2001 Harvest Spain Swiss

Spain:

Spanish growing surged ahead by globs of resin in 2001. Fueled by a desire to enjoy long-season sativas that thrive under abundant sun and an influx of new seed varieties. My fifth “official HIGH TIMES” annual tour of the Spanish scene yielded more quality smoke than in any years past. Spanish sun is omnipresent in two-thirds of the Iberian peninsula, occupied by Spain and Portugal. Climate zones parallel those of the US, but sun is more plentiful and law enforcement minimal. Combine these qualities with good seeds, knowledge and a year of early rains, and a bumper crop abounds! With more than 300 “grow shops”, most of which are seed outlets that function as a clearinghouse for information, growers have a base to grow from, and grow they do. The legalization movement, spearheaded by Felipe Borallo, and the legalization group ARSEC, were the pioneers of a growing movement. A scant two years ago a half dozen grow shops eked out an existence.

Thanks to a Franco post-fascist backlash lack of “RICO conspiracy laws” sharing of information and the expansion of the “grow/seed” shops Spaniards are learning quickly that growing is more than throwing a few seeds at the soil and smoking the proceeds.

Growers from the rainy Atlantic Galician and the Basque country to sunny southern Andalusia just north of Morocco to central Estremadura and Madrid, Lerida, Zaragosa, mountainous Pyrenees, sunny Barcelona and south past Valencia are growing some of the best dope in Europe on their balconies, rooftops, backyards and country courtyards. This is the best year I have seen for in more than 30 years!

Hash was always king (Hussein) in Spain until this year. Now the 2000-year-old tradition of smoking exclusively Moroccan hash is at a pivotal point. Similar to the change in Holland during the early 90s when quality marijuana was more sought after than Moroccan hash. I never thought I would see the day!

“No hay que fumar costo”, (you don’t have to smoke hash!), music to my ears! Lots of growers had a handful of buds to share with friends. The nugs are bigger than ever this year and the majority that I personally saw and smoked well were well grown. Fuckin’ sativa buds rule!

Spanish growers hang branches and plants from lines strung across rooms, sheds and barns to dry. Brick and stone construction keeps rooms naturally cool and drying relatively slow. Depending on location, drying room temperatures remain reasonably cool, except for parts of southern Spain where temperatures can climb to more than 100 degrees F. Still most plants/branches are dry enough to roll in 5-10 days. Leaves are plucked and dried in paper bags or wooden boxes. Turning them every day speeds the drying process. All growers I interviewed made hash from leaves by sieving shake through a silkscreen. Silkscreen apertures range in size from 100 to 150 microns. No wonder the book Hashish! by Rob Clarke sells so well in Spain!

At one harvest festival, proud growers chucked entire plants on the table, each trying to outdo the other. ‘Blueberry’, ‘Jack Herer’, ‘Super Silver Haze’ and ‘White Widow’ are quickly becoming household names. At one point the pile grew to about three feet high! Opulence was abounding without a white eye in the place!

Spanish growers have mastered the basics and then some. This year I saw some of the strongest, best grown plants in all of Europe. Next year will bring even more donkey dick buds. Spain is a major tourist destination and hash (costo, chocolate, pedaso, huevo, hashish) has been the only cannabis outsiders could find until this year. Life has changed! Viva sativa!

Switzerland:

Weather is everything to outdoor growers in Switzerland. It dictates their life and the success of their crops. The last few years were plagued with “schimel” (mold) that devastated field after field of flowering plants virtually overnight. If cool moist weather moves in before the fist of September, fortunes can disappear before your eyes. Damp dank weather even caught many greenhouse growers off guard. This year in all regions of the country, the weather was merciful to cannabis farmers and they packed in record harvests.

I always start the harvest tour in the German speaking Zurich area where it is coldest, head west to Bern, the capital and home of the CannaTrade show and Swiss Cannabis Cup. Next south to French speaking Geneva and Martigny. This region is always windy in the autumn, which keeps gray mold (botrytis) from ravaging buds. From there, I go east over the mountains through mountainous Heidi-land and on to the Canton of Italian speaking Tecino, the palm-growing Banana belt of Switzerland.

Drying space is the second major obstacle farmers confront. Imagine hacking down 20 acres of 8-10-foot-tall cannabis plants, removing the big leaves and hanging them to dry. An acre equals 4,840 square yards. If planted on 6-foot centers, one acre contains 2,420 plants, 2,420 times 20 acres equals 48,400 plants! If each plant weighs in at one pound of dried nugs . . . that’s a lot of dope! Weather also affects the rate at which it dries. Warm arid temperatures speed drying and avert post-harvest molds – Aspergillus, Mucor, Penicillium and Rhizopus. Outdoor farmers are planting one early variety and another that matures from two to three weeks later.

Greenhouse growers avoid many outdoor problems to some degree, but still feel the affects of cool damp weather. Once started, botrytis can move through a greenhouse in less than a week.

Years of selective breeding have truly paid off. Top breeders, Felix (Owl Productions), Breeder Steve (Spice of Life/Legend) and Scott (Mr. Nice) have developed some of the most mold resistant varieties growers. ‘Purpeana Trecincis’ is the best known of the high THC content (20% plus) varieties. Seeds from the above companies are available in Canada and Europe. Hit the following web sites for more information www.ironseedsales.com , www.mrnice.co.uk, www.spiceoflifeseeds.com for more information on these varieties.

Jorge Cervantes is the author of the ALL NEW Indoor Marijuana Horticulture (the Indoor Bible with 200 ALL NEW color photos), Marijuana Indoors: Five Easy Gardens, Marijuana Outdoors: Guerilla Growing and countless articles. His works are published in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish.