Vintage Colombian

[red rider]

Tropical growing

Tropical growing

hey redrider! how do you deal with humidity over there?

Hola LungCooking, humidity can be bad or even worse here depending on location and altitude. I'm at 2,700mts and not near the ocean so high humidity can and does occur but dissipates quickly. The best counter I've found in controlling mildew and mould is prevention and ventilation as well as constant vigilance. But it's a never ending (part of the job) battle, as long as the air is blowing on them and their strong and healthy there's a good chance of no pathogens at this altitude. However I've talked to growers in the Valle de Cauca and that's all they grow down there is year round mould. The other thing too is the variety you try to grow, common sense tells me to stick with local varieties and hybrids of them. I can get away with growing dense WLD flowers but only if I try to finish them around December during the dry season, otherwise it's a mould fest with certain plants.

Colombian hybrid 16

But you know these young guys want to grow Kush here because of the hype surrounding them (I love and grow the kush myself so) and are ignorant of the value of the local "regs". But yeah the humidity is a bitch here and like insects and other pests you got to stay on top of. It's luck that gets you through to harvest down here it seems.


red rider

 

[OldCoolSativa]

Hey Red Rider, it's good to see you posting again in this excellent thread. I too loved the smell and the buzz of the Colombian I smoked in the 1970s including when I lived Dallas...maybe we crossed paths back then some how.

I appreciate your observations of the Colombian scene, then and now. Can you tell us anything about the preservation efforts going on there? I know you can't discuss details of your business relationship with Charlie, but can you give us an overall sense if awareness of the need to preserve the heirloom sativas has gotten some traction in Colombia? There's an ICMag user Criposo Art who has said he's reproducing and preserving heirloom strains collected throughout Colombia 10-20 years ago, and I was wondering if you may have run into him or smoked his or any other real punto rojo lately? What's the sativa scene look like now in Colombia?

 

[red rider]

Sweet spot

Sweet spot

Nice farm a friend of mines family owns about two hours south of Bogota. It's a little bit lower altitude so it's considerably warmer but not hot. To me it has an almost perfect climate with a year round temperature of no degrees and light breezes. Some good growing here but more mould and insects.

They grow bananas, coffee, cacao and avocado there too

red rider

 

[ctg]

Beauty shots red, positive vibes for your health

 

[Donald Mallard]

lovely country side red ...

 

[red rider]

Colombian Sativa

Colombian Sativa

Hey Red Rider, it's good to see you posting again in this excellent thread. I too loved the smell and the buzz of the Colombian I smoked in the 1970s including when I lived Dallas...maybe we crossed paths back then some how.

I appreciate your observations of the Colombian scene, then and now. Can you tell us anything about the preservation efforts going on there? I know you can't discuss details of your business relationship with Charlie, but can you give us an overall sense if awareness of the need to preserve the heirloom sativas has gotten some traction in Colombia? There's an ICMag user Criposo Art who has said he's reproducing and preserving heirloom strains collected throughout Colombia 10-20 years ago, and I was wondering if you may have run into him or smoked his or any other real punto rojo lately? What's the sativa scene look like now in Colombia?

Thanks so much man, I haven't been to DFW (Grapevine) for 30 years but still talk to my childhood buddy that still lives out there. The best day spent on lake Grapevine...yeah

But the Colombian cannabis scene at the moment from my perspective is nothing like ICMag.
Over the years since "medical? became regulated, I met and know some of the licence holders. And I hope I'm wrong but there is absolutely no interest in the local Colombian varieties at all. It was somewhat disturbing to go to the third annual cannabis cup in Bogota and not see one Colombian entry much less winner.

Another location I was looking at, it's a little cooler there but still a little warmer than Bogota and only an hour away.

When I talk to most of the growers (young guys a few females too) they don't have time to flower a plant more than eight weeks and like everyone else trending.

A few boulders laying around but the land owner said he would move them for a price.

One guy, he owns a really nice grow shop and he and his wife are both not only growers but also cannabis cup winners. I talked to him about the native strains and he said even though people can grow them here (of course) the lower potency and longer flowering time keep people from them.

However this year I've been out of touch with most everyone in the cannabis industry but as far as I know there's no one searching for or preserving any native Colombian strains, I hope I'm wrong.
Of course I still grow it every chance I get and currently about to relocate (to a finca) where hopefully I can really work on them. However at this point just trying to maintain a few mother plants.
Colombia is huge and really I try to stay quite and not draw attention to myself of my cannabis locally just for security measures but I know one day the world is going to recognize and appreciate (again) the fine cannabis of Colombia.

