Breeding the Culture: Dj Short and the Creation of the Blue Family Lines

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Dj Short is an American cannabis breeder. Since the late 1970s Dj has been developing his lines from select landrace imports from Oaxaca, Thailand and Afghanistan. Over the last 40 years Dj Short has conducted extensive line breeding within the hybrid gene pool he created from these landrace imports. Dj’s breeding methods have largely focused on careful selection of parental and breeding stock, as well as taking advantage of the phenomenon known as transgressive segregation to select extreme phenotypes within this hybrid gene pool to create his many seed varieties.

1970s – 1990s

Dj Short began his lifelong cannabis breeding project in the 1970s. During this time Dj collected and grew out numerous landrace varieties.

For his breeding work Dj initially selected a number of imported equatorial landrace varieties. Specifically, he chose Highland Thai, that he called JuicyFruit Thai, as well as a Chocolate Thai. Dj also selected a Mexican variety known as Highland Oaxaca Gold (HOG). Dj’s early breeding experiments resulted in the creation of the Oregon Purple Thai (Chocolate Thai x HOG). By 1979 Dj sourced pure Afghan genetics from friends of his in Northern California.

Dj selected his parental breeding stock, or the P1’s, from the Oregon Purple Thai, the Highland JuicyFruit Thai, and the Afghani. These early landrace imports form the foundation of all of Dj Shorts lines.

By the early 1980s Dj got a copy of Robert Clarke’s Marijuana Botany. Reading this text confirmed and solidified his understanding of plant breeding. Over the next decade Dj undertook clandestine breeding projects exploring and developing his lines. By the early 1990s Dj developed the foundations for the commercial varieties such as ‘Blueberry’ and ‘Flo’ that he would come to be known for.

1990s-Present

Since the 1990s Dj has worked with numerous seed companies and breeders to create dozens of commercial cannabis varieties.

In 1993 Dj traveled to Europe to explore opportunities in the burgeoning Dutch seed industry. Over the next decade Dj worked with multiple European and Canadian seed companies and breeders bringing his genetics to the world.

Sagarmatha Seeds was the first seed company to commercially release varieties using Dj Shorts genetics. Dj provided the germplasm however he had little input in the selection and production process. ‘Blueberry’, ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Flow’ as well as ‘Bubbleberry’ (Bubblegum x Blueberry). In the end, Dj says he was never paid for over 3000 seeds. He was lucky to retrieve the remainder of his seed stock.

Next Dj Short took his genetics and partnered with Henk and Dutch Passion. Dutch Passion released the ‘Blue Moonshine’, ‘Blueberry’, ‘Blue Heaven’, ‘Flo’. Once again Dj had minimal input in the selection and production of the seeds sold by Dutch Passion.

After working with Dutch seed companies Dj Short began collaborating with Breeder Steve of Spice of Life Seeds in Switzerland. For a short time between 2000-2004 Switzerland became an epicenter of seed production. Breeder Steve was able to grow out large populations to conduct his selections and breeding work. Unlike his previous partnerships Dj was much more involved in the selection process. This collaboration resulted in the creation of ‘Blue Satellite’, ‘Moonshine-Rocket Fuel’, and ‘Rosebud’.

Unfortunately by 2004 Swiss authorities began cracking down on the cannabis industry forcing Breeder Steve to shutter his Swiss operations.

Around the same time Dj short began working with other Canadian based breeders such as Red (Legends Seeds) and Chimera. Dj’s work with Legend Seeds produced varieties such as ‘True Blueberry’, ‘Cocoa Kush’, ‘Vanilla Luna’, ‘F13’, ‘Grape Krush’, ‘Flodica’, ‘Old Time Moonshine’. Dj Shorts collaborations with Chimera produce varieties such as ‘morning jam’ ‘honey bee’ as well as Chimera’s well known ‘Mental Floss’ varieties.

Legal reforms over the last two decades have created room for the development of the domestic American seed market. As a result Dj has been able to get his seeds directly to his customers through his own seed company Old World Genetics. Dj continues to maintain and refine his lines, developing new varieties such as ‘Azure Haze’, ‘Whitaker Blues’ ‘New Berry’ and ‘First Lights’.

In recent years DJs son JD has started his own seed company Second Generation Genetics combining his dad’s classic lines with popular clone-only varieties.

Author, Educator, Speaker, Community Member

In addition to his work as a Breeder Dj Short has also played a significant role in the cannabis community as an author, educator, public speaker and online forum member.

DJ has written for numerous publications including High Times, Cannabis Culture and O’Shaughnessy’s. He has also published a book Cultivating Exceptional Cannabis: An Expert Breeder Shares His Secrets

For a time Dj was an active member on ICmag forum. The Dj Short subforum was a place where Dj interacted with many knowledgeable members of the community such as JLP, Mr. Alkaline and Foe20. This forum is a wonderful repository of information about Dj Short’s seed lines, as well as his breeding practices and methods.

In recent years Dj short has been a guest on the pot cast (episode 28) and the Adam Dunn Show.

Over the years Dj has been one of the more accessible and open breeders in the cannabis community. Dj shorts work as Breeder stands out both in terms of his methods and results. Dj is one of the few breeders who has dedicated his life to working with and exploring a specific gene pool to produce dozens of commercial varieties that have an established track record of success. Dj Short’s work illustrates how dedication, persistence, and careful selection can create incredible diversity and lasting value.