When growing cannabis from scratch, there are two types of seeds that can be used: regular seeds and feminized seeds. Recently, and for several reasons, feminized seeds have received lots of attention from North American growers. This article examines feminized seeds, the benefits of using them, and why these seeds are a more efficient choice for growers.
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Significance of Female Cannabis Plants and Feminized Seeds
There are numerous reasons for cannabis consumption, whether medical OR recreational. Nearly all cannabis users have their own favorite effects and desired cannabis strains. Although there are male, female, and hermaphrodite cannabis plants, female plants are responsible for a variety of benefits that many cannabis enthusiasts know and love.
Only female cannabis plants produce crystal-covered trichomes and rich flowers that deliver the flavors, aromas and psychoactive effects.
Male cannabis plants, on the other hand, contain little medicinal value, and they can do more harm than good. For example, male cannabis plants can ruin a productive grow if they get a chance to pollinate female plants. If this happens, the female cannabis plants produce buds that contain seeds, which is not what growers or consumers want.
Growers have started shifting their attention towards using feminized seeds. Feminized seeds are cannabis seeds that only carry female genetics. These seeds can be relied on to produce only female cannabis plants, which is a huge win for growers.
Overall, feminized seeds are produced in a way that ensures that all the resulting cannabis plants will be female.
How Feminized Seeds Are Created
For years, the creation of feminized versions of plant seeds took place as an agricultural technique. Then, in the 1980s, this technique was adapted for cannabis plants, as stated by Sensi Seeds. There are multiple different methods to create feminized cannabis seeds, and they all consist of stressing a female plant until it produces pollen. Then, that pollen is used to fertilize another female plant, which then produces seeds that are referred to as 'female seeds.'
Through this process, growers are giving the resulting seeds strictly female genes. There is no father gene in this case, which means that no seedlings will be males. Although feminized seeds go through a breeding process, they are not genetically engineered.
Why Feminized Seeds Are Better Than Regular Seeds
Growing cannabis from scratch requires growers to use seeds. When growing cannabis from regular seeds, there is an uncertainty regarding how many plants will end up being female and male. Growers who work with regular seeds must account for the fact that nearly half of their plants could be males rather than females.
During this process, growers must put time and energy into watching over and observing which plants are males and which are females. Once they know the gender of the plants, it is the growers' responsibility to remove the male plants before they ruin the rest of the grow. This takes up significant time, energy, and other resources. Therefore, feminized seeds are being used more and more. Feminized seeds streamline the cannabis growing process by saving both time and space while also resulting in efficiency.
Positives of Using Feminized Seeds
Once growers start off with their own feminized seeds, they can rest easy knowing that all their cannabis plants will be female, which means lots of flowery buds. Additional benefits of feminized seeds include:
- All the cannabis plants will produce buds
- There will be less wasted space on the plants that need to be removed
- Growers do not need to watch the plants closely to make sure that all male plants are removed.
- No chance of pollination without pollen sacs. This results in zero buds containing seeds, which is what both growers and consumers want.
Negatives of Using Feminized Seeds
However, it is crucial to purchase feminized seeds from a reputable breeder. If you buy your feminized seeds from a bad breeder, it is possible for some plants may turn out to be hermaphrodites.
Worse yet: the plants could end up being all males.
It is important to keep in mind that not all feminized seed treatments are guaranteed to produce feminized cannabis seeds that will germinate easily, grow properly, reflect the strain genetics you purchased, or be 100 percent female, according to Big Buds magazine.
Although it is possible to buy a bad batch of feminized seeds, if you go through a reputable breeder, there is a high chance that you will receive what you paid for ? all feminized seeds.
Tying It All Together
Feminized seeds are beneficial for marijuana growers for two main reasons:
- They save growers from wasting additional time and energy to check for and remove male plants as they would have to do with regular cannabis seeds
- Using feminized seeds is a more of an efficient option for both small- and large-scale growers
Although it could be risky to purchase feminized seeds from different or disreputable breeders, if everything goes as it should with your home grow, the choice couldn’t be clearer.
Find out the essential tools for growing cannabis here.
