Nowadays most growers prefer feminized seeds as they save them the trouble of sexing their plants. However, regular seed offers a lot to experiment with for the gardener who enjoys home breeding.
They allow you to create unique strains with their own specific phenotypes. They are also more stable than feminized seeds and don’t become hermaphrodites under stress.
Stability
If you want a stable cannabis plant that will produce consistent yields over time, regular seed is the best choice. The path to creating a stabilized plant requires rigorous breeding, and it takes time, patience, and capital to grow more than twelve generations of plants.
Seeds are stored in a dry state that prevents them from deteriorating. Moisture, however, can be a problem and seeds will degrade faster if exposed to it for extended periods of time. To prevent this, store seeds in a cool dark place and try to keep them dry as much as possible.
Because feminized seeds are a result of genetic tampering, they are not as stable as their regular counterparts. Feminized seeds also only produce female plants, so the grower must weed out males manually. This can be time-consuming and tedious, but is essential to getting a good harvest. This extra effort is often worth it for the quality of the buds.
Reliability
The cannabis industry has a lot of jargon that can be confusing to beginner growers. For example, terms like feminized and regular can be misunderstood, especially when it comes to seeds. The best seed banks understand this confusion and offer a satisfaction guarantee.
Regular seeds are the standard type of marijuana seed and have a 50% chance of producing either male or female cannabis plants when cultivated. They are the preferred choice of breeders because they allow them to create new strains by crossing and breeding male and female plants.
However, for growers who want a more reliable harvest, feminized seeds are the way to go. Feminized seeds produce a high percentage of female plants, which makes cultivation much easier. It is no longer necessary to identify and remove male plants from a cannabis crop. This saves time and money for the grower. It also allows them to focus on improving their growing technique to increase their yield.
Inheritance
The main drawback to regular seeds is that they will grow into both male and female plants, so you will need to remove the pollen sacs on the males before they have a chance to fertilize the buds of the females. Failing to do so will reduce your yield and can lead to seedy, undeveloped colas.
Another disadvantage of regular seeds is that they are more likely to become hermaphrodites under certain stress conditions, such as topping, fimming, lollypopping, and defoliation. This can be problematic if you are growing for harvest, because hermaphrodite plants will produce fewer buds than the females and require extra energy to make the weed they do produce.
Choosing between feminized and regular seeds is really a matter of personal preference, as both are suitable for growing cannabis with a wide range of applications. However, if you are growing for production, then feminized seeds offer many advantages. They are more reliable and more predictable, which makes them a better choice for the busy grower.
Breeding
If you are planning to grow your own marijuana, you might want to consider working with regular seeds rather than feminized ones. Feminized seeds are less predictable in that they may produce both male and female plants. This can be an inconvenience for a grower and results in unnecessary time and money spent on removing the hermaphrodite plants.
However, growing your own marijuana with regular seeds can be a rewarding experience. It can allow you to experiment with different genetic combinations and create the strain of your dreams. It will also give you the opportunity to work with a wide selection of specimens, including those that express unique aromas, highs and flowering patterns.
Growing your own marijuana with regular seeds can be an ideal solution for advanced growers who are looking to develop their own hybrids. Just be sure to take the necessary precautions and select your seeds carefully. For example, be sure to choose seeds that have a good ratio of male to female plants.
