Before feminized seeds became so popular, regular seed operated the way nature intended. That means each seed has an equal chance of emerging as a male or female plant.
For the grower, that’s a good thing. Because male plants are essential for the breeding process to produce new strains.
Stable Genetics
Regular seeds function exactly how nature intended them to. Each seed sprouts with a 50% chance of growing into either a flowering female or a pollen-producing male plant. The feminized seeds, on the other hand, endure a lot of genetic tampering and have a much lower likelihood of producing robust descendants.
Breeding cannabis seeds requires years of hard work to create stable specimens. This is a painstaking process that involves crossing parent plants with desired traits, then backcrossing them to fix certain characteristics like growth and flowering patterns.
Stable genetics are a must for cultivators seeking consistency and predictability. This allows growers to duplicate the exact genetics of a particular strain, whether it’s a potent hermaphrodite like Amnesia Haze or a sativa with unique colours and terpene profiles. Having stable seeds also makes them more suitable for cloning. The clones produced by stable cannabis seeds are strong and root well, making them easier to grow.
Better Yields
Regular seeds are also better for those interested in experimenting with breeding their own strains. They can be used to produce violet phenotypes, super-productive plants of great height and more. Regular seeds contain both male and female chromosomes and therefore have a chance of producing either a male or hermaphrodite plant. Feminized seeds, on the other hand, are guaranteed to produce only female plants.
However, if you stress your plants (using techniques such as topping, fimming or lollypopping) the chance of hermaphrodite production increases considerably. This combined with the fact that feminized seed is genetically unstable, means that if you want to breed hermaphrodite strains, you will need to use regular varieties. Feminized seeds are great for beginners and first-time growers because they make the cultivation process easier, but once you have got your growing skills down, we recommend trying regular seeds to see what you can create. The rewards are definitely worth it.
Less Expensive
If you are a grower with a bit more experience and you know your way around the plant, you can choose to use regular seeds in your cultivation. Unlike feminized seeds that are guaranteed to produce female plants only, regular seeds will contain both male and female genetics which means that half of your crop may be male (which you’ll have to manually weed out).
This is not a problem for experienced growers but it can be for novice growers who want a 99% female yield. The good news is that by growing regular seeds, you will have more of your crop available for cloning. This allows you to create new strains and cultivars that will replicate the desirable traits of a particular plant, whether it be a certain potency level, flavour profile or colour. Cloning is a crucial part of the cannabis breeding process and regular seed allows you to do this without any artificial intervention.
Easier to Breed
Regular seeds give growers the opportunity to create the strain of their dreams. Whether you’re after extreme potency, unique flavours or specific morphologies, breeding is the way to go.
With regular seed, male plants will naturally produce pollen and can be crossed with female specimens to create offspring that display the best traits of each parent. Breeding requires a little practice, but with time and patience growers can create the perfect cultivar.
Many traditional landrace strains, which have survived millennia without being feminised, are often preserved in regular seed form. By brushing fresh pollen from a male plant against a female specimen fertilisation will occur and seeds can begin to form. This process is known as sexing and can be done with ease with regular seed. It can also be done more reliably than with feminized seeds, saving on growing space and reducing the amount of nutrients and medium that is wasted through sexing. This can be particularly important for commercial growers who want to produce a crop with a set ratio of female to male plants.
