Charles U Farley
Well-Known Member
SouthEast Lights has evolved from 10 Northern Lights seeds I obtained from Sensi via Gypsy Nirvana in 2000. Here was my goal when I started:
“My original purpose was to develop Sensi Seeds Northern Lights for the environment of the southeast U.S.. I knew it had been developed in the Pacific NW of the U.S. and then bred for seed development in the Sensi greenhouses of Amsterdam, both environments that are drastically different from the long, sunny growing seasons in the southeast U.S.. Much, _much_ respect to NL Seattle Greg for his decades of work creating Northern Lights. Much respect to Nevil Schoenmakers and Ben Dronkers for selectively developing and maintaining a magnificent, foundational strain of cannabis.
I decided to increase the typical vegetative phase by a month or two for increased root and leaf development, then slowly extended the flowering phase by an additional two months to provide adequate time for the buds to mature into ripe old age, for a total life-cycle of 6-7 months. Unlike the short growing season of the Pacific NW and the seed production greenhouses in Amsterdam, I gave time for the plants to develop their full potential. There was no need to top, prune, FIM, ScrOG or do anything else un-natural. I would never use chemicals or hormones for seed production. I knew I could make Northern Lights shine even brighter.”
I developed those 10 seeds in a 2 foot by 5 foot closet for over 18 years, before moving to 4X4 and most recently another 8X4 tent, because I'm an old fuck and gotta grow as much as I can, while I still can, so I never have to purchase cannabis. The closet was initially lit by a 1000 watt metal halide light and subsequently changed to 700 watt, high PAR LED coverage almost 10 years ago. The closet was ventilated with a 483 CFM radial fan and numerous holes were drilled between the floor joists to allow air from the basement to circulate and evacuate the heat produced by the lights.
As you’ll notice, SouthEast Lights doesn’t burn or bleach out when placed close to a HID light source, as long as the tops are adequately ventilated of course. Also look at the branching pattern on the pic of the plant outside, where you will see absolutely no sign of topping or FIMing. The plants naturally grow this way for me, without the need for abuse or mutilation of the stem or shoots. The size and shape of the leaves have evolved in the past 10 years, especially since I learned to isolate the Type2/Indica dominate plants. The leaf shape has changed dramatically and is pretty atypical of NL... double serrated, wide and quite long as well.
I am currently on my F10 generation and from F1 on, for the last 22 years, the plants have:
1. Only received pure, mountain spring water
2. Never, fucking ever been FIM’d, ScrOG’d, topped or mutilated/butchered to increase yield.
3. Never been subject to any chemical or hormonal manipulation for sexing or inducing polyploidy.
4. Only received massive amounts of HID lighting from both MH and LED lights.
5. Been grown in standard, cheap potting soil (currently Scott’s Moisture Control because it was on sale) and receive absolutely no fertilizer until at least 1 full grow has been completed with the new soil. During subsequent grows (as I recycle the soil) I use minimal amounts of Peter’s 10-10-10 when needed.
6. Go through extensive wet/dry cycles where the soil is allowed to not only be saturated but to dry out almost completely as well,
7. Never been subjected to 24/0 lighting or rushed/forced flowering in less than 90 days of vegging. I don't fuck or abuse my plants for any temporary, short term gain. Sensi’s current website says the flowering time for Northern Lights is 45-50 days, SouthEast Lights would not be anywhere near completion in that time frame. There’ve been times when I could barely even sex a plant 45 days after flip, and I know what to look for.
8. Never been babied, coddled or otherwise given any type of special care, whatsoever. Most growers would be mortified at how brutal I have been with not only clones but sprouts as well. I'm reminded of a Saturday Night Live skit from the 70's comparing Lamaze birthing with SNL's version, which were just a wee bit different. No sterile cuttings of clones, no reduced lighting during germination or rooting, no support poles or netting, none of that bullshit that treats cannabis like a violet instead of poke sallet. SouthEast Lights is a fucking Terminator version of cannabis that will take whatever abuse, neglect or mismanagement a dumbass grower can give and still survive.
9. Only herm'd once, on one branch, on a 4 year old clone, after a week long power outage, in a 40 degree closet.
Notice what I haven't mentioned? Nothing about THC percentage, terpine profile, smell, color, resin coating, leaf/calc ratio, etc. Know why? I don't give a shit. I don't care if my cannabis smells like a "sweet blueberry forest after a spring rain at sunrise" or like SouthEast Lights... almost odorless. I also don't care whether it's gold, green, red, purple or is organically grown with pure, unadulterated bat shit that has been mined by gnomes and elves in forests of the Pacific NW. What I care about is how SouthEast Lights makes me feel. And this should come as no surprise I'm sure, but it makes me feel... _good_, and that's what matters to me.
Most importantly, I’ve not only taken care of, but I have _cared_ for these plants, for many years now. They have decades of love, care, discriminative selection and complete attention in an ideal yet very challenging environment. As Owsley Stanley said so many years ago, “…the Princess of the plant world, who gives us a wonderful gift in return for our care and attention.” I’m a bit more direct and less eloquent than zBear so I'm not sure how to end this post. Should it be, "I take care of the plant that takes care of me." or "When the plant is not forced to do things unnatural, it will become what you want it to be."? How about:
"That’s what makes SouthEast Lights different from Northern Lights!"
