Northern Lights Auto - Week by Week Grow Diary & Strain Review

Northern Lights Auto didn’t make a good first impression. It started slow, stayed small, and spent a decent part of the early grow looking like it might never catch up.

In a tent where the AKs were stretching and demanding attention, Northern Lights quietly lagged behind, darker in color and slower to respond.

But it never collapsed. And over time, that mattered more than speed.

This was a first indoor grow, run under real heat, uneven humidity, alkaline tap water, and a lot of learning in real time.

Northern Lights didn’t thrive because conditions were dialed in. It finished because it tolerated the process.

Grow Setup

Grow Diary

Weeks 0–1 – Germination & Seedling Stage

Northern Lights Auto was planted directly into soil on May 27. Germination lagged behind the AK plants, and the seed casing had to be loosened by hand.

Early conditions were far from ideal, with temperatures regularly pushing past 86 °F and humidity moving around more than expected. The seedling did eventually stand up and form its first true leaves.

Growth was slow, but steady enough to justify leaving it alone.

Weeks 2–3 – Early Vegetation & Early Doubts

By this stage, Northern Lights was clearly the smallest plant in the tent. It stayed compact, darker than the others, and showed little interest in stretching.

Low-stress training was introduced during Week 3, but instead of helping, it appeared to hold the plant back. The main stalk distorted near the soil line and overall growth slowed even more.

Leaf color deepened, which raised questions about nitrogen sensitivity, long light hours, or water pH. Training was removed, light hours were reduced, and the plant was left on water only to see whether it would correct itself.

Weeks 4–5 – Recovery & Pre-Flower

This period marked the first real shift. Alkaline tap water was identified as a likely contributor to earlier stress, and pH correction was introduced. The response wasn’t immediate, but it was visible.

The main stalk straightened, new growth came in lighter, and the plant stopped looking stalled. A mutated fan leaf was removed, but no other corrective work was needed.

By the end of Week 5, early pre-flower signs appeared and Northern Lights seemed less reactive to feeding than the other plants.

Weeks 6–7 – Quiet Transition to Flower

Northern Lights moved into flower ahead of the rest of the tent without much fanfare. Pistils appeared early, bud sites formed evenly, and the plant stayed short and stocky.

Lollipopping and light defoliation were done to clear the lower growth. A ScrOG net went in, though Northern Lights barely interacted with it. It wasn’t trying to reach the light anymore.

Weeks 8–9 – Flower Development

Bud stacking became more noticeable and trichomes started showing under magnification.

A drip irrigation system was introduced, but Northern Lights consistently drank less than the other plants and occasionally overflowed, which became a pattern.

Aroma shifted toward pine and wood, subtle but clean. Vertical growth stopped entirely, and energy went into filling out the existing structure.

Weeks 10–11 – Steady While Others Declined

As nutrient and pH issues resurfaced elsewhere in the tent, Northern Lights stayed mostly unaffected. Water uptake slowed, feeding was reduced, and the plant continued ripening without visible stress.

Trichomes transitioned from clear toward mostly cloudy, and leaf damage stayed minimal for this stage of flower.

Weeks 12–13 – Ripening & Decision Time

Northern Lights entered the final stretch with most trichomes cloudy and a few still clear. Feeding was pulled back significantly, and watering shifted toward pH-adjusted tap water.

Yellowing began slowly, the kind that looks more like timing than trouble. At this point, harvest timing became a waiting game rather than a problem to solve.

Week 14 – Final Flush & Harvest

Northern Lights Auto was harvested after 101 days from seed. Feeding had already stopped, and the plant finished without resistance. Yellowing increased slightly before chop, but bud structure and resin development held up well.

Detailed Observations & Grower’s Reflections

Northern Lights Auto never tried to impress early. It didn’t respond well to training, didn’t enjoy long light hours, and showed sensitivity to water chemistry.

Once those pressures were removed, it corrected itself without needing heavy-handed fixes.

It entered flower earlier than the other plants and stayed compact throughout. Its slower water uptake became more noticeable later in flower and required adjustments once automated watering was introduced.

While it never became a large plant, it stayed consistent when others struggled.

For a first grow, that consistency mattered more than size.

Challenges & Solutions

Most of Northern Lights Auto’s issues showed up early and weren’t obvious at first.

Growth was slow from the beginning, leaves stayed darker than expected, and once low-stress training was added, the plant seemed to stall rather than improve.

The main stalk flattened near the soil line, and the lower growth stopped getting light. At that point, the grower backed off instead of pushing harder.

Training was removed, light hours were shortened for a while, and the plant was left alone with plain water. Progress was slow, but it didn’t get worse.

The bigger breakthrough came later, when the grower realized how alkaline the tap water actually was. Once pH started getting corrected consistently, new growth changed color, and posture improved.

Looking back after harvest, uneven perlite distribution in the soil likely didn’t help early moisture consistency either, but the roots still managed to work around it and form a solid root ball.

During flower, Northern Lights consistently drank less than the other plants, which made automated watering tricky and led to occasional overwatering.

Rather than forcing feed schedules, the grower reduced inputs and adjusted timing. That lighter approach turned out to be enough to carry the plant to the finish.

Northern Lights Auto: Final Result and Strain Review

The grower noted that wet weight was estimated due to limited preparation, while dry weight was measured after curing. Curing was split between jars and a makeshift box, but the final result met expectations.

Northern Lights Auto started slow, stayed quiet, and finished strong. In a first grow, that kind of reliability mattered more than yield.

Ready to get these results? Buy Northern Lights Auto Seeds Here