Master Kush Feminized is the combination of a hand-chosen strain from India outcrossed to a selected strain from Afghanistan. Both are well-known regions for hashish, but more specifically, a type of hash called charas. It is no surprise that Master Kush is loaded with trichomes and gives off a strong profile that excites the heady hash folks.
Flowering stage: 63 days
Total time, seed to harvest: 98 days
Final yield: 102 grams
THC content: 24.26%
Master Kush Feminized is an excellent choice for cultivators who enjoy extremely resinous cannabis. This sticky strain is the result of outcrossing two respected landrace varieties. We hand-selected a cultivar from India and hand-selected another from Afghanistan for this project. The result was Master Kush, which we are able to offer in regular, feminized, and autoflowering versions.
Master Kush was bred with specific intentions in mind. Growth-wise, the goal was to create a compact, fast-finishing plant that could be grown well by anyone, regardless of experience. For hash aficionados and fans of charas, the goal was a strain with heavy trichome coverage. For the more mature connoisseurs, we wanted to capture that earthy, sandalwood profile often found in classic strains. We are happy to say, check, check, and check, our Master Kush has it all.
To start, we first needed to get our gear together and the room set. This grow report was conducted in a large cultivation cell with a 1000W Green Power Philips HPS lamp at a fixed height of 300 cm above the soil. Airflow within the cell is consistent with large fans positioned throughout. The extracted air is filtered of odours by an inline fan attached to a carbon filter.
Environmental conditions are essential to control. A grower’s ability to maintain steady temperatures and humidity levels will directly impact the final yield. During this grow, temperatures were maintained at 23°C with the lights on and were held consistent at 21°C during the lights off. Humidity will vary slightly, being the highest throughout the germination and seedling stage.
Germination & seedling
To start our grow cycle, we took a small amount of pH 6.2 water and soaked two kitchen paper towels, and proceeded to place each paper towel on separate plates. We placed our Master Kush Feminized seeds on the damp paper towels, and put the two plates together, creating an ideal dark environment for germination. After roughly 36 hours we saw the white tap root emerging from the opened seam of our Master Kush seeds.
We then transferred this into our BAC Lava Mix Soil to establish a tap root. Our Master Kush was in the small container for only a few days before roots were sticking out from the bottom. We then transplanted the plant into a 1-litre container. Upon transplanting, we added 100 ml of pH’d water around the base of the stem.
Humidity levels are typically set to the highest levels during the germination and seedling stage. In our grow area, the humidity was controlled at 65% during this life stage. Our Master Kush Feminized was on a 18 hours on, 6 hours off light schedule, which remained in place until flowering.
Preventing bugs in the garden is important for the overall yield and health of the plants. Acting proactively, we placed the beneficial insect Hypoaspis Miles in our container. This predatory bug will seek and eat any fungus gnat or thrip pupae in the immediate area of our Master Kush.
Vegetation
Week two and our Master Kush was 3.5 cm above the soil. We watered 100 ml around the base of the stem as needed this week. The root system was young and still developing, and adding too much water can stunt the growth.
Midweek we saw an encouraging sign when the roots began sticking out of the bottom of our container. This indicated strong growth below the soil, and we decided to transplant it into a 3-litre container.
To strengthen the stems, we kept a light breeze on the young plants and turned the plant 1/4 turn each day. As the apical growth reorientates to the lights position, cell walls within the plant are strengthened.
Week three marked some “firsts” in the life journey of our Master Kush Feminized. One of these new events to take place, was the addition of Bio Grow nutrients to the water. Once the nutrients are added to the water, we pH the solution to confirm it is at the 6.2 target we’ve set for ourselves. We then checked the EC of our watering solution, and it registered at 1.5.
The amount of solution given each time remained consistent. Our Master Kush was receiving 100 ml of water daily around the base of the stem. To control potential thrip larvae, we hung sachets of Amblyseius Cucumeris on a lower branch of the plant. Sachets of Amblyseius Californicus were deployed at the same time to combat any unwanted two-spotted mites.
Once again, our Master Kush had doubled in size week over week and at the start of week four, our plant stood 15 cm above the soil. Although the vertical growth was rapid, the nodal spacing remained tight. Looking at our Master Kush, her large fan leaves were casting shadows on the floor below.
Some of the changes made in the garden this week included a one-day flush, the addition of more Hypoaspis Miles, and transplanting. The sachets containing our beneficial insects were placed on the plant after we transplanted it into the final 5-litre container.
