peak dry season leaf

[nerdy ninja]

I know we are coming up on dry season leaf and I was just curious to what time specifically that most feel is the peak of the season. In the past for me it’s usually been mid July through August. What would you guys say ?

[RumRunner]

August was a great month for some stellar strains last year. IMO, it seemed to peak with others in October. There’s a lag time from the end of Indo dry season to when that leaf finally ends up here.

[Siegebruce]

I haven't really noticed a difference with Kratom between the times of the year. Maybe I'm just not paying closer attention or something. I've had some really good "wet season" leaf and some awful "dry season"

[BallzDeep9]

When is Indonesia Dry Season? Below is a LINK for Accuweather - Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Should be fairly reliable to scan the Month, and check "Precip" figure on right. This is May 2020 - notice many days with zero Precip. A few heavy rain days, here & there.. Since May 18, it's been nice and dry!

https://www.accuweather.com/en/id/ponti ... &view=list

[fusedflora]

On double M I'm fairly certain there's not a noticeable deviation from wet and dry season, as most the suppliers have overcome this here.

Edit: If one knows the event in rainy season, the rainy season leaf can be superior, however, depending on the condition when it occurs, a similar circumstance can happen in dry season too, if we're talking about the same thing... Obviously soil makes the biggest difference in the plant, and the water impacts soil immensely, I'm speaking as to the average harvest, for the average vendor.. There's examples here on double m of folks that have tested and identified how things impact a harvest, but I feel it's a gross overgeneralization to say dry leaf or wet leaf is better.. On average, I don't think folks can tell a difference, however, I do completely agree with Chris below that there are exceptions.

[Zeedra]

I dont think theres much of a difference. Even with small batch vendors I get just as much great and just as much meh kratom during dry season as I do wet season.

[brave777]

Me personally i had good experience with wet or dry season. I am sure its somewhat over hyped with the dry season thing. Maybe there is some truth, but what so i know. Summer leaf suppose to bring fire, right? I honestly think if you already have good leaf you wont be so much happier chasing the dry season leaf. If you have not found good leaf then yes you should give it a try.

[Damen ck]

I believe Indo dry season proper is almost upon us. Me personally I can't tell the difference, I've gotten standouts all times of year and duds the same. Maybe some good will come out or global warming after all? /s
Im definitely going to be doing some hunting though. Pretty much got my next few months/purchases planned out. Some new vendors have appeared... that are in my price range. Plus SST is back!

[MycatTimmy]

I believe Indo dry season proper is almost upon us. Me personally I can't tell the difference, I've gotten standouts all times of year and duds the same. Maybe some good will come out or global warming after all? /s
Im definitely going to be doing some hunting though. Pretty much got my next few months/purchases planned out. Some new vendors have appeared... that are in my price range. Plus SST is back!

What’s SST ?

[Damen ck]

Sacred Son Tea

[Klyded]

Sacred Son Tea

What a menu... I'll order just to try Green Bastard

Honestly I like when vendors get creative with the naming convention. Goldfume is my favorite for this type of thing.

(on topic now)
With vendors from these parts though, dry season quality/product seems to be available all year round anyhow- as Fused pointed out. Having to actually wait til the season is literally upon us is a thing of ages past in my mind.

I've always wondered, when I do get a dud - which of the numerous variables is responsible for "sucky". I mean, I REALLY wonder now thinking back at how frequently this was a problem with larger commercial vendors... but regardless of that, my point is I'm not honestly certain how impacting season is to the overall quality. And to those ends, what IS actually the variable most often responsible for mediocre/craptastic leaf?

Genuinely curious on the aforementioned if anyone with wisdom on the matter wants to chime in!!

[onespeedstop]

I've heard rumors of better kratom in the 'dry season' as well, though having ordered 'round the year for 2 1/2 years now, I have found no connection what-so-ever to time of year having to do with quality. That said, I will of course be keeping an ear out for reviews of what's *hot* here the next few months now that I frequent this site regularly.

[Damen ck]

I've heard rumors of better kratom in the 'dry season' as well, though having ordered 'round the year for 2 1/2 years now, I have found no connection what-so-ever to time of year having to do with quality. That said, I will of course be keeping an ear out for reviews of what's *hot* here the next few months now that I frequent this site regularly.

Check here and get into some of the vendors mewe groups. Groups like leaves of Eden and rhino remedies are active and stay up to date when the drops come and what's good. Finding and obtaining the fire is a full time job.

[onespeedstop]

Check here and get into some of the vendors mewe groups. Groups like leaves of Eden and rhino remedies are active and stay up to date when the drops come and what's good. Finding and obtaining the fire is a full time job.

I'm probably not going to attempt to traverse MeWe again. Hopefully some of those vendors just throw together a website, and the rest of us can order that way. I realize some vendors want to remain underground and can't or won't take the more standard or ubiquitous payment methods, but not having even a dollar store looking website up is a bit of red flag for some of us older-timers ha-ha. Maybe I'll just miss out on a few, but if those vendors want to expand their business, a basic website for ordering, and a presence here would do them wonders IMO.

