Northern Lights

[JessE]

Very nice post Jim, you're right about Ortega Indica said to be a Northern Lights hybrid. I believe Dutch Passion even makes reference as such (NL #1). Ive not grown the Ortega, but sources from which I trust advise me to make sure this variety makes it into my collection as soon as possible. It looks like you're a fan of the line as well.

For many years the main source of information cannabis wise for anyone in my general clique, and we're talking a great many years now, was Ed Rosenthal. In fact Ive mentioned a book of his thats quite old thats been around for many years now here on the forum a few times. I believe he has had quite an influence on people throughout the world, and for that Im very grateful.

Cheers

 

[jim dankness]

Very nice post Jim, you're right about Ortega Indica said to be a Northern Lights hybrid. I believe Dutch Passion even makes reference as such (NL #1). Ive not grown the Ortega, but sources from which I trust advise me to make sure this variety makes it into my collection as soon as possible. It looks like you're a fan of the line as well.

Hi jesse, thanks for your response but you've left me a bit confused.

The thrust of my admittedly rambling post was that Ortega *is not* related to NL, other than both being from the general vicinity of Afghanistan. Does Dutch Passion say otherwise?

I question Dutch Passion's identification of of NL2 as as consisting of (NL1 x Hindu Kush). Early Seed Bank catalogs seem to be fairly clear about describing NL2 as a "Hindu Kush-type" plant (the 1990 catalog describes the NL2 f-3 as a "remarkably pure Hindu Kush phenotype"), much like NL1 is described as an "Afghani-type". Nothing about that indicates an outcross to me, but rather a breeder describing a specimen that he does not know the exact origins of-- which fits with the "got some seeds from a dude called The Indian" story. If you gave me a handful of unknown seeds, I'd describe them in the very same way-- 'Afghan type', 'Haze type', 'Skunk type', etc.

 

[JessE]

Here in the states, Hindu Kush and Afghani are two different varieties in my neck of the woods. Ive smoked excellent examples of both, very different from each other, similar only in the fact they were superb in unique ways. I believe elsewhere however Hindu Kush and Afghani are interchangeable terms, with Hindu Kush x Hindu Kush (Master Kush) meaning the same thing as Afghani x Afghani. Which opens up an entire window of possibilities to consider if one spends some time on it. I recently heard a rumor surrounding NL x SK I thought was quite interesting, and made a lot of sense once I thought about it. Varieties such as Northern Lights, Skunk and Haze are pillars in the breeding community. With a great deal of todays very famous and well known plants simply being selected versions of these lines.

Which brings us kind of full circle back to my first post earlier today, with the significance of just how special these NL hybrids on the MNS menu truly are. Original stock, from which many of the today's merchant super stars themselves purchased in order to establish themselves in the industry and get to where they are today. There is little question the role Nevil and Shantibaba have had on the industry, and this most recent release is just another example of MNS leading the way into the 21st century.

JessE

 

[jingles]

Hey Jesse,
Do you mean NL5 x Haze A or C?
Just curious cause the NL5 x Haze C is the C5 haze witch we have been and still are growing for many years now. I'm growing 16 C5 beauties at this very moment together with 2 Neville Hazes.
Lovely plants and superb herb if you know how to grow them.
Anyways, the A5 Haze (NL5 x Haze A) is one of the strains that we've lost over the years, too bad cause that is a very very strong breed!
I would love to see the comeback of this killer strain. Not that i like it so much personally but over here it's a legendary strain!
Grtz,
Y. Sam

Do you have any pics of these hazes to share..

 

[bigherb]

Very rough draft of Haze article - Page 14 thc farmer

id love too see som new pics also but for now you can check this above thread

luvbigherb

 

[bigherb]

Nevil was active in breeding before 1984 and seems to have been selling seeds in that year, though it was quite low key.

