Month: August 2023

A cannabis seed contains the genetic code for the plant it will grow. It also has a center called the radicle, hypocotyl and cotyledons, which is where the roots come from.

Once the seeds have germinated, move them carefully from the paper towel into soil pots filled with premium quality seed starting mix. This soil includes mycorrhizae, kelp, lobster compost and peat.

Reputable Seed Banks

There are plenty of reputable seed banks that offer seeds for sale, but finding the right one can be tricky. A good place to start is Rocket Seeds. This seed bank partners with several top breeders and carries 4000+ strains. Their lineup includes popular varieties like Banana Punch (Banana Kush crossed with Purple Punch) and 710 Cheese, both of which are renowned for their high THC content and heavy Indica effects.

Another excellent seed bank is ILGM, which sells high-quality cannabis strains and offers 24/7 growth support assistance. They also have a comprehensive FAQ page that can help new growers avoid common mistakes. Moreover, they stand by their products with a 100% germination guarantee, which is great for beginners.

Lastly, there’s Beaver Seeds, which has a huge variety of cannabis strains to choose from. They also sell auto-flowering and feminized seeds. Moreover, they’re known for providing fast, 7-day shipping in Canada and the US. They also provide free seeds on every order and use stealth packaging to protect their shipments.

Feminized Seeds

Feminized seeds are those that are guaranteed to produce only female cannabis plants. This is accomplished by repressing the hermaphrodite genes in the plant. This can be done by spritzing the plant with gibberellic acid or colloidal silver to change the development of the phytohormone ethylene. The hermaphrodite genes are also reduced by breeding two female plants together.

When choosing feminized seeds, you can be confident that you will grow quality buds with rich cannabinoid profiles in your garden. You can also save time and effort by not having to look for male flowers or pollen sacs, which will pollinate other plants and contaminate the harvest.

Whether you choose to feminize your own seeds or purchase pre-made feminized seeds, it is important that you keep a close eye on your plants. If you see any male flowers or pollen sacs, you must remove them immediately to avoid accidentally pollinating other female plants in your grow room.

Male Plants

If you find a strain you really like and would love to cultivate more of, cloning can help. A clone produces buds that have exactly the same characteristics as the mother plant, including flavor, cannabinoid profile, and yield.

Male cannabis plants produce pollen, which fertilizes female plants and causes them to develop seeds in their bud. This reduces the potency of the harvested flower and depletes a grower’s yield, as they devote energy to developing seeds instead of producing cannabinoid- and terpene-rich bud.

Cultivators need to screen for males to avoid ruining a neighbor’s garden, especially when they cultivate outdoors. Winds can carry the pollen over long distances. A good way to identify a male plant is by checking the joints for small, translucent hairs. You can also look at the bud for small buds that resemble pistils, as well as a fuller body of leaves than a mature female plant. These are all signs that you have a male plant.

Pollination

Like all flora, cannabis plants produce seeds in order to create the next generation. Seeds that are given the proper conditions will germinate, or sprout, and start growing into young plants. These young plants are called seedlings.

In the wild, male plants create pollen sacs that release pollen into the air. The wind then takes this pollen to nearby female plants, causing fertilization and the production of seeds. Cultivators, however, keep male and female plants separate because they do not want their plants to become pollinated.

The seeds of the cannabis plant are full of healthy fats, protein, Vitamin A, iron, potassium, zinc and magnesium. You can use hemp seeds to make a variety of products, including granola, smoothies and salad dressings. You can also grind them up and make a shelf-stable, high-protein powder that is known as hemp hearts. Hemp hearts can be sprinkled over yogurt, salads, and other foods for a nutritional boost.

Choosing the seed type to grow is a personal choice that depends on your goals, experience level and resources. But there are a few things to consider when deciding between regular and feminized seed.

Regular seeds produce both male and female plants, and require sexing to remove the males early into flowering to avoid pollinating colas. This makes them better suited for experienced cultivators.

Breeding

Regular cannabis seeds preserve genetic stability, which is critical for breeders who are looking to develop new strains or maintain consistency in existing ones. They also offer the potential for phenotype variation, which is a genetic expression of the parent strain that may impact appearance, aroma, taste and effect.

Regular seeds are often the preferred choice for growers who are interested in breeding their own strains because they produce both male and female plants. However, this requires sexing the plants to remove any males as they enter the pre-flowering stage. This is a process that requires cultivation experience and can be difficult for beginners.

Another reason to choose regular seeds is for growers who prefer to work with organic cultivation methods. Feminized seeds are hermie prone, so if you’re interested in keeping your garden completely natural, then regular seed may be the best option for you. However, if you’re growing feminized seeds, be sure to follow the instructions carefully to avoid producing hermies.

Cloning

Cloning allows growers to duplicate an exact genetic copy of a plant. This is useful for those who like a particular morphology, colour or flavour profile of a specific specimen and wish to cultivate a similar plant in future grows.

Taking a clone is as simple as cutting off a stem from the mother plant, using a sharp blade (sterilised with rubbing alcohol) to cut at a 45 degree angle, about five to eight inches down from the top of the mother plant. Ideally, the cutting should have three to four additional nodes (brancheching stems) above the cut.

