southpaw
Member
Alright, long time reader, first time writer in the report section. Let's see how this goes. 
9 of 10 seeds popped shortly after a day in a damp paper towel. All showed strong vigor, even some possible pest resistance as a minor fungus gnat uprising quickly disappeared without the need for any treatment. Smell was extremely low key during veg as well, fresh like a rainy day with no skunkiness at all. After surviving slightly less than perfect conditions in their first month of life, three females were kept for flowering, and two of them were selectively pollinated with the two most vigorous males. All plants kept a very uniform, hybrid profile through veg and into early flower, at which point each plant grew with a slightly different bud structure after about a 2.5X stretch.
Each girl dripped with resin in flower, and had a strong orange liqueur smell that was more herbal tea smelling on the plant that foxtailed, more metallic on the most indica plant, and most candyish on the hybrid. Plants were well flushed (honestly, a little too well, yield certainly suffered some) and chopped at 59, 52, and 65 days, respectively. The buds have now dried and cured for about two months.
Smell - Crack a jar, and all kinds of floral, woody, and savory smells come pouring out. I'd only call it "candy" or "caramel" if I was really buzzed, although there is a sweet component as well. The most indica plant really does have that whiff of old Flintstones Fruit Chewables (which I freaking LOVED). I bought this strain hoping for Starbucks sweetness, but I'm not disappointed at all by what I found. - A solid 8.25.
Taste - Taste carries over well from the dry buds, with a definite hashiness as well. Pretty smooth on the throat. The sativa pheno is slightly less tasty on the whole, with a more "rural" feel to it, but still very enjoyable. I see this being the kind of smoke that people looking for straight candy will say "meh" to. I like it. Of course I also grew it, so I'm probably biased.
- 8.
High/ Potency - Everything it is described as by HGF, I give them high marks for accuracy. Mellow yet uplifting, versatile depending on your goal for that session. The 52 day indica is calming and brightens your mood in small amounts (great for TV, doing stuff around the house, movies), and guarantees a nap in larger ones. The 59 day sativa pheno snaps me out of depression extremely well, with zero anxiety (it deserves credit for this report). The 65 day hybrid is a little dreamy and bland, yet nice enough in its own way. - 8.5.
Yield - Nothing dramatic, nothing disappointing in the plants I grew. Nothing about my setup makes me a great judge of yield, so I'll go with a very tentative 7.
Tilt/ Overall - This strain was very uniform, it was a breeze to grow, it was beautiful to watch turn colors and pump out resin, it smelled incredible during flower, and it produces buds that taste great and improve my mood almost instantly. That covers a whole lot of bases, and it proves to me that HGF is really doing its work. Caramella is not the most "exotic" strain out there right now, there are definitely stronger strains and ones that yield more, but for $6.50 a seed, these are still a great value. The irony is that the only thing HGF misses on in their description is the strain name itself. Why not rename her "Duchess of Orange" or something like that? If orange buds are your thing, these are worth growing just for the smell as they flower, even if they lose a tiny bit of that orangeness in the smoke. - 9.5/ 8.25.
Sativa pheno - Day 59
Hybrid pheno - Around Day 60
Dried bud
Thanks to the whole IC fam! Wouldn't be here without you!
Strain - Homegrown Fantaseeds "Caramella" (Lineage unclear, possibly a Cali Orange mother)
9 of 10 seeds popped shortly after a day in a damp paper towel. All showed strong vigor, even some possible pest resistance as a minor fungus gnat uprising quickly disappeared without the need for any treatment. Smell was extremely low key during veg as well, fresh like a rainy day with no skunkiness at all. After surviving slightly less than perfect conditions in their first month of life, three females were kept for flowering, and two of them were selectively pollinated with the two most vigorous males. All plants kept a very uniform, hybrid profile through veg and into early flower, at which point each plant grew with a slightly different bud structure after about a 2.5X stretch.
Each girl dripped with resin in flower, and had a strong orange liqueur smell that was more herbal tea smelling on the plant that foxtailed, more metallic on the most indica plant, and most candyish on the hybrid. Plants were well flushed (honestly, a little too well, yield certainly suffered some) and chopped at 59, 52, and 65 days, respectively. The buds have now dried and cured for about two months.
Smell - Crack a jar, and all kinds of floral, woody, and savory smells come pouring out. I'd only call it "candy" or "caramel" if I was really buzzed, although there is a sweet component as well. The most indica plant really does have that whiff of old Flintstones Fruit Chewables (which I freaking LOVED). I bought this strain hoping for Starbucks sweetness, but I'm not disappointed at all by what I found. - A solid 8.25.
Taste - Taste carries over well from the dry buds, with a definite hashiness as well. Pretty smooth on the throat. The sativa pheno is slightly less tasty on the whole, with a more "rural" feel to it, but still very enjoyable. I see this being the kind of smoke that people looking for straight candy will say "meh" to. I like it. Of course I also grew it, so I'm probably biased.
- 8.High/ Potency - Everything it is described as by HGF, I give them high marks for accuracy. Mellow yet uplifting, versatile depending on your goal for that session. The 52 day indica is calming and brightens your mood in small amounts (great for TV, doing stuff around the house, movies), and guarantees a nap in larger ones. The 59 day sativa pheno snaps me out of depression extremely well, with zero anxiety (it deserves credit for this report
). The 65 day hybrid is a little dreamy and bland, yet nice enough in its own way. - 8.5.Yield - Nothing dramatic, nothing disappointing in the plants I grew. Nothing about my setup makes me a great judge of yield, so I'll go with a very tentative 7.
Tilt/ Overall - This strain was very uniform, it was a breeze to grow, it was beautiful to watch turn colors and pump out resin, it smelled incredible during flower, and it produces buds that taste great and improve my mood almost instantly. That covers a whole lot of bases, and it proves to me that HGF is really doing its work. Caramella is not the most "exotic" strain out there right now, there are definitely stronger strains and ones that yield more, but for $6.50 a seed, these are still a great value. The irony is that the only thing HGF misses on in their description is the strain name itself. Why not rename her "Duchess of Orange" or something like that? If orange buds are your thing, these are worth growing just for the smell as they flower, even if they lose a tiny bit of that orangeness in the smoke. - 9.5/ 8.25.
Sativa pheno - Day 59
Hybrid pheno - Around Day 60
Dried bud
Thanks to the whole IC fam! Wouldn't be here without you!
