Moby Dick Cannabis Strain Week-by-Week Guide
- 1. History
- 2. Specifications
- 3. Week-by-week guide
- 3. a. Germination - week 0
- 3. b. Vegetative stage - week 1
- 3. c. Vegetative stage - week 2
- 3. d. Vegetative stage - week 3
- 3. e. Pre-flowering stage - week 4 and 5
- 3. f. Flowering stage - week 6 and 7
- 3. g. Flowering stage - week 8 and week 9
- 3. h. Flowering stage - week 10 and 11
- 3. i. Harvesting - week 12
- 4. Terpene profile
- 5. Type of effect
- 6. In conclusion
1. History
Moby Dick is a Sativa hybrid bred from White Widow and Haze genetics, originally released in the seed market by Dinafem. This legendary strain can grow up to 3m tall and offers an extremely potent effect that comes along with extraordinary yields, which is why it became so popular amongst growers, especially Sativa lovers. So if you love potent Sativas, this strain is a must.
2. Specifications
Thanks to the Sativa genes, Moby Dick offers 17-22% THC and is quite resistant, allowing all types of growers to get up to 1500g per plant without doing anything extra in just around 10-12 weeks from seed to harvest. This strain is really easy to grow and not very demanding. Making it a sturdy strain that will grow huge no matter what, it’s highly recommended to limit the vegetative stage to a maximum of 4 weeks unless you have enough space to let this monster plant grow to its maximum height.
3. Week-By-Week Guide
Before starting this week-by-week guide, it’s important to remember that all cannabis strains can show diverse traits depending on different growing conditions so use this guide as an example of the progress to expectf. In the table below you can see the growing conditions, this particular plant was grown in, giving you an idea of what to expect in similar conditions.
| Grow Conditions Specifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Fixture: | HID | Nutrients: | Synthetic | |
| Grow Space: | Indoor | PH level: | 6.2 | |
| Temperature: | 18 - 26°C | Flowering: | 9 weeks | |
| Humidity: | 45 - 60% | Substrate: | Soil | |
So keep in mind that you don’t have to follow this guide but use it as a visual timeline to learn from the grower’s mistakes and make the most out of each plant once you're ready to grow it.
Germination - Week 0
With that said, let’s start with this weekly guide. This grow cycle starts by germinating a couple of Moby Dick seeds in paper towels. As mentioned, this strain grows quite vigorously and you can see that in how fast the seeds germinate and the seedling grows.
Remember that you can germinate cannabis seeds with any preferred method as long as you provide the right conditions for the seeds to open up. If you’re a beginner, we recommend soaking the seeds in a glass of water for 12-48 hours and then transferring them to paper towels if they haven’t germinated. If your seeds germinated in those 12-48 hours, you can go ahead and plant them. Remember that seedlings are extremely fragile so keep the temperature around 23°C and the relative humidity around 70-75%.
Vegetative Stage - Week 1
Young plants can be a bit sensitive to nutrients, this means that it’s recommended to wait a couple of days before feeding a nutrient solution but you can go ahead and use beneficial microorganisms such as mycorrhizae or other products such as root boosters.
As you can see above, Moby Dick has grown a lot and by day 14, plant growth is clearly evident and the first true leaves have completely developed. This means that the plant will now perform photosynthesis much more efficiently, which results in faster growth.
Vegetative Stage - Week 2
Thanks to the top genetics, this plant is growing extremely fast and by week 3 from germination Moby Dick has almost doubled in size, so it’s evident that this plant is happy and will grow into a monster plant.
Moby Dick can grow up to 300cm in height and this plant is growing indoors so it won’t take much longer for the grower to flip to 12/12 and start seeing the beautiful buds forming. Remember to always adjust the temperature and humidity for the different stages of plant growth. Don't forget about plant food either - make sure that nutrients are either present in the medium or you provide them with water.
Vegetative Stage - Week 3
By month 1 or week 4 from germination, this Moby Dick is looking gorgeous and growing extremely big and wide leaves, which is another clear sign that this plant grows fast and big. Because of this, the grower was worried about space.
He then decided to top the plant in order to promote more lateral growth instead of a huge tree. Despite the impressive plant growth, the grower had problems with humidity levels which affected plant growth a bit. Imagine how big this plant would be in perfect conditions!
Pre-Flowering Stage - Week 4 and 5
After flipping to 12/12, a lot of stigmas (white hairs) started to grow super fast as you can see in the photos below but it took 14 days (2 weeks) for the plant to completely transition from the vegetative stage to the flowering stage but this is definitely not bad and fairly common with Sativa-dominant hybrids.
During this transition period, cannabis plants go through the flowering stretch but luckily, the grower took action before and topped this Moby Dick, so yes, it will still grow a lot but will grow horizontally instead of vertically. Active development requires much plant food, and more importantly, the ratios of nutrients in your fertilizer need to change now that the flowering has started. Now you need more products rich in phosphorus and potassium (P and K).
