Regular seeds offer a more natural and untampered growing experience. They produce approximately 50/50 male and female plants – pure genetics.
These are a favourite for old-school growers and newcomers alike. They’re a great way to cultivate both sexes for your own breeding experiments and will give you much more variation when it comes to phenotypes (the specific characteristics of a strain).
They are cheaper
In general, regular seed is a lot cheaper than other types of seed. For starters, you’ll only get bud-producing plants out of half the seeds (the other half could be male).
However, this is a small price to pay compared to the genetic purity, stability and variety of strains you’ll get from regular seed.
Another advantage of regular seeds is that they provide breeders with the chance to create new strains. They’re the most stable types of cannabis seed, which means they can pass their genes on to future generations.
The only disadvantage of regular seeds is that they can be difficult to sex. But that’s no reason to avoid them if you want to breed. It’s worth the effort to work through a pack and pick out the best female plant, which can be a great way to reduce the cost of seedlings. You can also use the plants from a regular seed to make new hybrids, which is often a great way to increase yields while maintaining potency.
They are more stable
Regular seeds are more stable than other types of seed. Unlike feminized seeds, which can produce more males than females due to stress, regular seeds are able to avoid this issue by removing the male plant from the growing process before it flowers, leaving the female plants stronger and less prone to stress.
They are also genetically stable, meaning that they can be bred to create new cultivars and create superior clones. While this requires a bit of practice, it’s well worth it to achieve the genetic purity and stability that you want from your cannabis.
Another advantage of regular seed is that they are cheaper than feminized seeds, which can be an important consideration for growers who have limited funds. They can also be more practical for some growers, as they allow you to germinate just the amount of plants that you need at a certain time without having to throw out half of them.
They are more likely to produce female plants
Using some simple techniques, you can increase the likelihood of getting female plants from regular seed. This makes growing cannabis a much smoother process, especially for commercial growers who are looking for a specific ratio of female to male plants.
Generally speaking, regular seeds have a 50/50 chance of producing female or male plants, so you won’t know which gender your plant will end up being until it’s ready to flower. However, if you want to ensure you get a good crop, it’s worth spending the extra money on feminized seeds.
Feminized seeds are created by breeding plants that have been treated to inhibit the production of ethylene before they go to seed. This can be done with a variety of chemicals and has been proven to work, but there are also some risks involved.
They are more likely to be organic
Organic seed is grown by farmers who don’t use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, or any seeds that have been treated with a chemical seed coat. This is a big deal because these chemicals have been linked to a variety of serious health problems and environmental problems.
Organic crops are also healthier than GM versions of the same foods because they require less chemical fertilizer and insecticides. In addition, organic crops emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than GM varieties, helping to reduce global warming.
Regular seed is often collected from wild sources, and this practice has been a good way to preserve plant genetic diversity. However, when a farmer collects seed from wild sources it is considered non-organic and may be subject to pesticide contamination.
According to the National Organic Program, it is allowed for organic farmers to grow conventional seeds if they don’t use any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. This is a process-based requirement and each certifier determines this annually on a case-by-case basis.