OAKLAND 8-LIGHT BEGINNINGS
Before the collabs, before the jars with global reach, Dubz Garden was simply Frank in a basement. Eight lights, limited budgets, and uncompromising standards defined the early days. His rule was simple: if the trim wasn’t tight, the product never left the room. This discipline laid the foundation for everything that followed.
GLUE LORE (GG4)
While much of the Bay chased whatever strain was buzzing, Frank was chasing quality. Gorilla Glue #4 was notoriously hard to get, but he secured the cut and dialed it in until it reeked of diesel and chocolate. His reputation grew as “the guy with the real Glue,” a title that cemented his credibility in local circles.
PBB ORIGINS (2015)
By 2015, Frank was ready to move beyond the Gelato and OG Kush flood. When ThugPug Genetics released Dosido × Mendo Breath, he ran multiple packs, hunting through twelve phenotypes. One stood apart—purple, trichome-drenched, nutty and gassy with undeniable bag appeal. Peanut Butter Breath was born, and Frank branded it with a Skippy-inspired peanut butter jar. The look went viral, but it also drew cease-and-desist letters from Skippy and Oreo.
HAPPY ACCIDENT → BERNIE HANA BUTTER
One day, an Oreoz pollinated a room of Jet Fuel Gelato and Guava. Frank kept the seeds, hunted them, and found winners. One standout cut made its way through Cozmo and eventually to Berner, becoming the foundation of Bernie Hana Butter. Its lineage—(Jet Fuel Gelato × Guava) × (Blue Cookies × Oreoz)—was clear and traceable, a new standard for transparency in strain credit.
COOKIES CONNECT
Bernie Hana Butter took nearly two years, slowed by pandemic delays, but once Cookies released it, the strain became a flagship example of Dubz Garden’s influence. Frank’s work developed the genetics, Cookies pushed it to the world. This partnership showed how legacy breeding and corporate branding could merge into modern strain culture.
FLAVOR EXPANSION: HORCHATA
Frank didn’t stop at flower. With Horchata, a creamy mix of coconut, mango, and strawberry terps, the profile expanded across platforms: Sluggers minis and blunts, Coldfire “Juice” carts, and Holy Smokes hash-infused packs. It proved that flavor IP could stretch into multiple formats without losing identity.
THE PASTRY PROGRAM
Dubz Garden leaned into dessert profiles with releases like Zeclair and Blue Zeclair, anchoring Coldfire cartridges, and Zeppoles, which tested over 43% THC. These weren’t candy terps—they were bakery-inspired strains that widened the dessert lane in cannabis genetics.
LA COZ PIPELINE
Grammy-nominated producer Cozmo wasn’t just family, he was a collaborator. Together, they rolled out cultivars like Ponzu, Baby Herman, and Bubblegum Horchata. Their partnership treated strain drops like music releases, each one presented as a single in a catalog.
COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
Dubz Garden extended its reach through strategic partnerships: resin collabs with Friendly Farms, cartridges with Coldfire, and infused offerings with Sluggers. Products landed on shelves at Cookies and Exotix, following a repeatable model of R&D, partnership, and retail execution.
BRAND WORLD-BUILDING
Dubz Garden wasn’t just flower. It became an identity. Branded apparel like “Tree Trimming & Gardening Service” tees and Coco Krispies corduroy hats gave consumers a cultural badge. Owning merch was proof you had been inside the garden, not just smoked the product.
BASEMENT TO SYSTEM
What started as a small Oakland basement scaled into a structured system. Frank kept trim standards high, partnered with industry leaders, and protected his breeding lanes. From Glue to Peanut Butter Breath to Bernie Hana Butter, Dubz Garden stayed rooted in clarity, precision, and authenticity. Today, the jars still reflect the discipline of day one.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
Presented by Nugg Notes
sources:
• Rogers, Felisa. “5 Lessons Learned From Dubz Garden: The Secrets Behind Special Strains.” Honeysuckle Magazine, 8 Feb. 2024.
• “Bernie Hana Butter.” Cookies, product page.
• “Cookies Global × Dubz Garden.” Dubz Garden.
• “Flower.” Dubz Garden.
• “Horchata – Sluggers Minis (3 × 0.5g).” Hit Sluggers, product page.
• “Horchata Blunt.” Hit Sluggers, product page.
• “Blue ZeClair Juice Vape Cart (Dubz Garden Collab) 1g.” Weedmaps, product page.
• “ZeClair Juice Vape Cart (Dubz Garden – Cured Resin) 1g.” Weedmaps, product page.
• “Limited Edition Cannabis Vape Cartridges | Product Drops.” ColdFire Extracts.
• “Dubz Garden × Holy Smokes 1g Infused Pre-Rolls (2 Pack).” Valley Pure, product page.
• Dubz Garden (Instagram Reel): “Tree Trimming & Gardening Service T-Shirt Out Now!”
• “CORD HAT – Green.” Dubz Garden Shop.
• “Featured Retailers.” Dubz Garden.
• “Dubz Garden – Exotix.” Exotix.
• “Bubblegum Horchata Cart Review.” The Fire Scale, 2023.
• “FRIENDLY FARMS.” Dubz Garden.
• “1g Gelato Plus Cured Resin Sauce — Friendly Farms × Dubz Garden.” Humble Root, product page.
• “Strain Review: Peanut Butter Breath by Dubz Garden.” The Highest Critic, 30 Aug. 2020.
• “Peanut Butter Breath (Do-Si-Dos × Mendo Breath).” SeedFinder.
• Shepardson, David. “Oreo Maker Mondelez Warns Cannabis Companies Over ‘Oreoz’ Name.” Reuters, 27 Jan. 2022.
• Frank (Dubz Garden). Email to NuggNotes. n.d.
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