The type of seeds you use for your cannabis crop depends on your cultivation experience, purpose and space constraints. For instance, small-scale indoor operations and growers legally capped at a specific number of plants will opt for feminized seeds.
Regular seeds operate exactly how nature intended and have a 50% chance of emerging as male or female plants. They allow you to breed and create new cultivars.
Stability
Regardless of the grower’s growing experience or overall cultivation goals, regular seeds offer several advantages that feminized seeds do not. The first of these is stability. Unlike feminized seeds, which are designed to produce only female plants, regular seeds have a 50% chance of emerging as either male or female. This allows breeders to create new cultivars and produce superior clones.
As a result, regular seed tends to be cheaper than feminized seeds because it eliminates the cost of removing male plants from the crop. However, it is important to note that this 50% male / female ratio is affected by several factors, including environmental conditions.
For example, excessive stress during the flowering stage can lead to the emergence of hermaphrodite plants that will then fertilize the females and cause them to produce seeds. Fortunately, there are a variety of techniques and tricks that can be used to help increase the percentage of female plants in the final crop.
Breeding
The breeding process for regular seed is a complex and labor-intensive task. The breeder must sift through the seeds and select for female plants that possess desirable traits. This is a time-consuming and costly endeavor, but it is necessary for producing quality marijuana. The resulting cultivars are often bred for specific terpene levels and high-quality yields.
The breeder must also take into account environmental conditions, such as moisture levels. The first principal component was positively correlated with DC, DF, NB, and TWS and negatively correlated with PH in both dry and water stress environments.
When cultivated outdoors, regular seed plants are exposed to harsh weather and can develop a variety of phenotypes. They also have a 50% chance of growing into either male or female plants. Because of these issues, they require more sexing than feminized seeds. This can be a challenge for small-scale growers and those that are legally capped to a certain number of plants.
Price
The breeding process of cannabis seeds is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor, and this is reflected in the price of the seeds. Regular seeds are cheaper to produce, so you can expect to pay less for them than feminized varieties.
The yield of regular seeds is also an important factor to consider. You can expect a heavier harvest than feminized varieties, but you should be aware that there is a chance of male plants in your crop. If you want to avoid this issue, culling male plants is essential.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to grow high-quality marijuana, regular seeds are a great option. They offer a good return on investment for your money and provide high potency and rich terpene profiles. You can even use them to clone your favorite strains. Just be sure to shop around and compare prices between seed banks to find the best deal. Buying in bulk can also help you save.
Yield
Unlike feminized seeds that grow into hermaphrodite plants, regular seed produces both male and female plants. When grown properly, these seeds will produce an approximately 50-50 mix of male and female colas. This is important to many cultivators who want to keep their genetics or breed new strains.
However, this also means that the grower will need to spend time sexing out any male plants. This can be a time consuming process, but it is necessary to produce the best possible crop.
High-yielding regular seeds are a great option for growers who want to maximize their yields. These seeds are also more resilient than feminized varieties, which means they can withstand stress and other environmental factors that may otherwise limit the plant’s growth potential. However, it is important to remember that high-yielding strains often need additional support because they can become too heavy for their stems. This is especially true for big bud strains. This can lead to stem breakage if not properly supported.