Mandarine Auto

Everything about Mandarine at harvest follows from one decision, which is when you stop. The figures are 450-550 g/m2 indoors and 80-100 g/plant outdoors, with resin filling towards 18% THC. Weight arrives late on a plant this indica-leaning — the 76/24 split stacks calyxes hard through the middle weeks and then thickens them. Growers who cut on the calendar rather than the glass lose that last stage, and it is the most valuable one.

Three parts of the 8-10 Weeks of bloom account for most of the difference between a good result and an average one on a plant rated 450-550 g/m2 indoors and 80-100 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. Twenty to thirty per cent is typical; taking the lowest fans around day seven pushes energy up to the sites that will finish.

Weeks three to five. Caryophyllene 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. Fifteen to twenty per cent amber suits the weight of effect this one is grown for. Outdoors, that falls between late September and mid-October, and the forecast gets a say.

Flowering: 8-10 Weeks. Indoor yield: 450-550 g/m2. Outdoor yield: 80-100 g/plant. Plant height: 100 cm. Rated easy difficulty.

Mandarine arrives in order. The first draw at 18% THC gives peppercorn heat that lands at the back of the throat. The relaxed, sleepy, happy character follows in minutes, as weight behind the eyes that works down through the shoulders. By a quarter of an hour it reads as physical stillness rather than sedation — a strong disinclination to stand up. Two to three hours at a sensible dose. Myrcene underneath contributes depth beneath the rest.

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

Who does well with Mandarine? Back-garden and balcony growers in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Anyone who wants a crop dry and put away before the autumn closes in. Indoor growers short of headroom. The autoflowering genetics run to their own clock, so there is no schedule to manage and no anxiety about light leaks. Rated easy, which means a moderate learning curve that rewards attention without needing specialist kit.