Humboldt Seed Company (HSC) is one of the few reliable international cannabis seeds companies producing unicorn strains with proprietary genetics and their seeds usually grow out to match the company’s strain description, germinate easily, and are not constantly plagued by divergent phenotypes or hermie flowers.

We’ve repeatedly reported on their exclusive genetic library and their terpenoid wizardry.

Our multi-member cultivation testing team has grown almost all Humboldt Seed Company feminized photoperiod strains multiple times. We’ve also tested strains made by the other most popular commercial seed companies.

The harsh fact is that all but a couple of international seed companies are selling at best mediocre strains and seeds with perhaps one or two banger strains out of dozens on their menus. The marijuana seeds world is dominated by ripoffs and amateurs whose breeding practices are unscientific and unreliable, and who totally lack ethics or customer-centeredness.

A few months ago HSC released the feminzed photoperiod strain “Chicken N’ Wafflez.” Apparently, some believe it tastes and smells like those two food items. In our two test seasons so far with the strain, early-to-mid bloom phase terpenoids provide the beautiful sweet dessert smell of one of the strain’s precursors, Jelly Donutz.

In late bloom phase and after drying and curing, the taste and scent shift away from pure sweetness to include mint, pepper, grapefruit, grape, pepper, cayenne, maple syrup, waffels and caramel.

The terps are loud, delicious, gooey, and proud, characteristic of many HSC strains.

The strain’s genetics combine some of the best HSC strains, including Jelly Donutz and Hella Jelly, along with non-HSC powerhouse strains White Runtz and Purple Cartel.

HSC describes the strain as Indica dominant, but our test plants were more like moderate Sativa in height, stretch, bud development, internode length, and Chicken has a combination heavy Indica AND blazing Sativa high that defies easy classification.

The plants were placed into flowering phase after five weeks in grow phase, and stretched to at least double their height before stretching stopped at three weeks. They averaged about 65 inches tall, which is not too tall for most grow tents. Branches were sturdy enough for the type of buds this strain creates.

A terp scent almost exactly like Jelly Donutz terps started in week two of flowering and was very intense until about week five, when the scent changed to be more minty, syrupy, gassy, peppery.

The one bud photo of the strain on HSC’s website makes it look like the strain’s golf ball-type buds should fill in solidly along internodes, but they didn’t on our plants—we wept about internodes with no buds filling them, lol.

This is typical of the some of the most potent and tasty HSC strains—they don’t produce huge thick pyramid-shaped buds loaded with weight, but rather produce clusters of tightly-wound, highly resinous, terp forward buds.

At week five in bloom phase during one test season, plants developed a minor spider mite infestation that didn’t attack any other strain in the same grow op. One spray of Azamax took care of that. On day 57 of bloom phase during one test grow, a massive spider mite infestation suddenly appeared, forcing us to harvest a couple of days earlier than resin glands indicated we should. Always be on the alert for mites.

The strain handled PPFD without added C02 up to 1000 PPFD in bloom phase, and also handled a high-dose feed program from TPS Nutrients.

We’ve tested 15 seeds in three different indoor runs, purchased when the strain first dropped. All but one germinated. The plants had traits within + or – 10% phenotype consistency: nearly-identical height, structure, floral maturation rates, scent, high. HSC is known for pheno consistency; for their few strains that have more divergent phenos possible, they’re candid about it in the strain description.

Resin glands clouded up during week four and stayed cloudy. In most cases, cloudy resin glands are an indicator buds are ready for harvest, but not this time. We did incremental harvesting, but let many buds on the plants go the full 60 days bloom phase recommended by HSC.

During the last two weeks of bloom phase, buds get bigger and tighter, resin glands maintain their sturdiness, leaves turn quite purple, way less lime green.

Note: there are few leaves in the buds, which makes for easier trimming sessions. Buds are very sticky, and dry to an attractive deep purple/light green with intense terp scent and taste including licorice, fuel, maple syrup, and grape candy.

In fact, after about six weeks of curing, the jar smells like a delicious grape strain, and also like HSC’s Blueberry Muffin strain. Bag appeal, and the taste/scent of live rosin and other terp-preserving extracts, are stellar.

HSC has been pushing strains to produce very high THC; this strain is likely coming in at 30-32% THC, which is phenomenal.

Inhaling it through a precision vaporizer at 390°F, the taste is smooth and pleasant, the high hits hard and immediately, lasts for hours without burnout.

We did incremental harvesting, starting at 51 days in bloom phase and ending with final cut at 60 days. The 51-day high feels like a perfect 50-50 balance of Indica and Sativa. It has significant body effects that are energizing and pain-relieving rather than sedating and heavy. Sativa effects produce euphoria, creativity, fractals, distortion of coordination, time, space, and depth perception, without paranoia or heart-racing stress.

The 60-day harvest was more potent and way more narcotic/hypnotic, approximately 65-35 Indica dominant, but the high is functional and won’t grossly interfere with physical or cognitive performance.

Average yield per plant was between 2.5 to 4 ounces, a bit on the light side. I urge HSC to breed its high-potency but low-yielding connoisseur strains like Chicken N’ Wafflez with their heavier-yielding Octane, Farmer’s Daughter, or Gazzurple to increase harvest weight and frostiness.

One other important issue: hermie problems. We’ve tested Chicken three times. We only saw a few hermie clusters early in bloom, removed them, thought we were clear. But as we test the dried and cured buds from each harvest, we find that buds lowest on branches (where it’s hard to visually monitor for hermie clusters) had self-pollinated, so the buds were polluted by large seeds. We lost about 10% of our buds to pollination although those buds are potent, and can still be washed or otherwise consumed.

We have repeatedly told HSC that the one problem they have in their breeding program for many of their best strains is the strains tend to go hermie even under ideal conditions. HSC responds that hermie problems often come because growers do a “hard flip,” going from 18 hours grow phase light to 12 hours in one day.

But we don’t do that, we do an incremental reduction of one hour per day at end of grow phase.

Hermaphroditism is a massive problem in the cannabis seeds and strains industry, and has gotten worse instead of better over the years. The latest science indicates the likely causes are unprofessional breeding, or inserting too many divergent genetics into a strain, especially genetics acclimated to outdoor growing, but grown indoors.

I have a feeling that some HSC strains will do way better outdoors, with no hermies.

Hermie pollination significantly reduces the value of buds, and we urge all seed breeders to work hard to detect and eradicate this trait. Please read our article on hermie marijuana for more information.

Regardless, these little problems are not dealbreakers–we will grow this strain over and over. Its extreme potency and tastiness along with the stunningly strong, very enjoyable high, makes up for low yield and minor hermie issues. And as we’ve said elsewhere, hermie problems are everywhere in the cannabis seeds industry. The important fact is HSC strains have way less hermie issues than any other retail seed breeder, and HSC strains are superior in every way to those of 99% of competitors.

Chicken N’ Wafflez is another fire cannabis creation no other seed company offers and would be pretty much impossible for other companies to pirate. We tested the very first seed run, and in our experience, HSC improves their strains in the second and third runs. You won’t find this genetic mix in any other strain anywhere, so these seeds are worth investing in now.