Place the clone in a propagator or greenhouse that is kept at high humidity with lots of fresh air. Once the clone roots, it can be transplanted to a flowerpot of soil, coco coir or rockwool, depending on your grow set up. Young clones should receive no nutrient solution until they have fully rooted, then use a mild solution with a low dosage recommended on the bottle.

Genetic Stability

For a regular seed to be of commercial value, it needs to remain stable through the growing process. Inbreeding plants over many generations allows desirable traits to become dominant and consistent, whereas unwanted characteristics may be eliminated from the line.

Regular seeds have a small chance of producing hermaphroditic plants, which contain both male and female reproductive organs, and require careful monitoring to remove them. Feminized seed, on the other hand, is guaranteed to produce only female plants.

Genetic stability can also be affected by storage conditions, as epigenetic changes have been reported in stored seeds and their derived seedlings. These changes can be caused by oxidative stress, which may be triggered by the activation of different repair pathways after imbibition.

Phenotype Variation

Regular seeds offer the possibility of phenotype variation, allowing growers to highlight desirable traits in their offspring. The genetic expression of each seed is unique, and the resulting plants have their own distinctive differences that add to the enjoyment of cultivation.

Seed length and width and seed oil content were significantly differentiated by latitude, while saturated fatty acid (palmitic and stearic) concentrations showed no clear geographic trend. The broad sense heritability for these traits was low, suggesting that environmental factors contribute more to the variation than genotypic ones.

Regular seeds have the potential to produce male and female plants, which must be sexed and removed from the cultivation area to prevent cross-pollination. This requires more monitoring and effort than feminized seeds, but can work in the favor of growers who prioritize genetic stability and exploration of phenotypes. Moreover, regular seeds are more resilient than feminized varieties and less prone to hermaphroditism in the face of stress or unfavorable weather conditions.

Regular seeds allow growers to discover new phenotypes and cultivars that are not available with feminized seeds. They also offer greater genetic stability.

Many experienced growers prefer to work with regular seeds because they are cheaper and allow them to breed their own strains. In addition, they are easier to germinate and keep as mother plants for making cuttings/clones.

They are cheaper

The cost of regular seeds is significantly lower than the price of feminized and autoflowering strains. This is because the grower has to plant twice as many regular seeds to get enough female plants for their needs. This reduces the amount of growing space used and saves on substrate, fertilizers, and products such as insecticides.

However, the extra work needed to weed out males can be costly for the grower. Despite this, the lower price of regular seeds makes them an affordable option for experienced growers who want to produce their own strains.

For breeders, regular seeds are a better choice than feminized seeds because they are genetically stable. This is because feminized seeds are bred by stressing the female plants, which can lead to instability. Regular seeds, on the other hand, are the result of natural selection and are more consistent. This is important when breeding marijuana because it ensures that the breeder will get a high-quality crop of smokable buds.

They are more genetically stable

Regular seeds are ideal for breeders as they provide the opportunity to discover new strains and phenotypes. This is because a phenotype is a unique expression of a specific strain’s genetic lineage, which can result in a variety of attributes, including appearance, aroma, potency, resistance to pests, and yield. This is one reason that many experienced growers prefer to work with regular seeds rather than feminized ones.

Feminized seeds are more prone to hermaphroditism, which can lead to a reduced yield and lowered quality of the final product. This can be avoided by using regular seeds and carefully monitoring the plants throughout the cultivation process to identify and remove any hermaphrodites.

In addition, growing regular seeds allows you to keep mother plants for taking cuttings and clones. This is an essential part of the breeding process and helps you create your own bespoke strains. It also means you can experiment with different terpenes, aromas, and effects that you love.

They are easier to breed

While feminized seeds are easier to grow, regular seeds offer more genetic stability and allow for a greater variety of cultivars. This can be a major benefit for growers who want to create new strains or maintain a consistent supply of a certain variety. Regular seeds also require more attention to environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity and light cycles, to ensure that the plants are healthy and able to produce high-quality buds.

Growing regular seeds necessitates identifying and removing male plants to prevent pollination, which can cause the female plants to become hermaphroditic. This can be a difficult task, but with careful monitoring and the right knowledge, it becomes easier over time. Additionally, sexing the plants can improve flower quality and yields. Growers can also choose to collect and cold-store the pollen from the male plants for breeding purposes, which can produce a wide range of new phenotypes. This process allows for more diversity and offers the grower a chance to preserve desirable traits for future generations of marijuana plants.

They are more resistant to pests

Regular seeds allow growers to explore the full genetic lineage of their cultivars. This means they can cross different varieties to produce new strains with unique characteristics. Unlike feminized seeds, regular seeds will produce male plants as well. This is important because male plants can pollinate female plants and fertilize their budding colas. This will lower the quality of the bud and may even cause them to produce fewer flowers.

Regular weed seeds are also more resistant to pests, as they are not bred through a stressful process that causes them to become feminized. This makes them a great choice for beginner and experienced growers alike.

Another advantage of growing with regular seeds is their ease of cultivation. Unlike feminized seeds, these seeds will produce both male and female plants, which is important for breeding and creating new strains. In addition, these seeds will germinate quickly and are cheaper than feminized seeds. This makes them a great option for growers on a budget.