Strain History: Northern Lights
- 1. The history of northern lights
- 2. Original northern lights auto: remake of a true classic
- 3. Most common questions
- 4. Northern lights terpene profile
- 5. Grow tips
- 6. In conclusion
Northern Lights without a doubt is a very famous cannabis variety, few cannabis strains have achieved a legendary status like Northern Lights. Since being introduced in the market in the 1980s, Northern Lights has won countless cannabis cups all over the world and earned a reputation as one of the most iconic strains of all time.
1. The History of Northern Lights
Like with many cannabis strains, the exact history behind Northern Lights is a mystery. Cannabis folklore has it that the original Northern Lights was bred from Afghani landrace seeds grown on an island near Seattle, Washington.
Northern lights was apparently grown by a man known as “The Indian”, he grew a total of 11 plants he named Northern Lights #1-11, it was rumored he was working with true Afghani landrace Indicas and kept diaries comparing size, yield, and effect of each individual plant. When harvesting time came he was left with 2 plants that were clearly better than the others, these two were big and bushy, with heavy buds covered in resin.
The story sets in the early 1980s when Nevil Schoenmaker discovered The Indian’s work. He took a couple of clones to The Netherlands where he was already experimenting with genetics from all across the world. In 1985 he released a unique variety of Nothern Lights that was quickly appraised as the best pure Afghani Indica. Almost immediately this strain began winning cannabis cups and gave birth to a variety of famous strains like Super Silver Haze, Shiva Skunk, Hash Plant, and Jack Herer.
2. Original Northern Lights Auto: Remake of a True Classic
At Fast Buds we’ve developed an unbelievably resilient autoflower. She is a great choice for colder climates, can fight off plant disease with no issues, and has a high resistance to bugs, making this strain easy to grow and perfect for beginners.
We improved flowering time and yields while keeping all the qualities and characteristics that made her famous across the world. When growing our Original Auto Northern Lights, you can expect almost pure Indica genetics.
With a flowering time of around 9 weeks and reaching up to 120cm, she grows quite large and will reward you with an abundance of frosty top-quality buds (yielding up to 600 gr/m2).
Developing very small internodal spacing, she is easy to grow and maintain (which is why she is ideal for beginners). Her leaf structure will be that of a classic Indica, with a thick main stem and chunky side branches.
This is an extremely aromatic strain, its dense buds give off a powerful smell that’s characterized by a spicy, fruity, and earthy aroma.
This autoflower delivers a very strong and long-lasting high, making your eyes feel like they are melting and a full couch lock effect on your entire body.
It’s a potent medical strain and is often used to help relieve a variety of symptoms like stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as physical symptoms like pain, insomnia, and nausea.
3. Most Common Questions
• Is Northern Lights a Sativa or Indica?
Northern lights is a descendant of the original Afghani Indica landraces and is one of the purest Indica strains around.
• Is Northern Lights a strong strain?
Northern Lights is a strong pain-reliever and can make you go to sleep easily but doesn't give a strong psychoactive effect and only has around 16-20% THC.
• Do Northern Lights contain CBD?
Northern Lights does not contain a significant amount of CBD but being an almost pure Indica it will deliver a strong and relaxing body high.
• Can Northern Lights be used as medicine?
Although this strain can relax your muscles, relieve pain, treat sleeplessness, and in some cases diminish depression, you should always get your doctor's advice before experimenting with alternative medicine.
• What strains are similar to Northern Lights?
Blueberry, Grandaddy Purple and Blackberry Auto are strains with similar effects.
4. Northern Lights Terpene Profile
Northern Lights' reeks of a pungent aroma that is a mix of herbs, pepper, and citrus, this smell is composed of around 10 terpenes, some in a higher concentration than others.
The main terpenes in this strain are (approximately): 0.31% Caryophyllene, 0.33% Humulene and 0.29% Myrcene, the secondary terpenes found in a concentration less than 0.01% are Linalool, Pinene, Limonene, and Terpinolene.
5. Grow Tips
Northern Lights is usually a resilient plant that doesn't require much maintenance, she can fight off plant disease with no issues and also has a high resistance to pests and bugs. We suggest her if you're growing outdoors in tough climates (hot or cold) as she is used to hot, cold, and rainfall. For optimal growth and harvest we recommend feeding heavily and don't forget flushing 2 weeks prior to harvest, this will significantly improve the already pungent smell and flavor.
6. In Conclusion
Northern Lights is the result of a cross between Afghani Landraces, this strain was very resilient with a unique aroma, flavor, and a super potent Indica-type of high. She quickly became one of the best medicinal strains for her pain-relieving properties, the Fast Buds team recognized this and bred an optimized version of this classic.
We recommend this strain to anyone looking for a tough plant that provides a very good quality medicine, not only being a high yielder, this autoflower produces a combination of cannabinoids and terpenes best enjoyed after a long day of work, especially for growers who suffer from physical pain.
