Afghan Kush Feminised

Days 1 to 14. Afghan Kush cracks on damp paper towel inside about two days and is through the medium by day three, given warmth and patience rather than intervention. Seedlings want humidity near 70% and no nutrients at all — the seed carries everything for the first week. By the end of the fortnight you are looking for even node spacing rather than height; a stretched seedling is a light problem, not a vigour signal. New to this? The free seeds on offer are a low-stakes way to practise the germination step.

Weeks 3 to 6. Growth stops being tentative. This is when training earns its keep: bend rather than cut if you are unsure, because a bent branch recovers in a day and a topped one costs a week. Expect width rather than height, and space plants accordingly.

The transition. After the flip the plant may double. Whatever shape the canopy is at that point is roughly the shape you harvest.

Mid-flower. Bud sites fill and the aroma arrives — usually the point where extraction stops being optional. Feed heavier now, but watch the leaf rather than the schedule.

The last fortnight. Ease off nitrogen, drop the night temperature a little, and stop feeding before you think you should. Final height for this cultivar is published at 120 cm.

Harvest. Published window: 6-8 weeks. Trichomes decide. Cut in sections if ripening is uneven — most plants ripen top-down and there is no prize for taking it all at once.

Relaxed, Sleepy, Happy is the consensus, and consensus is worth exactly what it sounds like — a starting point. 20% THC sets the scale; caryophyllene and the terpenes alongside it shape the character rather than the strength.

Onset is quick by inhalation and slow by ingestion, which is where most bad experiences begin. Expect the weight to settle physically within the hour.

If potency is what you are shopping for, the high-THC seeds category is sorted for it.

Caryophyllene leads, myrcene sits behind it, and bisabolol runs underneath.

Temperature changes what you get. Vaporised low, around 180 to 188 degrees, myrcene and bisabolol come through cleanly while caryophyllene stays in the background. Combusted, caryophyllene dominates and the finer detail is largely lost. Same flower, two different experiences.

Who does well with Afghan Kush? Growers who want to control plant size and harvest date, and have the vegetative space to use that control. First-timers included — the genetics are forgiving.

Still deciding? The indoor-friendly genetics list is the narrower place to start.

• Finishes in 6-8 weeks
• Under lights: 450-500 g/m2
• Grown out: 450-650 g/plant
• Height: 120 cm
• Difficulty: easy