Santa Marta Gold 2016


red rider

 

[Illuminate]

Viva Colombia hermano!

 

[nattyroots]

Growing certain strains the tropics, at least where I'm at now, will attract a lot of bugs. You really have to act preemtively or you're racing against time come flowering time and it's often a kind of losing race.
I've at some point in the past in the midst of bouts of angetr attempted to kill all the bugs (thrips, mites, you name them) by hand but that always ends up being a really time consuming experience. Getting some beneficial organisms aka bio assassins to take care of the bugs is a better solution, although I'm not as sure that it's easy to get these frozen bugs anywhere around the world. Europe and the US seem to have that covered. Anyway, always watching this thread, so much cool info, hoping someone can do one on vintage brazilian thread as well, not as big a producer for sure, but still some interesting sativas in there. peace!


and i forgot to ask my question. (hitting myself in the head)

what do you do for pest control? and would say the genetics you're growing are just naturally resistant to the bugs around?

 

[red rider]

Cobbing

Cobbing

As I made more and began to really understand the process, my cob quality improved to the excellence I expect. Believe it or not corn husk is free here and available everywhere.

These cobs are made with Colombian sun grown Red Snake and the finished product is smooth yet spicy with a warm happy effect.

I liked it, the Red Snake fermented like this changed into a luxury smoke that could be smoked on all day (and was).

Really like the cob Technic, I believe the fermentation of cannabis is almost forgotten and just like a few other things need to be "reintroduced".


red rider

 

[red rider]

Pests

Pests

Growing certain strains the tropics, at least where I'm at now, will attract a lot of bugs. You really have to act preemtively or you're racing against time come flowering time and it's often a kind of losing race.
I've at some point in the past in the midst of bouts of angetr attempted to kill all the bugs (thrips, mites, you name them) by hand but that always ends up being a really time consuming experience. Getting some beneficial organisms aka bio assassins to take care of the bugs is a better solution, although I'm not as sure that it's easy to get these frozen bugs anywhere around the world. Europe and the US seem to have that covered. Anyway, always watching this thread, so much cool info, hoping someone can do one on vintage brazilian thread as well, not as big a producer for sure, but still some interesting sativas in there. peace!


and i forgot to ask my question. (hitting myself in the head)

what do you do for pest control? and would say the genetics you're growing are just naturally resistant to the bugs around?

So nice to converse with you nattyroots, I should say that I don't live or grow in the jungle, I'm at 2,700mts altitude. Not really a lot of bugs up this high, but there is a few. Like white flies, I hate them and I can "control" them with the sticky fly paper stuff and other plants they seem to like like tomatoes and mint White fly here seem to be seasonal too so I try to flower dense buds during their down season. Mold, mildew, can be prevented here with ventilation and constant airflow circulation and also by knowing what time of the year to veg and what time to flower, wet and dry seasons.
And spider mites, I hate them too, my buddy would stand there with a lighter burning the mites off he hated them so much. But can't really get rid of them, you have a race to see if you can finish the flowers before the mites eat the plant. The only time I had mites was when I obtained clones from outside. I never get them now cause I only grow from seed or my own cuts. I like to spay the plant with neem oil in veg, that seems to help a lot of things. Always look for pests is my motto.


red rider

 

[Bud_Man10]

Awesome job Red...great to see you 'back in the saddle' and posting again...that looks wicked good! Trying to imagine the taste!


Peace
BM

 

[ThaiBliss]

Hi Red,

Great to see you posting, and hearing that you are on the mend.

I know I've said this before, but I think finding a growing location in a coffee growing area is a good sign. I scouted growing areas in Hawaii and Costa Rica, because I can't help myself, while on vacation. Both spots I liked the best were coffee growing areas. Drier, higher, and cooler than more jungle-like lowland areas, but not high enough to be too chilly and devoid of trees. I also remember finding a single unroasted (red) coffee bean in a bag of high quality Colombian when I was a kid. Maybe it was just a convenient location to dry buds.

ThaiBliss

 

[red rider]

Kindness

Kindness

Hi Red,

Great to see you posting, and hearing that you are on the mend.

