OG Kush: the proud parent to over 7 strains

 Preface: This article was written before the wildfires began devastating Northern California. I wish everyone well and hope they can contain this fire before any more lives or homes are tragically affected.

    California is well known for their OG Kush variations and crosses. During my visit to Saint Helena, CA, I decided to delve into the world of OG strains, which stands for "ocean grown" in most cases but sometimes is referred to as "original" and find out why these crosses call Cali home.

    Now these aren't the most popular strains in California but the strains that scream California Dreaming.

    The list will begin with the literal 'original' OG Kush. This strain originated in Florida when a California strain was crossed with a Hindu Kush in the early 1990's. In 1996, Matt "Bubba" Berger brought the OG Kush to California. This would begin the crossing and creating of countless OG strains and phenotypes.

    OG Kush is pretty much the building block to some of our favorite crosses like Tahoe OG, Bubba Kush and Headband.

    Tahoe OG isn't a cross, but rather another phenotype of the OG Kush. A phenotype is the observable traits that the environment causes like the plant's color, shape, smell and resin production. These are all affected by the environment the plant is grown in but the genetic make-up is the same. So Tahoe OG is OG Kush, but with a few different traits that separates it from being an exact replica.

    Tahoe OG was created in the, you guessed it, Lake Tahoe area by Ganja Guru in the 1990's. It was delicately built by selecting phenotypes based on the levels of THC and trichome density, creating one of the most potent OG Kush phenotypes. Tahoe OG can top the charts with THC levels in the mid-high 20%.

    Bubba Kush, another baby of Berger, was created when an OG Kush pollinated an unknown indica, thought to be Northern Lights. This strain was born in 1996 and is also thought to have Afghani descent. Bubba Kush can have a whopping 27% THC.

    San Fernando Valley Kush, or SFV OG Kush, is a cross bred by Cali Connection. It's a cross between an SFV OG and a male Afghani plant. After they selected the best traits and crossed the strain for a few generations, they were left with the indica heavy strain. This strain has the heavy indica smell of lemon and pine, described almost like a lemon scented cleaner. It is lower on the THC spectrum around 17-20%.

    Fire OG is a cross of OG Kush and SFV OG Kush. This strain also has the lemon pledge scent like its parent strain, SFV OG but earned its name from the long, orange hairs the nugs tote. This strain has an average of 20-25% THC and is an Indica dominant hybrid.

    Headband is one of the 2 strains on this list who isn't doting the OG or Kush name staple. OG Kush, Sour Diesel and Master Kush are all the proud parents of this strain. Headband was birthed by a Colorado based company, Reserva Privada, but a grower in Humboldt County, CA took the genetics, studied them and recreated the genetic profile. This strain is an Indica dominant hybrid with THC levels ranging from 17 - 24%.

    True OG or Kobe OG, is an OG Kush cross created by Elemental Seeds in Southern California. This strain is another Indica dominant hybrid with a lovely 22% THC rating. 

    Last but definitely not least is Girl Scout Cookies, GSC or Berner Cookies as some may know it. GSC is a cross of OG Kush and Durban Poison created by the rapper Gilbert "Berner" Millam Jr. in San Francisco. Berner quickly shared his new strain with well known rapper Wiz Khalifa and with that, GSC was a 'stoner' household name.

    There you have it! Eight different strains, all parented by the lovely OG Kush, with most originating in California. Let us know below which of these crosses is your favorite!

Sources:
https://www.wikileaf.com/strain/tahoe-og/
https://www.wikileaf.com/strain/bubba-kush/
https://www.allbud.com/marijuana-strains/indica-dominant-hybrid/headband
https://www.allbud.com/marijuana-strains/indica-dominant-hybrid/true-og
https://www.leafly.com/strains/gsc
https://www.allbud.com/marijuana-strains/indica-dominant-hybrid/fire-og
https://www.leafly.com/strains/sfv-og
https://www.leafly.com/strains/og-kush
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Phenotype