New member from CT

[Weirdscenes]

That pretty much explains what it is and some of its history.
As teenagers, we would always be very happy and excited to get our paws on some real Rooibaard from time to time - what a treat that was.

As time went by and good SA weed became more in demand with tourists and others, rural growers started sowing seeds obtained from outside of their traditional growing areas and these plants would pollinate the more pure old strains, even miles away and the rest is history.

So, while I live in hope of coming across some Rooibaard, the reality is that it probably doesn't exist in its original more pure form.

I'm nevertheless very fortunate to get DP, MG and SG seeds from rural growers from those areas and am very happy with their landrace purity and what they deliver

 

[Weirdscenes]

I have some reservations about the claim that growers were experimenting with different strains back then (but perhaps this is talking about times well after my Durban days (I left in 1992)
In my experience growing weed was exclusively done by the black population as a way of getting money. There was a huge and shameful disparity between what they could earn and what whites could earn. There was almost nil opportunity to get any sort of education and (I suspect) little to no knowledge of genetics and breeding.
for those that grew it it was done under the auspices of their Induna and selling it was a matter of survival.
I worked on many large projects and the black labour force used weed widely throughout the day (probably to alleviate their misery.
Speaking for myself (as a fairly heavy user), I knew nothing about MJ genetics, strains, etc nor did any of my buddies.
I am no racist and SA is a wonderful country but I believe you can only begin to understand it if you live there for a time (not just as a visitor)
I'm not claiming any special knowledge on this and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who knows different to the above speculation.

 

[Africanna]

I have some reservations about the claim that growers were experimenting with different strains back then (but perhaps this is talking about times well after my Durban days (I left in 1992)
In my experience growing weed was exclusively done by the black population as a way of getting money.

I don't know who mentioned anything about growers in SA experimenting with different strains.

Your statement about "...growers as a way of getting money" is exactly my point. As the demand for SA weed picked up, growers obtained and grew seeds which they obtained from outside of their local growing area in order to meet the demand and increase their cash flow, which contributed to some cross pollination of the Rooibaard to the point where it became nigh on impossible to find pure versions of the plants. This was confirmed by Franco (RIP) and Arjan in their StrainHunters series and is the case with many African sativas, Malawi and Swazi being a case in point.

 

[Weirdscenes]

Greets afrikanna
are you still around?

 

[Bugus_Monkey]

It's a fun place, Welcome from an old newbie.

 

[Africanna]

Greets afrikanna
are you still around?

I'm afraid so

 

[Weirdscenes]

I'm afraid so

That's OK - hope we'll hear more from you.
Ive been on here a few months now having fun.
You should check out the thread "Butt of the day" in the coffee table forum.
Has a WhatsApp phone call from my afrikaans buddy last night (now living in Vancouver). That's what made me check to see if you're still around.