Why northern lights is the best strain the world will ever know

lessismore

That makes far more sense than the 'urban legend' that I was told. To say the least.

LOL

I seem to remember reading about it in one of Tom Alexander's ST from way back but I have no personal knowledge or experience.

You mentioned I believe that you were in and around Eugene, Oregon at some point in time and you also mentioned a strain called 'Oregon Purple Thai' and I was wondering if you thought that this strain might be a derivative from some of D.J. Short's work with his infamous Blue Thai.

I have a specific reason for asking this question about a seed lot I have.

Thanks!

LD

 

lessismore

You're the first person in over 10 years that has posted anything like that. I'm more than a little impressed. Seriously.

Most (as in over 90%) of the original seeds from Afghanistan that were brought in by the BOEL in 1970 were horrible. Lots and lots of resin but the taste and 'high' (such as it was) sucked - big time. Completely worthless.

Finding a 'keeper' involved growing out hundred and hundreds of plants resulting in a lot of disappointments along the way. Which probably explains the rush in the mid-70's to get to Afghanistan to procure the 'real deal' seeds from the tribal warlords who had little use for the punks from Laguna Beach.

LD

 

That is the story I was told by some of the ol school growers I acquired some of my seed stock from n the late 70's and early 80's. We my neve rknow the true story b/c it is said they worked this strain in the mid 60's and reworkd it over and over throughout the 70's until they had a falling out. It is said the one brother is the one who discovered the Purple pheno of Haze known as the legendary Pruple Haze; which is all but disappeared b/c most purple strains in today's market are Indica.

From my understanding, it was this very Oregon Purple Thai I possess which was used to rework the true Northern Lights strain which was acquired by Neville in the mid 80's. It could be used in the DJ Shorts Blue Thai, cannot say for sure. I do know it was used in Fruity Thai, Cherry Thai, and Lemon Thai; the true versions anyway. It is a very hardy strain wich is very goo for climates where mold can be a problem; much like the area you live where it is often humid and wet. I believe it was also used in the true version of Pluton 2 which was released in 87 by SSSC.

Edit: Afghani was never known as a high potency strain. It is just another facade, or illusion created by Dutch breeders. Most Afghani varities were grown for hash making, which is why we never seen commercial Afghani bud imported in the US, it was always hash; blonds, blacks, browns, etc...depending on region and elevation mostly. Same with Lebonese, not a very potent strain and used mainly for hash making. Many have the misconception that b/c hash is potent, then the bud it comes from must be as well. This can not be farther from the truth b/c hash is 100X more concentrated than the flowers it comes from. The name Afghani was tagged to potent Indica varieties bought in from Korea & Viet Nam during the wars. Korea an VN are well known for their very potent Indicas, as well as very potent Sativas. Same goes for Sativas from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, etc... I remember much of the Afghani seeds bought in from those lands in the middle east which were traveled to for spiritual reasons by those elite hippys which had old money backgrounds. Afghani #1 took 1000's of plants to create, and still was not exactly the very best producer and not potent at all. It just made good breeding stock b/c of the density of the flowers and it's shorter flowering periods. As we know of the Hindu Kush(a region in Afghanistan), the Khyber Valley regions, and other regions of Afghanistn these seeds were bought back by the kilo and reworked with other more potent Southeast Asian varieties to improve potency. The Afghani, Pakistani, and Lebonese strains, in land race form, are great for hash making, improving yields, increasing terpenes & CBN/CBD levels, and increasing trichome production in the lower CBN/CBD less trich covered Sativa flowers. Anyone remotely familiar with breeding knows most hybrids get their THC potency from the Sativa side of the cross.

 

On a surfing trip to Baja California in 1970 (right before I was drafted) we bought a bag of some pot from a local surfer that was violet. Pure sativa and definitely was violet (more so than purple).

God knows where in Mexico it was grown but it was powerful.

Interesting.

BTW - what do you think about Clarke's study of cannabis botany?

LD

 

Does the name 'Velvet Rush' bring up a memory by any chance?

LD

 

LD you're being way too modest dude. Folk such as yourself, less, chunk, jig, guerilla, pork, rumple, (and the many, many others herein I'm not mentioning – apologies) are the special operations forces for our hobby, our science, and our culture. You're like dadgum Navy Seals man! Be proud of those hard earned “wings”.

If memory serves me well I recall it was Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthal that were the first persons to publish a book on cannabis horticulture. Mel and Ed should receive a medal of honor of sorts for being so forward thinking and brave enough to bring their knowledge to the common man in the form of the written word. And this during the Nixon drug war years of the 70's! Wow! The knowledge and wisdom you folks possess and generously impart to us neophytes is no less honorable than that. I'm so glad Al Gore “invented” the internet (sarcasm intended) so that you spec ops warriors can bring your knowledge to us in the 21st century in just a second or two. I can't encourage you all enough to keep doing what you're doing. It's a good thing. A really, really good thing.

Props and respect to all you big dawgs and freaks. You're pack leaders!

 

Possuum38North

'Mel Frank' (nom de plume) is a friend of a friend of mine. I met him several times in the late 1980's when he was working on his final draft of his book. He was well connected with the 'boys of summer' operating in North San Diego and South Orange County in Southern California.

