Regular seeds are a great way to create your own genetic crosses and to produce better quality clones. They also operate exactly how nature intended.
Unlike feminized seeds, regular seeds have an even 50% chance of producing either male or female plants. This means that a grower can select and save the best males to use in breeding projects.
Breeding
Breeding regular seed can be a rewarding experience that brings new strain phenotypes to the table. These can be anything from increased resin production to reduced flowering time.
When breeding regular seeds, it’s important to choose a mother plant with the desired characteristics in mind. This will make the selection process easier and help you achieve your goals faster.
Typically, feminized cannabis seed varieties have a much lower success rate when it comes to breeding. Because they lack male chromosomes, these plants are more difficult to breed than their regular counterparts.
Breeding feminized seeds is not an easy task, and it requires significant knowledge and skill to do it properly. This is why it is best to start with feminized seeds for your first crops, and then move onto regular seed varieties once you’ve gained some more grow experience and know what you’re doing.
Cloning
Cloning is a process by which genetic material can be copied and then used to create a new, identical plant. This process is most commonly used by farmers to produce breeding stock, not food.
Cannabis clones are exact duplicates of the mother plant. These plants are typically heavy yielding, females with a special terpene profile.
While clones have many advantages over seeds, they can also have some disadvantages. For starters, they can be prone to pests and disease if the source of their genetics was unreliable.
They are also much weaker than a seedling. This can make them less resistant to a variety of problems, including heat stress.
To get started with a clone, you should give it a small amount of water and a cannabis-friendly “grow” nutrient solution, and place it in a pot or a humidity dome until it has established roots. Once it has, transplant it into a long-term growing medium. Keep it moist, and keep the lights a little further away until it gets settled in.
Pollination
Pollination is the process of transfering pollen from one flower to another. It occurs when a male plant’s anthers rub or drop onto a female flower’s stigma, where the pollen is transferred and fertilized to yield fruit and seeds.
Seeded bud is one of the first signs that a cannabis plant has been pollinated. However, it is not a good sign and should be removed before it gets too big.
Typically, a ratio of 50% female plants and 50% male should be present when seeds germinate. This percentage will vary depending on the growing conditions and luck.
Regular seeds are still popular with traditional growers who haven’t embraced feminized seed technology. These seeds are less likely to produce hermaphrodites which can be a benefit to growers who need to select mother plants or have a quality source of cuttings for later use.
If you are a grower who is interested in breeding your own strains, then you will need regular seeds. They are essential for selecting the best possible mother plants and capitalising on precious pollen produced by the males.
Germination
When growing from seeds, germination is an important step in the development of your plants. It helps ensure healthy and robust growth.
The key to successful germination is finding the right environment for your seeds. This can include a warm, dark and moist environment.
A good place to start is in a Jiffy Pot, or a seed starter station. These trays are designed to replicate the conditions in nature for cannabis seed to sprout.
Some potting mixes are also available in a germination version. This is a handy option for growers who live in areas with colder temperatures or need to germinate their seeds in advance of planting outdoors.
Another popular way to germinate seeds is by watering them. This is a common gardening hack that can be done with a variety of media, including damp seed starting mix, coco coir pods or a seedling starter fertilizer.
