Where Can You Get the Best Marijuana Seeds in Europe? - Dutch Passion, an Original OG Seed Bank, Talks with Cannabis.net
Cannabis.net got to sit down and talk to one of Europe's most reputable and oldest seed banks, Dutch Passion. We were curious as to how the seed word was changing in Europe as North America moved closer and closer to full legalization. What seeds are popular? How do you find good marijuana seeds in a croweded market? How did you guys get started way back in the 1980s? Let's get right to it!
What is a Seed Bank?
A seed bank is a company capable of collecting and producing cannabis seeds. Dutch Passion are one of the original Dutch seed companies from the 1980’s. We are probably most fondly remembered for inventing feminised cannabis seeds back in the 1990’s.
In the early days regular cannabis seeds were the only ones available. When we created the first feminised seeds orders went through the roof and Dutch Passion became a household name in the seed world. Since then, we have also seen a rapid rise in popularity of autoflower seeds.
More recently Dutch Passion geneticists were the first in the world to release seeds which grow into plants rich in CBG, CBDV and THCV. This has also created a great deal of attention in the medical cannabis and pharmaceutical community.
Dutch Passion Seeds is legendary and has been around for a long time, how did it originally start?
The founder of Dutch Passion, Henk van Dalen, is a Biology graduate from the University of Amsterdam. In the 1970’s he would often enjoy the cannabis which would arrive in Amsterdam from all over the world. Usually, the cannabis would contain seeds which Henk collected.
This allowed him quick and easy access to cannabis seeds/genetics from North America, Asia, South America, Africa - anywhere that was growing cannabis. Many of these original genetics are still in our vaults, they are irreplaceable original 1970’s genetics.
Henk soon realised that these seeds could be grown in the Netherlands, both indoors and outdoors. He also realised that crossing some of the best genetics would lead to crosses and hybrids that were superior to the original parent strains.
With the advantage of a formal scientific Biology background and an extensive collection of cannabis genetics, selective breeding could begin. Dutch Passion was formally established as a cannabis seed supplier in the 1980’s and is proud to remain one of the oldest seed companies in the world.
Today Dutch Passion sell cannabis seeds to many of the licensed, legal cannabis producers as well as the community of home growers around the world.
What type of seeds are popular in your store right now?
There are 3 main which are proving particularly popular with growers:
Autoflower seeds have been incredibly popular with both indoor and outdoor growers ever since they were first released. They allow indoor growers new levels of speed and convenience without compromising quality. Autoflower seeds also allow outdoor growers to produce crops in the shortest of growing seasons, only around 100 days are required for an outdoor auto crop.
Indoors, most autos grow from seed to harvest in around 75 days. Autoflower THC levels from the top genetics are superb. Dutch Passion’s Auto Cinderella Jack® has independently recorded THC levels of over 25%. Don't let anyone tell you autos aren’t potent!
New cannabinoid seeds are also attracting a huge amount of interest. Everyone knows about THC and CBD. But what about the dozens of other cannabinoids which are waiting to be explored? Dutch Passion are the first to offer cannabis growers brand new strains rich in cannabinoids such as THCV (THC-Victory® seeds), CBDV (Auto CBD-Victory® seeds) and CBG (CBG-Force® seeds).
Finally, we have to mention some of the USA genetics which are being very well received in Europe. There seems to be an unending appetite for well-known USA strains, it adds extra variety to the options for European growers who often like to grow new and fresh genetic lines.
How can you tell a good marijuana seed from a bad one?
Simply looking at the visual appearance of a seed, the size/shape/color tells you nothing. The only way to judge good marijuana seeds is to ensure that the parent genetics and breeding/stabilisation process is done professionally.
For the seed buyers that usually means they have to base their seed purchasing decision on solid recommendations from trustworthy friends or from the general reputation of a seed supplier.
It’s worth checking if your seed supplier has independent reviews (e.g. Trust Pilot) - it can increase your confidence levels significantly to see thousands of satisfied growers that are happy to recommend a particular seed company.
Cannabis cups wins are also a sure sign that your seed supplier takes their genetics seriously. Seed suppliers who merely buy the cheapest seeds for subsequent resale rarely bother with the commitment required for cannabis cup participation/victories.
What is the best advice you could give someone who is just starting out and looking to plant their first seed?
Try to keep your first grow as simple as you can. The less there is to go wrong, the better your chances of success. Remember, thousands of first-time growers get great results, and you can too!
