Just another Northern Lights grow..

[Kalbhairav]

They are looking good to me. Really full and strong looking. Good job.

Cheers

look fantastic

Thanks hazy. Hopefully they’ll carry on that way until the end. Hope you had a nice chrimbo

 

[rindindoo]

HI! cool girls! northern lights are a good stamp for the sofa. calms legs and head from sativa energy.
will you fertilize with organic or mineral?

 

[Benny106]

That one with the long petioles and old school afghan leaves!

 

[Kalbhairav]

HI! cool girls! northern lights are a good stamp for the sofa. calms legs and head from sativa energy.
will you fertilize with organic or mineral?

Hi

I’m fertilising with a molasses based organic nutrient liquid feed - Plant Magic Oldtimer organic.


Update coming soon..

 

[Kalbhairav]

One week flower..

One week flower..

Hello all,

Here’s the forest in a box after one week flower

Flipped to flower on the 1st as that seemed auspicious or something..

They’re looking more healthy than they ever have and I’m pretty sure the Mg deficiency is behind me. Last feeding I used 2 tsp of Epsom per 7 litres and that seems to be their preferred amount. I’m defoliating little by little but it they just bush out again and fill the space..

Here’s the side...

As you can see, I have a runt on the left. Very little vertical growth on her. One of her side branches wants to overtake the meristem.

Anyway, will update when there’s actual flowers

 

[TychoMonolyth]

Beautiful greenery!

My NLs give me a runt every once in a while also. About 1 in 20.

 

[Shmavis]

They are looking very happy!

Looks like the epsom is really helping. I can't believe I need to add as much as I do every watering. Crazy.

 

[Kalbhairav]

So with the new year came some new additions to the space. Even though NL lines are reputed for being low odour, I didn’t think I’d probably get away with it in my property (I live in a very small place).

So I got a cheap tent (in fact the only tent that would fit the space), a very good carbon filter (Carbo Air), phonic trap ducting, a 4 inch RVK fan and a WAC1 fan controller. They’re all working perfectly and everything is almost whisper quiet. As a side note, many thanks to the two U.K. members who helped me out with suggestions of what to get. Since I haven’t been growing indoor for a number of years, I was pretty clueless to which brands are now the best etc. They were a lot of help

After this grow I will probably adjust a few things with the extraction system but, for this grow, all seems to be working well.

I lost a bit of space putting the tent into the space so had to cut back the plants a little. They’re now looking rather squashed and have been set back a little. Otherwise they’re looking ok. Could probably do with being a bit greener at 23 days flower ...

They’re eating a ridiculous amount of Mg and the light is on about 100w from the wall. I’m turning it up day by day

Cheers

 

[art.spliff]

Why are the leaves so big, do you think the plants are too bushy and green? Maybe too bright in there?

 

[Kalbhairav]

Why are the leaves so big, do you think the plants are too bushy and green? Maybe too bright in there?

Hi,
The leaves are big because of genetics. NL, like Bubba Kush, Deep Chunk and other heavy afghan lines, have big leaves.. Also because the plants haven’t been topped, pinched or bent.

Actually, I’m thinking they’re not green enough. The recent pictures compared with past pictures reveal the foliage getting lighter. This is also the case when I take the plants out. They are actually losing their green lushness pretty fast.

Yes, the light is bright. Part of the reason I’m growing Northern Lights is because it’s a very forgiving variety and I’m still trying to get some experience with the new QB light. It’s only pulling around 100w at present so not that bright really.

 

[Shmavis]

They look damn fine from my seat!

Kal, I think this may interest you: as you know I am under QB as well, and struggling to get it right. I have also been adding a lot of Mg, ~3 grams per gallon every watering. So far - knock on wood - it seems to be the key, but it's too early yet to say for sure. And as you know I have talked about how plants seem happier with higher temps and humidity under higher intensity LED. Well, I have been going in the opposite direction this round (for experimentation's sake) and keeping temp pretty much pegged at 77º and humidity around 50%. Plants have seemed happy and overall doing well...

Removed one plant last Saturday to pollinate it. Whenever doing so I turn off all oscillating and exhaust fans in the room/tents. I leave the pollinated plant out for a minimum of four hours before returning it to the tent and continuing to leave all fans off for at least 24 hours. Upon retuning that plant to the tent last Saturday I found something interesting. The temp had risen to 84º and humidity to 81%. When I had removed the plant none of the others were praying. But six hours later, putting the plant back, and with temp and humidity having climbed considerably, I found this:

And the taller plants, closer to the light, were praying hardest. I was quite surprised at the difference I found six hours later with temps and humidity up.

