As always, at Sweet Seeds® we released our new strains at the beginning of the year. This time we are releasing outstanding genetics on which we have been working for a long time and always against the clock, so that all growers can enjoy these new strains straight at the beginning of the season.
For some growers the new season begins at the end of the summer: the perfect timing to put our indoor cupboards to work. But for most growers, the season starts in the spring, when it is time to get ready for outdoor growing, on which we depend to get our supplies of good cannabis medicine for the rest of the year.
For this year of 2019, Sweet Seeds® has been able to bring to light a project in which the seed bank’s breeders have been working for a long time, particularly in the selection of parentals that could make it possible to accomplish a dream that we have been pursuing for years: a purple-flowered photoperiod-dependent strain. We are talking about our brand new Red Mandarine F1 Fast Version® (SWS79), a strain that will conquer the heart of many cannabis growers around the world.
In the last few years we have been delightfully enjoying the beauty of the strains from the Red Family: a line of purple-flowered autoflowering strains. In the meanwhile, a lot of fans kept on asking us for something similar, but in photoperiod-dependent version. Something that could allow them to select and keep mothers to perpetuate this genetic in their gardens. As I said, for the Sweet Seeds® breeders this has been a hard work of search and selection, but finally we found a very interesting plant. A Tangie photoperiod-dependent elite clone with a really special mandarin and cypress aroma, with the amazing purple-flower characteristic.
After a painstaking search, we just had to get down to work and make different crosses to find the phenotypes which offered reddish tones and were at same time rich in terpenes and high yielders. In this case, our famous Red Poison Auto® (SWS39) was selected as one of the parental for the crossing, contributing with a lot of sweetness and fruity aromas, as well as significantly helping to shorten the flowering stage and increase the production of trichomes, which are of an intense red color.
The reddish tone is a characteristic of plants featuring high anthocyanin contents, a compound of great therapeutic value for its antioxidant properties. We already knew about the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, but red cannabis adds a new positive effect to its use.
Now I would like to be able to tell you how it performs throughout growing and flowering, so I am going to leave you an indoor grow diary.
Growing the most beautiful flowers!
I have been fortunate to be among the fist to be able to enjoy this new Sweet Seeds® strain. A few months ago I grew it indoors and took some notes to share with you. If you look at our data sheet for Red Mandarine F1 Fast Version®, you will see that it is a very well balanced and fast strain. But I will not go into describing its effects without first telling you about the technical data.
Indica: 55% / Sativa: 45%
THC: 17-20% · CBD: 0.1%
Indoor Yield: 400-500g/m2
Outdoor Yield: 350-550g/plant
Indoor Blooming: 7-8 weeks
Outdoor Harvest: mid to late September
As growing room I used a small cabinet of 1.20cm x 1.20cm consisting of LED lighting with 2 grills of 4 COB each, for a total of 440 watts of consumption (220 watts per each), which is more than enough for the 9 plants that I have decided to grow. I set my extractor 24 hours on while using another one that works as an intractor for 15 minutes every hour, which is enough to renew the air and assure that the plants get the CO2 they need.
I also have two fans blowing air directly to the plants, something that can be very useful since the beginning, not only because it helps to move the air but also because it prevents fungi or insect attacks. In addition, and something which is really important, is that this air movement helps a lot in strengthening the plants as it generates higher production of cellulose, which translates into stronger and thicker stems and branches. It originates a more uniform growth, preventing the plants from stretching too much. All this along with an ideal distance to the lights, can be the key to get strong plants that are able to withstand the weight of large buds.
LEDs allow me to have the lights closer to the plants when compared to Sodium lights which generate too much heat and can easily burn the tips of the plants. In my case, the plants were less than 20 cm away from the lights at all times. The reddish color is visible after the 3rd week of flowering, sometimes a little earlier in some plants as it is a very fast strain that kicks out into flowering as a rocket once the light cycle is changed to 12/12.
The vegetative stage lasted about 4 weeks. I used very few fertilizers, since the soil contains enough nutrients for 5 weeks. In this stage, root development is important, so I used a root bio stimulator and enzymes to help in the breakdown of the dead matter left by these. As this strain features strong hybrid vigor, it is advisable to perform a little pruning in the branches from the lower part of the plant before changing to flowering.
It helps to improve air circulation and the branches that would never receive any light can reach to the same level of the top branches and main cola. Red Mandarine F1 Fast Version® deals well with all kinds of pruning because it is a genetic with flexible branches, making it an ideal strain for SCROG.
Every grower should keep the climate in the growing area always under control and avoid over-watering the plants. It is also advisable to wait until the soil is completely dry before watering again so that the roots can “breathe” for a while. If we pay attention to this tip from the beginning and respect the dry-wet-dry cycle, our Red Mandarine F Fast Version® will perfectly hold for a few days without watering when entering the flowering stage. I used 10 liter pots and the plants were watered every 3 days after day 20 from germination. If you keep the temperature within the optimum range, 18º / 25º (or a bit more), you can decrease the watering frequency.
As I was saying, I changed to 12/12 when the plants covered all the horizontal space and their height was of about 20cm. I could confirm homogeneity in this strain as all the plants were almost the same height and presented a really uniform shape. They kept growing along the first 2 weeks of flowering, reaching to their final height of a bit over 60cm. It is a strain that grows a lot in the first half of flowering but the plants do it in a very proportionally way and usually with the so appreciated short internodal distance, a sign that the grower can expect big colas.
At this point the plants were already showing beautiful red calyxes. Most of the plants presented this coloration (7 out of 9), some with greater intensity than others, but almost all of them with beautiful colors and totally covered with trichomes.
In the last ten days I only used water and enzymes, helping to decompose dead roots and to clean accumulated salts. This strain features fruity, sweet and citrus aromas, all very penetrating, with a chemical touch somewhat different from what we are used to in other strains. After the 8th week of flowering was complete, all the plants were placed in the dryer. I like to remove the largest leaves and hang the whole plant upside down, in a moderately dry place with good air circulation.
For an organic grow op I managed to get a very good yield of about 480 grams of top shelf weed composed of nice compact buds, fully loaded with high-quality red trichomes. It is also great for outstanding extractions with a very peculiar coloration. The effect of this strain is ideal to turn any task into a pleasant experience, without triggering any paranoia and with a feeling of mental pleasure. It is a very good choice for parties, hanging out with friends, walking in the countryside or performing entertaining tasks. Red Mandarine F1 Fast Version® combines a creative effect with fantastic aromas.
I hope you enjoyed reading and, above all, I hope you can have the pleasure of growing some plants of this incredible strain. I am sure you will fall in love not only with its simplicity in growth, but also with its extreme beauty.
Thanks for reading and I wish you the sweetest colors in your buds!
Written and Published By Jaypp In Weed World Magazine Issue 141
Images by Sweet Seeds