For those looking to grow like nature intended, regular seed offers several advantages over feminized seeds. For starters, they offer the ability to breed and create new strains.
However, as with any marijuana seed type, regular seeds have both pros and cons. Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind when considering regular seeds:
Breeding
Regular seeds can grow into either male or female cannabis plants, and the growing process requires careful attention to sexing throughout the growing stage, especially around the pre-flowering phase. This can be frustrating for new growers and is why feminized seeds are ideal for novices.
Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate this issue and increase your chances of growing a healthy harvest of smokable buds. By removing male plants as soon as they appear, you can ensure all your water and nutrients are being used by your smokable buds.
This method is also known as ‘selection’ and involves taking the best plants of your harvest, or clones, and crossing them with other strains to create a new phenotype or cultivar. This process can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it can yield excellent results. In addition, selection can help you develop strains with improved potency, morphology and colour. This makes regular seed ideal for those who want to experiment with their own custom hybrids.
Cloning
If you want to grow your own plants from regular seed, you should consider getting a high-yielding mother plant for cuttings. A good idea is to find a mother plant that was vegged for at least six weeks before being cut.
Clones can also help you save time and money because they come pre-rooted, reducing the amount of time needed for growing from seeds. They can be placed straight into a flowering room or tent.
However, clones can be tricky to work with because they are exact duplicates of their mother plant. Therefore, they will respond differently to the same conditions. For example, some clones might be more sensitive to the type of light they receive or could be prone to getting nutrient burn. Also, they may require more care in terms of preventing disease, pests and other issues. If you’re an inexperienced grower, it may be a safer option to start with seeds instead of clones.
Genetic Varieties
The genetic variability of a species provides the raw material upon which natural selection may act. This variety is due to mutation and genetic recombination that produce different genotypes, or individual differences in genomes, which can then be translated into phenotypes, or physical characteristics.
The natural variation of a species allows it to better adapt to the environments in which it lives. For example, moths with wings similar to the color of tree trunks are more able to camouflage themselves and avoid predation.
The conservation of plant genetic diversity, including wild relatives of crops, plays a critical role in addressing some of the key challenges facing humanity and the planet, such as ending hunger and biodiversity loss. However, the genetic structure and representativeness of ex situ collections, particularly seed collections, is often unknown at the time they are collected. This limits meaningful assessment against conservation targets and impairs targeting of future collecting efforts.
Price
Unlike feminized seeds that are bred to produce only female cannabis plants, regular seeds have a 50/50 chance of producing either male or female cannabis plants. Because of this, they are a popular choice for breeders who want to preserve the genetics of their original marijuana strains.
When it comes to the price of marijuana seeds, you’ll find that regular seeds are generally cheaper than feminized seeds. This is due to the fact that feminized seeds require more effort and time to produce than regular seeds. Moreover, feminized seeds also require a higher level of security to prevent germination.
Whether you’re looking for marijuana seeds for sale online or in a physical store, it’s important to shop around to find the best prices. You can save money by buying from reputable seed banks and comparing prices on the same cannabis strains. It’s also a good idea to sign up for online seed bank newsletters to be the first to know about discounts and sales.