Bred from a cross of Thai and Afghani landrace strains, this 90% indica has been a fan favourite for more than 50 years. Our time with this strain was a bit longer than expected as it took its sweet time flowering and grew far taller than we’d anticipated but the results were easily worth the effort.
Total growing time: 98 days
Flowering time: 77 days
Final height: 130 cm
Final yield: 82 grams
THC content: 20.2%
To make sure that our Northern Lights Feminized cannabis plant had the best chances of thriving, we created a perfectly tailored grow space. Hanging from the ceiling was our 1000 W Phillips GreenPower HPS light set to an 18/6 schedule. During the “daytime”, the temperature was stable at 23°C with the temperature dropping to 21°C at “night”.
The relative humidity of the space was kept at 65% during vegetation and would gradually be lowered as the plant matured. Our plant was grown in an 8-litre plastic pot filled with BAC Lava Mix and covered in a thin layer of Rochwool.
Germination & seedling
Before we can properly get started growing our Northern Lights Feminized weed plant, we first need to germinate the seeds. Fortunately, this is so easy that elementary students can pull it off without any extra help. All you need are a plate, a few paper towels, and a plastic bag.
Simply fold up a few paper towels, place them onto the plate, and pour a few millilitres of water on them. The towels should be damp to the touch, but not soaked or dripping. Next, sprinkle your seeds on top of the towel making sure to leave a few centimetres between each seed. Lastly, cover the seeds with another damp towel, place the entire setup into an open plastic bag, and set it somewhere warm.
After 24-48 hours, you’ll notice the seeds crack open to reveal the taproot. Once we noticed this, we planted the seed (with the taproot pointing downwards) into a Rockwool cube and placed it under our 600 W lamp. This early in their lives, seedlings are incredibly delicate and too much light, heat, or water can prevent them from properly rooting.
After three days, we gave our freshly sprouted seedling its first proper watering. At this point, we used only 100 ml of pH-balanced water (pH 6.2; EC 0.8) mixed with a small amount of rooting hormone.
By the end of the first week, our Northern Lights seedling was coming along nicely standing at 5 cm tall and showing its first bits of vegetative growth. These aren’t true leaves yet, but these cotyledons are a good sign of a healthy young plant. At the end of the week, it was time to move our plant to her new home—the 8-litre pot mentioned above—and place it under our 1000 W light. At this stage, we began proper daily feedings with 100 ml of water (pH 6.0; EC 1.4) mixed with Bio Grow liquid nutrients.
Vegetation
Over the course of week two, our plant more than doubled in height to 11 cm and sprouted its first few sets of true leaves. In typical indica fashion, these leaves were short and broad with a deep green hue. This rapid week-to-week growth would prove to be the norm as this strain tends to stretch far more than many other indicas. To keep up with all of this growth, we doubled the water to 200 ml per day.
Week three saw a slight slowdown in growth development with our little lady reaching a new height of 16 cm. By now, she was sprouting its sixth set of true leaves and was beginning to develop her first lateral branches. At this point, the internodal spacing between leaves was fairly tight, but the plant was already beginning to show signs of stretch. During this week we again doubled the water to 400 ml per day.
At this point, we hung small satchels of Neoseiulus californicus and Amblyseius swirskii from the plant’s lower branches. These pouches contain hundreds of tiny creatures that have a symbiotic relationship with cannabis plants. These tiny mites don’t harm your plants at all but instead feed on pests like thrips and spider mites which can decimate even the healthiest plant if left unchecked. These pouches are replaced every four weeks to ensure a fresh supply.
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Flowering
Coming into week four, our plant was developing at a seriously impressive rate and, by the end of this week, had more than doubled in height to stand at 36 cm tall. Knowing just how rapidly this strain can develop, it was certainly time to swap over to flowering. All we needed to do was flip our lights to a 12/12 schedule and change our watering habits. We upped the volume of water to 800 ml per day (pH 6.0; EC 1.8) and switched to Bio Flower liquid nutrients. Lastly, we lowered the humidity to 60%.
Week five saw another major growth spurt with our Northern Lights plant growing to a height of 57 cm. At this point, we again raised the volume of water to 1000 ml per day. The inner nodes were continuing to stretch out and the lateral branches were growing nicely. There was very little proper canopy to speak of as the plant was developing the classic Christmas tree shape so common to indicas and pruning lower leaves and branches is almost a necessity for this train to maintain proper airflow.