[gumbyke1]

So I think there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding the "dry season" and "wet season". I can tell you with 100% certainly that rainfall (more accurately water access) does impact the production of the trees of alkaloids. I have personally studied this in-depth and have empirical evidence that suggests as much. Even with that said, I dont think you need a degree in botany to assume the most essential nutrient to a plant would affect its growth and chemistry. For the sake of protecting the work we have invested in endlessly, I won't get into the specifics of the role water plays. However, I can shed a little light on to why there is confusion on the matter.

In short, there is so much confusion on this matter is that it's not easily proven with consumer-end anecdotes for the following reasons:

1. Indonesia is a HUGE place geographically, look how expansive it is on the map. Why does this matter? Well, the precipitation patterns in different areas can vary greatly. It doesn't rain in all regions of Indonesia at the same time (same in Malaysia - some of our very best kratom comes from Malaysia at a time when most of Borneo is experiencing a lot of rain).

2. The rain patterns vary each year. The average rainfall in each area also changes every year. Sure there are patterns, but they vary. You can never say from X month to Y month, this place will be in its rainy season.

3. There are precipitation breaks during the rainy season and rainfall during the dry season.

6. Some of the very best kratoms you can produce is harvested during a very specific weather event during the rainy season. I know that 99% of producers do not know specifically what this is, but kratom is harvested every day... some people will get lucky.

5. Finally, farmers (plantation owners) have no idea how to produce quality kratom, they just know how to make their trees grow and thrive. With that, they tend to heavily water their trees when rainfall is scarce. Kratom trees thrive in wet soil allowing more frequent/robust harvests... that is all they know or care about. See below.....

The below pictures are from a producer who I have a lot of respect for. We dont currently have a partnership with them because their products have never met our quality standards. However, the guy has grit and determination. He is taking what we can teach him and slowly improving the quality. I like to work with people like that, I hope that we eventually get there.

We do video check-ins/inspections with our partners routinely for a variety of reasons, but for this purpose, it was to inspect soil saturation at two plantations that were in the very same area. The below pictures are from just yesterday (please excuse the image quality, I just screenshot from video). Mind you - the rainfall at both plantations is the same... one is very different from the other.

Plantation A









Plantation B










Notice any difference? One plantation is dry as a bone and the other is in standing water. Which will produce better quality? Well, that would depend on several other variables. Less water does not automatically equal better products, the timing of nutrients including water is everything (hence the need for frequent inspections).

I know this doesn't give everyone the clear-cut answer I am sure folks want, it's just more complicated than that. However, dont be fooled... the weather/precipitation does matter. They matter greatly.... so much in fact that we specifically stockpile during specific weather events. We have tried a variety of things to avoid having to do this, but we haven't found anything that is practical to execute on a large scale.

With that said - it doesn't mean you can't get good kratom year-round, you absolutely can. If things align during the "rainy season", you can get great kratom and as I mentioned before, it may be the best kratom of the year.

[Klyded]

@gumbyke1

Super thank you for taking the time to report so thoroughly on this!! It really IS ridiculously fascinating to know what goes into the products we all seek and adore. Without first hand experiences such as reports like this, the curious mind can truly only wonder and muse over it.

Additionally I think it speaks volumes about how adept one has become in their trade when they are as goal oriented as you guys are in these respects. That type of acute knowledge is the result of not just schooling, but tried and true application and experience... which in turn explains A LOT about why what you folks maintain is the cream of the crop!

I find this a superb opportunity to express how I value you're writing and contributions like this. For enlightening the inquisitive side of my kratomic brain you've got gratitude x2 good sir! Given nature of your work and other writing I'd love to read you're book if ever it is scribed

[YngwieShreds]

Is it just me or does Plantation B look like it has thicker/denser leaves on it's trees than A?

[BurnBarrel]

I've heard rumors of better kratom in the 'dry season' as well, though having ordered 'round the year for 2 1/2 years now, I have found no connection what-so-ever to time of year having to do with quality. That said, I will of course be keeping an ear out for reviews of what's *hot* here the next few months now that I frequent this site regularly.

Check here and get into some of the vendors mewe groups. Groups like leaves of Eden and rhino remedies are active and stay up to date when the drops come and what's good. Finding and obtaining the fire is a full time job.

Legitimately a full time job, any luck as of late?

[BurnBarrel]

2015-16 must have been a drought from w how good the leaf was. When will it go back?

[Damen ck]

Check here and get into some of the vendors mewe groups. Groups like leaves of Eden and rhino remedies are active and stay up to date when the drops come and what's good. Finding and obtaining the fire is a full time job.

Legitimately a full time job, any luck as of late?

I don't keep up with it that much, most kratom now seems the same to me. I honestly can't keep up with all the mewe vendors and drops from other "hot" vendors. In the past it was a hobby, but now, if it works for me it works, I don't put as much time into it. There are some universally adored strains that just don't work for me, or are average at best. It can be frustrating trying to chase the fire after awhile.

I have my few go to vendors and every now and then I'll try a new vendor. Sometimes I'll strike gold, but it's always by accident. I bought like 5 kilos last month so I haven't been keeping up with the recent drops, but I'm pretty happy with what I have now.