Month: May 2023

While many seed catalogues focus on feminized varieties, regular seeds are still an important choice for both beginner and experienced growers alike. Regular seeds produce both male and female cannabis plants, and will usually yield a 50/50 ratio of each.

Feminized seeds, on the other hand, guarantee you a crop of female cannabis plants each time.

Unaltered Genetics

Regular seeds are a good choice for growers who want to cultivate organically. Many landrace strains have remained unaltered, such as Afghan and Durban Poison, and their natural genetics can offer growers resistance to disease and a more resilient crop.

In addition, some of the most legendary strains of the old school never made it to feminized seed and are available as regular plants only. For example, Bruce Banner regular is an incredible sativa that lives up to its namesake and delivers high THC levels in a hardy plant.

Like all plants, regular cannabis seeds carry both male and female DNA. This means that a crop of regular sexed plants will produce roughly equal numbers of male and female colas. Growers who choose to work with regulars must identify and separate out the male colas as they emerge, to prevent them from pollinating the remaining female plants and lowering yields. This can be a challenge, and is especially difficult in a greenhouse or outdoor environment.

More Stable Genetics

If you’re a cultivator who wants the strongest, most vigorous and stress-resistant plant then regular seeds are the way to go. They’re the most natural seed type, free from genetic forcing within their DNA as is the case with feminized seeds. It’s also highly rare, if not impossible, for a strain grown from regular seeds to become hermaphrodite.

This makes them a popular choice for experienced breeders who want to produce their own cultivars. When growing regular cannabis, you can expect a 50/50 mix of male and female plants. Male plants are extremely valuable when it comes to breeding, as they produce pollen which can be used to create new phenotypes.

This is a process that requires patience, skill and experience, but can be extremely rewarding for those who are willing to commit to it. This is why it’s best to stick with reputable seed banks that have a history of good customer service, plenty of cannabis cups and some impressive genetic awards under their belt.

Cheaper Seeds

Many reputable seed companies offer cheap seeds that will still give you top-notch genetics. The best cheap cannabis seeds come from renowned breeders. They can be found in large chains or at garden-specific specialty retailers. They usually have return policies of up to 90 days with receipts.

For example, if you want to try Indiana Bubble Gum from Seed Pharm, their cheap seeds are easy for newbies to grow and produce a moderate harvest of high-quality buds in 6 to 8 weeks. Crop King offers a similar option with their Cream auto-flowering seeds. They combine Jack Herer and Russian ruderalis with a 7 to 9 week harvest time and 17% THC content.

You can also find cheap seeds from heirloom and organic vegetable and fruit seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They sell a wide range of seeds including vegetables, flowers, herbs and more. They are a worker-owned co-op and their prices are very competitive. They also have a wide selection of BOGO and free seed deals that can dramatically reduce the cost per seed.

Better for Breeding

While feminized seeds are gaining in popularity, regular seed offers several benefits for breeders looking to develop new strains. Growers that choose to work with regular seed can easily separate male and female plants to collect pollen for future crops. This process allows them to keep their favourite version of a particular cultivar, or even create a brand-new strain entirely.

In addition, working with regular sex plants provides the opportunity to study their genetics more closely. Knowing which plants are male and which are female will also reduce the amount of space, nutrients and lighting that is wasted on sexing.

Finally, many old school strains have been preserved in regular seed form because they never made it through the feminization process. These landrace cultivars can still be found as a great option for growers seeking a truly organic experience. These are often some of the strongest and most reliable varieties available. They offer superior yields and potency.

ILGM is one of the most trusted online cannabis seed vendors for beginners. It offers a wide selection of high THC strains that are easy to grow.

It also provides customer support via email and live chat. Besides, it offers free shipping on all orders. The company replaces any seeds that fail to germinate.

Water Germination

Using water to germinate cannabis seeds is one of the most common and simplest ways for cultivators to grow. The process mimics the way a seed would sprout in the spring, when temperatures are naturally rising and moisture is high.

To use this germination method, simply place your seeds in a glass of room-temperature water and leave them to soak for around 24 hours. Check the seeds regularly and re-moisten the paper towel if necessary. After a few days, you should see a white tail poking out of the seed and indicating that it is ready to be planted.

This is a great germination technique to try if you’re new to growing or just need a quick and easy way to germinate your seeds. If you’re a more experienced cultivator, we recommend trying out other methods that provide more control over environmental factors like temperature, humidity and light. These include starter cubes and seedling plugs, which are specifically designed for germination and come filled with the right kind of planting mix and have a hole drilled adequately in them for your seeds.

Paper Towel Germination

One of the most popular ways to germinate cannabis seeds is by placing them in a wet paper towel. This method is also known as the ‘baggie method’ and is favored by growers who don’t have access to soil or want to monitor their seed germination.

Start by soaking a paper towel in distilled water until it is saturated, but not dripping wet. Then, place your seeds on the wet paper towel maintaining adequate spacing between each seed to prevent overlapping. After placing the seeds, gently roll up the paper towel loosely from opposite the label end.

