Grow report – Mataró Blue

Keep an eye out for the new grow report of one of our most acclaimed varieties: Mataró Blue, a strain that occupies a special place in our hearts and that hasn’t moved from the best seller podium since her launch over five years ago. On this occasion, she comes face to face with a skilled grower who will explain the masterful use of infrared and ultraviolet lighting with LED lamps. This will help him get the best out of this strain despite all the setbacks that she will have to endure.

Mataró Blue is one of the most appreciated strains from our Kannabia catalogue, a true cup winner derived from a meticulous genetic selection that combines the best of the indica and sativa worlds (Blue Monster, Black Domina, and Mazar-i-Sharif). This beauty is adorned with dense and robust buds whose colours can range from intense greens to more bluish tones, which gives them incredible bag appeal.

But Mataró Blue also stands out for her complex and attractive aroma, with notes of fruits of the forest and an earthy background that anticipates a surprising taste full of sweetness, with touches of spices and red fruits. These leave a long and pleasant aftertaste that acts as a prelude to effects that are dominated by a sense of enormous well-being and mental euphoria, all thanks to her sativa component, which helps prevent the excessive drowsiness that some of the indicas often produce.

Mataró Blue is also known for her easy cultivation and high adaptability. With a relatively short 60-day flowering period, she can produce a great number of buds, making this a Kannabia benchmark in terms of potency and versatility.

Mataró Blue’s step-by-step grow guide

This is an indoor grow with LED lighting. The grower handles different types of radiation with ease, including infrared and ultraviolet light, to strengthen the plant’s immune system and improve photosynthesis. The grow clearly demonstrates the positive impact that this type of light can have on the development of a plant grown under the following conditions:

• Grow type: Indoor
• Lighting: 300W LED Mars Hydro SP3000 / 45W LED IR/UV
• Grower: gottagrowsometime
• Number of plants: 1
• Nutrients: Green House Feeding / Plagron / Terpinator
• Irrigation: Manual
• Growing medium: Coco coir / soil
• Vegetative phase: 8 weeks
• Flowering phase: 6 weeks

Germination phase

The seed is germinated in damp paper napkins and then placed in a rockwool cube, where it sprouts without any problems. The grower will be using a LED Mars Hydro SP3000, and he stresses the importance of understanding the right time to use the IR/UV light components. IR (infrared) is intended to help induce sleep in plants and assist in their shift to the flowering stage, whereas UV (ultraviolet) is used later to improve THC and resin production.

Grow parameters:

• Daily temperature: 22ºC
• Height: 0 – 3 cm
• Night temperature: 19ºC
• Hours of light: 20
• Air humidity: 70%
• Total dissolved solids: 350 ppm / 0.7 EC
• Irrigation volume: 0,1 L per plant
• pH: 6
• Distance between lamp and plant: 45 cm

Vegetative phase

In the first week, the plant is growing well, and the grower starts using the Grow nutrients by Green House Feeding. The plant was transplanted directly from the rock wool cube to a substrate mix made of 70% coco coir and 30% soil. All the plants are placed under an SP3000 lamp, and the controller and dimmer are removed as they can emit a lot of heat, especially when used at maximum power during flowering. In the second week, the plant has developed some sort of disease or mutation (the leaves look wrinkled). Despite this, the grower decides to continue taking care of her to help her overcome the week ahead. He transplants her to an 11-litre pot and plans to continue using the Grow fertiliser. He also provides the plant with a biostimulant treatment.

In the third week, Mataró Blue takes a little longer to start growing due to some mistakes and setbacks, but she finally begins to develop. At this point, the grower plans to keep the plant in the vegetative phase for another 3 weeks before switching to the flowering phase, once he’s managed to give her a nice shape. In the fourth week, the grower describes an incident in which calcium powder has been spilled on the plant, which negatively affects her growth; so he decides to keep her in vegetative mode for a few extra weeks until she’s managed to recover from this. The plant is topped above the fourth node, and the sick leaves are removed. In addition, he changes her location, placing her under a P1000 light, because she previously suffered burns from being too close to the SP3000, which was set to 100% for other plants in the same tent.

In week five, and despite having suffered multiple setbacks that affected her early stages of growth (including the deformation of the main leaves), the plant begins to regain her vitality. The grower starts using IR/UV45 light for the last two days, noticing that the internodes are very close together and could benefit from some stretching. However, he points out that the use of IR on young plants requires a full knowledge of its application, or it could otherwise fool the plant into believing that she’s in the shade, which would in turn cause excessive stretching. In week six, Mataró Blue is receiving a 300 ppm nutrient plan by Green House Seed Co. plus 110 ppm tap water. In addition, she’s given 260 ppm of calcium and Epsom salts. The plant has started to gain height in a satisfactory manner.

