Before feminized seeds were available, growers planted regular cannabis seeds. These seeds have a 50% chance of producing male or female plants. Growers must manually cull the males to ensure that only females are grown in their gardens.
However, regular seeds have their own unique qualities that can work to your advantage. For example, they can be used to create strains with specific traits such as terpenes and colours.
They’re cheaper
If you’re a home grower who’s looking to save money on seeds, regular cannabis seeds may be the way to go. They’re also a better choice for breeders who need to create new strains as they can produce male plants.
Feminized seeds, on the other hand, will only produce female plants and can be much more expensive than regular seeds. However, they’re a good option for small-scale indoor operations or those who are legally capped at a set number of plants.
Unlike feminized seeds, regular seeds can produce male and female plants, so it’s important to plant more than the number of plants you intend to harvest. This will account for the male plants that may need to be sexed and removed. This can save you time and money by avoiding the waste of space, growing medium, nutrients, and light. Regular seeds are also more affordable than feminized and autoflowering seeds. They’re also easier to cultivate than feminized seeds, and the yields are typically higher than feminized varieties.
They’re easier to grow
Despite the fact that regular seeds are more difficult to grow, experienced growers prefer them because of their superior genetics. They offer a wider range of phenotypes to explore and have a lower chance of producing hermaphroditic plants. Hermaphroditic plants have both male and female reproductive organs, which can lead to unwanted pollination, reducing overall flower quality. However, hermaphroditic plants can be prevented by sexing them early into flowering and isolating them when necessary.
Another benefit of regular seeds is that they don’t require any chemical treatments, unlike feminized ones. These chemicals are usually used to stress out a plant and induce the production of female flowers, resulting in inferior-quality clones. Moreover, some old-school varieties never made it to the feminized market and are only available as regular seeds. They are often cheaper than feminized seeds and can help you save money in the long run. These advantages make them ideal for beginners. However, be sure to learn more about the growing process before making a purchase.
They’re more stable
With a huge commercial focus on feminized seeds, it can be easy to forget that regular cannabis seeds are still essential for creating and maintaining the wide range of marijuana strains we enjoy today. In terms of vigour, regular plants tend to be much stronger and more stress-resistant, especially as they mature into flowering.
The reason for this is that a feminized seed contains only female chromosomes (XX) but a regular cannabis plant can produce male or hermaphrodite plants, despite having both the XX and XY chromosomes. As a result, hermaphrodites are not very common in regular plants but they can occur as a result of stress factors like topping, fimming or lollypopping.
Some growers prefer the process of cultivating regular seeds because it allows them to experience and learn more about the entire growing cycle and plant care, while also discovering different phenotypes that produce terpenes they love, high THC content or other characteristics. It can be gratifying to find a plant that you want to keep in cultivation and that produces excellent buds.
They’re easier to breed
Despite their disadvantages, regular seeds are still the preferred option for many growers. They provide a more natural cultivation experience and offer more genetic diversity. In addition to that, they are less expensive than feminized varieties.
However, growing regular seeds requires a lot of attention and knowledge. Growers must identify and remove male plants in order to prevent pollination. In the long run, this can be time-consuming and frustrating.
Feminized seeds eliminate this problem by guaranteeing female plants. This makes them the more convenient choice for commercial growers. They also produce higher yields and better quality buds.
In addition, feminized seeds can be crossbred with regular strains to produce new cultivars. This is important for breeders who want to develop a new variety of marijuana. However, it is also essential to maintain the integrity of existing strains. That is why it is important to choose a seed bank that offers both regular and feminized seeds.