Once your seeds have sprouted and grown into seedlings, remove them from the paper towel and transplant into a soil or moisture-holding medium such as vermiculite. This process could take a few days, so be patient! When done correctly, you should see a small root system emerge from the seed. If not, check the seed’s shelf life to ensure it is still viable and use a different germinating method.

Stone Wool Blocks

Stone wool is a highly uniform, porous growing medium that distributes water evenly and is ideal for hydroponic gardening. The nutrient solution easily penetrates the material so it is accessible to your plant. It does not lock up or release substances like organic substrates such as coco coir do, so the nutrients are always available to the roots.

To use rockwool to germinate your seeds, first soak the blocks in warm water until they are hydrated, then insert a single seed into each hole (or use two for stronger results). You can also place cuttings into the cubes and root them. The process works well whether you are growing in soil or hydro.

Gro-blocks and Hugo Block products come in a range of sizes and shapes to accommodate the needs of your grow operation. Standardized sizes facilitate automation compatibility and allow cultivators to monitor the dry weight of their substrate throughout the growing cycle to determine a precise irrigation cadence.

Growing Medium

There are a variety of mediums that can be used to germinate cannabis seed, from soil or compost to vermiculite, Rockwool cubes, oasis cubes, grow stones, rice hulls and more. The best choice depends on your needs and the type of growing experience you are looking for.

If you are going for the most organic experience, choose a rich, well-composted soil mix that is nutrient dense. However, it can be difficult to get a good balance of substrate aeration and water retention with this type of medium. It also requires a lot of watering, which means you need to use mineral fertilizers or highly-filtered organic nutrients to avoid blocking the irrigation system.

If you are using Rockwool cubes, soak them in pH-balanced water until you see the surface absorbing it. Check the cubes 2-3 times a day and re-moisten if needed. Cannabis seeds do not require light until their sprouts penetrate the top of the cube.

Regular cannabis seeds offer growers several advantages that feminized ones do not. It’s up to the individual grower’s aims and experience to determine which type is right for them.

Whether it be extreme potency, a specific terpene profile or colour – regular seed allows breeders to reproduce their favourite specimens. This is done through cloning.

Breeding

Breeding is the sexual reproduction of offspring, usually between male and female plants or animals. It is a process by which humans have been able to enhance many of the food, medicine and fibers we use today. This has been accomplished through selective cultivation and breeding animals for ideal characteristics, such as fine wool or high milk output.

Plant breeders select plants with desirable traits to produce new cultivars for food, fuel, fabric, landscape, shelter, eco-systems services and other purposes. Selections are based on biological assessment in target environments, pedigree information and more sophisticated genetic analysis such as molecular markers.

Early agriculturalists began unintentional breeding of vegetables and fruits by selecting for qualities like sweetness or size, but intentional breeding began with the introduction of seeds from cultivated crops into herds of livestock. Modern plant breeding uses a wide range of methodologies including outcrossing, crossing between distinct landraces and utilizing clonal seed parent lines.

Cloning

Clones give you an exact copy of your mother plant, which means the same grow characteristics and flavor profile every time. However, as a side effect, they will also carry any flaws their DNA contains.

During cloning, you’ll need to work in a clean environment and disinfect razors and scissors before you cut the stems. You’ll also need to make sure the mother plant is well into its vegetative cycle before you take the cuttings.

Clones are hard to come by for home growers, since they need to be cut from an active vegetative plant. They’re more fragile than seeds and can die if you handle them aggressively or don’t provide them with a sterile environment. They’re also more expensive than seeds, but if you can find them, they’ll outperform seeds in most ways. Seeds, on the other hand, have a natural ability to adapt to their environment, meaning they can adjust their genetics to suit different conditions.

Mother Plants

When a grower wants to get a steady supply of fresh, healthy clones they need to keep a mother plant in the vegetative phase of growth. This will allow it to produce new branches that growers can cut and grow into clones. A well-kept mother plant can live for years, continuously producing branches or cuttings that can be used to make clones.

These plants need special care to ensure that they are able to offer quality clones. They need to be fed with a nutrient ratio that is optimized for vegetative growth and branching. They should also be given rooting hormones to help them develop a dense network of roots.

Keeping a healthy mother plant can be a time-consuming process, but it can save growers a lot of money in the long run. It can also avoid the hassle of phenotype hunting and give them access to high-quality genetics that will improve their yield. However, the key to a successful mother plant is the growing environment – the perfect combination of nutrients, humidity control, lighting and temperature.

Seeds

Seeds are the simplest form of a plant and usually have a hard outer covering that protects the embryo inside until it is ready to start growing (germinate). A seed contains all of the building blocks for a whole plant, like leaves, stems and roots. Seeds are also an important food source and a key component of ecosystems.

A seed can be any shape or size, and it is the result of one sperm cell fertilizing an egg cell in an angiosperm or gymnosperm plant. The seeds of open pollinated plants, such as heirloom varieties, grow true to type, meaning they will produce the same kind of plant as the parent, if other plants don’t cross-pollinate them.

Seeds are used for many purposes, including crop production and landscaping. They can also be used to produce new varieties of crops with desirable characteristics through plant breeding. Basic seed, or foundation seed, is certified by a government agency to meet certain standards for purity and germination before it can be sold to farmers.