Many growers find autoflower seeds are a fast and easy way to start. Indoors, they grow from seed to harvest under 20 hours of daily light in around 75 days and tend to stay around a metre tall.
If you grow your autoflower seed in a large container (50-75 litres) of good quality soil you may not need to add anything other than water for the entire grow. Perhaps you may need to add some general purpose bloom nutrients in the last month.
Other than that, it should be an easy grow with little to do and therefore little to go wrong. Airpots and fabric grow containers are recommended. They allow excellent levels of root aeration and help the plants grow well. Choose a seed supplier you can trust and enjoy the grow!
How are seed sales and customers different now in 2021 compared to say 10 years ago?
There are many more seed buyers/growers now compared to 10 years ago. That’s probably because more people are aware of the cost savings from growing their own cannabis. Growing your own is the most cost-effective way to guarantee your supply. Your main costs are nutrients and electricity. Even the best seeds are just a few Dollars/Euros each – that’s a small fraction of the overall harvest value.
Recreational growers enjoy cultivating their own stash for a fraction of the cost they would have to pay if buying it. The quality of well cultivated ‘home grown’ may well be superior to much of the weed you could buy. Medical growers find that growing their own seeds allows them to precisely define the genetics, cannabinoids and terpenes which they will enjoy. For medical growers it can make a lot of sense to select the specific genetics which deliver targeted medical benefits for their particular condition. Seed buyers are more sophisticated than they were a decade ago, with more awareness of genetics.
10 years ago sales of autoflower seeds were very low. Now they account for a huge chunk of the seed market, that’s been one obvious change. That shows that growing habits have shifted.
Attitudes towards cannabinoids have also changed. 10 years ago, most of the talk was about THC and nothing else. Nowadays THC is just one of many cannabinoids and that trend will only increase. 10 years from now, we expect that the cannabis seed market will be increasingly sophisticated with far more cannabinoids being discussed.
What is one mistake you guys made that perhaps you might have done differently?
We branched out into LED grow lights and set up a separate company ‘LED By Passion’ selling high quality LED lighting. However, we realised that LED grow lighting is a hugely competitive market with margins that are far tighter than most people imagine.
Looking back, the best way to make a success of that market was to sell high volumes of lights and to set up a factory to build them ourselves. That was probably a step too far for us and we left the LED market to allow the team to concentrate on their core competence, seeds and cannabis genetics.
Looking back, it’s hard to call the venture into LED it a mistake or a regret. We thoroughly believe in the quality and advantages of LED lights for growing cannabis and we also think that the market for LED grow lights will continue to expand. But we’ll leave it to the specialist LED companies to serve that market - maybe they can do it better than us.
When do you think we will see US legalization of marijuana?
It’s hard to forecast. It seems like USA legalization has been just ‘around the corner’ for quite some time already.
Maybe President Biden will be the one to oversee some long-awaited changes to US cannabis laws. We sincerely hope it happens!
What is the best way for people to contact you? Social media? Email?
The best way for people to contact us is through the “customer service” contact-form of our website.
Our customers also have the option to call our office in Maastricht for anything related to the webshop / customer service (0031 (0)43 321 58 48) and Amsterdam for anything related to wholesale / head office inquiries (0031 (0)20 567 39 00).
Feedback and photos from our customers are actually one of the most satisfying parts of the job! That’s why we also invite customers and friends to get in touch with us on our social channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).
What are the most popular strains Dutch Passion strains?
Early in the calendar year, cannabis strains from our “Dutch Outdoor” collection of cannabis seeds tend to be the most popular. That’s because we receive a lot of orders from outdoor growers in the northern hemisphere around Springtime as growers prepare to get their outdoor/greenhouse grows underway.
Strains like Frisian Dew®, Durban Poison® and Passion #1® are all proven, popular choices with outdoor growers. Increasingly, outdoor growers are splitting their seed purchases between autoflower seeds and photoperiod feminised outdoor seeds.
Indoor growers tend to order their seeds steadily all year round. Interest is currently very high in the new releases Amsterdam Amnesia® and Skywalker Haze®. Proven USA genetics always sell well. It’s also worth saying that there is a huge spike in interest regarding the groundbreaking new Dutch Passion strains rich in novel cannabinoids such as CBD, CBDV, THCV etc. We get lots of questions from growers and even the mainstream media about the new cannabinoid strains.
Thank you so much to Dutch Passion for sharing their time and knowledge, check out their current sales and seeds, click here!
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