Before we transplanted, we flushed our 3-litre container using 500 ml of pure water, with a pH of 6.2. This practice removes any salt accumulation within the soil and micropores. This was performed on the first day of the week, and we returned to our water and nutrient solution with an EC of 1.6 for the remaining days, still at that 100 ml per day volume.
In week five we dropped the humidity levels from 65% to 60%. At this stage, with the number of large leaves in close proximity, some laying on top of each other, light defoliation could be beneficial. We did an excellent job of reducing humidity in the growing area and keeping air moving through the canopy, so we felt defoliation wasn’t necessary yet.
Our Master Kush Feminized was growing quickly, and we increased our watering amount to 200 ml, to support the expanding root zone and leaf transpiration. The EC of our watering solution was increased slightly to 1.7. Looking at the overall size of our Master Kush and the number of nodes, we made the decision to begin the flowering cycle once this week was complete.
Flowering
Week six was the beginning of the flowering cycle, which was initiated by switching our light schedule. Although this strain is feminized (meaning it will only produce the desired female plant), it is still a photoperiod plant, and to initiate flowering, the lights schedule is changed to 12/12.
We replaced our grow nutrients with the bloom nutrients and increased the EC of the watering solution to 1.8. Our Master Kush was drinking fast and to support this, we upped the volume of watering solution to 400 ml for each feeding.
The stretch was minimal leading into week seven. Our Master Kush went from 34 cm the week prior, to 46 cm this week. The morphology changed slightly, with the noticeable difference being the spacing close to the main stem. The plant began to open up a bit with this added growth. That will help more light get to lower branches and bud sites.
We increased our solution volume to 500 ml, but this was the only procedural or environmental change this week. Continuing with our IPM, we released another round of Amblyseius Cucumeris and Amblyseius Californicus to battle thrip larvae and two-spotted spider mites.
Week eight began with a flush day, where we water our plant with 1500 ml of plain water to remove any buildup of salt nutrients in the soil. Our Master Kush was fed regularly each day after that with bloom nutrients. Growth continued at a steady pace, reaching 62 cm.
As mentioned before, Master Kush is a compact and bushy plant. Now that we are heading into the time when buds begin forming, we wanted to eliminate any microclimates within the canopy. Trapped moisture and heat from tightly packed, transpiring leaves can encourage bud rot.
We had good air movement within the garden space, but we felt the need to defoliate at this point. Large fan leaves were removed from our Master Kush Feminized mainly in the middle area where side branching had grouped closely together. This also allowed more light to lower bud sites where new stigmas were starting to show.
By week nine, the stretch during the transition was beginning to slow down. There wasn’t nearly the same vertical growth as we were seeing before. Our Master Kush, however, was starting to form buds on each tip and node of the plant.
Two key notables from this week were that we dropped humidity from 60% to 58%. This caused our Master Kush to consume slightly more water, so the volume of solution was raised to 600 ml for every feeding this week.
Week ten began with our one-day flush of the soil using 600 ml of pure water, pH’d at 6.2. The colour of the leaves on our Master Kush were a healthy emerald green, with no signs of tip burn. This indicated our feeding levels were adequate.
New growth on our Master Kush Feminized had begun to fill in all of the areas we just defoliated a few weeks prior. She was looking thick again, and we made the decision to reduce humidity in the garden space to 52%.
In week eleven, we increased the volume of the watering solution to 650 ml. The EC of our solution remained constant at 1.8. Our vertical height increased only 1 cm, but the bud growth was starting to accelerate. Small puff balls were now respectable buds, and the trichome coverage increased on a seemingly daily basis.
It had been two weeks since our last flush of the soil using pure water. We began week twelve by doing this to remove any build-up of salt nutrients. For the remainder of the week, we gave our Master Kush full-strength nutrients.
At this phase of the process, keeping an eye on ripeness is essential for the grower to know when to begin the final flushing of the medium. We inspected the colour of the stigmas, the swollenness of the bracts, and the colour of the trichome head, and all signs indicated that more than a couple of weeks remain until peak maturation.
Week thirteen was uneventful in regard to plant demands. Our Master Kush was looking great in colour, size, bud density, and trichome coverage. She has been an easy plant to grow, and we were excited with anticipation to harvest.
We started week fourteen by inspecting the areas mentioned above. The majority of our stigmas had retreated back into the bracts, which were now plump and looking swollen. For determining the peak harvest window, the main consideration is the colour of the trichome heads on the flowers.
The trichomes covered the flowers, and many of the leaves are jetting out from the buds. When observed, we witnessed the majority of them as milky, with a few amber heads starting to form. Our Master Kush was getting close to harvest, and we made the decision to discontinue the bloom nutrients and only fed the plant 1500 ml of pure water each day, as part of the final flush.
