Whether you’re new to cannabis growing or an experienced grower, regular seeds remain an essential part of your grow. They provide superior clones and a higher yield than autoflowering seeds.
While feminized cannabis seeds are the go-to option for many beginners, regular seeds are great for home breeders and those who wish to explore different strains and cultivars.
Breeding
Breeding regular cannabis seeds is the process of combining male and female marijuana plants to create new strains. It’s a great way to create new cultivars that display the best qualities of both parent strains.
However, this is not for every grower. For example, growers with a limited amount of space may prefer to grow feminized seeds since they will not have to worry about weeding out male plants from their crops.
Some growers may also want to combine two different strains to create a more balanced phenotype. This is a good way to make sure that you are getting the highest yield possible from your crops.
Similarly, growers who want to produce strong clones from a single cannabis plant can do so by using a technique called cloning. This technique involves taking tiny replicas of the chromosomes from the mother plant. Then, they can grow these clones into healthy and strong plants.
Cloning
Rather than buying seeds, gardeners often choose to clone regular plants using a process called rooting. This is a more efficient way to propagate, and the genetics of cloned plants will remain identical to their mother plant.
You can clone plants from many types of plants, including herbs, vegetables and flowers. The easiest clones to root are short, with no more than two nodes and no more than one fan leaf / auxiliary shoot on the main stem (these clones have the largest roots).
Once you’ve selected your cuttings, dip them in rooting powder. Then, fill a container with a media that suits your growing needs, such as coco, rockwool slab or clay pellets.
Once rooted, your clone will begin to draw its nutrients from its fan leaves, which may turn slightly pale. Once the clone begins to grow and show signs of vigor, you can move it into direct sunlight. However, clones that have been exposed to 24 hours of artificial light can be sensitive to the heat and strong light given off by sunlight, so you should ease your new clone into direct sunlight gradually over the first few days.
Genetic Stability
Genetic stability refers to the ability of a gene or transgene to remain stable over time. It is a key requirement for biopharmaceutical products and vaccines.
Genetic instability is caused by a variety of factors such as the copy number of the expression construct, mutations in the regulatory circuits, defective systems for plasmid partitioning, and plasmid multimer formation. The resulting phenotype is often unpredictable, and changes may be induced that could lead to cancer formation.
There are several methods to test the genetic stability of a cell line or virus bank. These include testing at the level of the Master Cell Bank and the End of Production cells.
In some cases, a seed will be genetically stable but will display intersex traits due to the parents used in the breeding and pollination process. These are sometimes called “difficulty seeds” and can be a major problem for growers.
Price
There are a number of factors that affect the price of regular seeds. These include the type of seed, its popularity, and shipping costs.
Generally, seeds that are more popular than others are less expensive. They also offer a good deal when you buy more.
Another way to save money on seeds is to choose a seed bank that offers discounts and deals. These promotions usually involve free seeds or a percentage off your purchase.
If you are a beginner, you can try growing feminized seeds first before investing in regular seeds. Feminized seeds produce female plants with smokable buds.
You can also choose autoflowering seeds if you want to grow cannabis in less time. These plants flower in 7-8 weeks and are great for harsher climates or indoor grows with limited space. They also are less susceptible to bud rot.
