I want to tell you the story of the strain Dannyboy and how it got its unusual strain name. Before I tell you about the strain let me tell you about the man. Growers, by the nature of the game, are a secluded lot. The Internet is a great way to still have some form of contact with other humans while not exposing yourself to the security risk of having people know where you live or even what you do. Running a grow is somewhat of a ball and chain as you have chores to be done at least every three days, and leaving a large indoor grow can always be a security risk - so a grower can become secluded without this outlet.

I met a guy in 1993 that worked in the nighttime and seemed to always be online in the early mornings a lot - he ran a catering company that supplied coffee and donuts to job sites. Over the years, “Blunt” and I became great friends, meeting for the first time at the Jungle Juice Café in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. I found out his name was Danny (left in photo) and from that day on we became brothers. I talked, he listened and we saw the sites together, always returning to the Net and telling all our friends about the cool shit we saw.

Danny always had my back and, without getting too detailed, he helped me get out of jail many times on his own dime. In 2001 I was working in Amsterdam for a seed distributor when Danny came to the Cannabis Cup. On the second day of the Cup, he passed away in his sleep at 38. Seems he had some health and job-related stress issues he kept to himself. He was acting strange (winded) the night before he died, and I asked if he was OK. He said he just needed to lie down and that’s the last time I spoke to him. More than 200 stoners from the Internet attended his funeral. His parents didn’t know a man could have so many friends. It seemed everyone liked the guy.

The only true way I could think of to honor Danny was to name my first strain after him. He was a big fan of fruity, tasty strains and loved the Killer Queen harvested at day 55. Once I found the line I wanted to work with, we selected a few males of Ortega X C99 and did some out crossing. The best female was named Taco by stoner friends who made a joke about Ortega being a food company. The male was selected from only two boys, but heritage is everything in breeding and either would have been a great father. The final product is a hybrid Danny would have loved.

Tasting like Cherry Jolly Rancher Candy and covered in thick, large trichomes, this plant is equally good as a head stash or a Bubble plant. It is so frosty I am sure the ratio when making bubble is very high. The dry kif from it is fruity and smooth, and just lovely sprinkled on any bud. This weed smells and tastes so much like cherries I was surprised at its finished color.

From seed, the plant stays very short with wide, sharp leaf edges and a dark-green color. Only topped once, the females are short, fat bushes, and as they mature very little stretch was present. Resin shows as early as 21 days and by 30 days they reek like cherry gumdrops. Later, as the plant reaches maturity, it takes on a solid white frost with a sour cherry smell. The first hit blew me away; it was so tasty I was shocked. Once the buds dried and cured for 30 days I would just sit and smell them. From clone, the only difference in the growth is a faster finish

At first, Dannyboy was just a favorite of Jill and mine. Then Sunycheba got a clipping and Badboy was given the duplication project, and while grew out several females all cherry, fruity and potent. The strain finishes very fast, which is nice if you run a bit short close to harvest; our phenotype was at least 10 days faster than any other strain in the garden. Her down side is she needs extra vegetative time to compete and yield heavy; in soil, she starts off slow and doesn’t hit her stride in the vegetative room till she’s over 30 inches tall. This strain has been around so much it has gained quite a following; recently, a good friend Irishfatboy even smoked some with Wille Nelson.

Another grower Ganjaden grew out Dannyboy in large tubs full of soil and his results were amazing; his first harvest from a single pack of seeds produced 26 ounces from six females. The more people grow her out the more everyone likes her. We also have a Dannyboy BX (or backcross) that is a bit larger and more Killer Queen dominant, and that sold out as well. There are a few packs around, but it’s not an easy strain to acquire in seed form anymore. The good news is a great cutting is pretty easy to find.

We have just released in limited numbers a Dannyboy x Space Queen hybrid I named Danielle, which will be a limited offering and is available now at Cannaseur. We are making Dannyboy 2, but the Taco male was lost and the new cross will not be released until I am satisfied it’s better than the original. Dannyboy was also used in Sunycheba’s cross, Black Cherry; the Black Russian father gave this hybrid a vivid magenta coloring in some phenotypes.

Danny was truly an American stoner working his ass off running a business and relaxing with a nice bowl after work. Unfortunately, due to the drug war, it was usually brick weed. He never complained, but he sure smiled when I sent him a carepack. He was the coolest dude I ever met and losing him was like losing my brother. He is truly the founding member of TGA Genetics and I miss him everyday.

Subcool is the author of Dank: The Quest for the Very Best Marijuana. TGA Subcool Seeds are available here.

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