There are three types of cannabis seeds that are available: female seeds, auto-flowering seeds, and regular cannabis seeds. Female and auto-flowering seeds are usually popular amongst cannabis growers, although this doesn’t negate the fact that regular cannabis seeds are also quite commonplace amongst growers. Various online platforms offer these seeds for sale, such as Herbies Seeds, one of the foremost cannabis e-commerce sites in the world.
Differences between regular and other varieties of cannabis seeds
The distinction between regular seeds and other types of cannabis seeds is not usually seen on the surface. The distinction stems from the genetic build-up of these seeds. Female seeds are gotten through the pollination of a female plant by another female plant. Usually impossible, this occurs when a female plant is stressed into growing male sex features. These seeds that are birthed then tend to lack the male (XY) chromosomes, hence the name “female seeds”.
Therefore, regular seeds are seeds that are obtained through the normal procedure of crossing a male plant with a female plant. Unlike female plants that are 99.99% female, these seeds possess a 50/50 chance of being either sex. They also offer the cultivator a chance to experience an unaltered growing experience, where such seeds have not been unadulterated.
Why Regular Seeds?
There are various reasons why a grower may decide to work with regular seeds as against the other varieties and their numerous advantages. These include:
- Breeding Projects
Several growers are intent on customizing their own plants, they heavily invest in regular seeds. These seeds help such growers in getting either male or female plants.
- Pre ’98 Genetics
These seeds also possess genetics of earlier years that could not be feminized, mostly due to the marketplace of that era. For instance, it was during the early 2000s that several growers found out about the numerous benefits of female seeds, which quickly grew into commercial significance.
Therefore, many cultivars are usually stored in the regular seed form, as in-breeding should only be done with this type of seed.
- Advanced Phenotype Hunting
When a grower is seeking to majorly invest in phenotype hunting, regular seeds are the top choice over other types. This period requires that either sex of plants are separated before the flowering process occurs.
- Finding a Mother
Finally, it is better to work your way through a bunch of regular seeds that will help you in your search for the ultimate mother plant, and also allows you the opportunity of getting the most genetic diversity as against the auto-flowering and female seeds.
Advantages of Raising Regular Seeds
The advantages of regular seeds include:
- New genetic profiles
They create a significant possibility of making new genetic profiles. As we earlier
mentioned, regular seeds allow for phenotypes, which is a very important phase for the breeding and maintaining of a genetically diverse breed of cannabis.
- It allows genetic expression
Further, the regular seeds allow strains’ entire lineage to be fully expressed. It is known
that most cannabis plants do eventually develop into ones that encompass distinct phenotypes. Individual plants, in other words, may show a more prominent trait against other traits, which does not exclude distinct aroma profiles and the subsequent effects.
- Improved seed production
Seed production is also dependent on regular seeds. These regular seeds produce both male and female seeds that are necessary for cannabis cultivation. These regular seeds are suitable for healthy clones. Also, their genetics are more robust than the female seeds, ensuring that the clones are stronger and healthier altogether.
- There are more options
There are certain classic strains that are only available as regular seeds.
- Natural and additive-free
It is all-natural and involves no chemical agent, unlike the female counterparts. These female ends are treated with gibberellic acid, silver nitrate, and a host of other chemicals.
- They are cost-friendly
Further, this lack of treatment also ensures that the regular seeds are cheap.
- The plants are tougher
Finally, their unaltered genetics ensure they are tougher plants than their counterparts. Their resistance against pests and diseases is far better than their counterparts, as they can also thrive in less optimal environments.
Cons of raising regular cannabis seeds
The disadvantages of regular cannabis seeds include:
- Lower crop yield
Using regular seeds usually tends to lead to lower yields per crop.
- Disproportionate gender spread
Also, almost half of the regular seeds usually turn out to be male. This leads to less usable cannabis available per the number of plants.
- They require expert care
Further, a cultivator needs to remove the male crops on time, unless such cultivator is breeding the plants or intends to get more seeds. If not, these males pollinate the females and ruin the gardener’s harvest. Finally, it is not well-suited for beginners.
Notes When Growing a Regular Seed Crop
Growing regular cannabis seeds is essentially similar to growing other types of seeds. However, certain things should be kept in mind when raising a regular seed. These include:
- They are of a smaller variety
Regular seeds — in terms of pool size — are of a smaller variety of strains than the female pool of strains. Thus, it is vital to be particular about the genetics of the strain that is chosen, and how suitable it is for either indoor or outdoor growing, depending on your region.
- They need to be transplanted
Cannabis seeds are known to mature vigorously, their maturation heavily dependent on the variety of strain, as well as the length of time it spends in the vegetative phase. To avoid the plants getting “root bound”, they need to be transplanted at least twice into fabric pots. These pots ensure that it is impossible to overwater the cannabis, through its porous textile material.
Conclusion
Getting either a regular seed or the varieties of auto-flowering and female seeds is the ultimate choice of the cultivator. Each of these seeds has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is very important for a cultivator to understand these differences, as well as the nature of the project he is undertaking, to get the best results from the seeds. Highway420 provides more information on these types of seeds, and how you can get them from your local vendor.
