It is often assumed that growing regular cannabis seeds is more difficult than growing feminised seeds. However, this is far from the truth. Growers of all levels, including rookies, can also achieve amazing results with regular seeds. But knowing the differences between the two is paramount before buying either type.
Table of Contents
Twenty five years ago, regular seeds were the only option if you wanted to grow cannabis. Feminised seeds were introduced in the late ‘90s, captivating all growers thereafter. Only obtaining female plants from a seed is definitely a significant advantage, as it helps you get the most out of your grow space. But regular seeds are still vital if you’re a grower who loves growing their own supply of genetics.
Therefore, regular cannabis seeds should never be disregarded in any way. In fact, regular seeds are still highly valuable nowadays despite the fact that 95% of the growers in the European seed market currently use feminised seeds.
The reason for this is fairly obvious: most cannabis growers aren’t interested in hybridisation, and their only objective is producing great quantities of first-class cannabis. This means that the final objective is to only grow female cannabis plants. But with such a huge commercial focus on feminised seeds, it’s easy to forget that regular seeds are vital for the creation and conservation of the diverse genetic heritage of cannabis.
What’s the main difference between regular and feminised marijuana seeds?
Regular cannabis seeds produce male and female plants in an ideal 50/50 ratio, as dictated by Mother Nature. But this isn’t precise: sometimes you can end up with 70% of females and 30% of males, or vice versa. It’s impossible to guarantee which way the division will go, as all cannabis seeds look exactly the same.
In order to figure out which is which, all cannabis seeds need to be germinated and cultivated until they start showing signs of whether they’re female (pre-flowers) or males (pre-pollen sacs). Male plants can be disposed of if what you’re looking for is producing flowers, or they can be used to produce pollen for reproduction purposes.
Benefits of regular cannabis seeds
Some of the advantages of growing marijuana from regular seeds are:
1. The plants tend to be less sensitive to stress
One of the benefits of these cannabis seeds is that, once the male plants have been discarded, the remaining females become sturdy and highly stress-resistant. If what you’re looking for are more vigorous cannabis plants, then those grown from regular seeds are usually hardy enough to withstand any changes in the growing environment (a sudden photoperiod change, lack of water, excessive fertilisation, etc.) without exhibiting any male characteristics (hermaphroditism). Regular seeds can be easy for novice growers to work with as they generally tend to be more forgiving.
2. They’re ideal for producing mother plants and taking cuttings
You can also make cuttings with great success. Some growers keep their mother plants, grown from regular seeds, for decades. Nonetheless, the widespread belief that regular seeds produce better results with regards to mother plants is not strictly true, so feminised seeds can also be used for this very same purpose.
3. It ensures that the plant expresses its entire lineage
When feminised seeds are produced, a phenotype is chosen and its ‘reversed’ pollen is used to preserve the new generation of plants. With regular seeds, a genetically intact phenotype can be found: a completely different pheno worth keeping in your grow room. Every plant will have its own characteristics, growth pattern, leaf and stem development, aroma, yield, resistance to pests, terpene profile, THC/CBD ratio, etc. The grower will decide on which ones to keep in a vegetative state (mother plants) and can take clones to retain the features that they like the most.
4. You can combine the best strains and create hybrids
One thing is to grow your own plant, but how about creating your own unique strains from scratch? In the days before the feminised seeds emerged, cannabis growers used to cross different regular genetics to see what happened. In some cases, this led to the creation of the most spectacular hybrids ever seen. The pleasure of creating your own unique strain from regular seeds is totally priceless.
5. They give you access to the old genetics
Another reason to grow regular seeds is that some of the best old-school varieties never made it into the feminised market, and eventually passed into oblivion. There are some jewels prior to the ‘90s that aren’t available in feminised version, as many strains that existed during the last 50 years have often been kept only in their regular form. Therefore, growing regular seeds also allows you to go back in time and grow unprecedented genetics.
And remember: experimenting with regular cannabis seeds can be particularly gratifying. It is also the best way to learn the differences between the sexes of cannabis plants, the basic concepts of hybridisation, etc. It all comes down to what you expect from the experience, but in any case don’t make the mistake of overlooking the benefits of regular seeds!