Quality cannabis starts with good genetics. If you want to know what you’re hoping to get out of your plants, then you should do some research on available weed seed strains to ensure you’re maximizing your chances. Basically, you should make sure you’re working with healthy viable cannabis seeds, otherwise, you won’t get any harvest at all! The best thing to start with is to choose a reputable cannabis seed bank.
The first step for most new growers is to get seeds from commercially purchased bags of cannabis flowers. This is probably the easiest way to get seeds. But be warned – this cannabis flower has already been heavily processed and then packaged. Large quantities of these cannabis flowers were dried together, pressed, cut and filled into large vacuum-sealed bags.
During this process, the cannabis seeds go through a variety of mishandling and inappropriate environments. Because of the legislation surrounding cannabis cultivation is relatively unclear in most parts of the world, there aren’t very many regulations to follow. Instead of relying on luck when choosing your seeds and hoping that you get quality seeds, take a look at our cannabis seed shop.
With moderately healthy seeds, it is likely that 99 out of 100 cannabis seeds will sprout. Although the seeds themselves are relatively hardy, there are many other factors that can prevent germination:
- Seeds whose shells have been damaged
- Immature seeds
- Seeds damaged by environmental extremes usually will not sprout.
In addition, seeds do not last forever. If the seeds are too old, the more likely they will not sprout.
There are a few steps to follow when choosing seeds to ensure you get the best ones for germination. Although you’ll never achieve a perfect success rate, you can learn to spot good seeds from bad ones.
Ripe weed seeds are dark brown in colour, often mottled with lighter tones or streaks. In general, it is better to avoid seeds that are pale green or white, as these are most likely immature.
Large, fat seeds are ideal, and they should be fairly rounded in shape. You can use smaller seeds too, but as a rule of thumb, you’re more likely to get healthier germination from a larger healthier seed.
How to Find the Best Seeds
Cannabis seeds grow inside the flowers of the female weed plant, encased in the calyx.
They’re easy to overlook because they have what’s called a protective shell that protects them from drying out, curing, processing, and packaging before they get to you. That’s why seeds can survive in the first place.
Young cannabis seeds are also protected by a white-green cellulose coat that will wither and fall off as the seeds mature.
To remove them from the plant itself, the best method is to simply gently pry them out of the buds with your pinky or fingernail. You can safely dispose of seeds with a damaged or scratched surface. The same applies to all immature seeds with white seed coats.
Experienced growers prefer a mix of male and female plants, known as “regular cannabis seeds”. But these are not recommended for most growers, especially the inexperienced. There is always a high risk of accidental pollination, which can destroy the yield of an entire crop. Unpollinated female plants produce the largest and best yields.
Pollinated female plants can still yield a harvest, but the final yield will inevitably be much smaller as the buds become filled with seeds. Mainly they will provide the seeds necessary for the next generation.
However, multigenerational breeding is extremely complex and extends beyond the scope of what we are going to talk about here. For now, you should only focus on buying feminized seeds. This will simplify the process and make getting started much easier if you are just starting out with cannabis cultivation.
Remember that if you choose to buy feminized seeds, you will only get female plants. Without a male plant nearby for the female plants to pollinate, you won’t get very many seeds, it’s most likely that you won’t get any at all.
In the long term, this can be a disadvantage for a private grower, as it will be impossible to obtain seeds for the next crop. It also means you won’t be able to reproduce the same harvest, which can be frustrating when you find a strain you really like.
Buy premium weed seeds
You need a lot of trust when buying cannabis seeds. There is no way of knowing which strain you are getting just by looking at the seeds. You won’t know anything about genetics other than the information you will get from the seller.
This is one of the top reasons why you should buy your seeds from a reputable company or seed bank. Random dealers don’t necessarily know much more than you about the variety they have.
When buying seeds you should try to choose a seed bank or company that offers some level of customer service. Growing cannabis isn’t too difficult, but due to the nature of the plant, you can’t just ask friends and family for help and support.
As a general rule, seed banks will be at your disposal should you have any problems, as it is in their best interest to help customers and maintain a good reputation.
It takes a lot of experience and skill to produce high-quality seeds. The entire process of growing, testing, and packaging a new set of seeds can take up to 12 months or more. Still, it pays to know that you have the right seeds, which are also feminized.
Regular, Feminized & Autoflowering Weed Seeds – Basics
Choosing the best cannabis seeds for you can be difficult, especially if you don’t know what type of cannabis seeds you are dealing with. In general, cannabis seeds are available as either male or female seeds.
Most beginners consider regular cannabis seeds as they are generally cheaper, but feminized cannabis seeds are usually a better choice.
In recent years, more and more autoflowering seeds have become available. In the rest of this article, you will learn the differences between regular, feminized and autoflowering cannabis seeds and all their advantages and disadvantages.
Regular Cannabis Seeds – Weed Seeds
Regular cannabis seeds come from a male and a female parent and can produce either male or female plants. It is virtually impossible to tell in advance whether a regular seed will develop later into a male or female plant.
Of course, after you develop the first flowers, it is much easier to identify male and female plants. Males produce oval pods while females produce a teardrop-shaped calyx.
The ratio of male to female plants in regular seeds is about 1:1 (about 60% female). When growing these seeds you should expect 50% of the seeds to be female. You may want to germinate some extra seeds if necessary to make up for any males that you will later discard during the early flowering period.
The number of different variables determines whether regular seeds are a better fit than feminized seeds for some growers. Growing conditions, amount of time and space, preferred choice, and general expertise all play a role.