The only 'mild criticism' that I would make on his book is the method of rooting a cutting. It's pretty protracted and involves a number of steps that today would be considered laughable.

Still - his book was head & shoulders above the books by George/Jorge and much of what has followed.

I still have a signed first-edition that's been opened 3 or 4 times. A bit of history.

I even dug out my last copy of the catalog from Neville's The Seed Bank and looked over the various seed offerings from yesteryear. The one that had me laughing was 'Big Bud' - the boys up in Portland bent this guy over the hood of the car with that mess. It's still grown by cash croppers in Portland because of the 'big buds' - and that's about all there is to it.

Eh - such is life I suppose.

LOL

LD

 

Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthals book; "Indoor/Outdoor Marijuana Growers Guide" was a book I still refer back to. It was the best model o follow IMHO b/c everything was laid down in simple terms and anyone with the knowlede to read could learn to grow. I honestly believe it was THE book which started the whole indoor growing evolution of the 90's.

Robert Clarkes work is some of the best breeding resources there is. although sme is outdated, it is still a great reference for those wishing to learn how to breed cannabis successfully.

Velvet Rush is not a strain I know of LD, yu have stumped me there. But I do know the Haze Brothers were avid surfers, and much of the bud they were breeding was readily available among the surfer circles. Purple Haze was unique for the very reason you mention. Most of the Purples we see are dark, and often dry and cure to a very deep defned purple. The true Purple Haze I encountered while trying to acquire some true Haze seeds in 78 in the Bay area was very light, as yu said, more of a violet purple w/ deep red, almost burgandy colored hairs. Many of the Purple varieties today have some Black Russian in their lineages; BR was named for it's deep purple color and how it dried to an almost black color.

 

lessismore

RE: Velvet Rush

These were seeds handed to me at a party at a friend's home in Laguna Beach around 1987, i.e. OPH (Our Personal Hero). One of the folks there had returned from the Pacific Northwest and had traded seeds with the Sacred Seeds group(s) in Oregon & Washington.

What I was told was that this strain was a branch of DJ Shorts' work that didn't pan out. I suspect that some of this is possibly true given how it looks when it's flowering out and the taste of the buds themselves.

It definitely has a lot of Thai sativa in her and some Indica - it doesn't look or taste like many Afghani Indicas. In the final 2 weeks of flowering the 'fall colors' hit and it's everything from deep purple through blues hues, reds, orange, yellow - it's got it all.

The final product has small color veins running through the calyxes - it looks spectacular. Because of the heavy vegetation it's somewhat of a challenge growing in the powdery mildew capital in the US - the Pacific Northwest.

It's an interesting strain but nothing to necessarily write home about other than watching the beautiful colors towards the end of the flower cycle.

Again - you're the first person in over 10 years that has seen the 'violet sativas' and maybe even something close to what I smoked in Baja a couple of lifetimes ago.

Peace

LD

 

Man this thread is just an awesome thing to read and absorb. I’m really digging it!

Guerilla, what a visionary you were for getting this whole dialog going. Awesome man! For those that haven’t recognized it yet allow me to clear something up for you. The dialog that is going on in this thread with these old warriors is more than just some old guys rehashing the days “back in the day”. These guys are the real deal! It’s like being given an opportunity to take a glimpse into the inner workings of the sun without burning your eyes out. These are the men in black. The Nephilim. Those ancient men of lore. If our laws weren’t what they are these dudes/dudettes would be getting showcased on The Discovery channel.

Reading all this is sure more fun than a vigorous and spirited debate about mychorrizae! Humbling.

 

i have just finished reading ed 's book last week n i will have to check out the other , by youir friend lumper and , robert clarkes is now on the list too. there is one by dj short i am going to read as well.
do you guys have any interest in ed's strain that has been advertized in on of the popular seed banks? ( super bud )

 

Very true. I had the very first edition in 1978. Still have it someplace. Have not had to refer to it in many yrs, but may have to dig it out b/c I have not done an outdoor grow since 1999. Definately a must have if you want to learn the basics w/out all the technical BS. A simple and basic outline of how to grow marijuana...plain and simple.

 

yeah ed's the man i started reading his internet posts when i srarted growing . the book was a straight up how to guide for sure . if it wasnt for gc (or internet). i wouldnt get very far without it. what are the 6 strains if you dont mind , i was only aware of the super bud that costs like 300.00 bucks for like 10 seeds . i better get a free bottle of lube when they rape me.
damn lumper, no fear in those days huh. powder traffic now is outrageous! most due to crack n all but if you want mucho kilo's you go down hard. even with a half k . you can spend a 10 -20 years in prison. its not a good game to be in now . everyone wants to be scarface in fl. but the time is hard and everyone will take you out of the game if they can. the locals are pretty thick around fl runnin trucks full with multi million dollar kilo's a coupla times a week. its getting crazy how much crack is smoked nationaly . bricks n cookies are no fun . i hate that shit now.

 

true to what ive heard also .
i;m more concerned with staying out of prison nowadays.