What does F1, F2, etc mean? Also I see the term NL5 a lot. I’m pretty new to growing so I just need someone to clarify if possible.
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Howdy!
If you cross breed two different varieties together, their offspring is an f1, the first familial cross. Breed two of the siblings together and their progeny is f2 and so on and so forth.
NL5 is northern lights #5
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@wbSamadhi nailed it!
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OH, okay that clears that up. I appreciate the info, it was hard to understand what people were talking about, now I’m in the loop haha
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NL5 = Northern Lights #5. …I’ll leave it to the pros to explain the #5 bit… 
F1 is the 1st generation progeny of a cross (A x B) and F2 is the 2nd generation
A word of caution, we (this loose band of stoners) do not generally use scientific terms absolutely correctly… 
Cheers
G
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The correct word is filial.
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Been brushing up on my Spanish and the word Familia is stuck in my head. 
Good lookin out! 
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Why do people want f1s over f2s etc a lot of the time? Is that so they can find more phenos ?
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All good discussion. Only thing I see missing is you may also see S1 thrown around. That’s when a plant is crossed with itself (reversing the female). Results in fem seeds.
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Okay very informative! Are the F1 and F2 just considered more ‘pure’ lineage?
F1s usually more uniform than F2s. F2s usually start to diverge from the parents. F1s also tend to have more hybrid vigor than F2,F3, etc.
Correct, the S1 specifically notes a self pollination not simply a reversal. Ethos has been using the R1, R2, … notation to represent the results of Fem seeds.
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Oh okay, that will help me if I am looking for fem seeds
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Loose info such as copying and pasting graphs is part of the reason why cannabis growers aren’t taken serious.
An F1 is when you cross two different but relatively pure strains(genotypes).
For instance
Pure Columbian x pure Afghan = F1
Take 2 or more of those resulting F1 and cross them = F2
Take 1 or more of those F1 and cross them back to mom and you have a BX generation
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i thought F2 had more variation but each pheno resembling one of the parents more closely than f1.
i could post Sebrings’ F1 thread… but i think that would just make things more confusing for OP 
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It depend on how homozygous the parents were I suppose.
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I guess I don’t see many people on here talking about BX gens.
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Thank you for posting this question, it helped me understand the concept better.
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Lol yeah just about every seed posts mentions these terms so I was lost.
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So, let’s use Bodhi vs. Tony Green for example. Bodhi releases a lot of strains that are a clone only x one of his males. Let’s say black triangle (triangle kush x 88g13hp). Does he release these just after doing that one cross, or do they get worked? Bc technically if he works them a few times, they’d be farther down on the F gens than f1 but everyone who buys packs from bodhi and makes seeds, calls them f2s.
And TG, he seems to put himself out there talking about how he works his lines for the traits and stability he’s looking for. But if I buy a pack, they aren’t usually called f4s or f5s, it’s just pine tar gush or sowah gorilla or whatever. So if I’d make seeds from that pack, I’d probably call them F2s, but are they really f2s?
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