There are pros and cons to both types of seed, and which one you choose depends on your growing purposes. But which is better: regular or feminized?
Unlike feminized seeds, regular seeds operate just how nature intended. This means they have a 50% chance of emerging as either male or female plants.
Stability
For growers looking for practicality and simplicity, feminized seeds are often the best choice. They have a much higher chance of producing female plants, so you don’t need to worry about male pollen disrupting your harvest or making it inedible. They also help you save on substrate, products such as fertilisers and insecticides, and cultivation space.
Regular seeds operate the way nature intended, with a 50% chance of emerging as either a flowering female or pollen-producing male. This gives breeders the ability to create new cultivars and produce superior clones.
However, it is important to note that the stability of regular seed is also affected by various factors. For example, weather and other environmental stress can cause some of the seeds to become hermaphrodites. If you want to produce a high-quality crop, you’ll need to ensure that your growing environment is stable. This can be difficult, especially for beginners. It’s also worth remembering that feminized seeds undergo human tampering, which can lead to stability issues.
Variety
Some breeders only offer their strains as regular seeds, and they may require some more attention to grow them than feminized or autoflower seeds. For example, growers of regular seeds must identify male plants and remove them from the garden as they emerge during flowering or they will pollinate your females and ruin your harvest.
However, this is no reason to avoid growing regular seeds as they are still a great option for many growers. Providing you are familiar with your strain and how it produces in the outdoor environment, growing regular seeds will give you a good mix of male and female plants that will produce smokable buds and a new generation of seeds.
Moreover, there are some great regular seed varieties that never made the cut in the feminized cannabis market. These old-school strains, such as Alien Technology regular seed, smell like traditional earthy indica and deliver effects that will leave you with a big smile and a bag of munchies.
Price
With feminized seeds becoming increasingly popular, growers may wonder why they still need regular marijuana seed. Regular cannabis seeds operate as nature intended. They have an equal chance of producing male or female plants. This gives breeders the opportunity to create new cultivars and produce high-quality clones.
Regular seeds are also less expensive than feminized marijuana seed. Feminized seeds have a higher price point because of the work that goes into creating them. They are almost guaranteed to produce smokable buds, so they cost more to produce than regular marijuana seeds.
In addition, most feminized marijuana seeds are autoflowering, which means they don’t require a reduction in photoperiod hours to switch from vegetative to flowering. This makes them easier to grow than their regular counterparts. Nonetheless, many growers prefer to plant regular seeds because of their versatility. They can create the strains of their dreams by crossing different specimens to find terpenes that appeal to them and flowers they love.
Ease of breeding
When choosing seeds for your cannabis crop, there are many things to consider. The type of seed you choose depends on your goals and cultivation environment. Whether you’re a breeder or simply looking to get the most out of your plants, you can select from regular, feminized, or autoflowering seeds.
In its natural state, the marijuana plant is dioecious, meaning it produces male and female plants. This can limit your harvest because you’ll need to spend time identifying and getting rid of the males, which can reduce your yield by half.
Feminized seeds are a popular option because they guarantee that all the plants you grow will be female. This is achieved through a process of inducing hermaphroditism in female plants. It is an advanced form of plant breeding and requires careful selection of parent plants with desirable characteristics. It is also more expensive than regular seeds. Another option is mutation breeding, which involves exposing seeds to chemicals or radiation to change their genetic structure.
