Table of Contents
Most cannabis connoisseurs pick up their beloved dry herb each week from the local dispensary and don’t think twice about where it came from, or what went into producing it, but home growing has become a popular movement amongst the 420 community in legal states. What typically starts out as a hobby or a way to save money on bud, often leads to an obsession over how to produce the highest quality, best tasting flower around. Cultivating cannabis isn’t easy and will require a lot of time and some knowledge about the plant’s life cycle, water, lighting, and nutrient needs, and building the proper grow setup to ensure an adequate environment. Most novice cultivators get excited about choosing a strain to grow, but it’s also important to know about the different types of cannabis seeds on the market.
3 types of cannabis seeds
The average 420 enthusiast may think that plucking out a seed from the bottom of the baggie is all it takes to grow a cannabis plant, but not all cannabis seeds are the same. There’s a reason that seed banks, such as Happy Seed Bank, charge anywhere from just a few dollars to over $40 per seed for top-of-the-line genetics. Cannabis plants are dioecious, which means there are males and females, but only the female plants will produce the potent flower stoners are looking for. There is no way to tell if a cannabis seed is male or female until just before it flowers, so it is always a gamble to use a seed found in a stash. To figure out the sex, cultivators would need to invest in a grow setup and spend time and money on water and energy only to realize the plant is male and won’t produce buds. Though it may cost a little extra, it’s always a better idea to save time and money by purchasing cannabis seeds from a reputable seed bank.
The first step in narrowing down the huge variety of cannabis seeds is actually deciding between regular, feminized, or autoflowering seeds. From there, home growers can decide on a specific strain to try. Let’s take a look at the types of cannabis seeds to choose from.
Regular cannabis seeds
Regular cannabis seeds are completely natural and act as the seeds would in the wild. When purchasing regular cannabis seeds, there is a 50/50 chance that the seeds are female and will flower. Why would anyone want to gamble with their luck? Breeders use pollen from male plants to crossbreed with female plants and create new strains and more diverse genetics. These seeds are available in indica, sativa, high THC, and high CBD. Regular seeds are not recommended for novice home growers or those who are not trying to breed new strains as male and female plants need to be seperated.
Feminized cannabis seeds
The most common type of cannabis seeds are the feminized variety. This is because 99.99% of feminized seeds are females and will create flowers. Breeders invented feminized seeds by forcing female plants to create pollen by blocking the natural production of certain chemicals, then fertilizing the flowers from normal female plants with the female pollen. Feminized cannabis seeds are the most cost-effective since it’s almost guaranteed that the seeds will develop sticky dank buds, and you can find them online on the Zamnesia website.
Autoflowering cannabis seeds
The latest innovation to cannabis seeds are autoflowering strains. Cannabis plants begin flowering when there is a change in light. Indoor growers will switch the light schedule when they want their plants to flower. Autoflowering seeds contain Cannabis ruderalis genetics, so the plants will begin to flower on their own based on time rather than a change in light. Generally speaking, autoflowering strains will change from the vegetative stage to the flowering stage at around the two to four week mark. This type of cannabis seed is ideal for true beginners or those who want a fast flowering plant. Autoflowering seeds are designed to be easy to grow, remain relatively small due to their genetics, and don’t require a change in lighting.
Ready to give home growing a try? Visit Everything For 420 for a huge selection of popular indica, sativa, and hybrid feminized and autoflowering cannabis seeds.