“My original purpose was to develop Sensi Seeds Northern Lights for the environment of the southeast U.S.. I knew it had been developed in the Pacific NW of the U.S. and then bred for seed development in the Sensi greenhouses of Amsterdam, both environments that are drastically different from the long, sunny growing seasons in the southeast U.S.. Much, _much_ respect to NL Seattle Greg for his decades of work creating Northern Lights. Much respect to Nevil Schoenmakers and Ben Dronkers for selectively developing and maintaining a magnificent, foundational strain of cannabis.
I decided to increase the typical vegetative phase by a month or two for increased root and leaf development, then slowly extended the flowering phase by an additional two months to provide adequate time for the buds to mature into ripe old age, for a total life-cycle of 6-7 months. Unlike the short growing season of the Pacific NW and the seed production greenhouses in Amsterdam, I gave time for the plants to develop their full potential. There was no need to top, prune, FIM, ScrOG or do anything else un-natural. I would never use chemicals or hormones for seed production. I knew I could make Northern Lights shine even brighter.”
I developed those 10 seeds in a 2 foot by 5 foot closet for over 18 years, before moving to 4X4 and most recently another 8X4 tent, because I'm an old fuck and gotta grow as much as I can, while I still can, so I never have to purchase cannabis. The closet was initially lit by a 1000 watt metal halide light and subsequently changed to 700 watt, high PAR LED coverage almost 10 years ago. The closet was ventilated with a 483 CFM radial fan and numerous holes were drilled between the floor joists to allow air from the basement to circulate and evacuate the heat produced by the lights.
As you’ll notice, SouthEast Lights doesn’t burn or bleach out when placed close to a HID light source, as long as the tops are adequately ventilated of course. Also look at the branching pattern on the pic of the plant outside, where you will see absolutely no sign of topping or FIMing. The plants naturally grow this way for me, without the need for abuse or mutilation of the stem or shoots. The size and shape of the leaves have evolved in the past 10 years, especially since I learned to isolate the Type2/Indica dominate plants. The leaf shape has changed dramatically and is pretty atypical of NL... double serrated, wide and quite long as well.
I am currently on my F10 generation and from F1 on, for the last 22 years, the plants have:
1. Only received pure, mountain spring water
2. Never, fucking ever been FIM’d, ScrOG’d, topped or mutilated/butchered to increase yield.
3. Never been subject to any chemical or hormonal manipulation for sexing or inducing polyploidy.
4. Only received massive amounts of HID lighting from both MH and LED lights.
5. Been grown in standard, cheap potting soil (currently Scott’s Moisture Control because it was on sale) and receive absolutely no fertilizer until at least 1 full grow has been completed with the new soil. During subsequent grows (as I recycle the soil) I use minimal amounts of Peter’s 10-10-10 when needed.
6. Go through extensive wet/dry cycles where the soil is allowed to not only be saturated but to dry out almost completely as well,
7. Never been subjected to 24/0 lighting or rushed/forced flowering in less than 90 days of vegging. I don't fuck or abuse my plants for any temporary, short term gain. Sensi’s current website says the flowering time for Northern Lights is 45-50 days, SouthEast Lights would not be anywhere near completion in that time frame. There’ve been times when I could barely even sex a plant 45 days after flip, and I know what to look for.
8. Never been babied, coddled or otherwise given any type of special care, whatsoever. Most growers would be mortified at how brutal I have been with not only clones but sprouts as well. I'm reminded of a Saturday Night Live skit from the 70's comparing Lamaze birthing with SNL's version, which were just a wee bit different. No sterile cuttings of clones, no reduced lighting during germination or rooting, no support poles or netting, none of that bullshit that treats cannabis like a violet instead of poke sallet. SouthEast Lights is a fucking Terminator version of cannabis that will take whatever abuse, neglect or mismanagement a dumbass grower can give and still survive.
9. Only herm'd once, on one branch, on a 4 year old clone, after a week long power outage, in a 40 degree closet.
Notice what I haven't mentioned? Nothing about THC percentage, terpine profile, smell, color, resin coating, leaf/calc ratio, etc. Know why? I don't give a shit. I don't care if my cannabis smells like a "sweet blueberry forest after a spring rain at sunrise" or like SouthEast Lights... almost odorless. I also don't care whether it's gold, green, red, purple or is organically grown with pure, unadulterated bat shit that has been mined by gnomes and elves in forests of the Pacific NW. What I care about is how SouthEast Lights makes me feel. And this should come as no surprise I'm sure, but it makes me feel... _good_, and that's what matters to me.
Most importantly, I’ve not only taken care of, but I have _cared_ for these plants, for many years now. They have decades of love, care, discriminative selection and complete attention in an ideal yet very challenging environment. As Owsley Stanley said so many years ago, “…the Princess of the plant world, who gives us a wonderful gift in return for our care and attention.” I’m a bit more direct and less eloquent than zBear so I'm not sure how to end this post. Should it be, "I take care of the plant that takes care of me." or "When the plant is not forced to do things unnatural, it will become what you want it to be."? How about:
"That’s what makes SouthEast Lights different from Northern Lights!"
.
), but I was _so_ hoping it was staminate. No doubt others have had a different experience, but I would _much_ rather have a dominate, staminate parental unit than the best pistillate plant I've ever had. Mostly for logistical reasons.
