The Growing Marijuana Perfectly team has grown 27 different new strains this winter season and we’re harvesting and testing them right now.
Out of all of them, Dutch Passion’s Sugar Bomb Punch (SBP) is one of the most impressive, and the name is very accurate—this sugary strain packs a bomb punch high!
The strain’s genetic lineage includes powerhouse legendary and rare strains including THC Bomb, Granddaddy Purps, Critical Bilbo, Critical Orange Punch, Mendo Purps, Skunk #1, OG Kush, Bubba Kush, and Northern Lights.
These are all Indica genetics, so we assumed Sugar Bomb Punch would have all-Indica effects, but as you’ll find out later, that’s not the case.
As usual with Dutch Passion seeds, germination rate was 100%, and the plants showed zero hermie tendencies.
We mention this because in the past ten years, the majority of marijuana seeds companies, especially the newer ones, have apparently abandoned any effort to stress test their strains to detect hermie tendencies.
Or perhaps they know their strains have hermie tendencies and sell them anyway.
Dutch Passion is one of few companies you can count on for feminized cannabis seeds that do not go hermie!
We’ve only tested Sugar Bomb Punch once so far, so we acquired a wider range of strain-specific cultivation information from The Lake Wizard, an expert who does media relations for Dutch Passion.
He shared with us photos and grow diaries from several other growers. Some of those photos were absolutely thrilling, showing massive, fat, long colas, some so fat it would be hard to get your hand around them.
We agree with other SBP growers that this strain benefits from a slightly longer than usual grow phase. Five weeks in grow phase seems about right.
Bloom phase stretch is in the below average range. Our plants almost doubled in height at the start of bloom and finished at an average 51-53 inches tall after twice topping during grow phase.
Plant morphology and stability are very advantageous. Even though buds are huge and heavy, their branches easily held them without external support.
SBP is a heavy nutrients feeder, especially starting around week two of bloom phase, but also sensitive to overwatering, poor quality water, incorrect pH, and overdoses of phosphorus and/or potassium.
It likes a lot of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), which we provided with the world’s most efficient and well-engineered LED grow lights, SANlight, made to perfection in Austria.
Three to four weeks into bloom phase the buds were already swelling up and a thick coating of resin glands appeared.
Terpenoid scent is somewhat subtle with this strain, but also delectable. At various times in bloom, buds smell like a sugar cookie, fruit punch, donuts, and vanilla yogurt. Properly cured, these scents become tastes.
Our test revealed two phenotypes, but other growers said they saw as many as four phenotypes.
Unless you’re a breeder or cloner who appreciates a lot of phenotype diversity for selecting mothers and pollen recipients, four phenotypes might be too many.
However, SBP’s four phenotypes are not all that different from each other, so it’s not a problem.
The main difference is that some lean toward Sativa in bud size, shape and structure, while others produce buds that are thicker and exceptionally dense, leaning Indica.
The difference in bud shape and density doesn’t translate into a difference in the high, which is very unusual.
Buds are dense and rock hard, unusual for a strain that’s not producing popcorn buds but instead produces larger buds that can be as thick as your forearm.
The plants have short internodes, so very little wasted space, and there aren’t many leaves in the buds, which means you don’t spend a lot of time with your scissors.
We keep our grow rooms at ideal VPD and relative humidity during peak bloom phase to minimize gray mold risk.
SBP buds can be so thick that you’d be prudent to worry about gray mold and along with keeping grow room and curing room humidity as low as possible without harming plants or buds, you want sufficient room exhaust and air movement, and careful monitoring.
Pull apart the thickest buds on the plants and during curing and examine them with a magnifier to detect any mold and cut it out or treat it with ultraviolet light.
We saw mold on other strains in the same grow room, but SBP did not develop mold.
Harvesting when more than 30% of resin gland were cloudy and/or deteriorating, we logged a bloom phase of 57-65 days.
However, we did a partial harvest from one plant at 52 days and the high/potency were top rank.
The plants that were most Indica produced an average of three ounces of dry weight bud per plant whereas the Sativa phenos produced about two ounces per plant.
Sugar Bomb Punch is an easy-growing strain with high yields, but it’s the high and potency that most please us.
Most of us at the magazine are more into stimulating Sativa than couchlock Indica. However we noticed other growers reporting all-Sativa effects, or all-Indica. So the high was a big mystery until we started consuming the buds after harvest.
You immediately feel the potency. Dutch Passion says the strain has 25% THC, but we felt it was much stronger, and our home cannabinoid test kit logged 27-30% THC.
After you become aware that this is super-strong cannabis, you experience a rare combination of Indica and Sativa effects.
The euphoria, stimulation, creativity, humor, visual/aural enhancement common to Sativa marijuana is very enjoyable.
And yet, there’s also a pain-relieving, narcotic, warming, glowing body/head high.
The great news is that this is not a couchlock, Quaalude-type strain typical of Indica marijuana genetics.
Even though it’s very strong and has significant body effects, you can still dance, do sports, hit the hot tub, think clearly, and stay awake to enjoy this unique, blended high.
The high comes on fast and lasts a long time without much if any burnout.
It’s cool that the buds’ taste and scent increase during curing. Opening jars of cured Sugar Bomb Punch every so often is a treat for the nose!
Growers who sell marijuana find that this strain has “bag appeal,” meaning that when you open a jar or bag of it for a prospective buyer, the scent and appearance make them want to buy!
Dutch Passion is one of few original, heritage Dutch marijuana seeds companies still creating fire strains.
While most seed companies offer mediocre, unreliable genetics made by profit-oriented bulk producers, Dutch Passion maintains its decades of excellence. They’re perfectionist in their strain design, feminization process, and seed freshness.
Their website contains the most useful cultivation details of any we’ve seen; their grower support is professional and accurate.
When you want Indica yields and a rare high that combines the best of Sativa and Indica, you want Sugar Bomb Punch. Check out this video for more information, and some views of these frosty, kind buds…
Growing Marijuana Perfectly! 