How to Grow Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese is a feminized, indica-dominant strain (60% indica) that marries the dessert sweetness of Girl Scout Cookies with the funky, savory punch of Cheese. An Emerald Cup 2014 winner, it carries a 17 to 21% THC level, a cheesy, earthy and sweet flavor, and a happy, relaxed and talkative effect. Add a genuinely high yield and you have a decorated, rewarding plant for growers of any level. This guide walks you through the whole grow, from germinating the seeds to the final cure.
It stays a manageable 1.5 m, flowers in 8 to 10 weeks, and finishes outdoors in October. Dense, resinous buds and a distinctive cheesy-sweet nose make it one of the more characterful cookies crosses to grow.
Recommended Strains
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese
|
THC | 17% - 21% (Medium) |
|
Type | Feminized |
|
Yield | High |
|
Phenotype | 60% Indica / 40% Sativa |
Cheese
|
|
THC | 14% - 18% (Medium) |
|
|
Type | Feminized |
|
|
Yield | Medium |
|
|
Phenotype | 60% Indica / 40% Sativa |
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese at a Glance
Before you plant anything, it helps to see the full picture in one place. Here is the quick profile for this cheesy, sweet, high-yielding indica, taken straight from the strain’s grow data.
| Seed type | Feminized (photoperiod) |
|---|---|
| Genetics | Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese |
| Award | Emerald Cup 2014 winner |
| Phenotype | 60% Indica / 40% Sativa |
| THC | 17–21% (medium) |
| Flowering time | 8–10 weeks |
| Outdoor harvest | October |
| Height | up to 4.92 ft (1.5 m) |
| Yield indoor | 1.64–2.13 oz/ft² |
| Yield outdoor | 21.16 oz/plant |
| Difficulty | Easy, beginner-friendly |
| Climate | Temperate |
| Flavors | Cheese, earthy, sweet |
| Effects | Happy, relaxed, talkative |
These are feminized seeds, so every plant flowers without the gamble of males. Its 60% indica lean places it among the indica seeds, its heavy harvest earns a spot with the high-yielding seeds, and its Emerald Cup pedigree sits it proudly with the award-winning seeds.
Promos & Deals
How to Germinate Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese Seeds
A healthy harvest starts at germination. The paper towel method is hard to beat: fold the Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese seeds inside two damp sheets, slide them between two plates, and keep them somewhere dark at 70 to 79°F. A taproot usually appears in two to five days.
Once the taproot is a few millimeters long, move each seed root-down about 1 cm deep into a small pot of light, airy medium. Keep it lightly moist rather than soaked, hold humidity around 65 to 70%, and give soft light while the first true leaves open. Its vigorous, resin-heavy genetics make for a strong, dependable seedling.
Starter tips
- Use plain, lightly pH-balanced water (pH 5.5 to 6.5) for the first week.
- Keep seedlings warm and humid, but never waterlogged.
- Hold off on nutrients until the second set of serrated leaves appears.
Growing Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese in the Vegetative Stage
As a photoperiod plant, you control the veg stage with the light schedule. Keep Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese on 18 hours of light a day for as long as you want it to grow, aim for day temperatures of 68 to 79°F, and hold humidity around 50 to 60%. It suits a temperate climate, so steady, moderate conditions work in its favor. As a 60% indica it grows into a sturdy, bushy, medium plant that settles around 1.5 m.
This is the stage to shape the plant. Because it bushes out and yields heavily, topping early and using low-stress training to spread the lower branches opens up the canopy, improves airflow, and pushes that big harvest even higher. Give it room so light reaches the inner buds, and its dense, resinous structure rewards the effort with chunky, frosty flowers.
Its sturdy, productive build and October finish make it a strong plant both indoors and out:
- Temperate outdoor plots: its October harvest fits regions with warm summers and a dry early autumn.
- Mediterranean-style gardens: steady warmth and good airflow let it stack its dense, heavy buds through flower.
- Indoor tents: at around 1.5 m with a bushy build and a big yield, a little training keeps the canopy even and productive.
Flowering and Buds of Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese
Indoors, flip Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese to a 12/12 light cycle to trigger flowering, which runs 8 to 10 weeks. Outdoors it ripens in October. As an indica-leaning hybrid it shows only a modest stretch after the flip, then packs on dense, chunky, resin-coated buds.
Through bloom, drop humidity to 40 to 45% and keep air moving so the tight, heavy flowers do not trap moisture. The buds build a funky, savory cheese aroma over an earthy, sweet base, the tang of the Cheese parent meeting the dessert sweetness of Girl Scout Cookies, a combination that helped earn its Emerald Cup win.
At 17 to 21% THC it sits in the medium range, giving a happy, relaxed and talkative effect, a sociable, easygoing feel that stays balanced rather than overpowering.
Common Problems and Pro Tips
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese is a rewarding, beginner-friendly grow, but its dense buds, big yield and loud aroma point to a few things worth watching.
- Bud rot in dense colas: its tight, heavy flowers can trap humidity, so keep a fan moving and humidity below 45% late in flower.