I know I've said this before, but I think finding a growing location in a coffee growing area is a good sign. I scouted growing areas in Hawaii and Costa Rica, because I can't help myself, while on vacation. Both spots I liked the best were coffee growing areas. Drier, higher, and cooler than more jungle-like lowland areas, but not high enough to be too chilly and devoid of trees. I also remember finding a single unroasted (red) coffee bean in a bag of high quality Colombian when I was a kid. Maybe it was just a convenient location to dry buds.

ThaiBliss

Your words sir inspire confidence and hold my highest gratitude.

2000 mts. The only sound I heard here was the birds and the creek.

red rider

 

[ThaiBliss]

Gorgeous!

 

[red rider]

Questing in earnest

Questing in earnest

Now with everything going "legal" I seem to have 45 years experience in doing something that was once illegal and very secretive to being some what in demand. It's not easy being an English teacher regardless of how sexy most of the female students are and really the money sucks. So I've been courting the idea of growing legally by a government licensed cannabis organization here. I had some meetings this past September with some unmentionable Canadian "investors" looking to acquire all the cannabis licenses available.

They offered a sweet deal and relatively good money, however as the time came to finalize my contract previous verbal agreements were not present in the contract and things soured from there. But many other's talking to me, all with high hopes and grand speculations. And after careful sorting I've narrowed my choice (not saying I got any type of job with them) of a couple Colombian want to be companies.

They got money and motivation but also a lot of hopeful speculation. Anyway I've been driving around a lot looking at possible grow locations and still haven't found one (which is beginning to be irritating).

I hope to have a deal worked out and a location established before next year.


red rider

 

[ThaiBliss]

Good Gosh,
Those pictures of farmland above the valley fog look absolutely gorgeous. Is that bamboo topping out above the trees? Stunning. I'm aching for a farm myself.
ThaiBliss

 

[red rider]

Colombian finca

Colombian finca

Good Gosh,
Those pictures of farmland above the valley fog look absolutely gorgeous. Is that bamboo topping out above the trees? Stunning. I'm aching for a farm myself.
ThaiBliss

Yeah man, lots of finca's here for sale or rent, some really nice. What I like is the feeling of timelessness, with no winter there's hurry. Really though there are seasons here and to flower effectively it's beneficial to be aware of them.

SMG racing the spider mites

Matter of fact I've got to go some time this week to look at yet another finca. It's in Cundinamarca and as they always tell me perfect for cannabis cultivation. But I've heard that before, then you get there and there's no water or it a hole in the earth that never gets light, always something. Trying to be optimistic, might be the right place but i just bored with all day trips that result in a brief memory. But should have some new pictures later this week, sounds like an interesting area.

red rider

 

[nattyroots]

been in colombia now for about a week and met some small growers at medeweed who sell to canadian companies (from what I understand, 10% of weed grown legally here has to be grown by small producers). it then all becomes crude and gets sent north. they plant hybrids, but at the fair, they had some seeds of a few different varieties.

they also run a small guest house!

 

[Elmer Bud]

Yeah man, lots of finca's here for sale or rent, some really nice. What I like is the feeling of timelessness, with no winter there's hurry. Really though there are seasons here and to flower effectively it's beneficial to be aware of them.

View Image
SMG racing the spider mites

Matter of fact I've got to go some time this week to look at yet another finca. It's in Cundinamarca and as they always tell me perfect for cannabis cultivation. But I've heard that before, then you get there and there's no water or it a hole in the earth that never gets light, always something. Trying to be optimistic, might be the right place but i just bored with all day trips that result in a brief memory. But should have some new pictures later this week, sounds like an interesting area.

red rider

G `day RR

I`d be using google earth 1st ...
SE aspect #1 . Water can be stored . Or transported .

Thanks for sharin

EB .

 

[red rider]

medeweed

medeweed

been in colombia now for about a week and met some small growers at medeweed who sell to canadian companies (from what I understand, 10% of weed grown legally here has to be grown by small producers). it then all becomes crude and gets sent north. they plant hybrids, but at the fair, they had some seeds of a few different varieties.

they also run a small guest house!

Yes I know most the people that go to that one, although I've never been (no desire to either). It's good to meet people at those events and even informative for many. However most of the cannabis "events" I've been to here like the cup, bores me rather quickly as it's more like a party pissing contest of noobs. But yeah I've met the Canadians and guys from California and still talking with them. However I've narrowed it down to a small Colombian company to actually work with as they appear to have the least amount of bullshit and pretty much do what they say.

red rider