Soft Secrets
True Champi ons
Exile from Magus Genetics
Kristie Szalanski Photos by Magus Genetics
What a beauty she is…
She loves organic settings most of all..
It’s not often that a breeder will claim one of his own varieties as too strong for his own personal use. Gerrit Slot of Magus Genetics, creator of Exile, Warlock, Double Dutch, and Biddy Early (to name a few) believes “the high is a personal experience, but to me, [the Exile] is a heavy, sedating one. I like the smell, the aroma, but for me it is too much.” Winner of the 2005 Highlife Cup for Bio Indica (1st place), the Exile is a 50% Warlock/ 25% Northern Lights x 25% White Widow cross. The plant shows a similar growth pattern to Warlock but with less elongation and more Indica-looking (wide, big, dark green) characteristics in the foliage. This Indica dominant variety hit the scene in 2000, officially the second release from Magus Genetics, a sort of accidental business that was begun in late 1997.
on out crossing to check the results, and one of the outcross experiments led to the Exile.
Gerrit and Magus first impressed Cannabis connoisseurs with the Warlock, a result of experimentation with mostly Indica seeds (Afghan) crossed with Skunk #1. Anyone who’s ever smoked it can tell you of the distinct flavour and strength of Magus strains, and the Warlock was so favourable that Gerrit decided to “spend the years after the release of the first batch/version searching for the most reliable male from line-bred families.” Trials done, he then focused
It wasn’t his first choice for smoking due to the ‘couch lock’ it induced, but he recognised the potency when it became a favourite among his friends. The seeds came out to the public in November of 2000, then the old (pre-2000) Chronic (Serious Seeds) was crossed, the Double Dutch was born, and sold as a (nowfamous) variety with high yields. While the Warlock is a true-breeding variety, most Magus strains are F1 or three-ways, which can sneak up on you due to their combined strength. Gerrit explains this intensity, as with Exile and Skunk #1, as a “build up of genetics.” “It adds up,” he says, “More genes are responsible for the high. But it’s also terpenes [what you smell and taste]. If you have a lot of different things mixed into one plant, of course it adds up.” Unfortunately, scientists have yet to figure out exactly how the terpenes affect our high. Doesn’t matter, though, because folks like Magus keep bringing out lovely strains that smoke and taste fantastic. It should be mentioned that fans of the Exile tend to keep totally organic gardens. This variety, as with many others, is properly cultivated in an
organic setting: allowing the plant’s dominant characteristics to flourish with natural nutrients and growth media. Gerrit himself prefers a soil mix with peat moss and perlite, ph 5.8 with an EC 0.8 at first. Taller plants are accommodated by 7.5 litre pots, but the Exile can be kept much shorter for those with limited vertical space. Daytime temperatures average around 25° C with an approximate humidity at 70% during veg and 50% in flower. The Exile has been known to be potash greedy, and responds well to organic flowering stimulants. Unlike the Warlock, Exile is not as white in the pistils, and it also shows less elongation. Some have achieved main colas of up to two feet, a bit more Sativa in appearance despite the big dark leaves, and with a ‘popcorn ball’ to ‘cotton candy’ consistency. Due to the dominance of the lateral branches, Exile responds well to the SCROG (Screen of Green) and Sea of Green techniques, but Gerrit warns to avoid using heavy or inflexible netting materials. “I prefer the method of bending individual branches and/or main stems, mostly in the middle (not on the outside) so the shape would be more like a not-so-deep bowl, instead of a flat tabletop.” This works well at the flexible tops, and up to the third week of flowering. After that the stems get too brittle, and there will be no active growth/ stretch anymore, regardless of SCROG vs. SOG. This way you can optimise your light output and trim out the lower, smaller central branches, while more easily adjusting the space between your light and your plants. Little stretching should take place, and a fair amount of foliage will pop out. Warlock growers might want to be patient, as the Exile should take up to a week longer, but not more than nine or ten weeks at the latest. Towards the end of your 12-hour period, you might notice a creamy, rose hip or elderberry fragrance replacing the acrid pine smell. Gerrit usually trims his plants live in the pot, then cuts at the base and hangs the branches upside down for eight to ten days. This should be in a cool (“…as in not heated, so it’s more like living-room temperature”), dry, darker, and clean spot to optimise slow drying and reduce the risk of oxidization and mould. When the product is ‘popcorn dry,’ as he puts it, the buds are not wet but the branches will not yet snap, either.
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At this stage the flowers are carefully trimmed off the branches and packed tightly (firmly but not pressed) into vacuum-seal bags, but not sealed. You can also use glass canning jars or the ones (for pasta) with a snap-down seal (for approx. 48 hours). Next, dump out the buds and air them for a day or two; they should end up pliable but hold their shape when pressed. It’s not a bad idea to check on them frequently from this point. Gerrit recommends taking the buds out a day or two before smoking, as he doesn’t like wet weed or that which is “crumble dry.” A tiny bit of moisture is preferable for optimum flavour and ease of smoking. In his experience, Cannabis that is well grown, dried, and cured can be kept for at least 6 months, after which point you will notice discolouration and perhaps a slight ammonia smell. If you visited the Highlife Cup ’05 (Holland edition), hopefully you had a chance to smoke a bit of the Exile. Last year the Biddy Early (Early Pearl/ Skunk #1 x Warlock) won a 2nd prize Outdoor and a silver medal at the High Times Cannabis Cup in ’03. The Warlock blazed a trail for Magus Genetics in 1997 with a bronze medal, leading Gerrit into further competitions, because as he states, “You’ve gotta expand in exposure, otherwise, you get snowed under.” So what’s next? Keep an eye out for the new Motavation (a.k.a. London Memories), a Sensi Star x Warlock cross closely related to the Starwarz, which has kept smokers stalking the Bluebird Coffeeshop for the past few years. Indica seekers will finally be able to get their hands on the beans for this potent creation. Perhaps a Champion Strain in the making?
Slaughtered Exiles hanging out to dry
For product and ordering information, please visit www.magusgenetics.com UK orders can be requested through puresales@puresativa.com General inquiries please direct to pureinfo@puresativa.com.