Flowering Stage - Week 6 and 7
By the end of week 8 (the second month) from germination, the white hairs have turned into frosty buds that may look ready from afar, but are definitely not. These buds still need a couple of weeks to fatten up and if they’re completely covered in resin by now, imagine by harvest.
Keep in mind that mold, bugs, and other pests can attack your delicious buds so it’s essential to keep the growing conditions on point. At this point, the relative humidity should be around 40-50% and temperature around 20°C.
Flowering Stage - Week 8 and week 9
By looking at the photos below you can see how fast and fat the buds have developed, needing only just a couple of weeks to chop the plant down. By this stage, all you should focus on is keeping your plant well-fed, the growing conditions on point, and checking daily for bugs.
Other than that, just let them do their thing. But remember that it’s very important to maintain good air circulation, and make sure there’s enough airflow between the buds because mold is your worst enemy at this point.
Flowering Stage - Week 10 and 11
During the last 2 weeks of flowering the bigger fan leaves will slowly start yellowing, this is completely normal because it’s a sign that the buds are almost ready. Another thing to take into consideration is the color of the stigmas, which should have turned from white to orange or brown by now. But the main indicator is the color of the trichomes so keep an eye on all of these to know exactly when to harvest.
Also, remember to flush your plants before harvest. By watering with plain water for a couple of days you remove the excess nutrients in the substrate, getting a much more flavorful harvest. Flushing achieves this outcome by completely restricting further nutrient application. This causes plants to “go hungry”. Given the choice, they’d much rather continue to receive nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients. However, your plants will continue to mature just fine without them. Instead, they’ll begin to use up all of the stored nutrients within their tissues. These are the compounds that, left to remain, make cannabis taste harsh. You’ll notice your plants start to turn yellow, and they may even drop some leaves. But don’t worry—this is a sign that your flush is working.
Harvesting - Week 12
Now that the flushing process has ended with this beautiful Moby Dick, it’s time to chop it down but the grower’s work doesn’t end there. After harvesting your plants, you still need to dry and cure them before you can actually smoke them so remember to have the drying room ready. It doesn’t matter how you dry your plant (each branch individually, whole plant, each individual bud), always make sure the conditions are on point.
For the drying process that would be a temperature of around 20°C and humidity ranging from 55-65%. Once the buds are completely dry you can go ahead and put them in curing jars for around 15 days, burping them 2-3 times a day, and that’s it! We get it, you don’t want to wait much longer before you try your buds! However, curing your flowers is worth the additional weight. This lengthy but important process adds the finishing touch to your flowers. You waited this long to grow them, so why not perfect them?
Ultimately, curing degrades molecules that you don’t really want to smoke, including excessive levels of chlorophyll. These unwanted phytochemicals contribute to harshness and also mask the true flavour of the terpene profile. Therefore, curing your buds will unlock their flavour and make every hit as smooth as butter!
4. Terpene Profile
Moby Dick produces a delicious terpene profile composed of terpinolene, myrcene, and caryophyllene as the main terpenes and limonene, pinene, and nerolidol as the secondary ones. This terpene mix produces an intense aroma described as a mix of lemon, spices, and incense with hints of haze and cedar. A unique aroma that will surely stand out and make you want to try it. Y
You might think that these terpenes do nothing more than provide pleasant flavours and aromas. While these are important functions of these aromatic hydrocarbons, do much more than this! You see, these fascinating secondary metabolites also directly contribute to the effects of each strain. How do they accomplish this, you might ask? Much like THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids, they interface with the endocannabinoid system—the universal regulator of the human body found everywhere from the brain to the skin and bones. But terpenes don’t act alone. The theory of the entourage effect suggests that these chemicals synergise with cannabinoids. For example, pinene helps to minimise the transient short-term memory impairment caused by THC, giving rise to an overall more pleasant high. Moby Dick also possesses large quantities of myrcene. This fruity terpene, also found in mangoes, synergises with THC to promote a stoning effect and deeply relaxing sensations.
5. Type of Effect
Due to the high THC content reaching up to 22%, Moby Dick offers a potent psychoactive high that comes along with a long-lasting strong narcotic effect.
The strong effect may be overwhelming for a lot of consumers, so if you're not an avid smoker or prefer a lighter effect make sure to smoke in moderation because this strain definitely is too strong!
6. In Conclusion
Moby Dick is a must for avid consumers looking for the strongest strains out there. So if you’re looking for huge yields and delicious flowers that hit hard, look no more, you’ve just found the right strain.
If you’ve tried or grown Moby Dick before, feel free to share your experience with fellow growers by leaving a comment in the comment section below!
