Before feminized seeds became so popular, growers used regular seed. Regular seeds produce plants that are 50% male and 50% female, requiring the grower to identify and remove all males from their crop.
For those growers who enjoy breeding their own cultivars and want to be involved in the process of creating new strains, then growing regular seeds is an option that should be considered.
Unaltered Genetics
For the grower who wants a completely natural experience, regular seeds are the way to go. They operate exactly how nature intended; every seed has a 50% chance of growing into either a flowering female or male plant. Male plants are extremely useful when it comes to breeding, as they can be separated from the females and their pollen collected.
However, identifying and safely removing male cannabis plants can be quite a challenge for beginner growers. And because all the work is done by nature, growing regular seeds also requires a greater level of patience and knowledge to get the best results. Nonetheless, many growers find the reward of growing their own feminized crop to be well worth the extra effort. As a result, many of them prefer the natural genetics and increased resistance to disease and pests that come with using regular seeds. This can result in a more robust, high-quality crop. The final decision is, of course, up to the individual grower.
Better Genetic Stability
The parent plants that make up regular seeds are backcrossed with each other to create offspring with consistent growth, flowering and psychoactive properties. This process ensures that the genetics of each variety are stable and that growers will experience a consistent harvest every time.
The same cannot be said for feminized seeds. Feminized seeds endure a genetic tampering process that can lead to less than robust descendants. This makes growing feminized seeds a riskier proposition for growers.
Moreover, feminized seeds produce male plants that must be removed from the crop, further reducing yield levels. Identifying and removing males takes skill and knowledge that most novice growers lack. For this reason, if you want to maximize your yields per crop, stick with regular seeds.
More Vigorous Plants
Unlike feminized seeds that produce 100% female plants, regular seed will occasionally yield male plants. Having the option to work with both male and female plants can be an advantage for some growers. The use of male plants allows for the opportunity to create unique crossbreeds with vigor and consistency that can be hard to achieve with feminized seeds. This can be a huge benefit when searching for particular phenotypes and traits.
Regular seed works exactly how nature intended – there is an equal chance that a plant will germinate as a male or a female. Rather than spending time and resources trying to sex each plant once it has entered the flowering stage, growers can simply work through the genetic lottery until they find the ultimate mother. This approach can save time, resources and a lot of money. Regular seeds also offer better genetic stability as they have not been tampered with by humans during the breeding process.
Easier to Breed
If you’re interested in breeding, regular seeds give you a better chance of growing male and female plants to produce clones. This is important because male plants produce pollen that will spread to females and create new marijuana plant generations.
While feminized seeds promise easy sexing, many experienced growers choose to work with regular cannabis seed. This is because regular seeds operate the way nature intended and have an equal chance of becoming either male or female.
If you’re a fan of old-school cannabis genetics, we recommend checking out Dutch Passion’s selection of regular seed. This includes classics like White Widow, Orange Bud, Blueberry and Mazar. You’ll also find strains from the 1980’s and earlier such as Durban Poison, Euforia and Power Plant. These traditional strains offer enticing aromas and deeply satisfying effects that will please any palate. Our collection of regular sex seeds offers an abundance of options for both beginner and advanced growers alike.
