The Cannabis industry is currently in the best shape it has ever been as far as breeding is concerned, with so much choice and variety available. Feminized seeds dominate an ever shifting marketplace, with 9/10 home growers preferring to use feminized Cannabis seeds. In this article we explain everything you need to know about female Cannabis seeds, the benefits associated and more!
A time before feminized Cannabis seeds
It was around 2000 when the first feminized Cannabis seeds were brought to market, and it was not long after that every seed bank wanted to produce their own female seeds. Prior to this movement, growing Cannabis plants from seed would involve growing a room of plants and waiting until a certain point before establishing if the plants are male or female.
Now considering that most of us grow for our own personal smoke, there are a small handful who may find the male plants useful for breeding projects, however, it did not take long for the demand for easy to grow and highly practical feminized Cannabis seeds to shift.
● Regular Cannabis seeds would produce either male or female plants once flowering.
● The price of regular seeds was usually cheap and affordable for a minimum of 10 seeds.
● Breeders would find male and female plants and cross them together to make F1 seeds.
● Clones would be taken off plants and the males and less desirable females discarded.
● Removing up to 50% or more of the plants may become cost-effective as an indoor grower.
The 7 Benefits of using feminized Cannabis seeds
For most growers, the ability to flower their indoor plants as quickly as possible results in more harvests per month, keeping curing jars full at all times. Spending the time to grow 20 plants up into large sized bushes, to have to throw away 10 males, could be classed as a waste of time, growing medium, nutrients and space for the other females. Listed below, are the benefits associated with growing with feminized Cannabis seeds, for a first time grower.
1. No need to remove male plants
Unless you are an old school grower, you may never truly understand how much of a lifesaver this point is. In the past, some indoor grows have been reduced to less than half the original plant count due to male plants revealing themselves during the first few weeks of flowering. Starting with female plants means that every single pot, a bit of floor space and nutrients will not go to waste.
2. 100% of the grow space is used
This is for those who grow with a high volume of smaller sized plants, typically in rows of 5x5 or 6x6. The Sea of Green technique is an excellent way to flower a room of medium-sized plants, each with the ability to produce between 30–50 grams per plant. This is especially beneficial for hydroponic systems that can be filled with feminized Cannabis seeds with the peace of mind there will be no empty spaces in the systems once flowering commences.
3. All clones will be female
Cloning Cannabis plants is a way to produce a genetic replica of a plant. Cloning involves rooting a fresh cutting using a propagator. Taking clones off feminized Cannabis plants, will eliminate the need to remove male plants, allowing you to plan a phenotype hunt resulting in the best of plants being kept and turned into a mother plant. As far as space is concerned, working with female only clones allows you to be totally efficient and maximize your grow space especially for large scale commercial projects.
4. Grow multiple strains at once
In the old days, if you wanted to grow multiple strains at once, you would most likely need to plant around 5-6 regular sexed seeds and hope to get one or two good females. Thanks to the diversity and practicality of feminized Cannabis seeds, now you can plant multiple strains at once in the same room, without needing more than one pot for each strain. Having the ability to grow many cultivars in a small space, is highly advantageous for beginner growers learning about different strains, meaning you can harvest up to 10 different strains at once.
5. There is no waste of nutrients and space
The pressure to keep supplying a room full of plants with a mixture of nutrients can be stressful and an expensive game. Having to then throw out large sized pots that have been given liters of expensive nutrients for the last 6–8 weeks can really put you on a downer, which is why working with feminized Cannabis seeds can eliminate that possibility and all your time and nutrients invested will not be wasted.
6. Ideal for first time growers
Feminized Cannabis seeds make life easy for all types of growers, especially if you are a first time grower, or have little experience. Things can become complicated if you are using regular seeds, and are not able to identify male and female plants until things are too late. Feminized seeds can be germinated, watered and left to grow into large heavy yielding plants without needing to do anything else apart from provide the optimal environment.
7. Perfect for the outdoors
Cannabis plants when grown outdoors have the ability to become massive plants, exceeding over 8–10 feet depending on the climate. Many outdoors growers will choose to grow a few large sized plants capable of yielding up to 0.5-1 kilo dry weight. Feminized Cannabis seeds are absolutely perfect for outdoor scenarios and ensure that male plants won’t reveal themselves months later.
What about breeding with feminized Cannabis seeds?
We personally recommend using regular sexed Cannabis seeds if you want to make your own Cannabis seeds at home. Starting with a male and female will result in a first generational line that will express the most stable and homogenous expressions of both the mother and father through various phenotypes.
Conclusion
As a beginner grower, we cannot recommend feminized Cannabis seeds enough! There are so many benefits associated and most importantly is the amount of time, space, nutrients and financial cost you save. Growing different strains at once is a great way to learn about indica, sativa, hybrids and autoflowering Cannabis plants. Good luck growing out as many different feminized Cannabis seeds as possible and finding out which are your favorite cultivars.
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