The first printed TSB catalogue was 1985, after his return from Mazar-I-Sharif

the Sensi Seed Club (SSC)-- run by Dronkers et al-- or the Super Sativa Seed Club (SSSC), run by "Pim and Kees"?


thanks jim and archivist


the nl#9 cross was too sk#1 in 86 and i dont see any mention of nl5 but its reported in 85 northern lights first release ,again with neville first creating the oldschool hazes A5 C5 etc one can assume that nl5 was crossed to haze as early as 84

im sure neville was breeding before 84 also becaz that year sams claims to have given him ohaze

interesting info reguarding ortega

"Oakland Indica

as for info from cannabible its says sssc offer oakland indica in 85


yosemite

hows it goin brotha

hope your enjoyin that nevs

and i agree i would also love too see those oldschool hazes come back because before i came to mns forums i wasnt sure if anybody else knew what haze is


1luvbigherb

 

[Yosemite Sam]

yosemite

hows it goin brotha

hope your enjoyin that nevs

and i agree i would also love too see those oldschool hazes come back because before i came to mns forums i wasnt sure if anybody else knew what haze is


1luvbigherb

Hey bigherb,
It's going great.
I'll post some pice of the new run soon. Its C5 haze with a few nevs.
I also have some new info for you but i need some time to right it all down.
I'll get back to you soon.
Enjoy.
Y.Sam

 

[bigherb]

yosemite sam

sup brotha

glad to hear all is well

we all look forward to the pics ,id lov to hear your thoughts on nevs thus far

take your time becaz i want to kno everything lol
always appreciated


1luvbigherb

 

[Archivist]

i'm a bit confused here: are you talking about the Sensi Seed Club (SSC)-- run by Dronkers et al-- or the Super Sativa Seed Club (SSSC), run by "Pim and Kees"?

Without the abbreviations:

Nevil did not run Super Sativa Seed Club
He was doing business with Sensi Seed Club prior to 1990, but the true identities behind Super Sativa Seed Club are a mystery.

Thanks for the reminder about 'Pim en Kees'. I had heard those names before, but I still have very few clues as to who they actually are/were.

Archivist you appear to be the man with the answers, so what is the version that sensi sells and has it been "reworked" since back in the day ?

From a breeding perspective, if all the original parents and gene-stock are still available (as they are at Sensi Seeds), there's no reason to rework strains.
With the original parents, the time-tested strain can always be made to the original standard. Any reworking or re-breeding that produces new results might as well be released as a new strain.

It is a new strain if new parents are involved, and if there's one thing the cannabis seed community wants as much as classic strains, it's new strains.

Changing the makeup of an existing strain and selling it under the same name is undesirable from both perspectives - people seeking the original will not receive it and the breeder throws away the opportunity to release a new strain.

Making analogues (or straight-up fakes) of existing, well-known strains is the kind of trick employed by newer, less honest seed-sellers (many of whom don't breed anything, just rename bought seeds). Breeders with good stock don't need to do this.

The recent (cough!) confusion about Sensi's Northern Lights seed-strain is simply because JessE demanded to know if the current seed strain is 'the' Northern Lights, by which he meant NL 5x2.

It's true that NL 5x2 is widely loved, and one of the most popular NL lines. However, NL#1 has just as much claim to the crown, since it's more typically Afghani, is loved by as many old-timers and is not a hybrid of two different NL lines.

In the Nineties, NL#1 was sold as the Sensi Northern Lights seed-strain.
It was changed to NL 5x2 before the end of the Nineties, and this, to the best of my knowledge and according to the people who actually work with it, is what it remains.

It was partly those words "to the best of my knowledge" that caused the little storm-in-a-teacup further up in this thread. I suppose I should just be more definite and (potentially) less accurate in my answers, as certain sections of the community don't want the slightly ambiguous truth, they want collectible factoids.

If I wanted a more peaceful life, I would be better off presenting what I know as the cold, hard Truth. Working on the inside of the industry for half my life does give a good picture, but I've been here long enough and talked to enough of the original breeders to know that almost nothing in the canna-breeding world is 100% hard fact. It depends who you talk to.

The veteran breeders I have asked about NL over the years give the same answer - Sensi Northern Lights was NL#1 for a time, but was changed to NL 5x2 years ago.

However, since I haven't asked in recent years, I cannot state "it's NL 5x2" with 100% certainty (maybe only 99%); only the breeders actually making the seeds can be 100%.

Of course, 99% is fairly certain, and good enough for most enthusiasts. However, I have enough experience to avoid presenting what I know as the absolute Truth unless I have actual first-hand experience (cough!).

