Power to the people with the 25% THC
Gorilla Girl and Sweet Amnesia Haze
Cannabis is a multifaceted plant in every way, including when it comes to the effect of its cannabinoids. On one hand, in the last few years in the cannabis seed market we observed a boom in CBD-rich strains which usually feature low contents of THC and very few psychoactive effects. On the other hand, and to counterbalance this tendency, Sweet Seeds® recently released two super powerful strains: Gorilla Girl® (Sweet Seeds® variety SWS74) and Sweet Amnesia Haze® (SWS72). Between January and May I decided to try out all of the new Sweet Seeds® CBD-rich strains, leaving no space in my indoor area for these THC-rich strains, which made me make an exception and extend my indoor growing throughout the summer season. Living in an area of South Europe where the summer is usually very hot, with maximum temperatures ranging from 32ºC to 42ºC in July and August, I was perfectly aware of the difficulties that I was about to face. But the desire to try these strains was much stronger than any concern, so I decided to give them a try to see what happens, as in the worst case I could stop the growing at any time if major problems occurred, which made me think I had nothing to lose.
By the 4th of June I sprouted 3 seeds of each strain, leaving 6 plants in a 80x80x160 cm. closet, in a total area of 0,64 m2. By the 6th of June 5 of the 6 seeds germinated. The 6th seed only germinated by the 9th of June, but the plant ended up catching the other 5 in size about 1 week later. They were first placed in 500 ml. containers with Canna Professional soil mixed with a 10% of organic worm humus. Developing with outstanding vigor during the first 2 weeks, they were transplanted to the final pots of 15 litres at around day 15 from germination, this time with Canna Professional Plus soil mix, to which I added 5% of organic worm humus and 5% of Guanokalong bat guano powder. In the first 8 days I had them under CFL lights and from the 9th day until harvest I used 400w High Pressure Sodium lights.
Anticipating problems with hot temperatures I decided to give them only 18 days of vegetative. 3 or 4 days after transplanting them to the final pots I changed the photoperiod to 12/12 so that they would remain short and easier to work with. By doing this I had them flowering about 24 days after germination with a medium height of 30 cm. Besides the positive features of Sweet Amnesia Haze®, of which I will speak in the last part of this article, a very important characteristic is that this strain is probably the easiest Haze or Amnesia Haze strain I have ever grown. Every Haze strain that I grew before featured very marked Sativa structure, which means tall plants that stretch much more than an indoor grower would wish for. Sweet Amnesia Haze® has been selected and bred to cut down this inconvenient and the plants show a mainly Sativa structure but without the excessive stretch that most Sativas tend to exhibit.
After 16 days of stretching, the plants stopped growing to focus all their energy in the production and development of big flowers. Gorilla Girl® ended up with the final height of around 60 cm. and Sweet Amnesia Haze® with around 65 cm., making it possible to grow them together indoors with artificial lights. At that point, in the second half of the third week of flowering, I started using BioFlores and BioBoost, both from Canna, once every week. I could have started before, but my soil mix was very rich in nutrients so I postponed the use of liquid fertilizers, allowing the plants to benefit from the purity and cleanliness of a “only-water” diet. It was mid July and luckily the temperatures were a bit lower than usual in that period of the year. In my opinion that was the key for a successful grow operation, but I am also sure that the vigor and resistance of the genetics played a crucial role.
When the higher temperatures finally arrived, by the first week of August, the plants were already in the second half of flowering, with the plant structure completely defined and all the flowers developed to the point where they only needed to achieve maturity while getting thicker and more compact. About 10 days later, by the 11th of August, the plants seemed to be on their way to full maturity so I stopped feeding them with liquid fertilizers in the expectation of harvesting them about 12 or 15 days later. In this moment the outdoor maximum temperatures were ranging between 36ºC and 42ºC and the power of my RVK extractor was not enough anymore, so I had to use air conditioning while the lights were on, 12 hours every day.
Still at this point, mid August, they were already showing some of the aromas that are characteristic of each of the strains. Sweet Amnesia Haze® released the most pleasant incense aromas after I touched its flowers breaking some resin glands to release the terpenes. Gorilla Girl® released even more intense aromas that were reminiscent of earth and citrus. Both strains produced flowers completely covered with trichomes, even in the smaller leaves that surround the flowers, making these strains excellent options for the enthusiasts of cannabic extractions. Gorilla Girl® seems to produce more compact flowers but Sweet Amnesia Haze® develops flowers of an outstanding calibre, full of dark orange pistils. All the plants matured as real champions.
Another great feature of Sweet Amnesia Haze® is its flowering time, as 9 weeks is an exceptional number for a mostly Sativa strain. Gorilla Girl® features approximately the same flowering time, so all the plants were harvested with an interval of only 5 days, between day 62 and day 67 of flowering, within the third and fourth week of August.
The 3 Gorilla Girl® plants yielded a total of 129 grams (43 grams per plant) and the 3 Sweet Amnesia Haze® plants yielded a total of 141 grams (47 grams per plant). Probably my best indoor harvest ever in this period of the year. The lower small popcorn buds and the manicured frosty leaves allowed for 6 grams of top shelf hash. As it was a dry extraction I could then re-use the vegetable remainings to make canna butter for my amnesiac chocolate chip scout cookies.
The effect of the smoke and vapor is really powerful and mind-blowing. Gorilla Girl® features very high THC levels that can reach between 20% and 25% in optimal grow conditions. Some specimens can even exceed these levels. The resin production is copious and the buds are very compact. This strain is the resulting hybrid from the cross between two of the most famous and powerful genetics coming from the USA: Gorilla Glue and Girl Scout Cookies. The Girl Scout Cookies specimen used for this cross comes from the phenotype known as “Thin Mint”.
The plants look like balanced Indica-Sativa hybrids, very productive and vigorous, with long and flexible side branches. Gorilla Girl® features intense taste and aroma, with cypress tones and a touch of wood, complemented with hints of earth and citrus.
On the other hand Sweet Amnesia Haze® sends us to some sort of amnesiac maze where dizziness is a state of mind that one can surprisingly cope with, taking the most out of the experience, loaded with a sensation of euphoric happiness. This genetic is a cross between two Amnesia Haze “elite” clones of exceptional quality. The result is a mainly Sativa genetic of excellent quality. It is a very high yielder for a Sativa strain, producing loads of compact buds in its long side branches. As a very easy-to-grow strain, it is suitable for every kind of growers, from beginners to the most experienced. The tastes and aromas of Sweet Amnesia Haze® are amazing, featuring lemon citrus tones, a complex background and a very special touch of cedar wood. In conclusion, I am very happy with my decision of growing these two strains, even though the period of the year when I grew them. I have 6 jars full of sweet and aromatic flowers with a powerful effect.
Words and pics by Tommy L. Gomez, Sweet Seeds
