Big showdown of two L.A. strain legends
Another new strain created by DNA Genetics of Amsterdam is Cataract Kush. She is expected to be a real heavy indica monster (99% indica / 1% sativa), as she was bred over several years from OG Kush and LA Confidential, both legendary and most popular strains coming from Los Angeles. DNA Genetics’ LA Confidential, consisting of OG LA Affie x Afghani, has won a total of eight prizes at various cannabis cups and was elected Strain of the Year 2006 by High Times Magazine. The famous OG Kush is one of the most precious genetic treasures there are, she was used for countless strain crosses and is also available as a pure strain from DNA Genetics, the same is true for LA Confidential.
According to DNA Genetics, Cataract Kush finishes in 8-9 weeks, supposed to “have blankets of crystals.” They continue: “The Cataract Kush looks almost grey-black when cured. The flavor is LA dominate with the OG Kush coming thru in the exhale. The nugs look OG with LA density. This is the perfect combination of these two strains and the high is VERY strong!” No wonder she shall be good for pain, eating and sleep disorders – could be you will instantly throw those sleeping pills away. Her high is a very special one, most describe Cataract as a “creeper” high that keeps on building long after you stop smoking. DNA Genetics underline that it is “NOT recommended for the light-weight smoker!” They promise that “average yields (of 350-500g/m2) and dense frosty nugs are easily achieved by the novice as well as seasoned growers.”
Without a doubt another most exciting case for kush lover The Doc who germinated six feminised Cataract Kush seeds. After three days already, they all had come out of the ground and were illuminated by two TLC 150 lights (CFL, 75 watts each) in the first week. Then the young seedlings were moved into the actual grow room that was equipped with two Osram Plantastar 600 watts HPS. They had a very good start, growing very well, and three days later,
The Doc transplanted them from 2 to 11 litre pots filled with Plagron Standar Mix soil. After three weeks in the vegetative stage, The Doc reported: “All of the plants have developed lots of side branches already, and this batch of plants seems to divide into two slightly different height phenotypes, half of the plants are about 10 cm lower than the other three, also having wider leaves. The other three plants are taller and the green of their thinner leaves is lighter.” After four weeks in the vegetative stage, The Doc induced flowering by switching the light cycle from 18/6 to 12/12, also replacing the two Plantastar lights with two GIB Extreme Plus 600 W HPS and one 400 W Osram Son-T Plus lamp. At that point of time, the taller plants were 47-50 cm high, with 8-10 internodes which made them very compact, and the three lower plants 32-35 cm high, also having 8-10 internodes, so they were growing even more compact.
The Doc reported that in the first week of flowering there was the onset of a noticeable stretching effect. One week later, that stretching effect had even increased which did surprise The Doc a little bit, with regard to that 99% indica heritage. The taller plants had already arrived at heights of about 95-105 cm, and the lower plants at 75-85 cm, somewhat catching up. Expectedly, they had all turned out to be female. The Doc removed a few of the medium and lower big shade leaves to give more light to the lower branches.
After four weeks of flowering, flower production was in full effect and those six Cataract Kush plants had lots of nicely budding tops along their branches and main stems. “The calyxes and small flower leaves are gemmed with lots of handsome resin glands now”, The Doc reported, “and there is a heavy kush smell in the air, very hashy. That stretching effect has obviously come to an end now, however, the plants have become really tall for an indica strain, the highest plants are measuring 125 to 140 cm now.”
Five weeks into flowering, the buds of the six plants were becoming thick and dense, and they all had the same flowering structure and pattern, very uniform, with a very high calyx-to-leaf ratio. “The first flower hairs have turned orange now, I guess harvest is about 2.5-3 weeks away”, The Doc reported. Pics were taken after seven weeks of flowering, when the plants still had 7-10 days to go. After eight weeks of flowering, the first three plants were ripe and harvested, the others followed three days later. “The buds are big, very dense and juicy, and their most intense Kush smell is simply awesome.
The calyxes are grouped in thick roundish clusters that together build these hard and resinous nuggets”, The Doc reported. Thanks to their high calyx-to-leaf ratio, harvesting the six Cataract Kush plants was quickly done. He carefully and slowly dried them over about three weeks and then put them on the scales. It turned out the Cataract Kush strain had made it over the 100-grams-per-plant mark – the total yield was 635 grams, about 106 grams per plant, very well done, Cataract Kush!
The dried buds gave off a wonderful, extremely intense hashy smell. Test smoking the Cataract Kush buds then did prove what DNA Genetics had announced – “It’s a mighty creeper, indeed, and has impressed me with pretty awesome indica potency, Cataract Kush almost needs to be referred to as poisonous!” But a good, beneficial kind of poison – The Doc, sometimes suffering from insomnia, was so heavily stoned after having smoked a fat Cataract Kush joint in the later evening that he easily fell asleep later on. “It’s certainly not to be recommended for beginners and during daytime”, he confirmed. Cataract Kush did fulfill the high expectations raised before, “there’s a deep source of incredible indica power within this plant”, The Doc concluded, “and that strong taste, sweet on the inhale and hashy on the exhale, is absolutely yummy.”
Cataract Kush is available in the form of regular seeds also, the price is 80 Euros for 13 seeds or 40 Euros for 6 seeds. Feminised Cataract Kush seeds are only offered in units of six, at a price of 60 Euros – really fair prices for such a high-grade indica strain I guess.
Green Born Identity – G.B.I.
Genetics | Cataract Kush (OG Kush x LA Confidential) |
Vegetative growth | here: 4 weeks after germination |
Flowering | here: 56-59 days, in general 56-63 days |
Medium | Plagron Standard Mix with 5% expanded clay and horn chippings, 11 litre pots |
pH | 6.0–6.5 |
EC | Vegetative stage: 1.2–1.6 mS
Flowering: 1.6-2.0 mS |
Light | First two weeks of growth: 2x TLC 150 lights 75 W
After two weeks of growth: 2x Osram Plantastar 600 W HPS Flowering: 2x GIB Extreme Plus 600 W HPS + 1x 400 W Osram Son T plus |
Temperature | 23-28°C (day)
18-20°C (night) |
Air humidity | Vegetative stage: 40–60%
Flowering: max. 50% |
Watering | By hand |
Fertilisation | HeSi Blühkomplex, HeSi Phosphor Plus from the 4th week of flowering |
Additives/stimulants | Nitrozyme, HeSi SuperVit and Wurzelkomplex, Enzyme |
Height | 100-150 cm |
Yield | 635 g |
Originally Published in Weed World Magazine Issue 96