[Interview] 10 years of French Touch Seeds

French Touch Seeds is one of France's historic cannabis players. A seed bank as well as a trade show organizer, FTS stands out for its friendliness and the meticulousness of its work, which focuses on historic and even original varieties. On the occasion of their 10th anniversary, we asked them a few questions about their recent work and what they have in store for the future.

Hello French Touch. Happy birthday to you! After 10 years of existence, you're taking a new direction, notably with a change of graphic identity. Was the old logo a thing of the past?

Hello Newsweed team! Thank you very much! And yes, it's true that after 10 years, we needed to mark the occasion... We're still attached to our red wax logo, which won't disappear completely, but we needed a bit of renewal, with a more mature image, like us in the end!

It took us a while to get used to it, but now we've got used to the idea, and these new visuals will enable us to play even more and develop our merchandising. We've prepared a lot of stuff and we hope you'll like it!

Apart from the fact that a French cannabis seed bank is quite rare, you've also organized 4 Technigrow, hemp and indoor cultivation fairs in France, in the hemp-skeptic climate that we all know. What have the last few years been like?

Indeed, Technigrow has been quite an adventure, but we're on a break for the time being... And as for FTS, we're celebrating our 10th anniversary (we'll be 11 in 2021!) and the last three years have been pretty intense... We're obviously based outside France, in Spain, although some members of the collective still live in France.

There have been several team births and moves on the personal side, and we now have a new force with the installation of Geo [editor's note: one of the FTS breeders...in Spain. Three years in the making for the upcoming Mint Cookies and more surprises!

The health crisis has somewhat disrupted our forecasts for 2020, but as a result we have intensified our presence on the networks, created partnerships with many artists too... and above all we finally have a website worthy of the name!

For the French market, you of course have your seed collections, but you've also developed a range of CBD oils, including some made from hops, and CBD and CBG flowers. You also distribute a mini analysis lab, the Purple Pro, which enables CBD / THC concentrations to be determined quickly. How well does it work? Who is this device aimed at?

It's true that we've been working on CBD and CBG genetics for a long time, and we launched the Frenchy Flavours brand 2 years ago, with this star product water-soluble «Humulus Yunnanensis» hop extract, naturally rich in CBD. And finally, 2020 has enabled us to strengthen our partnerships with people we like, like Delta 9 Analytics and Purpl Pro, a very useful tool for our work.

It works well down to 1%, and doesn't detect low concentrations below 2%. But lab analyses are expensive, and we only test the plants that seem most promising... This device allows us to test all our plants before deciding which ones to analyze in the lab, for example... We can also use rapid drying techniques to determine the optimum harvesting point more precisely than by observing the trichomes...

At the moment, there are also concerns about CBD weed laced with synthetic THC. With the Purpl Pro, you can see whether or not a weed, which would produce a strong psychotropic effect, contains THC, since synthetic THC is not detected. This has made the Purpl Pro very popular in coffeshops which frequently have this problem. Let me add that for a few weeks now we've also been distributing Boveda.

You recently announced your arrival in a Cannabis Club in Spain. Was this an initial objective or rather an opportunity?

We've always been drawn to these Spanish Cannabis Clubs, and in fact, some of our work has been available in associations for several years now, without necessarily being promoted. For the past 2 years or so, our Deedee and Mint Cookie have been available at Gorilla Verde in Irun, which was the first to really showcase these strains. Recently, they've also been available in Barcelona at the Firehouse, and there's more to come! But then again, Spanish clubs are currently suffering a bit from the crisis, even if the machine is still running...

Will we soon be getting FTS extractions?

Well, that's the burning question. Because the answer is now a resounding YES! It took us a long time to take the plunge, but with Géo's incorporation into the collective, things have speeded up. So we're pleased to tell you that, under his guidance and initiative, you'll soon be hearing about G Separation and G extract. But Shhh! To be continued...

What are your working methods? Creating a new > variety takes a long time, but I have the impression that you pay particular attention to the quality of your seeds and plants, even if it means delaying their release (for a long time). At what point do you say a variety is «ready»?

Now that's a good question! Our standards are high. For us, quality is paramount and we don't want to offer «déja vu» varieties. What's more, since we work in a collective
We divide up the tasks, and several breeders may be involved in the development of a new variety. In terms of working methods, we most often select a champion from a new cross on an F1 or F2 and our aim is then to copy it in seed form. The process can then vary to achieve this goal.

A variety is considered ready when the majority of individuals resemble the champion chosen as a starting point. But when it comes to genetics, you need to keep an open mind, because there are many exciting paths to follow.

Is it true that an F2 is less stable than an F1 or its parents?

Well, it depends on the variety and genetics, but generally speaking, it's on an F2 that recessive traits appear, and that's often where the surprises begin!

What are the biggest challenges for breeders?

Our legal situation is still unclear, even in Spain. If it were more official, we'd be able to work with more space and serenity. Just look at what happened to La Mota a short while ago... We talk more...
technical difficulties than in the work itself, I'd say, but it's also worth pointing out that it's becoming increasingly difficult to find original strains to work with.

Now that therapeutic cannabis is being tested in France, is a «medical» Technigrow, a Medigrow, in the pipeline?

Well, we're thinking about it! We'll be reactivating the machine this year, but we'll have to wait and see...

If, by some magic wand, cannabis was legalized in France, would you come back?

We love magicians, so that would certainly be a big yes!