Cannabis genetics have made some noise in Florida recently, and it’s clear why: new strains can target specific effects, focus on certain terpenes, and deliver stronger, longer-lasting results from a better tasting smoke.

At Surterra, we’ve been cooking in our genetics lab for over five years. As other labs are just learning the fundamentals, we’re fine-tuning our process and moving in creative ways to bring you the best original strains. Now we’re giving you a peek behind the curtain to talk about the journey from seed to sprout to the flower in your bowl.

How it Started

We didn’t start with a big science lab full of white coats and beakers. Just a few passionate growers, a handful of seeds, and a lot of trial and error. In 2019, we were popping 10 – 20 seeds at a time, watching them sprout and examining what they had to offer. We’d discover a few female plants (the type you smoke) and discard most of the males (the source of pollen) simply to save space.

Over time, this side-room experiment turned into a full-fledged breeding program.  

We started saving male plants with the best structure and fertility. Female plants with great flavor and high yield move forward to match. With a larger selection of parents to choose from, came an opportunity to experiment even more. That meant a lot of excitement, a little chaos, and a few heartbreaks.

“That’s just how you have to start. You have to cast a wide net and then just run pretty much everything. Putting nine months of work into something that ends up being not so great can hurt, but we offset that by constantly running new strains.” - Justin Wertanen, Cultivation R&D Manager

How It’s Going

With that wide net comes some incredible success stories. The plants that our breeders hand-select have gone on to become the parents of some of our best strains.

Top Nug was our very first proud papa: a male flower that pollinated dozens of female plants. Some of these crosses are still on our menu today, like Space Case, Gaspar’s Grapes, and Top Shelf Daddy.

That early run set the tone for everything that followed. Find something worth keeping, build on it, and keep pushing forward until we find something new, exciting, and satisfying. We started with a handful of seeds, and now we’re bringing you a menu stacked with in-house genetics in some of the best strains in Florida.

Want to Know More?

Watch this space! How do we pick our males? Which flower ends up in your pre-roll? Next time we’ll dive into the rigorous decisions on who makes the cut.

In the meantime, check out our exclusive strains for yourself. We're proud to put the name Surterra on our strains, because we know we’re bringing you the best.

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