Year: 2023

Cannabis seeds are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, and immune-stimulating secondary plant compounds. They also contain the amino acid arginine, which can promote healthy blood pressure and enlarge blood vessels for increased flow of oxygen to the brain and other organs.

A viable seed will look brown with some stripes and feel hard to the touch. It may take 12 – 72 hours for it to germinate in ideal conditions.

Male and Female Plants

Cannabis plants are dioecious, meaning they produce male and female parts. Female flowers contain the resin that creates weed, and male flowers produce pollen. Cultivators separate the two to avoid cross-pollination and to harvest only the female buds.

During the vegetative growth phase, growers can tell whether a plant is male or female by looking at its nodes. The nodes are where branches or twigs develop, and the plant produces pre-flowers on those nodes toward the end of the vegetative stage. Male pre-flowers, called staminate primordia, look like little sacs that house pollen. Female pre-flowers look similar, but they have white or pink hairs protruding from the top, known as pistils.

If you grow regular seeds, it’s important to know how to differentiate a male from a female plant so you can separate them and only cultivate the buds that provide psychoactive effects. However, feminized seeds eliminate the need to separate male and female plants and are a good option for rookie growers.

Bagseeds

Bag seeds are those you find in weed or dagga that you or someone else has already consumed. They can also be from cannabis plants that have been grown for the purpose of seed production.

The type of plant from which a bag seed comes will determine the strain’s characteristics. Bag seeds are most often a mix of Indica and Sativa genetics as most cannabis plants are hybrids. Indica plants tend to be more relaxing and Sativa plants are more energizing.

When growing bag seeds it is important to store them correctly. Ideally, they should be vacuum sealed in an opaque container that blocks out all light. This will ensure they can last for a long time. It is possible for cannabis seeds to last up to 5 years when stored correctly. However, if the seeds are exposed to excessive temperature and humidity changes they can become unviable. This means they will have used up their nutrient reserves and may not germinate or grow properly.

Immature Seeds

If you have a hermaphrodite plant, you should diligently remove any male flowers as they form and re-inspect the plant top to bottom every few days to make sure pollination does not occur. Hermaphroditism can be caused by negative stressors and small interruptions in the light cycle.

Hermaphroditism is not ideal for cannabis growers, as it decreases flower quality and leads to the creation of unwanted seeds. Ideally, only female plants are grown in commercial production.

To prevent hermaphroditism, only clones of healthy mature plants should be used. This ensures that the resulting plants will be monoecious (have only one set of genes). For this reason, long-time growers will tell you to re-veg your plants periodically – this is another way to keep the plant healthy and free from hermies. This will help to maintain the sex and potency of the final crop. Re-vegging also helps if the hermies have developed seeds at an earlier stage.

Germination

Germination is the first stage in a cannabis plant’s life. During this period, the young seedling will need very little interference from the grower. A few minor tweaks to nutrient levels and the use of lower-intensity lighting can help it along, but it is important not to disturb the seedling at this stage.

A simple and popular way to germinate seeds is on a wet paper towel. Horticulturists and even Creed from The Office have long used this method to successfully sprout seeds. Ensure the paper towel has a suitable temperature and humidity. Use a small hygrometer to keep track of these details.

When you are ready to plant, place the seed in its container – soil, coco, peat, etc. – with a jiffy or plug. Then place the container in a humidity dome to trap heat and moisture. Keep an eye on it until the seed opens and begins to express roots. This is the signal that it is ready to be planted.

Regular seed offers growers the possibility to create a wide range of strains. They contain male and female specimens so that breeders can produce a new cultivar through the process of crossing.

This requires the ability to quickly identify the male plants in your crop, preventing them from pollinating the females and spoiling your yield. It is a skill that every cultivator must develop over time.

Breeding

For growers who prefer to hand-breed their own strains, regular seed is the best choice. By selecting a male and female specimen from your favourite cultivar, you can create offspring that display the best of both parents’ traits. This is known as crossing, and is the primary method by which most modern hybrids are created.

With a batch of 10 seeds, you should expect about 50% female and 50% male plants on average. This is because hermaphrodite plants are much more likely to emerge when the plant is stressed by techniques such as topping, fimming, lollypopping and defoliation.

As such, it is often a good idea to start with more than 10 seeds when planting your own breeding project. This way you can ensure that you have enough plants to select the very best, and eliminate any faulty offspring.

When it comes to choosing your marijuana seeds, every cultivator has different needs and priorities. For example, some people want to choose feminized or autoflower seeds, while others are more concerned with the genetics and flavour profile of a particular strain. The choice comes down to personal preference, cultivation expectations and space restrictions. Whatever your decision, you should always buy the highest-quality seeds you can afford to maintain your garden’s health and vigour.

Cloning

With cloning, growers take a cutting from an existing female cannabis plant and root it in soil or a hydroponic growing medium. This process eliminates the need for male plants and the need to watch for them sprouting, which can skew a harvest timeline. It also means you’re guaranteed a 100% female plant for smokable buds (since male plants produce pollen sacs and detract from the yield of a mature marijuana plant).