 

[jingles]

We tried out nl back in 89 and my recolection of the said plants was of nothing special they were quite stretchy between the nodes with more of a rounded bud on a stick than a long running cola, they were almost flavourless with a slight pepper smell when squeezed , although we only had a few to try out so it may have been the seed we got. I assume they were from the seedbank and not sensi, In 96 we tried nl again and we got much nicer plants than our previous attempt and the seeds were sensi in the cellophane wrappers. the plants were more compact with a longer larger main flower and much shorter side branching that stayed tight to the main stem. the smell growing was still zero but a more oily rich taste when smoked. Recently out of a pack of sensi maple leaf we got a plant that looked to be the same as the old nl we had tried all those years before and with the same low smell and taste. these are my experiances of the few nl's that i have tried.. regards J..

 

[jim dankness]

Good post, Archivist.

The Northern family does cause a fair amount of confusion!

It seems to me, from the old Seed Bank catalogs, that Nev always regarded NL5 x NL2 as being his pride and joy, and the other two (NL1-- the "Afghan type" and NL2-- the "Hindu Kush type") eventually proved themselves more solid in outcrossing than inbreeding in the Sensi era. Nev had both 1 and 2 to the f3 generation in the last Seed Bank catalog, so he had obviously done a fair amount of work trying to stabilize them. One wonders if perhaps inbreeding depression reared it's ugly head.

 

[curious101]

i was thinking of trying Maple Leaf Indica or even the SuperSkunk from Sensi...now that Shanti has NL hybrids coming out i am very happy I did not place an order for either of the strains tho i still read great grow reports on both

 

[pigu]

I like the plant as my first grow was NL from Sensi seeds (cut).I really like her,grows great outside ,is resin coated and quite potent but definitely lacks in taste like few herbs I've ever tried.Do you agree?

 

[dan_kass]

I've always attributed NL to have a nice lemony flavor....not overpowering just a nice mellow lemon aftertaste.

~dan

 

[JessE]

I've always attributed NL to have a nice lemony flavor....not overpowering just a nice mellow lemon aftertaste.

~dan

Hi Dan
Ive had the opportunity to sample a few different varieties presented to me as 'Northern Lights'. All of them were good, some better than others though. A few months ago now I shared a bowl with a chap of some Northern Lights that was very dense and had a nice lemony after taste like you mention.

Very similar to the MNS Master Kush x Skunk in those respects actually. Ive had some Northern Lights that reminded me very much of the SSH I grew a couple seasons ago. Very nice. Ive also seen some Northern Lights that had beautiful braided buds, unique in some regards in that respect. That was a fine example of cannabis as well, as were all of them in fact.

 

[JessE]

Hi all,
Recently caught a post from a member on the forum looking for the "best" Northern Lights, and noticed the Dr. Atomic "Northern Lights" mentioned. Below is a link to some information related to the Dr. Atomic NL that some of you may find of interest. Personally speaking, as someone who has taken a great interest in the Northern Lights line, I would not dream of going anywhere but MNS for my Northern Lights needs for reasons covered in this thread previously and more.

I acquired the original Northern Lights in 1988 from the seed banks in Amsterdam. I also got some Northern Lights from the northwest here in British Columbia, and over the last 18 years I?ve been perpetuating it and outcrossing it to other strains I like. It?s not rocket science

http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4762.html

 

[coxnox]

Hi all,
Recently caught a post from a member on the forum looking for the "best" Northern Lights, and noticed the Dr. Atomic "Northern Lights" mentioned. Below is a link to some information related to the Dr. Atomic NL that some of you may find of interest. Personally speaking, as someone who has taken a great interest in the Northern Lights line, I would not dream of going anywhere but MNS for my Northern Lights needs for reasons covered in this thread previously and more.

there isn't pure NL in mns catalogue, or at least i can't find one !!!
yes dr atomic have made cross with his NL, and if you look his catalogue you will find mainly/only NL cross:
BLUEBERRY JAM(NL x Blueberry)
ATOMIC SHIVA(Northern Lights, Super Skunk, Hash Plant)
ATOMIC HAZE(Northern Lights, Cambodian Sativa, Super Silver Haze)
THAI LIGHTS (Northern Lights, Thai Haze)

But the NL is a pure NL and not a cross, so don't try to give misinformation to peoples because you don't deserve the peoples you like so much by doing this.

