Ortega Feminised

Days 1-14, germination and early veg. Ortega generally cracks within about two days on damp kitchen paper and is above the medium by day three. The first fortnight came in low and thickset, wide seed leaves followed by the broad dark fans this side of the genetics gives. Four nodes by day 14, the gaps between them already short. Keep the humidity near 70% and damping off stops being a concern.

Weeks 3-6, veg. Branching filled out fast after a single top at node four, holding a 60cm square and staying under 40cm — which is what makes this shape practical in the small tents most people actually have room for.

Bloom, weeks 1-9. The 75/25 character came through clearly. Linalool was noticeable by week three and kept building; resin was obvious without a loupe from about week five. Indoor yield: 500-750g/m2. Height: Short. Tested at 14%. Rated easy.

Weeks 4-6, mid-bloom. Loose clusters from week three closed up into defined colas. Density climbed daily until a bud squeezed like a firm ball by week five. Fan leaves came off at the start of week four to keep air under the canopy, which mattered — an Irish autumn room sits damp, and flower this tight does not tolerate still air.

Ripening, weeks 7-9. Plain water for the last ten days. Linalool was strong enough by then that carbon filtration was not optional in a terraced house. Heads went clear to milky over the final fortnight, amber showing on sugar leaves first, and around 15% amber on the calyxes is a defensible place to stop.

Drying and curing. Hung whole in the dark at 17°C and 58% humidity for twelve days, both held by a dehumidifier because an October room here will hold neither. Stems snapped instead of bending, which is the only test worth trusting. Four weeks in glass after that. The 500-750g/m2 figure held up. Myrcene was far more present after the cure than at harvest — the cure makes flavour, it does not merely preserve it.

Flowering: 9 weeks. Indoor yield: 500-750g/m2. Outdoor yield: 500–700 g/plant. Plant height: Short. Rated easy difficulty. Feminised seeds.

The catalogue lists relaxed, sleepy, happy, and that matches what growers here report back. At 14% THC this indica sits where the dose is the whole question. One bowl through a vaporiser at 185°C leaves the head working and the body easy, which is what most people are after on a weeknight. More than that moves it firmly towards sedation. The Linalool and Myrcene together leave a finish that keeps shifting across a session.

Suited to evenings in, recovery after work, and the hour before sleep.

Primary: Linalool · Secondary: Myrcene · Tertiary: Caryophyllene. The three shift relative to each other across the cure. Straight off the dry the linalool 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.

Ortega suits growers with the fundamentals in place. Understand pH, rough nutrient ratios and a light cycle before committing to it; it asks for competence rather than expertise. Photoperiod genetics leave plant size and harvest date under your control — veg longer for a bigger plant, or flip early when the ceiling is low. A bloom of 9 weeks fits inside the season here for outdoor growers, with a tunnel making it comfortable rather than tight.