Dear Nico, It is that time of year again when local bud markets everywhere are getting flooded with the outdoor harvests from Canada, California, Washington and Colorado. What are this year’s new strains? What are the best outdoor varieties you guys have seen so far? Thanks for any leads! — Buddy from Boston

Howdy, Buddy! Thanks for your question as it is both timely and smart thinking! Every year we get tons of questions in to both our THMQ and Grow hotlines regarding the best strains^[1] of the year, but rarely do we focus on just the outdoor harvest season. Your question comes at a good time, as several of our editors have returned from covering legal outdoor harvests for 2015 and here is what we have to say…

1) The Jah GooDeveloped a few years back in Mendocino County by a farmer known simply as “Mikey,” the Jah Goo has been steadily picking up steam with each new NorCal harvest and has become a Christmas-time favorite across the southern and eastern U.S. over the past year or two.

A cross between the fabled (and supposedly long-lost) Purple Jasmine with the NorCal staple known as Goo (parent of the popular Afgooey), the Jah Goo grows hearty and pungent with radiant pink pistils that sometimes give the JG a purple hue after drying and curing. The aroma and flavor of this lovely lady is floral and sweet like sugar on the tongue. When grown organically, she burns to a clean white ash and carries a balanced, yet uplifting high that is perfect for the holidays or hitting the town. In 2015, she is our top pick for Outdoor Bud of the Year. If you see her, buy her a beer. You won’t regret it.

2) Blue DreamNothing new here, which is why it is even more impressive that Blue Dream continues to be a huge fan favorite for the past seven or eight years. There is just no tiring of her fruity taste and sativa-high. A cross of DJ Short’s Blueberry with the perennial Amsterdam stalwart Super Silver Haze, growers also love cultivating this variety has she goes big every time with minimal effort. Blueberry flavor with a cerebral high and potency that can go over 20 percent THC? Yes, please.

3) Super Sour DieselThis rendition of the original East Coast Sour Diesel (ECSD) has been turned and tweaked a few times to become better suited for outdoor growing. Some believe she was hit with a lengthy sativa as she grows tall, lanky and takes her time, but there is no hint of anything other than pure Diesel in her smoke. Lab tests show high levels of both limonene and pinene in this strain and she’s been spotted in Canada, Washington and California this summer, growing big for October harvests. At quite a few points lower per pound than her indoor counterpart, if you can find this outdoor Sour buy it now cause she won’t be around for long.

4) The Guava ChemWe here at HT love the Guava because she was originally an East Coaster like us. However, she’s now firmly a West Coast transplant (yes, pun intended) and she does surprisingly well outdoors without any genetic additives. Locals in CO and CA call her “The Orb” because she grows perfectly spherical and they love growing her outdoors because she regularly drops upwards of eight pounds per plant when harvest time rolls around.

This uber-Chem cross features a softer take on the Chem Dawg flavor while retaining all the potency. She hit 22.5 percent THC at our L.A. Cup in 2014 and one outdoor grower in NorCal claims to have tested his outdoor Guava crop this year at 25 percent THC.

5) Colorado BubbaDeveloped last year in CO by the Vault Genetics^[2], seeds of this new Colorado Bubba have made it around the country and into the hands a some big time medical growers who love the strain because of its high content with both CBD and THC. The CBD likely comes from the Pre-98 Bubba (S1 cut), which was the mother parent. The big flavor and THC comes from the father, a reversed Skywalker OGpheno.

In 2015, this new CO Bubba took home a 2nd Place award in our Medical Indica category. Suddenly, we are seeing her in greenhouses as far north as Washington state and as far south as New Mexico. Will she turn up in your neck of the woods? Still may be too early to see her this year, but if she does it’ll be a Top-5 bag of outdoor for you!

References

1. ^{^} best strains (www.hightimes.com)
2. ^{^} Vault Genetics (hightimes.com)