| Ferts + Supplies: I used bog's method of growing, 2 weeks seedling stage + 3 weeks veg stage + harvest at around 74 days flower.
Papaya can mature either very fast, or in the case with this plant, very slow. One of my male papaya plants busted a pollen sack at only 4 weeks veg. Be very careful with this plant, and from week 4 on, you absolutely MUST check for male sacks on an every other day basis.
Veg stage: Veg state was uneventful, the plant grew hard and strong. I gave quite a bit of nutes, and this plant took it like quite a champ. This pheno was somewhat tall and lanky, and required quite a decent amount of training. I had to tie, and re-tie many times due to the fact that this plant was such a strong grower. The leaves were a slightly lighter green than normal. They were wide, but were not completely indica wide. The leaves were a perfect balance between indica and sativa, which meant that the leaves didn't completely block light to the lower sections of the plant. The plant itself was somewhat lanky, but not too lanky. I would have to say that this plant was about 60/40 or maybe even 70/30 sativa, which i really liked.
Flower: This plant appreciated a 6.0 ph. This plant also seemed to respond oddly to nutes.. whereas most plants would burn the tips when given too much nutes, this plant would just retard its growth. Interesting for sure, and makes for a very difficult diagnosis of possible problems. The plant seems completely fine, but just doesn't grow. It was only when i dropped the nutrients to normal strength that the plant took off once again (i had, at the time, been giving 1.5 strength)
The main cola was not only the most beautiful part of the plant, but also the best producer (in terms of weight), and packed the most resin. Which brings us to another point, the trichomes. The trichomes on this plant were of the bulbous variety. From a distance it seemed as if there were almost no trichomes on this plant; This statement however, could not be further from the truth. Upon inspection with a radio shack microscope, you could see that there were a TON of trichomes, the only reason for lock of a pretty picture? The fact that they were bulbous.
Once dried, the trichomes stand out quite a bit more. However do not use trichomes as an indicator of potency.
Late flower was also uneventful. This plant loves the dark periods. If you are ONLY growing this one plant by itself, I implore you to lengthen the dark period to 14 hours. This plant responds amazingly to a longer dark period. In fact, for reasons that were outside my control, i had to put the plant into darkeness for almost a full 24 hours towards the end of the growth. When I did this, I realized how the plant reacted to the dark cycle. It matured incredibly over a short period of time. However I do not recommend this practice, it is a sure indicator of the plants love for dark. Especially since I cut back on the light, and saw the most rapid maturation.
This plant really does smell of mango, which is where i believe its heritage lies. I had a few plants also growing in the chamber, and from quite a distance this plant could be smelt. I believe my friend said "man this place stinks like a mango skunk." So you can be sure that it wasn't just me :)
Smoke Report: The smoke from this plant is absolutely beautiful. What is so beautiful about it, is in its smoothness of smoke, and mild yet powerful stone. I have had more powerful stones, but they usually left me paranoid. This stone left me quite happy, and I was very impressed with its effects. I have also never smoked a bud as smooth as papaya. I mean, it was almost as if i was smoking flavored air, and not smoke at all. This is definitely a plant for those that don't have iron lungs. I really can't stress how smooth and light the smoke was for my lungs.
The taste is also one of the positive attributes of papaya. Like I stated earlier, there is a mango smell to the plant, what i did not mention was that this smell was carried on as flavor during the smoke. Everyone commented on the plant's fruity taste. This plant also improves from a long cure. I would recommend a very minimum of a month, in order to enjoy the plants fruity flavor.
As great as papaya is, it isn't without its achilles heel. The only downside to papaya is that the wonderful stone, is very short lived. The stone rarely lasts longer than one and a half hours. The stone gives a nice up, clear, very heady type of stone. This is most certainly not a body stone, and would not be a great pain reliever. This is also not a night cap stone, like many of the predominantly indica type stones. If I ever have a day where I have nothing to do, I smoke this stuff first thing in the morning. It is the only pot I've had that has a great come down, and keeps me energized enough to do mundane homely tasks.
Pot Cocktails: There is a remedy I discovered in order to counter the short lived stone, and that is to mix this fine herb with another more powerful herb. My mix of choice is jock horror from nirvana. The mix will really depend on what I want, but if its a night cap, I will do a 60/40 split in favor of jock horror. A nice after dinner smoke will be a 60/40 split in favor of Papaya. The 60/40 split gives just enough oomph to give the papaya a sleepy come down some 3 hours later (if you remember, the stone usually lasts for 1.5 hours, but the jack lengthens the time by double!). The 60/40 split also leaves the papaya taste (whereas the 40/60 isn't as strong). Also on days when i really want some fruitiness, I will mix the papaya with blueberry. You should really try this some time, as it is probably the most tasty (fruity) combo i've ever had.
I definitely give papaya a thumbs up! It is a MUST sample for every grower out there.. whether it has a permanent home in your garden, is up to your needs and wants. Personally for me, I wish I had kept a clone as I'm growing to appreciate this plant more and more every day. I will miss its wonderful fruity taste that felt almost as if it was my dessert after a good meal.
Garden Information for this report 400w hortilux bulb, bogs ferting methods, scotts potting soil, transplants from cups to 1 gallon containers, to 4.5 gallon containers. |
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Report added by: Suleiman Last edited by: MarvinM92 on April 30, 2004, 10:23 pm
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