I would like to give a +1 for drchronic.com. Unfortunately, when I ordered, they were having a postal strike in the UK, and my seeds took 4-5 weeks because of this. I emailed the Doc several times throughout this, and he was always prompt with replies (despite the fact that he gets several hundred emails a day). He is also available on the boards of HG420.com if you can't reach him by email. Anyway, when I finally received my seeds, they were postmarked (from the UK postal service) on the very day that I ordered and paid for them. So, his shipping is fast, his stealth is good, and he has infinite patience for the hundreds of people that send him panicky emails everyday.
And as far as Nirvana goes, I have heard nothing but good things about their customer service, but I have personal experience with their poor genetics. My 4 "aurora indica" plants look to be about as Sativa dominant as the sour diesel I have growing next to them. They are supposed to be 100% Indica. In addition, I started a Greenhouse Fem. Great White Shark about 4 weeks after them, and it caught up with them in about 3 weeks. They vigor is terrible, and the genetics are not what I expected. Also, i read somewhere (on another board, in a post from someone who was doing a large catalog of strains) that Nirvana only has two males with which they breed all of their plants. They are a masterkush and a skunk; most likely skunk #1. I had previously read that they were all F2s, but the 2 male theory would explain why they would all share so many characteristics. Also, it would explain why some strains seem to pop up with countless phenotypes while others do not; some of their females may share genetic lineage with the two males.
Another thing I would like to address in shopping for seeds is the penchant many breeders have for posting "THC content" in their advertising copy. In issue 3 of Soft Secrets (which you can download in pdf format off of their website) they have an interview with Franco, who is Arjan's second in command at Greenhouse seed company. GHS is notorious for posting THC/CBD/CBN content for all of their strains; and it can look quite impressive. Franco, in this interview, is asked about this policy. He says that they are percentages of those cannabinoids in the resin of those plants. Therefore, although he does not expressly state this, those numbers do not necessarily reflect the total cannabinoid content of the plant or the bud, just how much of the resin is active.
So, if this is true, and not just a slip-up by Franco, a very-frosty strain with a low THC content could have a higher THC to total weight ratio (i.e. be more potent) than one with little resin and a staggering 23% rating. The same could be true for the opposite. If ever called out on this policy, GHS would probably say that these numbers are only provided to show the ratio between cannabinoids. However, Arjan openly boasts about the 23% THC present in Himalayan Snow. So, that is something to think about when shopping around.
I am sorry about the rant, but I hope someone will at least read and think about the THC level bit. I posted this info in a thread a few months ago, and expected a scandal (because I was shocked at it, having spent lots of time drooling over statistics). However, it was in a pre-existing thread that received very few views, and I hope someone will read it now. Thanks.
S-Town
