Mochi Melon by Aficionado Seeds

Strain Name: Mochi Melon

Breeder: Aficionado Seeds

Height: Medium (Nominal stretch in bloom)

Weight (yield): For a standard 60-65 (depending on environment & inputs)

Sativa/Indica/Ruderalis/etc. ratio: Approximately 80/20 Indica>Sativa

Taste (burned and unburned): Bright and rich melon-candy essence infused with a background of gasoline upheld by the dominant presence of warm sweet Mochi

Scent (burned/unburned): Watermelon Jolly Ranchers and petrol punctuated by honeydew melon and paint thinner

What the dried bud/crumbled bud looks like: Dried Bud: the nugs look like purple/green hard rock candy draped in layers of trichomes accentuated by a tight, dense flower profile

Speed of high onset: She’s a creeper – you’ll be fine at first thinking it’s a chill high, and then before you know it, the direction of your day is greatly impacted by a feeling of heavy couchlock and incapacitation

Duration of high: Hopefully, you’ve got some CBD handy cause now you’re committed to the ride

Quality/type of high: You might want to clear your schedule for the next few hours cause the probability of you being productive is minimal. Aside from her high gravity and sedative qualities, she delivers an expansive cerebral kick before committing you to the depths of the abyss. If you like to tune in and tune out, this is your girl.

Medicinal qualities: As a veteran who lives with PTSD and sleep issues, this is my go-to when I want to relax and get some sleep. This is a great strain for calming a “racy & active” mind

The Legacy of Miyazaki OG

To understand Mochi Melon, you must understand Miyazaki OG’s legacy, a cornerstone of this strain. Miyazaki OG is the creation of my mentor, OG Mike—known to most as Mendocino Mike. Mike was a true steward of the land, spending over 50 years in Mendocino County perfecting his craft. In the late ’70s, he hitchhiked across the country, leaving behind the beaches of South Florida to immerse himself in the emerald hills of NorCal.

Mike’s passion for cannabis went far beyond simply growing weed—he always used to say, “We’re not in the weed business; we’re in the quality business.” That philosophy defined his life’s work as he dedicated himself to pushing the boundaries of organic cultivation. Mike was a master at blending disciplines, drawing from biodynamic farming, biointensive methods, and pioneering experiments with fruit-and-plant-derived ferments and teas. His ultimate goal was to recreate the rich, nutrient-dense soil found on the Big Island of Hawaii—a soil that he believed held the key to unparalleled plant quality.

The basis of OG Mike’s approach to growing was simple: Mike’s game was to grow outdoor that could be sold as indoor. That was his special niche. That was his game. He taught me everything I know about organic farming and breeding; without him, Aficionado Seeds wouldn’t exist.

Miyazaki OG itself is a testament to Mike’s work. It’s a cross of an heirloom Bubblegum he painstakingly worked for nearly a decade with a male SFV OG F4 he’d been developing since 2010. The result was a strain that embodied both old-school genetics and modern potency. When I named it Miyazaki OG, it wasn’t just a nod to Hayao Miyazaki’s films, which I grew up watching in Japan—it was a way to honor Mike’s spirit. Like Totoro, the forest spirit in My Neighbor Totoro, Mike was a guardian of the land, a gentle but powerful force who nurtured life in all its forms.

Breeding Mochi Melon

Bringing Miyazaki OG into Mochi Melon’s lineage felt like bringing Mike’s legacy full circle. I started with a Mochi female crossed with a male Watermelon Zkittlez I sourced from a grower in Willits, CA. She exhibited a perfect nug structure and a candy-melon nose that projected across the room when the bag opened. From there, I introduced a Miyazaki OG male to add more complexity to her palate, along with greatly increased resilience and hardiness.

Mochi Melon represents a bridge between the past and the present, between the old-school heirloom strains Mike loved and the modern multi-dimensional-candy-gas-forward leaning cultivars dominating today’s market.

How She Grows

In the grow room, Mochi Melon is a beast. She’s a brawler, can take a hit, and is highly stress-tolerant. She’s a medium-sized plant, easy to manage and forgiving for growers of all experience levels. Her structure reminds me of OGKB Cookies—tight, dense nugs that stack beautifully—but with the swollen bracts and resin-coated buds of high-end OGs. Under the lights, her colas shimmer like white cotton candy, a testament to her heavy resin production.

What really stands out is her resilience. She’s a heavy feeder, thriving under high-EC salt regimens and organic-heavy feeding schedules alike. During stress testing, she proved highly resistant to drought, heavy feeding, and environmental fluctuations. For those who’ve worked with Cookies or OGs before, you’ll feel right at home with Mochi Melon.

She finishes in nine weeks, but if you’re not afraid to push her to 10, you’ll be rewarded with extra weight and even denser buds. Trust me, it’s worth the wait.

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Photo credits: Leo Stone