The Hindu Kush genetics, 100% indica, have been possessed by Sensi Seeds since the 1980s and preserved in their pure form ever since then. It’s one of the most fundamental cannabis strains to be found on this planet. The Doc put this legend to a cultivation test about the outcome of which you can read in this grow report…
There are cannabis strains that spread such a strong breeze of history that they’re almost shrouded in legend. Such a strain is Hindu Kush from Sensi Seeds, a true bedrock in the world of cannabis varieties.
Introducing the grower
The Doc is a highly skilled and experienced grow veteran who, blessed with a huge green thumb, has been cultivating the Mary Jane plant for about 40 years. Widely admired for his extraordinarily stately plants with big buds from the bottom to the top, he has gained himself a worldwide reputation as a top-notch marijuana grower. He earned his nickname for his ability to always perfectly nurture his plants and generally fulfill their needs in any way, and in the rare case of a problem occurring, to make the correct diagnosis and fix it.
A hashy full-blooded indica with untypical effects
A bedrock that once rose out of the ancestral mist of cannabis strain breeding and until today has held its ground, with the sound of its name alone still making the eyes of grow veterans sparkle and their nostalgic hearts leap for joy. “Bedrock” has almost to be taken literally here as this evergreen has its roots in the same-named Hindu Kush mountain chain that runs through Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Given these proveniences, connoisseurs will instantly know what sort of cannabis Hindu Kush is – C. indica ssp. afghanica, commonly still referred to as indica. And it’s a full 100% indica gene count that leaves its marks on this strain, making her a true full-blooded indica with respective characteristics.
The Hindu Kush genetics have been possessed by Sensi Seeds since the 1980s and never been hybridised, but preserved in their pure form ever since then, inbred and selected within its own gene pool over countless generations. The result is a very stable uniform variety with consistent growth and blooming behaviour. That’s why Hindu Kush also is a very popular breeding partner for other strains, Sensi Seeds for example created another classic from her by marrying it to Skunk #1 which resulted in Skunk Kush. Hindu Kush makes no secret of her indica nature, displaying it through a compact growth pattern with short strong branches and dark green wide-fingered leaves. Also typical is its quick flowering stage – she requires as little as 45-50 days to produce dense heavyweight buds drenched in resin, including a head bud of stately size.
Over thousands of years, this landrace hardened itself in its native habitat, on windswept mountainsides at high altitudes it became a hardy frugal plant. A real benefit for growers all over the world because Hindu Kush is blessed with an accordingly high mould and pest resistance and thanks to its robustness has a forgiving nature when it comes to cultivation, delivering good yields even under non-optimum growth conditions. Which makes her an excellent choice for grow novices and experts alike. She can also be cultivated outdoors, but requires a warm sunny climate for proper results, thriving below about 42°N.
In terms of aroma, Sensi Seeds makes a special promise, claiming that there is no other variety with such a pronounced aniseed and sandalwood flavour released when the buds are handled or consumed. While the plants give off a predominantly sweet odour early in flowering, it becomes increasingly condimental and pungent whilst ripening, reminding of Charas or Afghani hashish. Effect-wise, Hindu Kush deviates from the usual indica stupefaction norm, not sending the user to the mat with a heavy knockout, but providing a more sort of contemplative tranquil stoned effect that causes deep inner calmness and gives a sense of clarity. In addition to mental recreation, Hindu Kush also leads to physical relaxation, making users feel warm and easy. Thanks to all these effects, this strain also qualifies as potent medical marijuana, alleviating stress, nausea and pains for example.
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The Doc gets to work
Bedrock encounters bedrock: Veteran master grower The Doc wanted to check how good the Hindu Kush genetics still are after all those decades. Two feminised seeds were germinated and after about 2.5 days, the two seedlings popped through the surface. The Doc was surprised about the high degree of vigour displayed by them in spite of their inbreed genetics: During the three weeks veggie stage, they vigorously grew into strong bushy young plants furnished with a lot of solid side branches. The second surprise was that the shade leaves weren’t wide, but relatively narrow, with indica-typical dark green colouration though.
When The Doc moved the two very uniform plants into the flowering stage, they measured 30 and 32 cm in height. The two Hindu Kushs quickly changed over to flowering, already one week after The Doc had dialled the light cycle back to 12/12, female pre-flowers began to show. Reported The Doc, “that was the starting signal for a strong flowering impulse to set in very soon after, merely one week later the plants exhibited knobbly flowerets at the shoot tips and in the axises, densely filled with flower primordia.
After four weeks of flowering, the plants boasted a lot of thick flower heads adorned with large quantities of white hairs. Stem elongation during the first weeks of flowering was more distinct than expected, with the two Hindu Kushs gaining a height and spread of twice as much than before. Commented The Doc, “Looks great so far! The time-honoured Hindu Kush strain apparently has retained an amazing deal of vitality. Which is also expressed through a formidable resin gland production that set in remarkably early and already now has generated pretty trichome carpets on the calyxes and young sugar leaves. Also, the two plants are more and more spreading a sweet and spicy, hash-y scent that gives me a real old-school feeling.”
