Steve's Dream Queen Feminised

Everything about Steve's Dream Queen at harvest follows from one decision, which is when you stop. The figures are 400-500 g/m2 indoors and 550-800 g/plant outdoors, with resin filling towards 20% 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 8-10 weeks of bloom account for most of the difference between a good result and an average one on a plant rated 400-500 g/m2 indoors and 550-800 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. Limonene 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: 8-10 weeks. Indoor yield: 400-500 g/m2. Outdoor yield: 550-800 g/plant. Plant height: 1.5 m. Rated beginner difficulty.

Steve's Dream Queen arrives in order. The first draw at 20% THC gives citrus with a bitter edge that lifts off the palate. The euphoric, creative, calm 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. Pinene underneath contributes an alertness that keeps it crisp.

Primary: Limonene · Secondary: Pinene · Tertiary: Terpinolene. Temperature decides how much of this profile survives. Low vaporisation at 180-188°C keeps pinene and terpinolene audible over the limonene; run it hotter, or burn it, and all three collapse into one note that is pleasant enough and tells you nothing.

Who does well with Steve's Dream Queen? 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 beginner, which means a first grow with a basic setup and a bit of discipline about feeding will produce something worth having.