- Support the weight: a high yield means heavy branches, so stake or trellis them before the buds pull them down.
- Control the smell: its funky cheese nose is one of the louder profiles around, so a carbon filter is essential indoors if odor matters at all.
Expert tip: its cheesy, sweet profile rewards a clean finish. Keep airflow high through bloom, and dry and cure slowly so the savory tang and sweetness both hold up rather than fading.
Aroma, Flavor and Effects
The nose is bold and distinctive: a funky, savory cheese tang up front from the Cheese parent, with an earthy depth underneath and a sweet, cookie-like note from Girl Scout Cookies. It is a love-it-or-hate-it profile for some, but a prize-winning one, as the Emerald Cup judges agreed.
The flavor follows the nose, savory cheese and earth with a sweet finish. On the effect side it is happy, relaxed and talkative, a sociable, easygoing feel. Because THC runs a medium 17 to 21%, it stays approachable and balanced rather than overwhelming.
Dominant terpenes
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese carries a broad, savory-leaning terpene profile. Caryophyllene leads with a warm, peppery bite, Humulene adds a dry, hoppy edge that suits the cheesy funk, and Myrcene lays down a soft, earthy base. Geranyl Acetate brings a sweet, floral-fruity lift, Linalool a gentle floral note, and Pinene a clean pine freshness. A supporting cast of Terpinolene, Eucalyptol, Carene and Nerolidol rounds out its cheese, earthy and sweet character.
Nutrient Schedule
Treat the figures below as a starting map, not a rulebook. As a vigorous, high-yielding indica Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese is a hearty feeder, so read the plant first: tip burn means back off, while pale, slow growth means it wants a little more. All values use EC.
| Stage | EC |
|---|---|
| Seedling | 0.4–0.6 |
| Growth | 0.8–1.2 |
| Early flower | 1.2–1.4 |
| Full flower | 1.4–1.6 |
| Flush | 0.0–0.4 |
Keep the pH around 6.0 to 6.5 in soil and 5.5 to 6.0 in hydro so the roots can actually take up what you feed.
What to Do With Your Trim: Extracts and Hash
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese builds a heavy coat of resin, so its trim is well worth keeping rather than tossing. The sugar leaves you take off while manicuring hold trichomes and suit Ice Water Hash, where cold water and agitation separate the resin heads into a clean, solventless concentrate. Pressing that hash into rosin keeps the funky, sweet flavor intact, or you can run a solvent extraction if that is your setup. The bare stems will not extract, but chopped and composted they feed organic matter back into the soil for your next grow.
Harvesting, Drying and Curing Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese
Timing the harvest comes down to the trichomes. Grab a loupe and watch the heads turn from clear to milky white; a scattering of amber signals peak ripeness. Indoors this lands 8 to 10 weeks after the flip, and outdoors the plants are ready in October.
After the cut, hang the branches in a dark room at 59 to 68°F with humidity near 50% and gentle air movement. Slow beats fast: drying over 10 to 14 days protects the cheesy, earthy and sweet aromas that define this strain. When the small stems snap instead of bending, move the buds into jars.
Cure in sealed glass, opening the jars daily for the first week to let moisture escape, then easing off as the aroma deepens. Two to four weeks of patience here is where the savory tang and sweet cookie notes really come together, and it is the step most growers rush.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese won any awards?
Yes. Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese is an Emerald Cup 2014 winner, one of the most respected cannabis competitions in the world. That pedigree reflects its standout combination of a funky, savory-sweet flavor, dense resinous buds and a reliably heavy yield, which is part of why it remains a popular cross to grow.
How long does Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese take to flower?
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese flowers in 8 to 10 weeks once you switch it to a 12/12 light cycle indoors. Grown outdoors, it is ready in October. As an indica-leaning hybrid it barely stretches after the flip, then spends that window packing on its dense, chunky, resin-heavy buds.
How much does Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese yield?
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese is genuinely high-yielding. Indoors it gives around 1.64 to 2.13 oz/ft², and outdoors a plant can reach roughly 21.16 oz in good conditions. Because the branches get heavy, support them and keep an even canopy so its dense, resinous buds fill out fully.
How strong is Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese?
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese has a THC level of 17 to 21%, which sits in the medium range. The effect is happy, relaxed and talkative, a sociable, easygoing feel. It is balanced and approachable rather than overpowering, which suits newer growers and relaxed, social settings alike.
What does Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese taste like?
Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese leads with a funky, savory cheese tang from its Cheese parent, backed by an earthy depth and finished with a sweet, cookie-like note. It is bold and distinctive rather than fruity. Both the aroma and flavor deepen noticeably as the buds cure slowly after harvest.
Is Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese good for beginners?
Yes. Girl Scout Cookies x Cheese is resilient, compact and forgiving, and its generous yield makes a first grow feel rewarding. The main things to plan for are odor control, since its cheese nose is loud, and branch support, since its dense buds get heavy late in flower.
