Cactus Feminised

Everything about Cactus at harvest follows from one decision, which is when you stop. The figures are up to 200 g/m2 indoors and up to 300 g/plant outdoors, with resin filling towards 23% THC. A 20/80 plant lays its weight down gradually instead of in a rush, so there is no single fattening window to aim at. The temptation in an Irish September is to cut early because the forecast looks poor; that costs more than the weather would have.

Three parts of the 55-65 days of bloom account for most of the difference between a good result and an average one on a plant rated up to 200 g/m2 indoors and up to 300 g/plant outdoors.

The stretch, days 1-10 after the flip. Canopy height set here decides how evenly light lands for the rest of the run. Half again on top of veg height is normal. Supercrop anything that breaks the line inside the first week, or you spend the remaining weeks lighting one branch properly.

Weeks three to five. Pinene production climbs through this stretch and responds to a 6-8°C gap between lights-on and lights-off. Outdoors an Irish September provides that without help; indoors it has to be built, at roughly 25°C by day and 18-20°C at night. Bloom feed goes potassium-forward around EC 1.6-1.8.

The final fortnight. Feeding stops, plain pH-corrected water goes on, and the loupe comes out daily. Five to ten per cent amber keeps the clarity intact. Outdoors, that falls between late September and mid-October, and the forecast gets a say.

Flowering: 55-65 days. Indoor yield: up to 200 g/m2. Outdoor yield: up to 300 g/plant. Plant height: Medium. Rated easy difficulty.

Cactus arrives in order. The first draw at 23% THC gives resin and green wood, clean rather than sweet. The creative, happy, relaxed character follows in minutes, as attention sharpening. Colour and sound both read busier, and conversation goes further afield than it otherwise would. It holds two to three hours without a spike. Limonene underneath contributes a lift that stops it going heavy.

Primary: Pinene · Secondary: Limonene · Tertiary: Caryophyllene. The three shift relative to each other across the cure. Straight off the dry the pinene dominates; three or four weeks sealed in glass at 16-18°C and the caryophyllene underneath comes up to meet it. Vaporising between 180°C and 195°C catches the widest span, because heat takes the lighter caryophyllene molecules first.

Who does well with Cactus? Indoor growers who want to choose their own timeline. Tunnel growers who want to decide when flowering starts rather than letting August decide it. Anyone with the space to veg it properly first. Rated easy, which means a moderate learning curve that rewards attention without needing specialist kit.