In week seven, and after a difficult start, the plant begins to grow properly, but is affected again by problems related to a magnesium deficiency. The grower responds to this with a 300 ppm dose of magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts), and plans to apply Low Stress Training (LST) and intense defoliation before switching to the flowering phase. After checking the plant, the development of the shoots is satisfactory: they’re not too long, which could help achieve the final goal of getting full colas instead of just buds. In week eight, the plant seems to have adapted better to the coco coir, so the pH of the nutrient solution is adjusted to 5.7. If she manages to overcome the magnesium deficiency issue, the pre-flowering defoliation plan will be put into motion.

Grow parameters

• Daily temperature: 24ºC
• Height: 46 cm
• Night temperature: 19ºC
• Hours of light: 14
• Air humidity: 60%
• Total dissolved solids: 560 ppm / 1.12 EC
• Irrigation volume: 0,3 L per plant
• pH: 5,7
• Distance between lamp and plant: 35 cm

Flowering phase

During week nine (first week of flowering), the plant has experienced good growth, showing significant stretching. Although the lateral internodes have grown more than desired, they still aren’t enough to form full colas. In week 10, the grower places the plant under his SP3000 lamp, and is using infrared light to extend the flowering period to 13.30 hours on / 10.20 off. This lighting approach seeks to optimise the plant’s flower development, taking advantage of the influence of infrared light on the light/dark cycle to improve the flowering.

In week 11, the plant has finally stopped growing in height and another good defoliation session is carried out, removing all the sick leaves caused by the magnesium deficiency. The plant now exhibits thick white pistils along the nodes. During the entire pre-flowering phase, the plant was given a nutrient regime with a concentration of 450-550 ppm, plus 110-105 ppm in the tap water, with a 16-6-26 nutrient ratio. The grower also adds 150 ppm of a PK enhancer (phosphorus and potassium) with a 0-25-30 formula. In week 12, the plant has overcome her magnesium problems, so now it’s crucial to avoid subjecting her to any stress or nutrient deficiency. In terms of lighting, the flowering period has been extended to almost 14 hours, considering the 15 minutes it takes infrared light to take effect (5-10 minutes to activate, and then the 5 minutes for the plants to ‘fall asleep’). This adjustment in the light cycle seeks to optimise the growth and development of the plant during flowering.

In week 13, the plant is consuming a lot of water (about 1 litre per day), but only half of that amount is provided. The buds are growing rapidly, and the pistils are being absorbed by the swollen calyxes. Although the plant seems a bit hungry, she’s handling this phase well. The buds are already very hard and give off a really pleasant fruity aroma. The infrared light adds between 1 and 2 hours to the flowering phase. The light cycle is currently 13.45 hours on / 10 hours off, with 5-10 minutes of IR after switching the lights off and 5 minutes for the plants to ‘fall asleep’. In week 14, the buds are in a final stage of fattening, and there are slight signs of fading in the leaves, indicating that the plant is reaching the end of the ripening phase. The grower starts using Terpinator and the nutrients are kept constant, with a concentration of 450 ppm.

In the last week, the plant continues to increase her mass, developing dense and sticky buds with dark orange pistils and long trichomes. A short flowering nutrient plan has been maintained, complemented by Atami PK enhancers and some Plagron products, which contribute to healthy and robust bud development. The grower continues using the combination of SP3000 and IR/UV45 lights, clearly highlighting their effectiveness. All in all, the plant is in an advanced stage of flowering, showing signs of a successful harvest in just a matter of days. The meticulous attention to diet and lighting has been key to obtaining impressive results in terms of the quality and structure of the buds.

Harvest of Mataró Blue

Here are the conclusions in the grower’s own words:

• Plant evaluation: He rates this phenotype with a 9☆, considering it special. For him, any rating of 8 or higher indicates an exceptional plant.
• Plant development: Mataró Blue was topped at the beginning of the vegetative phase, which resulted in approximately 8 well-formed colas, all brimming with heavy buds sustained by a robust structure. The Low Stress Training (LST) technique, combined with multiple defoliations, facilitated air circulation around the plant, contributing to her healthy development.
• Characteristics of the flowers: the buds are really hard, with a low leaf-calyx ratio, making the manicuring process a pretty pleasant experience. After two weeks of curing, they emit an incredible scent and showcase amazing flavours.
• Overall results: Despite some initial setbacks, and even though she wasn’t a particularly large plant at the time of switching to the flowering phase, she produced beautiful buds, with swollen calyxes covered with trichomes and stacked on top of each other on the stems. The internodes developed numerous additional shoots, contributing to a decent yield of around 150 grams, although the grower states that this is more of an estimate than an exact measurement. He admits having consumed a significant amount of the plant during the quick drying process (at least 20 grams).

In short, this grow diary reflects a successful and satisfying experience, culminating in the production of high-quality buds showcasing highly desirable features, both in terms of looks and taste. Well done, Mataró Blue!