Words & Pics: Green Born Identity – G.B.I.

The golden age of the heavily popular “dessert strains” from the Californian West Coast began with the creation of Girl Scout Cookies (GSC). This epochal plant brought forth countless hybrids over the years. Many of them, such as Wedding Cake or Sunset Sherbet, likewise achieved cult status. But one of its offspring stands out from this community, having ascended to the throne of West Coast strains and taken a seat there next to its uber-parent GSC: Gelato. This variety is especially closely related to Cookie’s genetics as GSC not only acted as its father plant (in the form of the “Thin Mint” phenotype) but moreover is also one of the parents of Gelato’s mother plant, Sunset Sherbet. But despite this (at least formal) share of 75% GSC genes, Gelato is a class on its own, possessing a high degree of individual superbness and becoming that much sought-after and dearly beloved. Beyond that, it found its way into pop culture – several hip-hop artists have references to this weed strain in their texts or even released tracks entitled “Gelato.”

But what has explicitly made the Gelato genetics that immensely popular? This question can be answered very well using the Gelato #45 variant Barney’s Farm offers. Most of all, this strain’s fabulous aroma reveals a fascinating, multifaceted smell and taste. Gelato #45 smells incredibly sweet, with Barney’s describing its bewitching scent as “mint-chocolate ice cream and fruity sweet berries.” In contrast, the taste department discusses “earthy pines, flowers, and skunky notes of citrus.” But Gelato #45’s effect likewise sends users into transports of delight; its high THC count of up to 26% makes for a highly intense, well-balanced buzz, providing both uplifting euphoria and physical relaxation. This strain also boasts outstanding growth characteristics, producing robust plants and cultivation novices who can easily manage and achieve appealing yields. After a flowering time of 65-70 days, growers can reap up to an abundant 650 to 700 grams per sqm. Cultivating Gelato #45 under natural light may work well, too, as in such an environment, this West Coast strain gem completes maturity in the first two weeks of October already, rewarding growers with plants that, under optimum conditions, are capable of delivering insane yields of two kilos each, in general not exceeding a height of 2.5 meters. Gelato #45, as it befits an elitist West Coast strain, is also a huge resin producer; its thick, roundish buds are coated in massive trichome layers, offering a majestic white splendor. Last, another plus factor is the strain’s ability to paint its leaves beautifully violet while flowering.

The Doc puts Gelato #45 to the cultivation test

The Doc‘s new grow cycle had already been four days into the veg stage when one of his pals asked him whether he could use a spare Gelato #45 seed he had. Since he had made quite a generous space utilization plan, The Doc grabbed this feminized seed and had it belatedly join the party as he was naturally tremendously interested in this extremely promising Barney’s Farm variety. Having germinated within 2.5 days, the seedling had just two instead of three weeks to grow vegetatively, but the doctor had gained positive experience several times with such a shortened veg period. And his Gelato #45 plant did well, soon exhibiting vivid bushy growth. It measured 20 cm tall when The Doc triggered it into flowering.

Gelato #45 proves to be an „excessive trichome machine. “

The plant stretched quite a lot during the first four weeks of flowering, with internodal spacing increasing, opening a view of many flower clusters forming along the branches. The same happened, of course, at the top of the main stem and lateral branches, in a spectacular manner that flabbergasted even the old grow veteran The Doc: fat, chunky tops emerged that started to ooze out resin remarkably early, week by week pouring increasingly vast amounts of trichomes out. Near the end of flowering, after 65 days, the doctor reported, “Gelato #45 has proven to be an excessive trichome machine! These super-duper frosty flowers rank among the most resin-dripping and whitest stuff I’ve ever witnessed in my grow room. Let me put it like this – if these buds were mountains, you could ski down on them! This comparison to mountains is also a matching one because the buds are wildly crystalline and rock-hard. Well, then there’s that famous Gelato smell, which has fully come true with my plant, yippie-yeah! The buds smell extraordinarily sweet; that’s as much of a sweet dessert character as it gets with marijuana. Beneath its sugary aroma blanket, the minty, chocolatey, and fruity notes mentioned by Barney’s are gathering, intermingling into a multifaceted bouquet, I’d almost say total artwork.” In the second half of flowering, the upper leaves got partly tinted violet, further increasing the buds’ visual appeal. The Doc waited until the very end of the official maturity window and pulled out the harvest scissors after 70 days. “Ten weeks of flowering certainly isn’t a swift sprint, but every week of this sensational performance given by Gelato #45 was worth the wait!” The plant had reached a final height of 51 cm.

Dried nuggets that made The Doc salivate

Regarding quantity, about the unusually brief veg stage, the doctor was very pleased with the 72 grams of dry Gelato #45 bud he had after weighing it, now alluringly sitting in his big storage jar. The nuggets’ visual and olfactory quality made The Doc salivate: “These are oh-so-gorgeous! They look like an ice avalanche covers them, so the strain name Gelato, Italian for ice cream, finds additional relevance here. The rich, profound smell has become even more mellifluous and has a sort of creaminess to it now that a good deal of chlorophyll has gone. I can hear the vapor test bell shrill.”

The vapor test: The Doc is on cloud nine

The vapor then wafting into his mouth from his Mighty+ vaporizer loaded with 0.5g Gelato #45 appeared to him like an inhalable creamy smooth treat – it was the brilliant flavor he had expected, layer by layer developing on his palate and beneath a sweet outer shell exposing a fresh core of rosemary mixed with grapefruit. “Truly a treat of the highest order!” The Doc enthused with relish. After a second deep inhalation, he felt sunny buoyancy rising within; his synapses began to bathe in bright euphoria, and the effect made his soul leap with jubilation. “It was a state of complete serenity and blissfulness which I didn’t want to keep to myself, so I gave my buddy Mr. Knolle a call and asked him whether he wanted to come over for an exceptional weed experience… well, he wanted to and shortly after that, with a couple of Gelato #45 vapor hits down his lungs, just like me was on cloud nine, up high in cannabis heaven, where we spent far more than two hours. While the weed provided some physical relaxation as well, it wasn’t sort of couchlock at all – on the weekend, we could have hit the nightlife fit as a fiddle.”

A concluding hymn of praise

Unsurprisingly, the Doc’s final verdict was a sheer hymn of praise: “This hype about Gelato didn’t fall out of the blue sky! Barney’s Farm’s Gelato #45 variant embodies all the great things this variety has become famous for – trichome-soaked picture book-style buds with a super sweet and sophisticated flavor to savor and a soul-warming, most blissful high. Absolutely nothing left to be desired!”

Genetics
Gelato #45 (Sunset Sherbet x Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies)

Vegetative stage
14 days (after germination)

Flowering stage
70 days / 65-70 days in general

Medium
Bionova Bio Soilmix, 11-litre pot

pH
6.2-6.6

EC
1.2–1.6 mS

Light
up to 4 x SANlight EVO 5-100, switched to level 2 out of 3

Temperature
19-28°C

Air humidity
40-60%

Watering
manually

Fertilisation
Bionova Soil Supermix, plus PK 13-14 in the flowering stage

Additives/stimulants
Bionova Silution, The Missing Link, Vitasol and X-cel

Tools
CleanLight Pro for mold prevention

Height
51 cm

Yield
72 g

Written and Published by Green Born Identity – Barney’s Farm in Weed World Magazine Issue 168

Images Supplied By Barney’s Farm – Green Born Identity

Seeds available at Weed World

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