Week fifteen, and the day we had been waiting for had arrived. We decided to let our Master Kush Feminized finish the week, which gave us more time to flush the soil of any nutrients build-up. Typically, plants begin to fade during this stage, but our Master Kush was vigorous and well fed. We didn’t see any of the typical fading.
Regardless of that, we made the decision to chop her down when we saw a trichome colour ratio of 10% clear, 80% milky, and 10% amber.
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Harvest
Our Master Kush Feminized was a healthy plant with decent biomass. Some of this, we wanted to remove before we put the plant into our drying room. The larger leaves, named sun leaves or fan leaves, were removed from the plant prior to drying. Smaller leaves with trichome coverage, were left on the plant to be used later in edibles or for bubble hash making.
We then took a large pair of pruning shears and cut the Master Kush stem at the base of the soil. The harvested plant was then moved to our drying area, where the whole plant was hung upside down.
In the drying room, there was a light but steady breeze from our ventilation system, moving air around our drying area. We were conscious not to allow the fan to blow directly onto the drying plant, which can cause a plant to dry too quickly.
Conditions in the drying room are essential, just as they were during the grow. Unlike the grow, there was no light period during the drying cycle. Our Master Kush was kept in a dark, environmentally controlled area. The temperature was maintained at 15.5°C, and humidity was balanced at 60%.
After 12 days, we checked the stem’s moisture level by bending them. They folded and did not snap, so we decided to wait a few more days. On day 17, the stems of our Master Kush Feminized made a snapping sound when bent, so we put on our gloves and prepared to trim.
Before putting the buds from our Master Kush into the curing jars, we trimmed all of the excess leaf material from the buds. This trim had thick trichome coverage, so we collected that and set it to the side for later use. Our buds felt slightly dry on the outside, but when pinched between the fingers, it was clear that they still retained some moisture at the core.
Once these buds were placed into the jars for curing, the internal moisture leaves the centre of the bud, which rehydrates the outer portion. As the buds shed this water, it is important to burp the jars each day. For the first week, we burped our Master Kush jars by removing the lid to release the trapped moisture for 30 minutes daily.
The aromas coming from the curing jars grew stronger each time we opened them. Once the moisture within our Master Kush buds had reached an equilibrium, we kept the jars sealed and stored them in a cool dark room for another four weeks.
Because we strive to know as much as we can about the plants that we produce, we submitted a sample of our Master Kush to a lab for testing. There, tests were conducted to identify unique cannabinoids and their levels, but also the terpene profile. Lab results reported the total THC content of our Master Kush Feminized to be an impressive 24.26%.
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Terpene profile
Our Master Kush had an aromatic presence that demanded attention. Charas fans will feel right at home breathing in this wonderful scent. Caryophyllene, limonene, and myrcene were the top three terpenes listed in our lab report.
The aroma profile of our Master Kush had a smooth earthiness, with notes of exotic sandalwood. Complimenting this combination was an envelope of sweet floral undertones. This profile translated well into the flavour too. We were left with a lingering and pleasant taste on our t after sampling the outstanding Master Kush flowers we had grown.
Effects from our Master Kush were wonderfully relaxing, and we found it ideal for after we had finished working in the garden. Whenever it was time to relax, but we still wanted to be clear-headed to finish a few more tasks, the jar of Master Kush is what we reached for first.
The outcome
As gardeners who enjoy some classic hash, our Master Kush made us very happy. Not only was the overall profile reminiscent of hand-rubbed charas, but the leaves were also covered in thousands of trichome heads which we are able to use at a later date for the creation of hash. Not only did we have beautiful flowers, but we also had extra material to maximize our return from the plant.
Throughout the growing cycle our Master Kush Feminized remained compact, with thick branches that did not need additional support, and knowing that the plant was going to be a female before we started helped us plan out how many plants could go into our small grow area. Growing her was a breeze, and Master Kush is an ideal strain for both, first-time, and experienced growers!
After we had dried and cured the flowers from our Master Kush, we weighed them to find the total yield. In this grow, we harvested 102 grams from the 79 cm plant, and the total THC level found in our Master Kush was 24.62%.
Master Kush seeds are available in regular, feminized, and autoflowering varieties. We had so much fun growing this one, we might try one of the other versions next. What has your experience been with Master Kush?
Have you ever had the chance to grow Master Kush? Let us know down in the comment section what your thoughts are about this phenomenal strain. If you’ve been inspired by learning from this grow report, be sure to check out the other grow diaries on our blog!
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- 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.
