White River Growpro’s “Hunt for the Pheno Contest” Gives Away Free Cannabis Seeds
An announcement from our friends at White River Growpro.
White River Growpro, a specialty gardening store located in downtown White River Junction, is currently running a cannabis pheno hunt and is giving away free cannabis seeds to anyone who would like to participate in the contest.
This is not a traditional cannabis cup in which the biggest and best buds win, it’s a challenge looking for a particular phenotype amongst many.
This contest, which was announced last spring and has been extended through July 1st, 2020, has already given out over 2500 free seeds and still has several thousand seeds available for those who’d like to play. They are specifically searching for an old cannabis strain: East Coast Sour Diesel.
“We have always felt that the original cut of East Coast Sour Diesel (ECSD) is one of the finest cannabis cultivars.”
“Here at Growpro,” explains Growpro co-owner and cannabis breeder Kendall Smith, “we have always felt that the original cut of East Coast Sour Diesel (ECSD) is one of the finest cannabis cultivars. With wide ranging appeal, this uplifting variety has smells of sour lemon skunk and earth. The problem is that the original is clone only and it’s become finicky to grow. We’re trying to change that.”
“I’ve been working on a breeding project with a 30-year-old cut of ECSD that is currently in the F2 stage,” says Smith, “meaning there will be a wide genetic expression throughout the seeds. Somewhere in these seeds will be a pheno that is as close to the original East Coast Sour Diesel as we can expect to find.”
This crowd sourced breeding project is a creative way to take advantage of current law and share cannabis genetics with the Vermont community. Co-owner Stephanie Waterman says this project was inspired by a culture of sharing genetics amongst friends.
“Vermont law only allows for 2 plants in flower, which means pheno hunting can take years and years.”
“Under current Vermont law,” says Waterman, “there is not a great way to obtain seeds other than through gifting, and we are limited by our plant counts. Vermont law only allows for 2 plants in flower, which means pheno hunting can take years and years. That’s why we’re enlisting an army of growers to help us find the pheno, injecting thousands of free seeds into the Vermont growing community, and giving out thousands of dollars in prizes to the winners! It’s all in good fun.”
Anyone who’d like to participate can stop into White River Growpro and request a packet. Each pack contains 13 regular cannabis seeds, meaning they will produce both males and females.
Growers have until 7/1/2020 to submit a quarter ounce of finished flower for the judges.
If your flower is selected as a finalist, you will be asked to submit a clone of that plant that the judges will grow out to confirm the genetic is on point. The winner will be announced in December of 2020.
“This contest is about having fun and sharing cannabis genetics with the greater Vermont community.”
Anyone who completes the contest and submits finished flower will be able to get a cutting of the winning phenotype. “In the end,” says Waterman, “this contest is about having fun and sharing cannabis genetics with the greater Vermont community. We’ve seen some amazing phenotypes coming out of this contest and I love seeing the great work the growers are doing” adds Kendall.
For more information about the contest, prizes, and the breeding project, please visit the White River Growpro website and click on “Events & Classes.”