Clones need to be taken care of, and they’ll often require more nutrients than seedlings. They should be checked daily for adequate water and nutrient levels and must be kept in a healthy, sterile environment because diseases like powdery mildew can spread quickly from one clone to the rest of your garden.

Another advantage of regular seed is that it gives you the chance to cook up your own crossbreeds – those unique specimens that combine a specific flavour profile, morphology and colour with a high level of potency and a good yield. It also takes less time to reach harvest from a seed than it does from a rooted clone. However, seeds can be more likely to become hermaphrodites under certain conditions, so it’s wise to order more than you need just in case.

Seeds for sale

Regular seeds are an ideal choice for growers who wish to work with a wide selection of phenotypes for breeding purposes. The reason for this is that the seeds are more likely to produce both male and female plants in larger numbers than feminized seeds (although over a sample size of 10 you should be able to expect to find around 50%). The ability to identify the sex of each plant early on is extremely beneficial, as it allows you to cull the males before they pollinate your females.

For example, Tropic Thunder regular, a tropical indica, will produce fruity tones and mellow vibes that bring to mind sunset cocktails. This strain is a great choice for veteran cultivators and requires a greenhouse environment to thrive. It will flower in 8-10 weeks and yield a crop of up to 35 oz.

At Herbies, we’re proud to carry a wide range of top-quality regular cannabis seeds from the best breeders in the business including ILGM, Crop King Seeds and Beaver Seeds. Each of these brands has been carefully selected for their top-notch genetics, high germination rates and reasonable prices. In addition, we offer free seeds with every order and useful branded gifts to make your cannabis seeds experience even more special.

Many growers wonder why we at Sensi Seeds still carry regular cannabis seeds. It’s a reasonable question, as it can be a little more work to weed out male plants than with feminized seeds.

But the pleasure of crossing strains to produce offspring with unique flavours, colours, and phenotypes is hard to beat. There are several reasons to choose regular seeds over feminized ones:

Unaltered Genetics

While feminized seeds are great for cultivators who want a quick and easy harvest, some growers prefer the power of regular seed. Because regular seeds have not undergone the process of sexing via chemical intervention, they can produce both male and female plants (hermaphrodites) and offer a wider genetic variation than feminized strains.

The wide variety of phenotypes that regular seed can produce makes it perfect for breeders looking to create new cannabis strains and varieties. By crossing two strains with different phenotypes, breeders can create offspring that have the best traits from each parent plant.

If you are a veteran cultivator with the time and space to nurture your plants, regular seed is for you. You can enjoy a wide selection of terpenes, flavours, highs and colours that you wouldn’t get with feminized seeds. Plus, you can have the added peace of mind knowing that your plants are free from chemical interference. Our range of regular seeds also includes some rare and old-school strains that were originally bred in the 1980’s before feminized seed was invented.

No Sexing Males

One major reason that feminized seeds are so popular is that they reduce the amount of time and effort needed to cull male plants. In a typical garden, or even in an indoor grow tent with limited space, it is essential to remove any male plants that show signs of having their sex organs (anthers) at the nodes.

The good news is that with regular seed, on average around 50% of the seeds will produce male cannabis plants. This means that in a batch of 10 seeds, you will probably get 3 or 4 male plants to cull.

Male plants will fertilize female cannabis plants, resulting in seeds that can then be collected. This is known as breeding and can be an important part of the cultivation process for growers who want to create their own strains. In fact, growing your own strains is something that can be a lot of fun for the home grower and is also a great way to save some money on your weed.

100% Organic

Some vegetable seeds are treated with chemicals to improve germination or make them resistant to mold and rot. This is against the organic farming guidelines that the USDA regulates. Organic seeds cannot be treated with chemicals of any kind.

If you grow organically, it’s best to choose regular seed. Some manufacturers of organic marijuana seeds like Pure Regular Seeds offer an outstanding selection of high quality strains that are all 100% organic. Their Amnebula variety, for example, is a fab cross of two old school classics from Hy-Pro.

Look for manufacturers that are a part of the organic community and grow their seeds on-site. It’s important that they are involved in the growing process from start to finish. This ensures that they have strict controls and are able to verify the purity of their organic seeds. Check out their About Us pages for more details. This is a good sign that the company takes pride in what they are doing.

More Variety

Whether you’re looking to preserve strains that were never feminized or want the option to cross breed your cultivars, regular seeds give you a lot of options. Many experienced growers choose regular seeds over feminized for the ability to create their own hybrids. All you need to do is take a male and female plant and let them pollinate each other to produce smokable buds.

However, this comes with a bit of a catch. Because regular seeds don’t automatically turn into sex-capable plants, about half of your plants will grow to be male. This can be frustrating, especially for small-scale indoor operations or growers who are legally capped on their number of plants.

But it’s also a great way to discover new strains and experiment with your growing technique. For example, Harlequin x Bubba Kush regular offers a hearty blend of cannabinoids that stimulates the mind and soothes the body. Its citrus aroma tickles the taste buds with lemon, orange, tangerines and grapefruit flavors that invigorate the senses.