The Adventure Begins
For my 1 m2 grow tent, I decided to use 9 plants in 11-liter pots. I used 10 seeds, just in case, but they all sprouted. The first 6 sprouted in 36 hours and the other 4 sprouted in the next 2 days. I used the paper towel method to germinate the seeds, but I previously soaked the seeds in water for a few hours to soften their shells.
They were first placed in 500 ml pots, and about 20 days after germination, they were transplanted to the final pots of 11 liters—all the plants developed with outstanding vigor from their first days of life. For the flowering stage, I used a rich soil mix composed of soil from a famous brand that specialized in cannabis nutrients, to which I added 10% of perlite, 5% of worm humus, and 50 grams of powdered bat guano per plant. After transplanting them to the final pots, they were also placed under the 600w HPS lights.
I still like to use HPS lighting when I grow at the peak of the winter because the High-Pressure Sodium bulbs produce enough heat to compensate for cold nights. They also contribute to a dry environment, which might be very helpful if the last weeks of flowering occur simultaneously with a period of high humidity. The plants loved the new soil, with more space to spread their roots and the powerful light with all the lumens they could wish for, in the perfect spectrum for an explosive flowering.
The Beautiful Colors and Sweet Aromas of the Flowering Stage
Around the 34th day after the appearance of the cotyledons, the first pistils started crowding along together to form the first flowers. Sweet Mimosa XL Auto® stretches a lot in the first weeks of flowering. The plants went from 20 cm in height to around 60 cm just in a couple of weeks. This well-balanced Indica-Sativa strain develops a long main cola and lots of strong side branches where numerous
flowers with good caliber start forming around 40 days after the germination of the seeds.At this point, there was a very high density inside the tent. It looked like a real jungle, so the RVK extractor was crucial for an adequate air renovation
Around day 45 it was time to give them flowering fertilizer as the plants had already used most of the nutrients present in the soil mix. And one week later, another dose of fertilizer and CalMag, just to be sure that they have everything they need in this critical flowering stage. On day 55 from germination, this excellent autoflowering strain already showed all its splendor.
We have to credit the Sweet Seeds® breeders for their fantastic work with this strain. The plants showed excellent homogeneity in structure and when it comes to resin production and aromas. At this point, 4 plants started developing purple tones in the leaves and flowers. The flowers were covered by sweet and aromatic resin. The contrast between green and reddish colors in the cannabis plant is an extra reward for any grower is pure enjoyment to the eyes. They only received water after the 52nd day to ensure that the roots were clean from any fertilizer trace on the harvest day.
Harvesting Sweet Mimosa XL Auto®
With the XL Auto range from the Sweet Seeds® genetic collection, the grower can always be sure to harvest high yields. I could confirm this once again with this lovely strain. The plants looked like photoperiod-dependent plants vegged for 30 days before changing into flowering.
The height of the plants was around 90-105 cm, and they were all full of side branches with heavy buds. I was also able to harvest all the plants on the same day, as there were very few differences in maturation among the 9 plants.
They were harvested precisely 65 days after the appearance of the cotyledons, with large and compact flowers, totally covered in trichomes, even in the surrounding leaves.
They were very easy to manicure, as the calyxes were swollen, and the calyx-to-leaf ratio was one of the highest I ever saw in an autoflowering strain. While harvesting, the whole house was filled with incredible aromas featuring earthy shades and citric tones of orange and mandarin. In just 3 hours, all the flowers of the 9 plants were manicured and placed on a drying rack.
Sweet Mimosa XL Auto® is a very good yielder. I got between 35 gr and 45 gr per plant and 375 gr of fragrant resinous buds from the 9 plants. The flowers then dried for 12 days and went into the glass jars. About one week after they went into the glass jars, I tried it for the first time, smoked and vaporized.
A Final Taste of Glory
The original Mimosa from which this strain was developed features a high presence of the terpene myrcene and some pinene and caryophyllene. The flowers are so compact that they have expanded somehow when they come out of the grinder. It is easy to explain how pleasant it was to smoke and vaporize this delicious strain. I tried a couple of “dry” hits (before lighting up the joint), and the aromas were from another world.
The delicious Sweet Mimosa XL Auto® reveals notes of fruit and orange flavors burst through to an explosion of sweet freshness in the mouth and nose. After lighting it up, the earthy background takes the lead. But the citric aromas remain in the mouth for a few minutes after taking the last hit, producing an amazingly fresh sensation that is very hard to forget and often leaves you craving more.
Sweet smokes! An autoflowering strain that every cannabis grower should try at least once. The THC levels of this strain range from 19% to 23%, so you can expect a potent effect that arrives just a few moments after the first hit. Many medical cannabis users can benefit from the effects of this strain, especially people seeking to relieve symptoms associated with anxiety and depression. Besides that, this jewel from the Sweet Seeds® genetic collection has a lively, cheerful effect and stimulates imagination and creativity.
Written and Published by Tommy G, Sweet Seeds in Weed World Magazine Issue 158