Words & Pics: Green Born Identity – G.B.I.
The Doc, Ellis D., Mr. Knolle, and Mr. Power-Planter met the other day for a chilled get-together, each expected to bring a self-grown weed strain along as exceptional as possible. The look, smell, and effect were rated using vaporizer blind-testing and awarding points to choose the best strain of the day.
The gang started in the early afternoon to take sufficient breaks between the single strains and clear their heads. As each cannabis aficionado is a very experienced, excellent grower with a select strain taste, it was a tight competition. Still, in the end, a champion stood out. Ellis D. said before he knew what it was,
“This strain is all banana; it smells and tastes like this, and it is very intriguing. These heavily trichome-encrusted flowers are sticky and have given me a tremendously powerful super-stoned effect.”
Mr. Knolle laughingly agreed, “Such is this weed’s banana flavor that I guess a monkey would eagerly inhale this vapor, too! And then do his monkey business more than ever…”
And Mr. Power-Planter jested, “Yah yah, Monkey see, monkey vape – the two of you are some real weed apes! But it’s true, that much of a banana aroma I’ve not come across yet as regards marijuana, that’s pretty extraordinary. It packs such a wallop that now, later this evening, I’m glad it was the last variety to be sampled today: rien ne va plus! Dockie, you’ve entered this kind of banana weed, so tell us now what it is.”
He did, beaming joyfully: “What has that utterly dazed and bananized you all is Banana Punch by Barney’s Farm!”
Banana Punch had piqued The Doc’s curiosity
He had grown this winning strain briefly in a separate tent, not in his standard grow room. For that tent run, he had envisaged a few exotic pure sativa strains and intended to apply a brief veg time of 12 days. Shortly before the grow began, he couldn’t resist experimentally adding a Banana Punch plant to this cycle – he had intended to grow two plants of this strain, but not before his next regular cycle in the grow room.
While 12 days of veg time were too brief, of course, for a slightly Indica-dominant variety (55%), The Doc was mainly out for that special flavor and not so much a significant yield – after he had read Barney’s Farm’s strain description of Banana Punch, he had become very curious about it. Both the scent and taste of this hybrid bred from Banana OG and Purple Punch were supposed to remind of ripe bananas, plus something berrylicious and citrusy added, a rich flavor built on a prominent presence of limonene, pinene, myrcene, and caryophyllene.
Barney’s promised vigorous, robust plants suitable for a wide range of cultivation methods, delivering ample yields of 600-650g per sqm within a moderate 60-65 days of blooming.
Banana Punch was also supposed to have inherited that violet play of colors from her Purple Punch father and provide a strongly calming, relaxing, and highly exhilarating effect. Certainly, much of interest to outdoor gardeners is its early finish under natural light already at the end of September, with plant heights of about two meters and most generous yields of up to 1.5 kg per plant.
Banana Punch gets a move on
Germinating the feminized Banana Punch seed was a cinch, as always with Barney’s Farm strains – hardly three days had passed when the seedling popped out of the ground. As if it had known it had only little time to grow vegetatively, it got a move on – after twelve days, the young plant had arrived at a height of 16 cm and established three internodes, out of the axils of which lateral branches were already starting to shoot outwards. The plant produced dark green and fairly slender leaves.
The flowering stage: Adorable mega buds with a snow-white crystalline look
The Doc happily noticed that his Banana Punch plant was busily puffing up during the first weeks of flowering, gaining much height and width. He soon saw a most diligent blooming activity revealed by the plant; after a few weeks, numerous bulbous flower clusters had emerged along the stem and lateral branches – “seems as if these are going to become some real fatties!” rejoiced The Doc. Oh yes, indeed: The buds developed into adorable mega buds in a “beefy” thick indica style and, in doing so, were oozing resin out like hell – the trichome output was colossal and conjured a gorgeous snow-white crystal look onto the plant.
Once again, a Barney’s Farm variety competes for the trichome throne! Although abundant resin richness is typical of this Dutch seed company, as I have witnessed it so many times in recent years, it’s fascinating to experience this each time. In the end, the Banana Punch plant wasn’t the biggest, having reached a final 40 cm tall, but had nevertheless managed to generate a massive head bud plus several grand side tops.
Only some of the upper flower leaves exhibited a slight touch of violet, but for The Doc, it was obvious that a cross made with just one parental purple strain doesn’t produce an all-purple crop. It was more important to him that Banana OG had fully come through aroma-wise and breathed its startling scent of ripe bananas into Banana Punch. After a very timely 62 days of flowering, The Doc considered the buds mature and cut them off.
A princely yield of buds having what it takes to be a champion
Given the buds’ chubbiness, he had been optimistic about the final dry result, but tipping the scales at 68 grams then exceeded his expectations. „Small but quite mighty! For a plant height of merely 40 cm and a markedly substandard size, this is a princely yield. “the grand old grow master praised his Banana Punch plant and added, “The dried flowers are distinctly smelling of bananas; it’s a true feast to the nose!”
When he had tested the weed then with his Crafty+ vaporizer and convinced himself of its mighty indica-driven, super-stoned potency and delicious fruity-sweet banana taste, he was definitely sure it had what it takes to be a champion and would certainly also deeply impress his pals, which was going to happen then, indeed!
| Genetics | Banana Punch (Banana OG x Purple Punch) |
| Vegetative stage | 12 days (after germination) |
| Flowering stage | 62 days / 60-65 days in general |
| Medium | Bionova Bio Soilmix, 11-litre pots |
| pH | 6.4-6.7 |
| EC | 1.2–1.6 mS |
| Light | 1 x SANlight EVO 4 (250 W) |
| Temperature | 19-27°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 | 40 cm |
| Yield | 68 g |
Written and Published by Green Born Identity – Barney’s Farm in Weed World Magazine Issue 169
Images Supplied By Barney’s Farm – Green Born Identity
Seeds available at Weed World
