Reserve L.A.K. Federal Auto

Germination and early veg, days 1-14. Reserve L.A.K. Federal seeds generally crack inside 48 hours on damp kitchen roll and break the surface around day three. Early growth came in squat and willing — broad seed leaves, then the wide dark fans the indica side is known for. Four nodes by day 14 with the internodes already tight. Damping off is rare around 70% relative humidity, which is also roughly what an unheated British room sits at in spring.

Veg, weeks 3-6. Side branching took off after a top at the fourth node. The plant held a 60cm square by week five and stayed under 40cm tall, which is the shape you want in the small tents most people actually own.

Bloom, weeks 1-9. This is where the 77/23 balance in Reserve L.A.K. Federal showed itself. The caryophyllene came up in week three and kept building; trichome cover was obvious to the naked eye from week five. Indoor yield: up to 250 g/m2. THC testing at 26%. Rated intermediate.

Mid-bloom, weeks 4-6. The change came quickly. Sites that were loose and wispy at week three closed into defined colas. Density went up almost daily; by week five a developing bud squeezed like a firm rubber ball. Fan leaves came off at the start of week four to move air through the bottom of the canopy, which mattered — the room sat around 55% humidity through a British autumn and dense flower at that density does not forgive still air.

Ripening, weeks 7-9. Feeding dropped to plain water for the last ten days. The caryophyllene got strong enough that carbon filtration stopped being optional in a terraced house. Trichomes ran clear to milky across the final fortnight, amber showing on sugar leaves first. Around 15% amber on the calyxes is a common place to stop.

Drying and curing. Whole plant hung in the dark at 17°C and 58% humidity for twelve days — both numbers held by a dehumidifier, because an October room in this country will not hold either on its own. Stems snapped rather than bent, which is the test worth trusting. Four weeks in glass followed, burped twice daily for the first fortnight and once daily after. Final weight matched the up to 250 g/m2 figure. The myrcene was far more present after the cure than at harvest, which is the argument for curing properly: the process makes flavour rather than merely keeping it.

Flowering: 50-60 days. Indoor yield: up to 250 g/m2. Outdoor yield: up to 300 g/plant. Rated intermediate difficulty. Regular seeds with autoflowering genetics.

Reserve L.A.K. Federal arrives in stages. The first draw at 26% THC brings dry pepper that registers at the back of the throat. The euphoric, creative character follows within minutes, starting as weight behind the eyes and working down through the shoulders and chest. By about a quarter of an hour it has become a physical stillness — not sedation so much as a strong disinclination to get up. Two to three hours at a moderate dose. The myrcene underneath adds body and depth beneath the rest.

Primary: Caryophyllene · Secondary: Myrcene · Tertiary: Bisabolol. This combination turns up often in cultivars that win things, and it is usually the one growers comment on when a jar is opened for the first time after curing. Caryophyllene anchors the aroma, myrcene occupies the middle, and bisabolol sits behind both — which is the part that separates this strain from others sharing its primary terpene.

Who does well with Reserve L.A.K. Federal? Balcony growers in flats from Brighton to Glasgow. Anyone wanting one quick outdoor crop rather than a long project. Indoor growers short of headroom. The autoflowering genetics run on their own clock, so there is no light schedule to manage, no anxiety about light leaks, and harvest comes 10-12 weeks from germination whatever the season is doing. Difficulty is rated intermediate, which means a moderate learning curve that rewards attention without demanding a laboratory.