Rock-hard, highly aromatic buds with spectacular resin incrustations
In the period that followed, the trichome carpets developed into spectacular multi-layer resin incrustations. Which made The Doc go into rhapsodies when the plants approached maturity: “Looks as if they’d drape themselves in an opulent silvery white fur, wouldn’t have thought that they’d become that insanely rich in trichomes! And also structurally, these flower formations are most impressive, with plenty of side buds so massive that they could be passed off as head buds after having been dried. What adds to their superbness is their surprisingly high calyx-to-leaf ratio that becomes manifest through vast amounts of gaudy orange hairs, especially with one of the plants. Plus the fact that they’re as hard as stones, when gently being squeezed, they don’t shrink a single millimetre. And then there’s this stunning smell… back in the days, I often had access to fantastic black Nepalese hashish… well, Hindu Kush’s rich spicy cocktail blending earthy, woody and sweet notes strongly reminds me of that beloved kind of hash.”
Until the very end, the two plants remained uniform and attained final heights of 72 and 76 cm. “Now that’s what I call homogeneous”, lauded The Doc, “and this is also true for the ripening time, because I could harvest both plants after 54 days. Formally four days beyond the official harvest window, however, I could have taken action half a week earlier also (but didn’t find time to do so) as already then, 80% of the flower hairs were withered.
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Heavyweight class: Champions weigh-in
Once the buds had been dried, the „Champions weigh-in“ was due: “I’ve called it so because these are definitely true champion buds, super-crystalline and when gently being pinched, as odoriferous as freshly hand-rubbed black hashish. Yes, if you close your eyes and sniff at it, this magic aroma tells of cannabis farmers in the Himalaya mountains sitting on the rooftop of an archaic stone house and pressing fresh pieces of hashish into temple balls.
While my Hindu Kush buds don’t smell like aniseed specifically, they are exuding that classic deeply spicy and heavy hashish scent which gives me a nice nostalgic feeling and sends me on a mental journey into remote Himalaya regions.” The champions weigh-in resulted in ample dry yields of 95 and 108 grams, i.e. more than a 100 grams per plant on the average – that magic mark was once again passed which made The Doc chuckle: “Welcome back to the heavyweight class of cannabis!”
Consuming Hindu Kush: The Doc turns into a Zen Buddhist
Since Hindu Kush had evoked such a strong nostalgic feeling in him, The Doc hit on the idea to reactivate his old pure pipe for a smoking test. A nice bud, coarsely grinded, went into his pipe and The Doc sparked the lighter. The smoke appeared enormously dense and concentrated to him (“I almost involuntarily made masticatory movements”) and ignited a flavour fireworks in his mouth: “Much to my surprise, there it suddenly was – a strong hint of aniseed-like sweetness that together with woody notes and a pinch of cinnamon created a complex play on the palate. A full-mouth flavour experience with a long presence, something for the real cannasseur”, swooned The Doc.
Hindu Kush proved to be a fast-hitter, right after he had blown out the first toke, there was a “big bang” in his head, but he quickly sensed that this kind of indica stone, indeed, was more sort of meditative and enlightening his mind and then hard-hitting and numbing. A warm wave of euphoria came over him, it was as if anything unpleasant and burdening was filtered out of his world of thoughts, leaving nothing else than the sunny side of life. Reported The Doc, “after two or three more hits, I started to feel like a Zen Buddhist, so well internally balanced, full of peace and focused on the good.” His “meditation session” lasted more than two hours. Along with mental recreation soon came physical relaxation, his previously painfully hardened shoulder muscles started to feel lithe again and he made himself wonderfully comfortable on his couch.
The Doc’s conclusion: “Congratulations to Sensi Seeds for having managed to keep this cannabis strain bedrock that supremely vigorous, productive and potent. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe this variety is a dew-fresh hybrid just been created by cross-breeding. Hindu Kush is a most remarkable fine example of everlasting elementary power, pure ancient cannabis magic from the Himalaya region!”
Green Born Identity – G.B.I.
Cultivation data:
| Genetics | Hindu Kush (100% Indica) |
| Vegetative stage | three weeks (after germination) |
| Flowering stage | 54 days / 45-50 days in general |
| Medium | Plagron Grow Mix soil, 11 litre pots |
| pH | 6.2-6.6 |
| EC | 1.2–1.8 mS |
| Light | up to 12 x SANlight S4W = 1680 watts |
| Temperature | 18-28°C |
| Air humidity | 40-60% |
| Watering | by hand |
| Fertilisation | Organic Bloom Liquid from Green Buzz Liquids |
| Additives/stimulants | Living Organics, More Roots, Humin Säure Plus, Big Fruits, Fast Buds und Clean Fruits from Green Buzz Liquids |
| Height | 72 and 76 cm |
| Yield | 95 and 108 g |
- Disclaimer:Laws and regulations regarding cannabis cultivation differ from country to country. Sensi Seeds therefore strongly advises you to check your local laws and regulations. Do not act in conflict with the law.
I’m looking for this strain!
Were the trics amber?
I’ve recently purchased these hindu kush genetics and cannot wait to get them started outdoors in my region..I’ve longed to acquire that nostalgic feeling and taste I’ve looked for over the years it brings back memories thank you I can’t wait to get started.