If you are growing cannabis in order to obtain new seeds as well, you will need both male and female plants, which in turn would require regular cannabis seeds. If you have no interest in seed breeding and are only interested in harvesting the best bud, then feminized seeds are a better choice for you.
Feminized Cannabis Seeds – Weed Seeds
In contrast to regular cannabis seeds, feminized cannabis seeds are specifically bred in such a way that there are no male chromosomes in the genome. This will ensure that each plant of the germinated seeds is also female. If you want quick and easy cannabis cultivation, feminized seeds are ideal.
Breeders need to exercise caution when growing regular seeds because it requires identification of both sexes and early removal of males. Feminized seeds remove the need for gender identification as the resulting plants will always be female.
Feminized seeds also make more logistical sense. With regular cannabis seeds, breeders tend to germinate additional seeds (up to twice the intended amount) to accommodate the male plants that will result from this seed type. When using feminized seeds, you only need to germinate as many seeds as you want as plants.
Another aspect is that cannabis is not exclusively male or female. Any cannabis plant can produce flowers of either sex depending on certain conditions. Certain environmental factors can cause a plant to grow both male and female flowers at the same time.
In general, it is a stress response that triggers a survival mechanism in the plant. Temperature drops, physical damage, light cycle problems, and other stressors can cause the plant to exhibit hermaphrodite (hermaphrodite) characteristics.
Find out more about this below:
How to make feminized weed seeds
The plants react to these stressful conditions by realizing that the chances of survival and ultimately reproduction are reduced. Plants have a built-in survival response to ensure they can reproduce successfully.
In these circumstances, a female plant will produce male flowers so they can pollinate their own female flowers. This allows them to produce seeds without the need for a male plant. In some cases, male plants will also produce female flowers, but this is rare.
Initially, feminized cannabis seeds were bred with two female cannabis plants. One of the plants used had hermaphroditic tendencies (a tendency to produce male flowers when stressed). To stress the plant, growers disrupted the light cycle or trimmed branches and leaves.
The pollen produced from the hermaphrodite plant is then used to pollinate the “pure” female plant. Unfortunately, the hermaphrodite plants used to pollinate the females can transfer this hermaphrodite trait to the resulting seed as well. This essentially meant that feminized seeds back then were more hermaphroditic than purely female.
However, over time, the process of making feminized cannabis seeds improved and became more complex. Using different types of silver, it became possible to force even the purest female cannabis plants to produce male cannabis flowers.
Therefore, the seeds produced from these plants have no tendency to become hermaphrodites. All feminized seeds from dahhaseeds.com are grown using this method.
Simply put, intersex, or hermaphroditism, is a natural part of the cannabis plant’s genome. Depending on the genetics of each plant, they have a greater or lesser chance of developing into hermaphrodites due to certain conditions.
These seeds are also NOT genetically modified, meaning no genes are added to or removed from the plant. The mother plants themselves could be considered “physically modified” by silver, however, the seeds themselves are naturally grown through pollination.
Autoflowering cannabis seeds
Autoflowering cannabis seeds produce plants that are generally short and ideal for outdoor cultivation. The reduction in daylight and a change in season are not essential for these plants to flower.
Most common cannabis strains start flowering at the end of summer as the days get shorter and the amount of light decreases. The plants realize that they need to start maturing before the onset of winter. Autoflowering cannabis is different here. They will even enter the flowering phase even if they get a full 24 hours of light.
The full life cycle of autoflowering cannabis plants is typically around 10-12 weeks. From germination to harvest. Many of the autoflowering strains are also feminized seeds, offering the dual benefit of fast harvests and no need to identify the plant’s sex. These seeds can yield about 2 harvests over the course of a normal summer.
The yield of autoflowering cannabis seeds is between 50 and 500 grams per m2. In addition to the variety, this also depends on how the plants are cultivated and cared for.
Autoflowering plants tend to stay small, so you can plant a couple for every square meter. If you want to enjoy an outdoor harvest in around 10 weeks, using these seeds is certainly beneficial. However, the yield and quality of the harvest don’t quite match that of regular cannabis seed plants.
Characteristics of autoflowering cannabis
In general, these grow 40 to 100 centimetres high
Suitable for outdoor cultivation and in confined spaces indoors
Flowers automatically after about 3 weeks
Yield is 30-60 grams per plant depending on variety and light
It takes about 9 to 10 weeks from germination to harvest
Very resistant plants to cold (due to the influence of ruderalis)
Which cannabis seeds are best for me?
Choosing the best cannabis seeds for your grow depends on many factors, not the least of which is what type of cannabis you prefer to grow or consume. Find out a lot about the different types of strains of cannabis plants and note that some cannabis seeds are intended for indoor cultivation and other seeds are only suitable for outdoors.
Some cannabis strains are more difficult to grow than others. Some strains have been engineered to be easy to grow, resistant to pests, and able to handle a lot more stress. As a newcomer to cannabis cultivation, it’s best to choose an easy strain.
Cannabis seeds (strains) are basically divided into two categories; Indica and Sativa. Breeders often cross strains to alter the growth or traits of the originals. The reason for this is different for each crossing. Sometimes the yield is to be increased, sometimes the potency. But also to strengthen the plants and achieve a more consistent result.
Indicas tend to be smaller, stockier plants with smaller, denser, and much more fragrant buds. Indicas also flower much earlier than Sativas, typically with a flowering time of 6 to 9 weeks. Sativa strains grow much larger and the buds are less compact.