The next day when checking on them all were praying hard - should've got a pic. At that point I turned all fans back on and the next day, the praying had subsided. In an effort to figure out this QB growing I took temp and humidity back down because although not praying, they were seemingly happy, and I want to stay consistent through the run to see how it goes. For what ever all that's worth....

I mention all this because maybe now being in the tent you will have better environmental control allowing you to play with temps and humidity?

Best of luck, friend!

 

[Kalbhairav]

That’s all good to know Nice looking plants you have there!

I was thinking maybe I hadn’t given enough Mg last watering as I only added around 2.5 tsp per 7 litres (around 3.5g per 1.8 gallon us??). The Mg does seem to be a part of the puzzle.

I held back from adding extra heat to the tent. At this point too many variables will just confuse me So far I’m happy with the temperature and RH. It’s definitely not hot in there as I have the QB driver and fan controller placed outside the tent. The in-line fan and light give off very little heat but the plants look fine. I think for the minute I’m going to try and hit the mark just keeping the environment clean, dry and the plants well fed. Next grow I’m going to probably scrog and have fewer plants. We’ll see...

Interesting about the praying leaves. In the last pics I posted my leaves were praying a bit, so maybe there wasn’t enough airflow yesterday? I’ll keep an eye on that..

I’ve got some purpling of stems and the canopy is definitely taking on a lighter shade of green. More Mg needed? Probably.. Also possibly some micronutrients needed. Also hoping my soil is buffering correctly and I haven’t got any ph issues..

Cheers..

 

[Shmavis]

I feel ya brother. It’s most definitely a learning curve. I sure don’t have it figured out yet. It’s somewhat frustrating to find a need to add to a “water only” soil mix that didn’t need such additions under HID… I think you are going about it in a better systematic method than me. Especially with your varietal pick and having just the one. A lot of my current uncertainty stems from this being a multi-strain run. I have two phenos of a line showing no stem purpling and seem about as happy as could be, whereas others seem to need even more Mg… I am tempted to treat separately but as you note, to do so would just be an introduction of more variables, straying from an ability to establish a baseline to work from; which is another reason I want to keep temp/humidity consistent throughout.

My scale only measures to the whole gram. For me a 1/2 tsp of epsom salt registers 3g on the scale. So it could be anywhere from 3.1 - 3.9g. But adding that 1/2 tsp seems to help.

That’s nice that you’re able to have the driver outside the tent. I guess if at any point in the future you wanted to add heat, moving it into the tent would be an easy way to do so.

I think, generally speaking, positive phototropism is, well, a positive.

Can’t wait to see the upcoming flowers!

 

[Kalbhairav]

The way I approached this grow, and probably the next couple, is to start again. It’s been so many years of only growing outdoor that I regard myself as an indoor newb. Sure, I grew with HID for a couple of years but LED is so totally ‘different’! At least QBs seem to be...

At the moment I’m semi happy with the progress. The plants are ok but could be a lot better. I flowered too late and wish I’d been a bit heavier with the N and Mg about two weeks into flower. The transition seems to suck the nutrient from the soil. Every watering I’ve added a decent amount of nutrient and Epsom salts and yet there’s still a feeling of being under nourished. I have a feeling that non organic mineral feeds would show a better result under QBs. I’m considering buying a liquid Cal Mag supp instead of the Epsom salts as I have a feeling I’d see better results. I’d then no longer be organic though. This grow I’ll stick with the current regime and maybe switch up next time and see if I have better results.

As for the variety, I regard Northern Lights to be an excellent marker for progression. It’s hardy to a point and stable. No one ever complains smoking it but it ranks in the lower middle ground in comparison to today’s hybrids. I have to say I really love this variety. It’s just so easy to grow and gives decent results even with some screw ups.

The next round will probably be something fast and easy as well. I want to get four more plants in before the summer when I’ll shut the tent down and go outdoor.

 

[Shmavis]

I agree, it's different. And maybe a good thing that you're starting over in this way - by starting straight off with LED.

Maybe still not too late to hit 'em with some fish emulsion? Not every watering like I am with Epsom but I am also every three or so waterings adding some Garden Gypsum, which is organic, and water soluble. But it's really interesting you say that about non-organic mineral feeds... I have been toying with doing a run in Hempy Buckets under my QB because I suspect the same, and an HB run would allow for greater control. Hmmm.

It's a classic. And one that, imo, can hold its own - even by modern day standards. Have smoked straight NL but only ever grown hybrids of though, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the offering you're growing. As I have been meaning for some time to add some to the vault and have really only been considering two offerings.

