When choosing which seeds to use in a crop, the grower has the following options: feminized cannabis seeds, regular seeds, or automatic seeds. Of course, if you are cultivating with press seeds it will not be possible to determine in advance what type they are, but if you are purchasing them from a seed bank or supplier you can choose which one to grow, and the possibility of different strains.
The truth is that both feminized and regular marijuana seeds or automatic seeds that have been the subject of this site are good for growing when healthy, and used by many growers. But it is important to know your differences to know what you are cultivating and to choose which one will best fit.
Plant sex and influence on seeds
Understanding the differences between feminized and regular cannabis seeds requires understanding her sex. This is because it is possible for a cannabis plant to be female, male, or even hermaphrodite. In fact, to cultivate it is essential to understand about the genus of plants, or at least know how to identify their sex. For only when the plant is female will it be possible to plow, since only it produces a high THC content. And it is also sex that determines when the seeds will be feminized or regular.
This is because in the case of cannabis, male plants develop pollen sacs, while females develop flowers and pistils that capture pollen to seeds when they are close. It is a reproduction: the male pollinates the female who will produce seeds, which is why growers either promptly remove or cut off the plants that turn out to be “buludas”, ie male. Because if the pollination is close and rolling the plant is no longer 100% female and producing all that resin and THC.
It is probably now easier to understand why some seeds are called feminized, and others regular. But now let's make it even clearer.
Feminized Marijuana Seeds
As its name implies, feminized seeds are the ones that will surely result in female plants when grown. No chance of being male unless they sold you cat for a hare. That alone justifies the growing demand for this kind of seeds, as most growers do not want to risk having male plants in their cultivation often, and also no interest in pollinating. Because of this, they end up opting for feminized ones. These seeds are feminized because they have no male trait. They come from female plants.
Although there are other techniques for producing feminized seeds, the most common method is to spray a colloidal silver solution, which is a well-known natural antibiotic that can be found easily although it has been in disuse since synthetic medicines began to be manufactured. Colloidal silver when applied to female Cannabis plants induces them to produce pollen and this pollen fertilizes other female plants that will generate the already feminized seeds. With 99% certainty.
Cannabis Regular Seeds
Unlike feminized seeds, regular cannabis seeds are produced from one male and one female plant. The pollen of the male fertilizes the female, which in turn produces seeds. These seeds are called regular seeds because they are generated through “natural” marijuana reproduction. This is precisely why when a regular seed is planted it has a 50% chance of being male, and a 50% chance of being female.
It is virtually impossible to tell if a regular seed will become male or female later. This is only possible later, when the plants are already developing and begin to show the Pistils, or Pollen Bags, which are characteristics that determine the sex of cannabis plants. Even with this chance of losing most of the plants, there are still growers who prefer to grow with regular seeds and now we will understand the reasons.
Cannabis Regular Seeds
Unlike feminized seeds, regular cannabis seeds are produced from one male and one female plant. The pollen of the male fertilizes the female, which in turn produces seeds. These seeds are called regular seeds because they are generated through “natural” marijuana reproduction. This is precisely why when a regular seed is planted it has a 50% chance of being male, and a 50% chance of being female.
Differences in Cultivating Feminized and Regular Seeds
There are reasons why some growers always prefer to use feminized seeds, as well as other reasons why other growers make use of regular seeds. The preference for feminized seeds, which are the most sought after, is precisely because of certainty. Just imagine, you only have 3 regular seeds to grow and after nearly two months growing two of them turn out to be male and all this time devoted to taking care of them was in vain if the goal was to consume resin flowers. Now if the 3 seeds were feminized, the chance was that they were all female.
You may be wondering why so someone prefers to risk losing several plants just to use regular seeds. And for someone who grows small amounts at home for their own recreational use or for medicinal use, it really doesn't make much sense, but for professional growers and geneticists it does.
First, female plants that emerge from regular seeds are better at becoming Mother Plants. That is, if a regular seed turns out to be female it will be better to make clones than plants that came from already feminized seeds. Also, for crosses between Sativa and Indica genetics, many growers prefer to use male plants that are of regular seed to produce more new seeds and strains.
In short: if you cultivate for recreational purposes at home, the ideal is to bet on feminized seeds that the tendency is to have no mistake. The chance of picking flowers is almost 100% as we have already said, and so it is much more worth the investment.
The automatic seeds
As we said at the beginning of the text, cannabis seeds can also be automatic or autoflowering seeds, as they are also known. The main difference of this type of seed is not in its sex as is the case of the feminized and regular seeds that become distinct due to the gender. The automatic ones are unique because they are seeds that do not depend on the traditional photoperiod to start flowering.
In short, they do not need 18 hours of light as they will start to flower on their own and taking into account their lifetime, not the period of light exposure in the vegetative phase. The name they carry is precisely for this: for entering the flowering automatically. And since the difference is not in sex, automatics can be feminized or regular seeds as well.
Many cultivators like automatics because they are independent when it comes to flowering. Others prefer them because they are plants that grow less and so can be great for growing in small spaces.
Buying Seeds
One tip we always give to those who are interested in seeds to start cultivating is: If you have no experience and are cultivating for the first time, look for germinable seeds in the pressed. It's very easy to find good prenseeds that will be great to start and learn without spending. Once you have your first harvest or learn how to cultivate better, then it is worth starting to get seeds.
There are different ways to find feminized, regular, or automatic seeds of different genetics. At the Expocannabis that takes place in Uruguay every December, many seed banks are present, such as BSF Seeds guys, Santa Semilla, and other renowned producer banks that sell several strains during the three days of the event.
Some famous feminized seeds available are Girl Scout Cookies, Northern Lights, which is one of the most consumed strains in the world, while regular Amnesia Haze and Cotton Candy Kush seeds can also be found. The market today gives options to please different growers.