If you want to grow cannabis, you basically have the choice between seeds or cuttings. Both methods are possible and both methods have advantages and disadvantages. But today we are talking about cannabis seeds in our cannabis seed guide and how you can recognize healthy, germinable seeds. What types of seeds there are and where you can safely buy and order seeds online.
The choice of cannabis seeds is surely one of the most important decisions the grower must make. The different varieties and strains on the market, grow and develop very differently. They have different demands on the climate and temperature, the amount of water and of course also on the fertilization. While one variety is just 1m high and has cool space on the balcony, the next variety is 3m high, you should know that beforehand.
What types of cannabis seeds are there?
Cannabis seeds are the origin of all cannabis plants as we know them. No plant without seeds and cuttings has emerged from seed at some point. The cannabis seeds contain everything that the seedling needs for a good start in life. It contains everything from energy in the form of oil (the well-known hemp seed oil ) to minerals and vitamins.
Cannabis is a bisexual plant, i.e. there are both male and female plants, and therefore logically male and female seeds. Those who want to produce seeds need both sexes to produce lots of seeds. Those who want to breed the plant are also dependent on male pollen, so male plants are welcome.
But when it comes to the medicinal production of cannabis, or for recreational consumption, female plants are in demand. This is because the potent resins in which the important cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids are formed are only produced on their flowers.
Cannabis seed guide to Good and healthy cannabis seeds
In nature, the distribution of male and female seeds is 50%, so regular seeds are half female and half male. If you let them grow, the men fertilize the ladies and there are seeds instead of thick buds.
Feminized cannabis seeds meaning
Feminized seeds are seeds that, when grown or treated, produce only female plants. This means that you can be sure that there are no male plants, i.e. more yield of flowers and no fertilization, which is also at the expense of the number of flowers.
Feminized seeds are created by crossing two female plants, one of which has hermaphroditic properties. That is, a hermaphrodite that has male pollen was crossed with a normal female plant. This almost always produces female plants, but unfortunately sometimes with hermaphroditic properties.
Today breeders work with two main methods to obtain more stable female semen. There is the silver thiosulfate method, and the colloidal silver method, both of which are successful in producing feminized semen.
The advantage is obvious, you don’t have to grow some male plants first. Then you don’t have to throw away half or more. You also save space in the tent since you can use it to the full. No plants are pollinated in the tent, and you can concentrate on the work and don’t waste time and energy, because only the female plants have the flowers with the resin-rich trichomes that are at stake.
Autoflower weed seeds meaning
For a few years now, seedbanks have also been offering so-called autoflowers, or automatic seeds. Ruderalis is a strain that grows wild and is not that potent. Its advantage is that it starts to bloom by itself from a certain age, regardless of location and time of year.
Ruderalis plants do not depend on the amount of light they get, regardless of whether it is 12 or 18 hours, the automatic plant simply flowers by itself after a certain time.
The complete growth time is usually quite short at 8-10 weeks from germination to harvest, ideal for people wanting a continuous harvest.
The breeders quickly understood what this means and what advantage it has and offered crosses with potent strains.
After the plants of the first generation were still weak, it has now been possible to create very potent auto strains, sometimes after five to six generations.
CBD seeds
Due to the ongoing CBD boom worldwide, the demand for special seeds for pure CBD plants, i.e. strains that contain little or no THC, is also increasing. The normal hemp plants, which naturally contain very little THC and more CBD, serve as the basis.
In countries like Canada or Austria and Italy, there are already hard-working breeders who have created quite potent CBD strains from industrial hemp varieties through selection and further breeding. Seeds are offered that have only 0.1% THC but 15% CBD in the resin. I have written many times on the many health benefits of CBD.
How do I recognize a healthy cannabis seed?
Fresh and healthy cannabis seeds are the most important requirement to get healthy and potent plants. The quality significantly influences the germination rate and contributes a lot to a successful grow. If you do not pay attention to the quality when buying seeds, you will lose money through weak and diseased plants!
Take a close look at the seeds before buying, if possible take them in your hand to examine them. Pay attention to the following 4 important criteria:
Cannabis seed guide – Colour
Healthy seed is always dark in colour, from dark olive to gray to various shades of brown. Make sure that the seeds are not light green or even white, that is, they are not ripe and will not germinate!
Cannabis seed guide – Pattern
Healthy seeds almost always have a pattern on the shell that is very different, from stripes to irregular spots to the often-cited tiger skin pattern.
Cannabis seed guide – Shell
The shell of the cannabis seeds should be shiny and not dull. It is also important that the shell is plump and firm, and not already wrinkled or damaged. Press the seed lightly between your fingers, it should not crack or break and it should remain dimensionally stable.
Cannabis seed guide – Genetics
The most important factor in seed quality is genetics – to grow high-quality cannabis you need good genetics. Some less unscrupulous breeders simply cross a beautiful female with a randomly chosen male and sell the resulting seeds. Often under names that have nothing to do with the original.
A good breeder like Dagga Seeds will take the time to cross and backcross plants to stabilize the desired traits while still producing and continuing to select a range of different phenotypes.
The seeds must be fully ripe before harvest. Seeds also need to be properly stored so that they are not affected by mould or other pathogens that can spoil them. Cannabis seeds should be stored in a cool, dark place and consumed within 16 months or frozen for later use.
Really dedicated breeders have worked for years to create inbred lines, or IBLs, that produce plants with very few noticeable differences. IBLs make up only a small fraction of the cannabis seed supply on the market as they are generally used by breeders rather than producers.
And where can I buy good cannabis seeds?
Buying cannabis seeds is certainly a matter of trust. On the one hand, it is about getting your goods at all, and as quickly and discreetly as possible (if you live in a country where seeds are banned). Then you have to be able to rely on the freshness of the cannabis seeds, because what use is a good price if the seeds are old and only 50% germinate!