In this grow diary, we’re tackling Honey Melon Kush Automatic. This 70% indica hybrid blends Blueberry and Girl Scout Cookies in a fast-flowering autoflowering variant. Our grow resulted in a plant which was quite tall for its short flowering period and provided a sizeable and potent harvest.
Total growing time: 97 days
Flowering time: 63 days
Final height: 128 cm
Final yield: 111 grams
THC content: 21.3%
To give Honey Melon Kush Automatic everything it needed to thrive, we grew it under a 1000 W Philips GreenPower HPS lamp hung 3 metres above the plant. After sprouting, our seedling was grown in an 8-litre plastic pot filled with BAC Lava mix and loosely covered with Rockwool. The grow space was climate-controlled with daytime temperatures of 23°C and nighttime temperatures of 21°C with a relative humidity of 65% during vegetation.
Germination & seedling
Before we could properly plant our Honey Melon Kush Automatic seed, we first needed to germinate it. There’s only one technique that we recommend to do this; the paper towel method. Simply place a couple of lightly damp (not dripping wet) paper towels onto a plate and sprinkle any seeds on top.
Make sure that they have a few centimetres between them and cover them all with another damp paper towel. Finally, loosely cover the whole thing with a plastic bag and put it in a warm place. After a day or two, your seeds will have cracked open to reveal the taproot.
As soon as our seed was ready to go, we planted it into a Rockwool cube (taproot down) and placed it under a 600 W lamp. At this point, seedlings are very fragile and too much light, heat, or water, can damage them. After three days we gave our seedling its first watering with 100 ml of pH-balanced water (pH 6.2; EC 0.8) mixed with a small amount of rotting hormone.
By the end of the first week, our plant was 6.5 cm tall and a healthy shade of green. While it still hadn’t grown its first true leaves, the cotyledons were thick and healthy. As this week wrapped up, it was time to move our plant to its new home—an 8-litre plastic pot—and place it under the 1000 W light.
Vegetation
Over the second week, our Honey Melon Kush grew to 10 cm and developed its first set of true leaves with a second pair growing nicely. To make sure that it had enough food and water, we began watering it each day with 200 ml of water (pH 6.0; EC 1.4) mixed with Bio Grow liquid nutrients.
During this week, we also hung satchels of Neoseiulus californicus and Amblyseius swirskii off of the lower branches. These small pouches are full of tiny predatory mites which have a symbiotic relationship with cannabis plants. These critters don’t harm plants but instead, eat things like spider mites or thrips that can devastate a harvest. These satchels are replaced every four weeks to ensure a steady supply.
In week three, our plant doubled in size to a new height of 20 cm and developed 3 new sets of leaves. Additionally, branches were beginning to grow out of the lowermost inner nodes. Expecting another week of rapid growth, we again increased the volume of water to 400 ml per day.
Week four saw another huge growth spurt for our plant which was now 44 cm tall—more than double its height just a week prior. During this week, the lower branches began to develop more fully to form a nice canopy. With flowering just around the corner, we (once again) doubled the water to 800 ml per day (pH 6.0; EC 1.7). Also, as the plant was growing larger, we lowered the humidity to 60%.
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Flowering
As we entered week five, it was time to switch our Honey Melon Kush to flowering. Now, as this is an autoflowering plant it will blossom regardless of the lighting conditions, but we were growing other plants in the same space. Regardless, there’s no issue with reducing the light on an autoflowering plant to a 12 hours on and 12 hours off schedule.
Over this first week of flowering, our plant gained another 20 cm to reach a new height of 63 cm and we upped the water to 1000 ml each day (pH 6.0; EC 1.8) and swapped to Bio Flower liquid nutrients.
In week six, our plant’s growth slowed down slightly to reach a new height of 74 cm. By now, it was beginning to show the very first signs of flowering as small white hairs started growing at the inner nodes and tops of branches. At this point, the plant had a fairly uniform canopy and the lateral branches were growing relatively close to the main stalk. With the plant likely to enter full bloom soon, we increased the water for a final time to 1500 ml per day.
Week seven saw the single biggest growth spurt of the entire grow with our plant gaining a whopping 34 cm to climb to a new height of 108 cm. Much of this new height was in the main stem and the result was a less even canopy and a more standard Christmas tree shape so common to indicas. This explosive growth was accompanied by the formation of proper flowers along the entire plant.
Over week eight, the vertical growth slowed considerably as the plant began focusing its energy on flower development. By the end of the week, our plant had only grown 4 more centimetres to 112 cm. The buds, though, were popping up all over the place and the main cola was slowly forming.
Week nine was the last week of any real vertical growth; 9 cm to a new height of 121 cm. The flowers were beginning to grow noticeably denser and the plant was beginning to give off a slight, but distinct, aroma of fresh flowers with hints of fruitiness.
By the end of week ten, our Honey Melon Kush Automatic had grown to 126 cm and required some additional support on the main stalk and a few lateral branches as the flowers were growing heavy enough to cause bending. The buds forming the main cola had all grown together and the tops of the branches had all developed roughly golfball-sized buds. At this point, the flowers weren’t incredibly dense, but that was rapidly changing.
Week eleven saw no vertical growth but the size and density of the buds were coming along nicely. At this point, we noticed the first few pistils began to turn orange indicating that harvest was just around the corner.
Over weeks twelve and thirteen, our plant grew only 2 more cm as the main cola expanded upwards. Its final height of 128 cm is on the taller end for many indicas, but still completely manageable for most indoor growers.
By the end of week fourteen, it was time to harvest our Honey Melon Kush Automatic.
Harvest
Harvesting our Honey Melon Kush Automatic cannabis plant didn’t take too long. As with all of our plants, we simply cut it down at the base, removed the fan leaves, and left it to hang upside down in a room kept at 15.5°C with a humidity of about 50%. The plant was then left to hand until the smaller branches snapped when bent. On average, this generally takes anywhere from 14-21 days.
Once the plant had mostly dried, the buds were removed, trimmed up, and placed into glass jars for curing. These jars were left open for the first 24 hours to allow the bulk of the remaining moisture to evaporate. Afterwards, they were sealed and “burped” multiple times a day.
Several times a day, the jars were left open for one hour. The frequency was slowly reduced until only one burping was performed a day. This entire process takes roughly 4-6 weeks but is crucial for getting the optimal taste from your buds.
Once all was said and done, we were able to harvest a respectable 111 grams of grief flowers with a THC content of 21.3%.
Terpene profile
Once our buds were ready for sampling, we lit up. From the very first puff, we were impressed by the smoothness of the smoke and the subtle mixing of flavours. While this is a 70% indica, many of the tastes are closer to what you might expect from a sativa; sweet, fruity, and a little earthy.
Within a few seconds, though, any lingering doubts clear away as a distinctly (but not overwhelmingly) indica-like high starts to settle in. A sense of euphoria quickly washes over you followed shortly by a wandering cerebral high that’ll get your head in the clouds. On top of all this, you’ll be greeted with a warm, soothing body sensation that’ll melt that stress away.
The best thing about the high from this strain is just how mellow it is. You definitely feel it, but at no point does it overwhelm or get in the way. This strain is a great choice for any time of day.
The outcome
Overall, Honey Melon Kush Automatic was a breeze to grow. While a bit tall for an indica and a bit slow for an autoflower, this strain has got it where it counts; yield. These plants can routinely produce upwards of 100 grams of potent and pleasant buds for any indoor grower with just a little more time and space than more compact strains.
- Disclaimer:Laws and regulations regarding cannabis cultivation differ from country to country. Sensi Seeds therefore strongly advises you to check your local laws and regulations. Do not act in conflict with the law.
