Words & Pics: Green Born Identity – G.B.I.
Ellis D. is fond of autos. He prefers to be on the move by bicycle, not the metal ones for driving. What he does like is auto cannabis strains. In contrast to his pal The Doc, whose somewhat cynical motto regarding cannabis is “autos belong into a dark garage.”
Well, whatever one may think of automatically flowering cannabis stains – they come with some benefits that cannot be argued away. And since, in general, auto versions of highly potent trend strains are much more than a pale decal of these, people like Ellis D. can confidently place an auto plant into their grow cabinet (in his case, a model from Growfor. life) and go for a relaxed automated grow ride.
Speaking of The Doc – Ellis D. knew about this grower legend that he once had cultivated Barney’s Farm’s “Tangerine Dream” strain with raving success and as luck would have it recently, another friend of Ellis D. happened to have gotten himself a seed package of their Tangerine Dream Auto and asked him whether he’d be keen to try one seed – boy, of course, he was! Barney’s Farm credits this auto version with basically the same characteristics the original plants feature: thick, juicy flower clusters imbued with sweet citrusy notes, a mentally stimulating yet physically relaxing effect, and high yields (up to 500g/m2). The THC count of the sativa-dominant (60%) plants naturally is a bit lower than with the full-blooded Tangerine Dream variety, and its CBD count is somewhat higher, which results in a slightly more subdued consumption experience. Final plant sizes come out at about 60-70 cm, and their life cycle from germination to maturation takes only 70-75 days.
Tangerine Dream Auto jumps the gun
Ready, steady, go! That Tangerine Dream Auto seed put into the ground jumped the gun; after about 2.5 days, the seedling was bathing in copious light radiated by the SANlight LEDs installed in the grow cabinet. Then it rushed into growth; two weeks after germination, it had turned into a young bushy plant with excellent initial branch formation, and a mere half a week later, Ellis D. detected female preflowering along the branches. “This plant seems to be on target fully; there’s been an early onset of flowering”, he commented.
The flowering stage: distinct stretching, enormous resin incrustations and citrus-infused chubby buds
Simultaneous to the onset of blooming, the plant exhibited a distinct stretching behavior: The main shoot and numerous lateral branches jumped upwards while retaining excellent compactness. It was unusual that the main short overtopped the longest lateral branches by a hand’s width only. Bud development was magnificent, with a multitude of dense chubby flower clusters soon emerging from the bottom to the top, and their fantastic resin output by far exceeded Ellis D.’s expectations; at the end of maturation, he reported: “Such a heavily crystallized auto strain I haven’t had the pleasure to witness yet! These fat buds are enormously crusted in resin, a lovely condition extending over larger multi-fingered flower leaves. I’m also very pleased that Barney’s aroma description has proven to be true; it is a tingly fresh, sweet and sour affair with distinct citrus notes, like a blend of sweet tangerines and more tangy limes. This auto plant is soaked in resin and flavor – I’m sure the vaping test will be a true joy of an experience!”
An ample yield results with many citrusy aroma stones.
At a final height of 72 cm and 73 days after sowing, his Tangerine Dream Auto plant came to full maturity, so it had ripened in time. The buds’ fairly low leaf share made harvest work comfortable for Ellis D. as not much snipping action was needed. On the weighing day a few weeks later, the needle pointed to 88 grams, which he considered an outstanding achievement. “In dry condition, these dense, hard nuggets appear to me like citrusy aroma stones – throughout the drying process, their citrus-infused bouquet has been fully preserved”, said a happy Ellis D.
It is a flavoursome taste experience with a strong effect and an excellent butter factor.
Half a gram of Tangerine Dream Auto had been placed into his Crafty + vaporizer when he eagerly took a first testing hit off the tool. Citrusy freshness instantly unfolded in his mouth but left a sweet film on his palate – a lasting flavoursome taste experience. “It’s as tasty as I had supposed”, attested Ellis D. After three hits, the auto weed sent a first wave of effect through Ellis D.’s mind and body. It was just like Barney’s had reported: mentally vivifying and even slightly euphoriant whereas physically relaxing “with that nice ‘butter factor’ how I call it if my limbs become pleasantly supple through weed”, explained Ellis D. Also, that sort of effect after six tokes was as strong as with good THC-rich non-auto strains and lasted long, too, about one and three-quarters of an hour.
Ellis D.‘s final thoughts
“Tangerine Dream Auto is a remarkably well-made auto strain that comes very close to the original plant! I can tell because I had had the chance to sample those awesome Tangerine Dream Bus once produced by The Doc. After Skywalker OG Auto, this was my second automatic variety from Barney’s Farm, and again, I have reason to accredit these guys with outstanding auto breeding work. Of course, now I’m curiously looking forward to my next auto test ride with Barney’s…”
Genetics | Tangerine Dream Auto ([G13 x Afghan x Neville’s A5 Haze] x Autoflower #1) |
Auto life cycle | 73 days, 70-75 in general |
Medium | Bionova Bio Soilmix, 15-litre pot |
pH | 6.3-6.8 |
EC | 1.2–1.8 mS |
Light | 2x SANlight Q1 = 100 watts |
Temperature | 18-27°C |
Air humidity | 40-60% |
Watering | manually |
Fertilisation | Bionova Soil Supermix, plus PK 13-14 in the flowering stage |
Additives/stimulants | Bionova Silution, The Missing Link, Vitasol and X-cel |
Tools | CleanLight Pro for mould prevention |
Height | 72 cm |
Yield | 88 grams |
Written and Published by Green Born Identity – Barney’s Farm in Weed World Magazine Issue 170
Images Supplied By Barney’s Farm – Green Born Identity
Seeds available at Weed World