While feminized seeds have been on the rise in popularity, many growers still prefer to work with regular seed. They offer many advantages over feminized cannabis seeds, including a higher yield per pack and a more predictable flowering schedule.
However, growing regular seeds comes with its own set of challenges, especially if you’re a novice botanist. We’re here to help you through the growing process.
Breeding
Regular seeds are used by growers and breeders to produce a variety of cannabis strains. These types of seeds are often bred to create new genetics that have a high phenotype, as well as being very stable and a good source of bud production.
Despite the rise in feminized seed sales, many experienced growers still prefer to use regular seeds. They are easier to work with and can be a valuable tool for breeders when producing a new generation of cultivars.
Feminized seeds, on the other hand, are more predictable and will only produce female plants. This can be useful for commercial growers who want a specific ratio of female to male plants, or for home growers looking to make their crop more reliable and predictable.
Feminized seeds are also known for their hermaphrodite tendencies, so it’s important to buy them from a reputable seed bank that has tested and bred them to ensure they can be successfully cultivated. This is especially true if you plan to stress your crop by trimming them or pruning them using techniques like topping and fimming.
Cloning
A clone is a plant that has been grown from a cutting (a piece of a plant). To make a clone, cut off a piece of a mature plant and apply rooting hormone like Clonex or Rhizopon. Place it in a rockwool cube and allow it to grow until it roots.
Clones are easier to maintain than seeds because they don’t have the same genetic variation that seed-grown plants do. They also tend to take a more uniform amount of light, water and fertilizer than seed-grown plants do.
Aside from that, clones are easier to find than seeds in many states where marijuana is legal and allowed for medical and recreational use. They are usually sold by dispensaries or from individuals who have been licensed to grow.
Harvesting
Seed harvesting is an ancient practice with a modern spin. It is a time consuming undertaking, and one that is best left to the experts. From identifying the correct seed variety for the conditions to ensuring optimal moisture, air and light levels, the task of collecting the crop of the year is a challenge not many farmers have in their arsenal. The best time to collect is in late winter or early spring, but it can be done any time of the year if one has access to the requisite equipment. Depending on the aforementioned factors, a small army of assistants may be needed to keep the task moving along. The following are a few tips and tricks that should help the process go more smoothly.
Buying
Regular seeds (50/50 composition of male and female cannabis seeds) are a good choice for experienced growers who want to breed new strains themselves. This type of seed is also ideal for creating hybrids, or crossing different strains with each other.
These seeds are 100% natural and pure genetics, bred from both male and female parents that produce male and female plants and seeds. Unlike feminized seeds, which are treated with special agronomic techniques to force the female gene into dominant position, regular seeds are unaltered.
In fact, regular seeds are more likely to produce hermaphrodite plants than feminized seeds are. Feminized seeds are often induced to go ‘herma’ by stressing the plant, for example by topping, fimming, or lollypopping, and they run a much bigger risk of producing male flowers in response to these techniques than do regular seeds.
A great selection of old school cannabis genetics are available in Dutch Passion’s collection of regular seed strains, many of which date back to the 80’s and earlier. These strains represent some of the finest and most authentic cannabis genetics ever bred.
