There are many different types of marijuana seeds available on the market. Choosing which one to use for your grow depends on your cultivation experience, goals and space constraints.
Feminized and regular seeds are both viable choices for cultivators looking to produce a consistent ratio of female to male plants. However, it’s important to consider how your grow will be used and if the benefits of feminized cannabis seed outweigh the risks.
Breeding
Breeding regular seeds is a great way to create new strains and improve your growing techniques. However, it is important to choose the right parent plants to start with.
You can use a 50/50 ratio of male and female seeds or you can use a mixture of both. The latter is the recommended approach as it allows for greater variety and a better chance of success.
Regardless of which method you choose, it is important to label and document your seedlings. This will make sorting and harvesting much easier in the future.
As the name suggests, regular cannabis seeds are the original type of marijuana seed that has been available for centuries. Unlike feminized and autoflowering varieties, these unmodified seeds produce both male and female plants at equal rates.
Cloning
Using regular seeds to breed your own strains is an exciting way to create new and unique genetic combinations. It is also a relatively inexpensive way to get high-quality cannabis.
Whether or not you decide to use seeds or clones depends on a few factors. First, you must know what you’re looking for and choose a mother plant with the desired traits.
Another important factor to consider is the mother’s growth potential. Look for plants that have a good height and healthy leaves. They should be at least two months into the vegetative cycle before cloning.
Inspect clones carefully for signs of disease and pests. Check under every leaf and look at the soil medium. Some diseases and pests can be hard to spot, but a lack of vigor is a major cue.
Clones may carry genetic flaws or diseases from their mothers’ DNA. This can make them susceptible to certain insects or fungi.
Seedlings
Regular seeds are a great way to add new varieties to your garden. They’re a lot easier to grow than transplants, and can be a fun way to get your hands dirty and experiment with new plant combinations.
A seed is an egg-like structure containing an embryo, endosperm, and a seed coat (or “shell”). The embryo and endosperm are separate regions that go through distinct developmental programs.
When a seed germinates, it breaks the surface of the soil and is exposed to light. This triggers the switch to photomorphogenesis.
During this time, the seed coat splits and the cotyledons — which are not true leaves — open. They look like small versions of the first leaf on a mature plant and can be identified by species-dependent distinctive shapes, as well as their green color.
Once the cotyledons open, they develop into apical meristems and the first “true” leaves. These leaves are shaped like the leaflets of a mature plant and they perform photosynthesis, the process that plants use to generate food for themselves.
Final Words
If you are lucky enough to be blessed with a green thumb, chances are you have sown or at least harvested a few seeds of your own. As a rule of thumb, you want to avoid wasting precious crop time and flora, so avoiding the commons aforementioned pitfalls should be your top priority. Luckily, there are plenty of resources to help. From cannabis sommets to podcasts and videos, you will find the information you need to help make your next grow session a memorable one. To get started, take a look at our seed guide and scout out our helpful blog articles.