In week six, our plant was showing no signs of slowing down as it grew another 19 cm to a new height of 76 cm. By now, we were starting to see the first real signs of flowering as small white hairs began to grow in at the inner nodes and the tops of branches. With the onset of full bloom just around the corner, we once again (and for the final time) increased the volume of water to 1500 ml per day.
Week seven saw the dingle largest height gain from the entire grow with our Northern Lights plant climbing another 27 cm to a new height of 103 cm. This is already on the taller end for most indicas and this plant wasn’t done yet. With our plant about to begin producing proper flowers, we again lowered the humidity to 55% to help prevent the growth of any mould. Also, during this week, we swapped out new satchels of Neoseiulus californicus and Ambtyseius.
Week eight saw our plant grow another 22 cm to a height of 125 cm and enter full bloom. The single white pistils had begun to develop into clumps of pre-flowers and the entire plant was transforming before our eyes. With only a few short weeks left until harvest, there was very little to do except sit back and let nature take its course.
In week nine, our plant finally slowed down its vertical growth gaining only 5 cm to reach its final height of 130 cm. By now, every flowering site was sporting a small, dense cotton ball of a flower which was becoming denser and stickier by the day. This strain is known for its resinous sticky flowers and this plant was already showing that off.
Week ten saw no new vertical growth as the plant had diverted all of its energy to the development of flowers. Along the top of the plant, the main cola was developing beautifully as the buds were expanding to grow into single clusters. At lower points, each flower was developing nicely into marble- to golfball-sized buds which were increasingly covered in trichomes. These buds were giving off a fairly potent smell so discreet growers may want to invest in some good odour control.
Week eleven saw the plant’s main cola take its proper form and the lateral branches were developing ever-larger buds along their entire length. These lower branches were slowly beginning to bend under the weight of their flowers and would soon need extra support.
Week twelve and week thirteen saw no new vertical growth but the buds were growing noticeably larger every day. By now, the entire plant required additional support as the stretched and lanky branches were buckling under the weight of their increasingly dense flowers. Near the end of the week, the pistils finally began to slowly turn orange.
Week fourteen saw the flower growth on our Northern Lights plant slow down considerably as the plant shifted its focus to ripening. By now, most of the pistils had turned orange and it was very nearly time to harvest.
Finally, in week fifteen, our plant was finally ready for harvest.
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Harvest
Harvesting our Northern Lights Feminized cannabis plant was a fairly straightforward process. To begin, we simply cut the plant down and its base and removed all of the fan leaves. Next, we hung it upside-down to dry in a dark, climate-controlled space with a relative humidity of 50% and a temperature of 15.5°C. This was hung until the smaller branches were dry enough to snap when bent—typically 10-20 days.
Once the plant had dried out, we removed the buds and trimmed off any remaining leaves before placing the flowers into glass jars. Trimming Northern Lights wasn’t too much of a hassle. The flowers aren’t overly leafy and what leaves there are, are large enough to be easily removed.
These trimmed buds were initially left open for 24 hours to allow the bulk of the remaining moisture to evaporate before being sealed. Over the next several weeks, these jars were “burped” for one hour at a time. At first, this was performed several times a day but was gradually reduced to only once per day.
Once all was said and done, we were able to harvest 82 grams of dried flowers with a THC content of 20.2%.
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Terpene profile
The very first thing you notice when you open up a jar of Northern Lights is the aroma. While the plant doesn’t give off too much of an odour while growing, the finished buds exude a rich earthiness that blends perfectly with a more subtle spicy scent that lingers on your nose. The taste of this strain is equally pleasing with musty earthy flavours mingling with fruity and herbal notes. Overall, the taste of Northern Lights is incredibly mild without any sharp notes.
As soon as you take in some Northern Lights, you’ll feel an almost immediate sense of relaxation as this strain’s indica lineage hits you with full force. This isn’t going to knock you out, but it will make you want to curl up under a blanket and watch some classic TV with a big bag of chips. Mentally, the high is incredibly relaxing and lets your mind wander. This a great strain for late-night moments of creativity, but maybe not the best choice if you’re trying to be more productive.
The outcome
Northern Lights is a true classic for good reason. This strain is a true joy to grow—provided that you have the headroom for it. With its relatively long flowering time, this strain might not fit everyone’s schedule. However, this strain’s ease of growth, lanky frame, and decent yield make it an ideal choice for screen of green growing, mainlining, and lollipopping.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or the greenest newbie on the block, you’ll be sure to appreciate the process of growing your own Northern Lights seeds.
- Disclaimer:Laws and regulations regarding cannabis cultivation differ from country to country. Sensi Seeds therefore strongly advises you to check your local laws and regulations. Do not act in conflict with the law.
