Strain Report – Oregon Diesel – by Subcool TGA Genetics

A few months ago, during the High Times California Medical Cup, I met a really nice older grower who was a friend of Dioxide. Before introducing me, he explained that the guy was a really laid back and passionate grower who had been running a good bit of our genetics up in Oregon. He introduced himself as “Ray” and immediately started pulling out flower after flower grown to perfection…

During the event he told me about some of the strains he was growing like Elephant and Medicine Woman, a strain bred specifically for people suffering with MS. One of the strains he described really peaked my interest, a purple diesel that finished outdoors in early September. I was very busy at the cup speaking with everyone, so I asked Ray to hang out with us and he did so all weekend, loading bowls for people and helping us out by folding rolling trays and such.

A few weeks ago Dioxide told me that Ray had invited us to drive up and see his garden and document his creation called Oregon Diesel a strain that buds in 17 hours of light but does not auto flower indoors under a standard 18/6 light regiment. From a journalist’s perspective, it was an exciting story, but as a grower and breeder I couldn’t wait to see, smell and learn as much as possible about a strain that finished early. I supply a few medical gardens with clones each year and a strain that finished in early September would really help prevent the mold and mildew that is such a problem in the PNW when normally plants don’t usually finish until mid-October.

A modest but well kept garden was inside in the basement and… what a collection of genetics to look at! I saw strains I had never even heard of before like Elephant and Sweet Irish Kush. There were hybrids that Ray had made himself like Sweet Silver, a cross between Sweet Tooth and Super Silver Haze. There were Dutch based hybrids like AK-47 X Bubblegum as well as a few TGA strains like The Flav, Void and Vortex. Then there was the plant we had traveled so far to see, Oregon Diesel. Ray explained to me that it was a hybrid cross made using pollen from an auto flowering, hermaphroditic female Black Berry plant that he claimed was so potent it made you stupid. He used the pollen on a New York City Diesel female plant because his patients loved its potency and density.

As Ray told me, this project was 5 years in the creation and his goal was to make something that would make you stupid and have no ceiling. Over that time, he has started close to 80 seeds, most of them producing female plants and I was surprised to hear that they had a very low tendency to produce hermaphrodites.

After checking out the indoor garden we headed outside to a fenced off area with 10 nice sized plants inside. The plants are actually in the ground inside large holes filled with super soil. In half the holes they used super soil with blood meal and the other half they used feather meal just to see if there was a difference. I first saw the Elephant strain with its unique Sativa look at the top but totally wide Indica leaves down at the bottom of the plant. I wondered why the strain had been named Elephant, but when you see it in bud it actually has a curvy trunk look to it!

Half of the plants were the Sweet Irish Kush. I figured they must really like it a lot . When I leaned over to smell the young buds, I understood why. Already sticky, the plant had that classic juicy, fruit-gum smell and made my mouth water.

Also growing in the garden were Chemdawg, Sweet Tooth, Sweet Silver and some of the plants were greener then they others. They explained that the greener plants were the ones that had the blood meal (which is a faster at releasing nitrogen). The plants that had started to yellow were the ones that feather meal had been used on, which takes longer to become available. Their experiment with different meals let me know that, while some vegan growers don’t agree with using it, Blood meal serves a definite purpose in the Super Soil recipe.

Then it was time to check out this Oregon Diesel strain, which was easy to spot because it looked completely out of place. Instead of small 2-weekold buds, like all the other plants have, these two plants were sagging from colas as large as my arm! With a nice fade, the outer leaves were yellowing but the center of the buds were tinged in a light purple color not quite pink and not quite purple. The calyx were stacked with resin and you could smell the mature buds from 3 feet away!

The Oregon Diesel plants were placed outdoors on June 15th and after hardening off and getting used to real sunlight they went straight into the ground. By July 1st, the plants were already forming buds. I asked if the cut auto-flowered inside under 18 hours of light, and Ray told me indoors it acts normal and even takes a full 9 weeks to finish to his satisfaction. That means the plant does not flower in 18 hours of light but does by July, meaning its flowering “trigger” is somewhere around 16-17 hours of light. A plant that starts budding in mid-summer is just mind boggling to me and I took hundreds of pictures with various lenses, trying to make sure I captured the best possible image to show my readers (well, it made it to the cover of Weed World, so I must have done something right!). The plant could go another week at the longest, but its been an exceptionally bad year for growing. This year has had too many cool over cast days and cold nights, left any longer and mildew could become a problem.

The garden was totally uncovered and these beautiful buds were exposed to the weather, so later that day, Ray planned to harvest both of the plants. I asked him if he would pass along cuts to me so I could pass them to Dave at Weeden, who donates his entire crop to patients at no charge, and he said no problem. That kind of charity is normal in the medical community but it always warms my heart.

As far as me breeding with the cutting, I don’t feel it would be right. This is Ray’s creation and if he chooses to distribute the seeds I’d be happy to open some doors but, like me, this guy puts his heart and soul into his work and it belongs to him until he decides to pass it out.

next up…the smoke test!

I have actually sampled the bud a few times before this real-time report and I can already tell you, I like the flavor of this strain. The remaining nug, I placed in a small glass jar where it has been curing until now…

The unbroken bud is rock hard, has the smell of blackberries and hashish, the slight green smell from being fresh has all disappeared and I feel the bud is perfectly dry and cured for sampling. Once the sample was chopped up, the smell changed dramatically, taking on the smell of black licorice mixed with the smell of fresh asphalt. The smoke tastes good and is not harsh at all. While not as fruity or sweet as many TGA strains, it most definitely does not suck!

I took just two small bowls and then waited for the effect, and it only took a few moments before a nice calm feeling came over me. It has a nice head and body buzz, but leans to the Indica side of things. I don’t feel racy or anxious like some Sativas can make me feel. Even though I am well-medicated, I have another bowl – the flavor and uniqueness of the flowers makes me want a few more hits from the bong.

I really enjoyed the sample and the overall experience of smoking Oregon Diesel, and with a THC content of 20.41, it’s a wonder that I could finish this write up at all!

The Facts :

• Strain: Oregon Diesel

• Breeder: Ray

• Lineage: NYCD X Black Berry

• INDOOR/OUTDOOR: Sample was grown indoors

• Bag Appeal: 9/10 – Nice hard buds with a purple tint

• Bud Density: 9/10

• Smell : Strong berry smell mixed with fuel

• Taste: Black Berry, Hash, Kush, Earthy

• Smoothness : 7/10

• Medicinal Value: Calming effect appetite stimulation

• Keeper: Yes

• Total Cannabinoids : 20.41

• THC: 19.31%

• CBD: .29%

 

By Subcool  – www.tgagenetics.com

Originally published in Weed World Magazine Issue 96