Maybe another run of the same, if you took cuts? Would be helpful for dialing-in, but surely not in the name of variety.

 

[ambertrichome]

IMHO REAL NL5 can hold its own with almost anything.
Weve had a cut since the early 2000s that give a lot of people that smoke it panic attacks.

Ive been accused of putting drugs in the weed before, because its so strong. People puke on it, get dizzy, and disoriented. Is also lung buster. You will cough every hit.

While Im in a nonfriendly state, Ive smoked no less than 50 different varieties of dispensary weed, some allegedly testing 28%, and was NOTHING compared to our NL5 cut. If the shit they tested as 28%, ours has to be at least 40%, which I know it isn't.

Its loaded with resin.

 

[JustSumTomatoes]

Very nice. I've always thought it was cool how some plants are potent but lack high THC or look particularly strong. So much to learn about this plant.

 

[tetragrammaton]

I'm glad to see that people are still growing "Classic Strains" since nowadays it seems everything "new" is just some new OG Kush x (OG Kush x (Insert Strain) and then name it something relating to ice cream, cake, or cookies).

I must grow NL #5 at some point in life. I've always loved the leaves, and every NL I've smoked was a very enjoyable experience which brings me to quote and address the following:

Very nice. I've always thought it was cool how some plants are potent but lack high THC or look particularly strong. So much to learn about this plant.

This is explained by the terpenoids and the fact that there are many cannabinoids, and many that are undiscovered, and many recently discovered.

I enjoy high THC% strains for what they are, in fact they are my preference, to ensure potent medical relief, but there are plenty of strains that I enjoy that are in the 10-14% THC range that I find to be subjectively more potent and enjoyable.

FWIW it's not just the terpenoids either, it's a combination of many things, and many things that we still don't understand but are learning more and more each day.

A good example of this, is there are strains that have very similar if not close to identical terpenoid profiles, as in taste, smell, etc... but vary greatly in potency due to THC%. For example, GDP looks, smells, and tastes amazing in my opinion, but is generally accepted to be extremely weak in potency. Blackberry Kush is another strain that has a similar terpene profile that is also extremely weak, however if you get a good batch of Purple Kush, or the mother of GDP, or what was being sold in NYC as "Purps" for a while, it has the virtually the same terpene profile but is potent as hell.

This can also be seen in the new "hemp flower" trend. They have great terpenoid profiles and as stated by those who have smoked it, it smells and tastes like "the real thing", however it clearly doesn't get you high because of it's virtually non existant THC content and high CBD content.

 

[Kalbhairav]

Maybe it was good to start with LED but perhaps it was utter foolishness too

I might hit them with a bit of grow next week. Fish emulsion might be better? I’ve never used it.. I try and feed with only plant origin based feeds and tend to stay away from anything of animal origin. Some might see this as being a bit narrow minded but each to their own

Yes, you’re probably right, it can hold it’s own. As you and others have pointed out, the potency of most NL lines are very good. When it comes to taste and aroma it’s a bit lacking. Also there’s definitely quite a difference between varying seed lines. The seed line I’m growing is probably pretty standard NL. Other’s, including various NL#5 seed lines on sale at the moment, probably have a greater degree of variation and a lot more to offer.

I’ve actually got quite a few (maybe 100 seeds) of an open pollination of Bodhi’s NL#5 f3. Supposedly this was an old BCSC seed line from back in the day. I haven’t started to go through them but hope they might hold a few gems.

I didn’t take cuttings. Unfortunately I just don’t have the indoor space at the moment. During the summer I plan on setting some regular seed outdoor which I’ll take cuttings from.

Thanks for your thoughts as always

I agree, it's different. And maybe a good thing that you're starting over in this way - by starting straight off with LED.

Maybe still not too late to hit 'em with some fish emulsion? Not every watering like I am with Epsom but I am also every three or so waterings adding some Garden Gypsum, which is organic, and water soluble. But it's really interesting you say that about non-organic mineral feeds... I have been toying with doing a run in Hempy Buckets under my QB because I suspect the same, and an HB run would allow for greater control. Hmmm.

It's a classic. And one that, imo, can hold its own - even by modern day standards. Have smoked straight NL but only ever grown hybrids of though, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the offering you're growing. As I have been meaning for some time to add some to the vault and have really only been considering two offerings.

Maybe another run of the same, if you took cuts? Would be helpful for dialing-in, but surely not in the name of variety.

 

[Kalbhairav]

IMHO REAL NL5 can hold its own with almost anything.

Nice!
Great that you still have the cutting! I hope it stays with you for many more years.

Would love to see pics of the plant..