Interview with Walipini Seeds on Secret Selections and breeding in the 21st century

Now that the DEA has clarified that cannabis seeds can be sent anywhere because they contain no THC, the world of internet connected homegrow testing of new genetics has expanded far beyond the forum-enabled seed swaps of yesteryear. I’ve had the privilege of chatting with Walipini Seeds a lot and he agreed to share some information on how homegrowers can get involved with nationwide phenohunts or seed hunts.
 

We’re talking about stuff that goes beyond the work of one breeder – and gets us very close to the trimming scissor’s cutting edge of 21st century cannabis breeding. If you want to see some of Walipini Seeds’ own genetics being grown – check out this grow journal by Grandma Grows of Walipini genetics.
 

Without further ado, let’s get to it!
 

Walipini Seeds Interview

 
For those who don’t know, what is a Walipini?

A literal underground garden. A way to grow year round with stable temps. Ancient ways of gardening
even. We were inspired by this name because we operated underground all our life in the black market.

How did you get involved in the space?

Networking on Discord mainly.

What are your thoughts on autoflowers for home growers? What about for commercial?

For homegrowers they are great “in between” harvests. Veg floor space fillers. A common misconception
is that autos are quicker and easier, this is not true. No time for mistakes to be made and new growers
will make plenty of those.

How did top breeders test their genetics back in the days of Prohibition?

There was and is forum sites always running. But generally they didn’t care and just ran it once.

How do top breeders test their genetics nowadays?

There are testing server discords all over, we help run one ourselves called Secret Selections. Over a
dozen breeders use it such as Tiki, RAW, Greenhand, and more. Then of course actual labs are starting
to pop up with all sorts of measurements and analysis.

How did you get involved with the testing server for Tiki and Raw?

I was one of the first breeders the people setting up the first testing server reached out to and we
immediately accepted.

How can an average Joe get involved with testing new cannabis genetics?

They can apply at Secret Selections and join the discord. There, they can hang out in the general chat as
their application is processed.

What popular cultivars might the market know that were actually tested and trial by fired through this
testing group?

Tikis and Raws Pirates Milk and our Moonlit Bagoda

How long does it take for a new cultivar to be made, tested, and put to market?

At least a year. With the help of testers in the Secret Select genetic testing discord this can be a little
quicker though, cutting months off.

What would you say you look for when you’re breeding? Are there certain terpene profiles?

Ease of harvest trim. Node separation. Bud development.

How do you select males? Stem rub? Growth vigor?

Both of these methods are great indicators. Node separation and resilience.

Also how much the males “Stack” in flower.

What do you think about the genetic bottleneck that is happening in cannabis?

It is changing fast. I think we are going to see another level of cannabis genetics the world has never seen
before. The world is more connected than ever before, and pheno hunts can happen across the globe at
once with great data retention.

What’s your favorite cultivar to grow?

Prom Night or any of it’s crosses. The structure and yield, no matter the pot size, is always reliable.

What’s your favorite cultivar to smoke?

Purple Lemon Cake to get me going and throughout the day, very uplifting high and the taste is so good.
Prom Night to get me down for the night for sure though. It has high linalool terpene known to relax.

What rules should growers/brokers/etc follow when it comes to renaming genetics?

Try to somehow give homage to what you are using and where it came from. Tagging the breeder on
social media goes a long way. Putting cliff notes in the genetics description.

What are some brands you’d like to shout out?

All the various breeders on the bank. We have collab currently released with First Blood, Sanguine,
Green Hand, RAW, etc. In the works we are working with Tackett, Eazy Daze and more. I’d like to get a collab in with anyone on
the bank really.

Athena nutrients has graciously given us a discount code that you can find in the discord.

Trimbag often supplies bags for giveaways and also ‘WALIPINI’ is 10% off their site!

Petratools has good sprayers and 10$ off orders with https://checkout.petratools.com/?ref=kTEuuP-nu-CSIz

What would you say is your breeding philosophy or North Star?

Don’t release something just because the hype train left the station.

What are your favorite landrace cultivars and what would you cross them with?

I have a reliable grower that always sends me winning phenos of landrace grows he does, recently a Papa
New Guinea one was some great smoke that smelled like window cleaner.

What is your favorite strain ever and why? Or can you not have a single favorite?

I don’t have a favorite but my favorite terpene leans towards chem/lemon.

If you could bring any long lost strain back from the dead, which would it be?

An Indiana bubble gum we had way back. None of the seeds we’ve attempted to pop succeeded

When you do a phenohunt, what are the most important factors to you? Customer demand and
popularity? Appearance? Terpene expressions? Which? THC levels? Resistance to pests and diseases?

If you had to rate these in order of importance…
All of the above has to be checkmarked off

When you are hunting males, what kind of things do you look for and how?

Vigor of growth, node spacing.

Do you believe that genetics should be patented as it is in other flowers and vegetables, so that you
could own the rights to the plants and seeds you have bred?

I don’t know about the genetics themselves but the brand.

Is there anything you do or can do storage wise to make your seeds stay viable longer?

Put them in the freezer! And do not take them out until you are ready to pop. Multiple thaws and refreezes
can ruin them quick.

Geopolitical boundaries aside, if you could travel anywhere to hunt for cannabis seeds – where would
you go?

Africa, from Egypt to South Africa and between there is so much environmental diversity and its the
cradle of civilization.

How do you feel about the genetic bottleneck that is happening on dispensary shelves?

They are losing customers and the black market lives on. People are getting sick of it. Different names,
same terps.

Any other thoughts you’d like to leave with THC readers?

https://beacons.ai/walipiniseedbank