Award-winning cannabis journalist and best-selling author David Downs highlights the hottest flowers blazing up the charts in legal U.S. states for the start of fall. It’s his (mostly) monthly column, dubbed “Terp Sherpa.”
Costumes and candy are for babies. There’s a special kind of flower overflowing our cornucopias each October. Spoiler: It’s weed!
Your humble Terp Sherpa traipsed across the Golden State over the past month—from the lurid terp ranches of Humboldt to the boiling bowels of downtown Los Angeles’ Puffcon 2026 to our idyllic private garden in wine country. All to bring you these top flowers for harvest season.
Hope you packed your crampons, ’cause it’s gonna get icy! This is High Times’ Terp Sherpa for Croptober.
1) Pi-Chew
We start Terp Sherpa for October 2026 at my Clonetopia clone release fest in Richmond, California, Sept. 19-20, where Jake from Ronin Seeds gifts me the coveted follow-up to the super-hyped Toad Venom—Pi-Chew. This Hi-Chew-smelling and tasting green bud comes from a cross of Zikigai Gardens’ Z-Pie #14 x WyEast Farms’ Zuyaqui. It contains Zkittlez, Georgia Pie, Dogwalker and Horchata. While Ronin Seeds’ Toad Venom is limey, gassy and cookie-forward, Pi-Chew lightens things up with tropical fruit taffy terps and a hint of gas. Ronin Jake agrees that you can’t smoke Toad all day and get anything done. By contrast, Pi-Chew keeps you locked in, and is good for gaming, work, creativity, and crafts like carving a pumpkin.
2) Toad Burger
Up next, we jump ahead to Venice Boulevard the night of Oct. 2 when we run into Green Dragon dispensary’s Glen, selector of what would become Toad Venom. He’s also looking for lightning to strike twice, and his lightning rod is Toad Burger—a cross of Toad Venom x Donnie Burger. This is Glen stepping on the gas with a funky, skunky, stanky, strong indica hybrid. Toad Burger is frosty, medium-sized, green, dark green, purple, with orange hairs. Roll up some Toad Burger when it’s time to chillax with some Rick and Morty, the Deltron 3030 vinyl, or extra toasty Cheez-Its.
3) Psyop
One of my faves from the Puffcon Block Party Oct. 3-4 in downtown Los Angeles, Alien Labs’ Psyop is like a more purple, bigger Zoap. It’s a cross of (Planetary OG x Runtz) x Dark Web #9. I have Dark Web down as Zoap bagseed, and I get that lovely bouquet of synthetic floral, sour candy Z, creamy berry sherb, and a cookie bottom. Alien Labs is doing its homework. I’ve visited Alien Labs’ Ted Lidie at his spot in Sacramento and the team is hunting through hundreds of new strains every week.
4) Cardo’s Forever Salem Biscotti
Shout-out to old-school Biscotti, man. Love this gassy, vanilla, coffee cookie strain. We were sweating terps after dusk at Puffcon when Broken Promises’ Jason Blake gifted me this tasty jar. Jason shouted over the crowd and generators that the hype producer Cardo—of Larry June, and Taylor Gang fame—had released a Forever Salem merch capsule at ComplexCon nearby. “This is the strain from it,” he smiled. Broken Promises’ weed arm Smoken Promises jarred up a small, hand-selected batch of Biscotti from Connected—“the best of the best” from Smoken Promises’ new Naughty Biscotti drop. Salem x Smoken Promises Biscotti will have you feeling very peaceful—great for working on beats, chilling outdoors, or hanging with the bros.
5) Dole Whip
Before we get into some strains of the harvest season, we have to big-up the San Diego Farmers Cup 710 Edition first place flower winner Dole Whip, grown by Rosin Tree Farms. This blast from the past was bred by top Washington breeder Exotic Genetix from a cross of Tropic Truffles x Cookies & Cream IX3. You get pineapples, cream and cookies in this epic cross. Exotic Genetix Mike has always killed it with his Cookies work. We see Dole Whip seeds for sale on Seeds Here Now, which is a ‘buy’ from me. This hybrid strain is going to pair well with eating a hearty meal and watching some comedy specials on Netflix.
