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Sometimes, in the first light of morning, I have to stop whatever I’m doing and simply gaze at the beauty of what is growing around me. Above, you see the young Royal Kush we planted six weeks after we started all the other seeds. She’s a late bloomer and we’ve seen this sort of thing before. We plant something late, so that the bed isn’t empty for the growing season, and then, while all the other plants develop at their own pace, this one plays catch up. Since she broke ground and cautiously emerged, she has gradually, and now suddenly picked up steam. She is growing at what I consider to be peak cannabis pace: over an inch a day. The reason I know that is because there are eight inches between tomato cage rungs and she is reaching the next level after seven days. She has early flowering plants on either side of her, and though she’s not a large plant, she will surpass them both in height in about two weeks.

There are so many cultivars now, so many new strains in the world, being developed by the day. I am not a breeder, at least, not yet. Might not ever do that, either, because it’s not really my area of interest. I see people writing about cultivars, where they came from and what they were crossed with and it makes me smile. 

“I crossed Gorilla Gutz with Sleestak and Triple X Blotto, and then back to Orange Roughy and Morning Hammer.”

(To the best of my knowledge, none of the above cultivar names actually exist, but immediately after making them up, I really wanted to try Morning Hammer)

I am in awe of what people create. I love receiving seeds from cultivars that people have made, and growing plants that will never be known to anyone else but the breeder and their growing friends. Some of my favorite memories as a home grower are from unknown strains, or strains that were rejected by the breeder for whatever reason. This plant is such a trip. I am in deep gratitude to everyone who has ever given me any seeds.

In my heart, I’m a purist. I respect all of these new cultivars and know that they represent the future. But as a grower, I love growing the classics, the proven plants that have been effective medicine for decades. I love getting as close to the source as possible. It’s one of the reasons I love ACDC so much for CBD. This cultivar is Cannatonic and pure Ruderalis combined. When I had both of my hips replaced a couple of years ago, it was mostly ACDC that weaned me from narcotics and completely handled my pain.

When I look around my garden this year, I am having the distinct privilege of growing one of the origin cultivars, a landrace strain. One of the key plants in the evolution of all cannabis is Hindu Kush.

Hindu Kush

I stare a lot at this plant. I grew her from clones nine years ago, but that does not compare with growing her from seed this year. This plant is already twice the size of those plants, and she’s still got about three months to harvest. She’s known for being dense, but not large.

When I stare at her, I feel connected to something bigger than me, something ancient. I feel spiritual about this cultivar, sensing connection with growers through time. There have clearly been others who also blissfully stared at this plant while she grew, looking forward to her impact and distinct characteristics. She is known for relaxation, couch lock, sleep, pain relief, and in some cases, strong inspiration. 

I cannot wait to get this plant tested, so I can finally know the full terpene breakdown, because no plant that I’ve ever grown either smells or tastes like Hindu Kush. Historically, her most prominent terpene is limonene, which means this plant will prevent nausea, full stop. But there are scents, like Sandalwood, that give this plant the truly dank odor.

She is the origin for the 100% sleepy time plant, and yes, there is a difference. I have had so called “sleep” plants that were refuted to be 70/30, 80/20, 90/10, in terms of sleepy time to sativa ratios. Many of those are quite effective for sleep.

But at 100%, Hindu Kush is something different. The euphoria is not based in your head. It’s quietly deep inside the body, seemingly cellular. You feel it in your bones. For me, the couch lock actually allows a period of high level concentration within the first hour or two, before the eyes inevitably droop. I can sometimes make it through a movie (if it’s not too long) before crashing. 

According to the Seedfinder.eu database, there are 294 current cultivars descending from Hindu Kush. Whether you’ve ever had Hindu Kush, if you partake in cannabis, you almost certainly have had something from the Kush family tree. OG Kush, Purple Kush and Bubba Kush are only a few of the more popular cultivars that have been created since Hindu Kush was first brought to America in the 1970’s. In fact, I’m also growing another 100% spinoff, the Purple Hindu Kush, which was crossed with Purple Afghan Skunk, also a 100% sleep plant.

In an earlier blog, I mentioned how I have four Kush growing this year, Hindu, Purple Hindu, Royal and Rainbow, and how all of them have the nine fingered fan leaves. It’s a trip seeing them planted close together, because some really do look similar.

Rainbow Kush

Rainbow Kush is the second closest to Hindu Kush of anything I grow. Three strains make Rainbow Kush: Hindu Kush, Master Kush and Montel’s Pride are her parents. When I read that, I suddenly realized how it was that I grew an almost three pound Rainbow Kush that was a  sleep plant in 2020. One of her phenotypes is more than likely sleep based. Rainbow Kush is one of the strains that has historically grown best here, and given how close she is to Hindu, I have high hopes for growing the Hindu Kush this year.

The plant I’m growing that is closest to Hindu Kush genetically is Purple Hindu Kush. She is also 100% sleepy time. But unlike Hindu Kush, this plant is growing rather tall and spacious:

Purple Hindu Kush is not dense.

Other than the nine fingered leaves, there is very little to compare this plant with Hindu Kush. She is growing tall and spreading out. She’d be well over our heads by now, were it not for Bee’s training. I am curious how this plant will look during flowering. I’m hoping for some color.

Another Royal Kush, a short plant that likes to be trained to grow out, rather than up.

A third Royal Kush.

This is the little Royal Kush started in the cottage that we planted in the ground outside the beds. She looks very much like a plant that will produce not much more than a flower or two. She might have started flowering already, and that is ok. I could tell in the cottage that she was never going to grow large. So, sometime in mid-September, we’ll have a very small, Royal Kush plant to dry and share with family and friends. Will probably dry and trim her entirely intact. Sounds like the perfect dinner party plant. Sort of bonsai looking. One night only, come and get it. At the start of the season, I wrote that we’d have three Royal Kush plants, and that has turned out to be true. Not every plant has to be large.

Before I leave this blog, I want to explain why I call Hindu Kush a sleepy time plant, rather than indica.

The word indica was invented by French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck during the 18th century. He used the word indica for its Latin definition: Of India. To Lamarck, Indica meant cannabis from India, where he apparently received Hindu Kush that he used for research. It had to do with geographic region, not the effects of the plant. 

Since then, indica has come to represent the sleep side of the cannabis plant, but the word itself only represents where Baptiste was getting his weed. And we now know that Hindu Kush did not originate in India. It began in Afghanistan and Pakistan. By the time Baptiste started getting his samples for research, it was being grown in India. Hence, indica weed, or just indica. 

In science, all cannabis is Cannabis Sativa. There is no Cannabis Indica.

Now, all that said, you can all call it whatever you want. 

This last little bit about indica was written for the benefit of my former teacher, the fantastic Ms. D., for whom this indica issue was (and is) a bit of a pet peeve. 

So–the kush family is well represented in my beds this year. I’m a big fan of kush plants, and this year, I’m growing the Queen source for so many of the plants we love. She’s the first plant we see every morning when we walk into the beds. It is my honor and privilege to grow and know her. If you have not done so already I highly recommend that you grow and come to know the source for so many plants: Hindu Kush.

Near the base of Hindu Kush, English nettles are sprouting.

I’m writing back to back blogs this week, so I’ll be back tomorrow with a Mid-Grow Report.

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