exposed to the air. For this very reason, this plant is mould resistant and its structure more branched.

What other genetics could you advise for experts?

U- Pink Kush indeed. This plant is great both visually and effectwise, but also a bit complex to grow. This type of pink-coloured Kush has a slow vegetative growth. We advise moisturising seeds in water with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide (oxygenated water) until they open. When the root forms, transfer it to the germination sponge. This method is a key to success. It is a plant that does not need much fertilisation to grow rich with resin. No doubt it is a prodigy of nature. For this reason it is recommended for experts, although even a beginner may perfectly get along with some decent care.

What major satisfactions are you getting from your Dr Underground business?

Working with what we like most, cannabis, is our best reward. We feel very lucky that we can devote ourselves to it in our lives, it is a much better reward than sales themselves.

Are you introducing any new products this year?

This year we will be releasing Auto King Kong. After the success of the automatic version of Melon Gum, our customers asked and urged us to introduce an auto version of King Kong, and this year it will be on sale. Kong 47, this plant is an ode to high yields and speed. It was created in the simplest possible way, we thought we could create it from our special King Kong “brutal cut” crossed with a high-yielding and quick Ak-47. The result was so good that we were virtually forced to continue working and it will be on sale this year too. The end of 2015 will see the first test versions of our revamped Plushberry, which for sure will officially be presented in 2016.

To top up our interview, would you like to add something?

All I wanted to say is that we thank everyone for their help, I mean our customers as well as shops, magazines and others. It’s through their help that our bank can be more easily found now all around the globe. We thank your magazine for giving us some coverage with this wonderful interview, a true encouragement, for cannabis-related people like us to continue our struggle, a struggle we are winning little by little. The final victory is neither far nor close, that is why we need to continue.