Strain Report – Dinafem – Bubba Kush CBD by GBI

In the past two years quite a lot of regular, THC-rich strains created by Dinafem had been put to the test by The Doc, causing nothing but sheer delight. Now he was also curious about the Spanish market leader’s CBD program and, as a start, picked something out of the multitude of their CBD strains that instantly enticed him as a passionate Kush lover: Bubba Kush CBD.

His pal, Mr. Power-Planter, had grown Dinafem’s regular Bubba Kush strain and afterwards given it rave reviews as it had fully lived up to its legendary reputation and promise in his grow room. The Bubba Kush strain came about as a lucky punch, a case of incidental discovery by a US grower. Female plants of his own breeding line called “Bubba” were accidentally pollinated by a hermaphroditic plant of unknown genetics. This plant he had grown from a bag seed of unknown origin and called “Kush”. Later on it came as a big surprise that from the accidental pollination of “Bubba” with “Kush”, something sensationally good had emerged – “Bubba Kush” genetics which had devastating Indica potency and were jam-packed with flavor. Bubba Kush soon started a rapid career in the USA, becoming the most popular and most expensive indica strain on the market, fueled by the rappers of Cypress Hill who smoked and advertised it at their concerts, thus infecting other hip hop artists, rock stars and Hollywood actors with the Bubba Kush fever.

Dinafem managed to procure a ‘Pre ’98’ elite clone of Bubba Kush and advance it into a seed strain which then became the personal indica favourite of Dinafem breeder Dr. Kush who once called it “probably the best Indica of all times”. Naturally forming the perfect basis for a CBD strain, Bubba Kush was evolved into Bubba Kush CBD through crossing it with the almost pure CBD variety Dancehall. In the case of Bubba Kush CBD, Dinafem’s specially selected Dancehall #654 plant (19.84% CBD, 0.86% THC) was applied. Dinafem describes the CBD version of their Indica icon as a splendid option for growers who are into Indica relaxation, but don’t want to get completely knocked out and, instead, enjoy the medical benefits of CBD. People who instead want to remain functional and effectively pursue their daily activities. Thanks to a THC/CBD ratio of approximately 1:1, Bubba Kush CBD is very compatible with that. Only 8 instead of more than 20% THC and 10% CBD make it a psycho-actively pared-down version of Bubba Kush with a big therapeutic potential for medical users. Stated by Dinafem as suitable indications of treatment are insomnia, anorexia and muscle pain.

Bubba Kush CBD plants (70:30 indica/sativa) grow into attractive little compact bushes with a strong main stem and wide indica shade leaves. Whilst flowering, leaves and buds may exhibit a tinge of purple, giving the plants a lovely colorful look. The aroma is likewise punchy, a wonderful mélange of earthy, fruity-sweet and kushy aspects. This strain takes 55-60 flowering days to ripen and has a yield potential of up to 450g/m2. Outdoors, it finishes around mid October with heights of up to 2.5 metres, being able to astound growers with harvests of up to 900 grams a plant.

Two Bubba Kush CBD seeds were entered into the test race and rapidly came out of the germination blocks after 2.5 days. In view of their official description as small bushes, The Doc would have liked to give the plants more than two weeks of vegetative growth, but his cultivation cycle was determined by other strains in his room which were sativa-dominant for the most part. The growth behaviour of both plants corresponded to Dinafem’s specifications, with the two exhibiting stocky growth with very close internodal spacing which didn’t happen at the expense of side branch growth. Instead, the plants started to branch out early, thus soon becoming dense and bushy. Their leaves were deep dark green and looked almost leathery. Already in the veggie stage, they gave off a very intense sweet and spicy smell. When The Doc switched them to flowering, his two Bubba Kush CBD specimens were 20 and 23 cm tall.

In the course of flowering, they fulfilled the promise of producing terrific buds that are absolutely Bubba Kush style in terms of appearance and aroma – plenty of fat succulent Indica picture-book buds dripping with resin emerged all over the plants, perfectly dense and rock-hard. And the mighty wafts of super-aromatic kushy fragrance surrounding them were a marvellous homage to the Bubba Kush parental strain, too. The Doc said, “really intriguing: once again a CBD strain version is totally indistinguishable in its appearance from the original THC-rich variety. These plants and their gorgeous indica buds precisely look like the results of Mr. Power Planter’s Bubba Kush grow. The only differences are that mine are smaller due to the shorter veggie stage and don’t have purple hues.”

With final measures of 46 and 53 cm, during flowering the two plants had more than doubled their vegetative height. The Doc was very surprised about the fact that one of them finished earlier than officially stated, already after 52 days of flowering it had fully matured, while the other one stayed for five more days. The calyx-to-leaf ratio was very high for an Indica variety, allowing for a swift harvest session with only little trim. “While whittling, one almost could have cut that insanely penetrative smell into pieces”, laughed The Doc. In their dried form, the lavishly-silver-trichome-covered Bubba Kush CBD nuggets with lots of orange hairs looked fancy and appetizing, still smelling immensely strong. Reported The Doc, “their earthy, deeply organic odour reminded me of a walk in the woods on a wet autumn day when after rain comes sunshine, causing those woodsy aromatic damps to arise from the underbrush. But just as one would expect from a Kush strain, there’s also an oily note involved. All these flavors garnished with a sweetish topping that doesn’t appear fruity to me though.”

Yields amounted to 51 and 62 grams which, with regard to the small plant sizes, was quite an amazing achievement. For the Bubba Kush CBD vaporization test, The Doc put the usual amount of half a gram into his Mighty vaporizer. A few tokes later, a feeling of pleasant stonedness took possession of The Doc’s head, something he hadn’t expected: “That came as a real surprise! Bubba Kush CBD causes more “kaboom” in my noggin than I am used to from CBD weed. Although this strain is supposed to have a THC count of merely 8%, it packs quite a punch. Not a full-blown one, but strong enough to keep me sitting and day-dreaming for a while. This state of mind lasted for almost an hour. Since The Doc is a fan of Indica stonedness, he appreciated that kind of buzz. But more important to him was the wondrous therapeutic effect provided by Bubba Kush CBD: “My chronic joint pains, especially in my knees, had vanished after a quarter of an hour which made me start scooting through my flat like a Duracell rabbit!” Even though this superb green medicine delivered a full-bodied tangy indica flavour with piney overtones and coffee-like undertones, the vapor went down nice and smooth, leaving a sweet aftertaste on the palate.

Concluded a really enthralled Dockie, “for a CBD strain, a lot happens in your head, this stuff has a bit more kaboom. At least me and my friends got this impression. But most of all, I was flabbergasted by Bubba Kush CBD’s medicinal quality, it worked miracles against my chronic joint pains. And it’s a really tasty medicine – good bye, all you bitter pills! Easy to grow and very high-yielding, it is the best CBD strain I’ve come across so far. Perfect for chronic pain patients!”

Green Born Identity – G.B.I.

Cultivation data:

By Dinafem

Originally published in Weed World Magazine issue 139