Super Sativa Seed Club

The story behind SSSC (Super Sativa Seed Club)

Sam the skunk man

The Super Sativa Seed Club is one of the very first seed banks in the world. In the mid-eighties, every grower knew about the SSSC. It all started when "Sam the Skunkman" gave Karel Schelfhout, one of the founders of the SSSC and a former squatter, the Original Haze and Skunk#01 after he moved from California. Karel used Sam's genetics to create some of the famous strains that later became the Super Sativa Seed Club.

Nevil

The only seed bank that existed before the SSSC was Nevil's, called "the Seedbank". Founded by Nevil Schoenmaker, the Seedbank was the first internationally operating seed bank in the world. Nevil combined the 10 original Haze seeds he had received from Sam the Skunkman with the seeds he had collected on a variety hunt in Afghanistan to form his famous seed collection. The seed bank is best known for the Nevil's Haze strain, but Nevil was also the first to use the infamous Ruderalis strain in his breeding work. The seeds Karel received from Nevil, together with those he received from Sam, became the first breeding and the basis of the Super Sativa Seed Club.

High Times

Between 1985 and 1987, the SSSC's genetics pushed the boundaries of breeding and cultivation around the world. When High Times magazine published a cover story on the Dutch seed bank, sales exploded. In less than two years, SSSC sold millions of seeds in the USA, Europe and Asia. After two very successful years, the adventure came to an end. The founders went their separate ways and most of the SSSC seed collection was lost.

Legendary genetics

Weeds don't go away" is a literal translation of the Dutch expression "onkruid vergaat niet". And that is exactly what happened. After the SSSC adventure was over, Karel saved a very important plant, a daughter of the original Haze and Skunk#01. Karel kept cuttings of this precious plant for more than 30 years and named it 'Old School Haze'. The remaining SSSC genetics are the stuff of legend, and even today many strains carry DNA from the original SSSC seeds. All plants with a Haze or Skunk flavor probably have grandparents that were born from SSSC seeds.

Keeping the legend alive

In the 1990s, Karel and his team shifted their focus to genetic preservation and breeding new cannabis strains for the coffee shops in Amsterdam. At the same time, Karel worked on the development of advanced indoor growing techniques. This made him an authority in the field of elite genetics, breeding and cultivation. At this time, Karel's son Kees also joined him, who was already working in Barcelona and growing his own plants. His products are a great success in the cannabis social clubs, especially his signature strain Karel's Haze. Kees represents a new generation of growers. He works with great passion and ambition to keep the legend alive.

Karel

In the eighties, Karel was part of an underground scene of squatters where smoking weed was part of the lifestyle. Curious about the possibilities of growing weed himself, the first growers emerged. These pioneers were looking for new techniques to grow high-quality marijuana indoors. Karel began experimenting with indoor growing facilities in abandoned houses. He used professional grow lights, developed mineral fertilizers and grew the plants on rock wool. This technique of growing without soil was copied by the nearby greenhouse industry.

Kees

Kees always wondered where his father got his old-school tasting weed from. In 2015, he discovered that his father had been secretly growing OSH in a hidden location all those years. Being a grower himself, Kees was convinced that the old genetics were very valuable. He set out to reintroduce the original taste and quality of Haze. Thanks to his efforts, SSSC is now able to sell original OSH seeds alongside the many other specialty genetics from the old seed collection.

SSSC is proud to have the honor of being part of the esteemed club of pioneers in the High Times Hall of Fame.