6) Bolinas
OK, now let’s really get into the spirit of the top harvest month, also known as Croptober. First up is the ultra-modern sativa, Bolinas, bred by Purple City Genetics of Oakland. PCG’s founder Auryn chafes at how bottlenecked modern pot has got, so he plotted a breakout with this cross of Orange 76 x Chimera Junky. Auryn aims to flip the lids of his Gen Z employees with this zesty, pithy, sweet, flavorful smoke. We grew Bolinas from a Clonetopia clone in May, and she was the beast of the bunch, easily hitting 7 feet. Bolinas was a treat to grow, a good eater, with mold and pest resistance. The high is alert, happy, and focused without being anxy. We’ve seen it grown by California outdoor duo Alpenglow for the Solful line of stores, and also seen it as a rare citrus sativa hash from Harry Rose. I’d hit it before chores, yoga, happy hour, hobbies, and hikes.
7) Hash Burger
Leafly Strain of the Year 2025 Hash Burger was the top savory strain at Puffcon 2026, and it’s coming in by the ton this Croptober. We had the pleasure of growing a Haze Valley Nursery Hash Burger clone and it became the stankiest, second-prettiest plant in the garden. Hash Burger is a cross of Han Solo Hash Plant x Double Burger, and it’s got Triangle Kush and GMO in it—all pungent. Gardens across the U.S. are offering it. In California: Moon Valley, Greenline, Claybourne, Coastal Sun, Fog City, Almora, and No Till Kings. We also see it from The Deli in Michigan, MFNY in New York, Daze Off and Nature’s Grace in Illinois, Resin Ranchers and Frost Factory in Oregon. You get the picture. Hit the Hash Burger and then vegetate to an ambient record, a nature documentary, or just take a euphoric weed nap.
8) Whitethorn Rose
Our Croptober 2026 travels took us up to southern Humboldt County in September, where we saw the famed Whitethorn Rose of Huckleberry Hill Farms in person. This cross of Paradise Punch and Lemon OG has been the belle of the ball for the last few years, but its star has yet to dim. Instead, Whitethorn Rose is spreading—multiple hash makers have stashes of it in rosin form. And Huckleberry Hill Farms’ John Casali has shared it with his favorite grower friends, who are bringing their own variations out this season. Look out for crosses Paradise Rose, Ridgeline Rose, and Lost Coast Rose, among many others. “The hardest part of sharing is when your friends make something better,” Casali joked. Whitethorn Rose has what used to be pejoratively known as Forbidden Fruit terps—but we’ve always adored some grape-cherry-lemon with a dash of tangy funk. Whitethorn Rose feels fabulous and is so versatile. Hash maker the Bryantist says Whitethorn Rose will take you whatever direction you want to go. Try baking, crafting, date night, and what happens after date night.
9) Blue Andeze
Let’s wrap with two throwback flavors from Croptober, in honor of the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony tour, as well as Salt-N-Pepa’s latest dates. Strains that make you say—“I know that reference.” Look out for a bountiful outdoor crop of Blue Andeze this year. It was bred by Kounter Kulture’s Kristian Andreasen for Conception Nurseries, and it’s all over California. Blue Andeze mixes Thin Mint Cookies with DJ Short’s Blueberry for a vintage minty, cookie, blueberry smell and taste. Who doesn’t love a Blue Cookies re-rock? We’ve seen it from Moon Valley, West Coast Cure, Almora, and Sonoma Hills Farm, to name a few. This indica hybrid is going to pair great with meals, but I’d love to hit it and then get a massage/spa treatment—that would be amazing.
10) Maui Wowie
Lastly, we send you off with this Croptober classic—Maui Wowie, grown these days by Humboldt Family Farms from a 2009 Big Island cut. Maui Wowie mostly exists as a terp profile peddled by vape pen flavorists, which makes the real thing all the more special. Real Maui Wowie is green bud that smells tropical, bright, citrusy, and spicy with a woody, classic herb undertone. There aren’t enough legit sativas for how much work there is to do these days, so pair Maui Wowie with getting creative, or going outdoors, or partying it up with some friends.
And those are our breezy picks of amazing strains for October. Did Terp Sherpa get you higher? Did we miss a peak? Send correspondence to daviddownspresents@pm.me
