Cannabis Seeds 101: Choosing the right Seeds

When it comes to Cannabis Seeds how do we find the right ones to grow?

Seeds 101

Growing from cannabis seeds is an exceptionally rewarding experience and there is so much pleasure to be gained from nurturing your seed to harvest. To really reach that high result you have to start by choosing the right materials. So let's look into how we can choose the right seeds.

Do all Cannabis plants produce seeds?

Marijuana Seeds

Marijuana plants will only produce seeds if a male plant has pollinated the female plant. It's unusual to find any seeds in a dispensary quality bud and it's also uncommon that your plants produce seeds if you are growing from clones. When you vape or smoke cannabis, you are consuming the unpollinated, seedless female flower and this is the part of the plant which is called sensimillia, which means "without seeds".

Female plants produce significantly more resin than the male plants and that's why the bud from the females are what we have come to cultivate for harvest. Cannabis resin in the form of trichomes produces have a role in the plant's reproductive cycle. A trichome heavy female cannabis bud is designed to capture male pollen spores in order to develop seeds and reproduce. If the females are kept well away from the males, you don't only create sensimillia but you also start the trichome production.

While all the female plants are capable of producing cannabis seeds, pollination is what's required for them to develop. The breeders and seedbanks are the ones who play the part of geneticists and help to spur evolution by selectively mixing the pollen from a specific male plant with the genes which are selected from the female plants. This then creates seeds featuring hand selected and carefully chosen traits.

How to choose your cannabis seeds

Choose the right strain

We give thanks to all of those innovative breeders out there, as modern day cannabis has become such a diverse plant. You can find many fast growing types, varieties which are designed for the perfect outdoor yields , and strains which are selectively bred to grow perfectly indoors on in a greenhouse. Stocky, short indica plants are whats typically best for growing indoors. If you want a plant which grows to a manageable size and has that Sativa high then you can find a nice balanced hybrid with ease. 

You will find that doing the homework ahead of time will help you to avoid the splurging on seeds which are hard to grow in  your intended environment. If you are able to grow outdoors with a nice grow space then a slow growing Sativa will make best for that outdoor season.

You can find many different strains at SeedMasters.com

Female Seeds

After you've run through the vast varieties of cannabis strains and finally found the one you want to stick with you then have a couple of seed options. You can either buy regular seeds that will either produce male or female buds. Or you could buy feminised seeds, feminised seeds have been bred to contain no male chromosomes, and these seeds are the ones which will only produce resinous female plants.

Growing feminised seeds are fantastic if you are hoping to keep growing from clones of your plants. They are also the best choice for people who are just looking for a great harvest without a possibility of fertilisation. There is a downside, however, it's that you lose genetic diversity when you replant , unless you have access to a male plant from another strain. They are also prone to producing hermaphrodites.

How do good seeds look?

Here is a couple of ways to tell the quality of your seeds before you plant it

• Size:  Indicas typically produce larger seeds with distinct striping. Sativa seeds tend to be a bit smaller and more uniform in colour.
• Colour:Look for a dark brown teardrop-shaped seed featuring dark stripes or splotches of different brown, black, or tan shades. Avoid pale or green seeds.
• Hardness:  Cannabis seeds have a hard outer shell. Don’t pick seeds that are soft or damage

Do you have any tips when it comes to choosing strains? We would like to hear from  you!