 

[brock1]

there isn't pure NL in mns catalogue, or at least i can't find one !!!
yes dr atomic have made cross with his NL, and if you look his catalogue you will find mainly/only NL cross:
BLUEBERRY JAM(NL x Blueberry)
ATOMIC SHIVA(Northern Lights, Super Skunk, Hash Plant)
ATOMIC HAZE(Northern Lights, Cambodian Sativa, Super Silver Haze)
THAI LIGHTS (Northern Lights, Thai Haze)

But the NL is a pure NL and not a cross, so don't try to give misinformation to peoples because you don't deserve the peoples you like so much by doing this.

take a look at the link. he's only posting a quite from Dr atomic so if anyone's posting b**lsh*t look a bit closer. i cant see Dr atomic posting s*it about his own strains. you seem to think you know more than the breeders of these nl strains get of your high horse coxnox and do some research before trying to stir shit its embarrassing. here is the part were Dr atomic say he crossed his nl strain since you cant seem to follow link.

I acquired the original Northern Lights in 1988 from the seed banks in Amsterdam. I also got some Northern Lights from the northwest here in British Columbia, and over the last 18 years I?ve been perpetuating it and outcrossing it to other strains I like.

by the way who owned the seed bank? Nevile. then Nevile joined with sensi seed bank before coming here with shanti with alot of his original stuff including nl. so if you want to know so much about it why not ask the man himself? he's joining the forum soon and for years people have ask shanti question to source a answer from him. instead of bad mouthing people try using your head. take a look at your thread you know the answer to your question and if you read your own thread you would know ortega is a inbreed line of nl no1 and its from mr nice seed's. as you know breed by the original breeder from the seed bank that offered nl back in 1988 who dr atomic sauced his original seeds from all them years ago.

here you go shanti's quote its embarrassing you dont follow link and talk shit bad mouthing people.

Originally Posted by shantibaba
HI all

well Ortega was based on work from Neville and was a selection of an afghan which was also known Northern Lights 1. It was then consumed under the Sensi seeds label when Neville sold it.Breeder Steve made a selection of his version and it was a good plant.

I am using the old seed from 1987 of Nev, not a big selection came up but was a quality strain and full of excellent stable phenotypes. It is not an F1 seed but an inbreed line and after the selection work parts of it are being used in other hybrids and research work.

It tends to flower bwteen 6-8 weeks at 12/12, and enjoys a strong feeding regime. Unlike the large colas of flower clusters it produces flowers up the stem of medium size but density is on its side.

More in the medicinal range of plants for those with muscular tension disorders and for those who need to stimulate appetite and sleep...as far as i am concerned. But we can add to it everybody who does a thread to get a better over view....hope that helps a little Sb.

 

[coxnox]

I acquired the original Northern Lights in 1988 from the seed banks in Amsterdam. I also got some Northern Lights from the northwest here in British Columbia, and over the last 18 years I?ve been perpetuating it and outcrossing it to other strains I like.

the outcross he's talking here is with blueberry, skunk/hp, supersilver haze and thai:

In the eighteen years of indoor growing and breeding I collected more strains and tested them. I took my still beloved Northern Lights and outcrossed it to the strains that are now available today: Blueberry, Hash Plant, Sensi Star, Thai, and Nepalese. The Nepalese and Thai are backcrossed more frequently in the hope of stabilizing these very tall and stretchy plants to produce practical indoor versions with sativa attributes in the high. It?s taken me years to get the right balances and I?m always working on improvement!

 

[brock1]

the outcross he's talking here is with blueberry, skunk/hp, supersilver haze and thai:

I acquired the original Northern Lights in 1988 from the seed banks in Amsterdam. I also got some Northern Lights from the northwest here in British Columbia, and over the last 18 years I?ve been perpetuating it and outcrossing it to other strains I like.

i think you will find its were he sourced the other northern lights that could hold problems. its not a verified nl line not once has Dr atomic sead were he sourced it. other than a plant that comes from north west British Columbia. do you know how Meany people say they have the real deal this and that? that's the only point jessie pointed out. yes Dr atomic nl might be the real deal northern lights then again it could be a very good cross. you sead Mr nice doesn't have a real northern lights well i would rather trust Shanti than Dr atomic. i know he breeds with Neville the name behind all pure nl strains. if Shanti says Ortega is a ibl of nl from seed Nev had from 1987 that he gave Shanti to grow out i believe ever word he sead about it being a real deal nl. so your saying Dr atomic has nl but Shanti and Nev dont OK.