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My very favorite strain ever is Northern Lights.
It gives me instant peace, that, if smoked before bed, has a wonderful peaceful hangover effect for me all through the next day. I can feel it like a buffer between me and anxiety. So we shall be growing two different versions of it. I want to see how each grows, yields, and smokes. I’ve decided to name the Polar Express Balki Bartokomous. The Northern Storm shall be Cousin Larry. I germinated in water with Bigfoot root stimulator, from Oregon’s Only. They were then planted directly into 2.5 gallon pots. The bottom 1/3 is my homemade supersoil, made from Subcool’s recipe. The top is Promix HP.
They were planted two days apart, and they sprouted two days apart. They’ve been getting a small amount of water each time the soil around each dries. More as they grow. I made humidity domes out of 2 liter bottles. And they will be getting nothing but ph’ed water for the duration.
This week has been excellent. Cousin Larry is a bit slower, and stranger, but I have faith that will change. This is a marathon. Not a sprint. Balki is getting huge. They’ve just been getting increasing amounts ph’ed water every time they dry out. Soon the roots will hit the supersoil, and we’ll see if I did it right. The Black Sugar seems okay with it, thus far.
This week has seen growth in both, on a scale with what was seen the previous week. Balki is enormous. Cousin Larry is neurotic, but still moving forward, and ultimately growing as an individual. But Balki was always the real star of the show. 3 weeks are up. Now we see what the super soil will do with them.
Balki has been gaining an inch per day, all week. It’s a couple days since the pics, and it’s gone up another 2. Cousin Larry is slower, but making steady progress. Flowering has begun on Balki. Larry will probably show pistils soon.
Just been getting Ph’ed water, since I’m running them in Subcool’s super soil recipe.
They’re both growing like weeds. Cousin Larry hasn’t shown flowers yet. Balki is showing some leaf spots, that look like manganese or phosphorus deficiency.
Looks like my supersoil may not have been done cooking when I planted. Or I didn’t mix it well enough, etc. I’ll add a tiny bit of Fox Farms Tiger Bloom to see if it corrects the issue.
Well, my supersoil was definitely not finished. And Polar Express is apparently a heavier feeder than other autos I’ve run. The first addition of nutrients wasn’t enough. So I had to add the whole Fox Farms trio. The deficiency has stopped, but it ain’t pretty. Just going to limp her along. Next run I’ll be able to dial in the nutrients better. Northern storm is the ugly duckling of the tent. Just as tall as Polar Express now. Definitely has a more sativa-like structure to it. Lower leaves are showing some deficiencies. (The canary in the coal mine of cannabis plants) I’ll add a little bit of the Fox Farm trio, to stay ahead of this plant. Definitely a lighter feeder than Polar Express.
Buds are fattening up on Balki. Pistils are turning orange. I figure it’s got another couple of weeks. I’ve been giving some Fox Farms trio every other watering, to limp her along until finish. Cousin Larry is now an inch taller than Balki. Fairly strong smell from a Northern Lights. The Polar Express, however, is very mild. Great for stealth.
They’re both bulking up a bunch this week. Very inoffensive sweet smell coming off Balki. Oh, the audio book I downloaded last night is read by Bronson Pinchot. Weird coincidence? Balki is a week or two from finishing. Cousin Larry is a week or two behind thatand smells skunkier. I can’t wait to harvest these girls.
Balki got the chop 3 days before the week was done. Trichomes were about 10% cloudy. She’s hanging up now. Cousin Larry will be another week or two. Just giving water until harvest.
This is a really great strain. Harvested at day 80 from seed. It’s very relaxing, and tastes sweet, of spice, and maybe a hint of fruit. It’s got some Northern Lights feel to it, but not as stress relieving. But that’s because it’s more mixed in its genetics.
Plant grew from seed to harvest in 80 days. A good relaxing and tasty smoke. I’ll grow another one out, and get the nutrients dialed in better. I lost most of my harvest pics of this plant.
Northern Storm is almost finished. Less than a week to go. Polar Express weighed in at 48g. Just waiting for a cure to do a harvest report. I’ll chop Cousin Larry on Monday, most likely.
Final week. I chopped the Northern Storm the day after week’s end. I’ll have a harvest report on the Polar Express soon. It’s dried and mostly has a decent cure.
Harvested at day 97 from seed. It smells like traditional Northern Lights. It tastes like traditional Northern Lights. It has lost of the effects. It doesn’t have the hangover relaxation effect though. It’s a little more sativa leaning than any NL I’ve had before. Tastes and smells great, like spices, wood, and sweet fruit.
@LumberjackBuds, Photoperiods give more leeway for user error. The autos will start flowering on their own schedule, regardless of light schedule. If I mess up on a photoperiod, I can just wait until I’ve corrected the issue and gotten the plant healthy before I flip to 12/12 and flower. I’m really enjoying the quick turnaround on autos though. The Dark Devil is giving me hope.
@LumberjackBuds, Could be a lot of things. When I was stuck with very few plants, I was loathe to grow autos. Because if I stunted them, I was going to run out of my stash before the next harvest. One of the reasons I like that the seed company reps give advice on here. Helps you get nutes and conditions dialed in early. And the many great diaries to go over to prepare. But I’m notoriously bad with autos. 😄. It’s something I’m actively working on now.
@TheBudWhisperer, My wife also loves the movie. But is a non-smoker. We have it the film. This will be a great strain for hot cocoa and blankets, while watching it.
@TheBudWhisperer, It’s pretty fantastic. The Northern Storm I sampled early too. I think it feels more like the classic Northern Lights. They’re both magnificent.
@MSNL_Seeds, Thank you! I can’t wait to see what she can do! Next time I’ll have replaced my 3 gallon pots with Radicle bags, and should be even better.
Congrats dude. Guess the yields about expected for NL??? Typically lower than most I’m finding. The storms interesting - it’s be nice to have a sativa leaning NL in the cupboard for those non-hangover days 😉👍
Stinkfox
