There is a lot of preparation and effort to make before you start growing weed in your home. You must ensure a suitable space for the plants, a great irrigation system, adequate lighting, temperature, humidity, and the seed itself.
If you don’t get your seed right, there’s no amount of energy and effort you put into it that will earn you the right results. This is why many people put so much consideration into seeds because it will determine the quality of the result.
If you’re a newbie, you might come across so many slangs and phrases that sound unfamiliar to you, one of which is feminized or regular seeds, but don’t worry, this article will explain all these terms, and you’ll understand them perfectly by the time it’s over.
What is a Regular Cannabis Seed?
Regular cannabis seeds occur when a male cannabis plant pollinates a female cannabis plant. This pollination process mostly happens by wind or air when the male pollen is released from the ripe pollen sacs in the male, and the wind blows it toward the female.
This pollen can be more than hundreds, and a few are likely to find the receptive stigma of female flowers. Regular cannabis contains the full genetic components of either male or female, allowing them to later become whichever one you can make.
If the plants are indoors, the pollination process cannot occur naturally, so it must be done manually. In this case, when the ripe pollen sac releases the main pollen, the pollen is carried by the grower to the receptive stigma of the female plant.
The regular cannabis bud leads to the production of male and female plants in a 50/50 proportion. You can’t immediately tell the gender of the plant just by looking at it, so growers wait till it’s grown before they start noticing either per-flower signs in females or pre-pollen in males. These
What Do Feminized Seeds Mean?
In feminized cannabis seeds, the male chromosome is lacking.
They have been genetically engineered only to become female plants, and 99% of the time, they end up being so. If you’re wondering why growers do this, it is because male cannabis plants do not do much and are not economical.
For example, male cannabis plants produce pods to protect and assimilate nutrients.
The biggest duty of a male plant is to pollinate the female plants, spurring continuous reproduction. However, female plants are the most economical because they contain buds rich with the main cannabinoids like THC and CBD.
Due to this, growers decided they needed more female plants, and in the 1990s, this was made possible and feminized seeds were produced. Their best feminized seeds are often bred for maximum potential and aroma.
They are also photoperiods, so they depend on light for their cycle.
What are the differences Between Regular and Feminized Seeds?
Now that we know what both regular and feminized seeds mean, it’s time we analyzed their differences, so we know which one is suitable for different types of growers and purposes:
Price: Feminized seeds are way more expensive than regular ones. This is because all these will develop into useful plants with high potency yields and adequate CBD/THC volume. 99.9% of the time, feminized seeds produce female cannabis plants.
Regular seeds are way cheaper for the same reasons. When you plant these seeds, only half or even less might be female plants, while the rest are males. Since the male plants don’t have buds producing CBD/THC, they will be cast aside.
Yield: Feminized seeds yield more viable and desirable plants than regular ones. Due to this high yield, the cost is controlled, and you’re profiting more from the cultivation.
For example, if you buy a pack containing 10 regular seeds, you might only get six female plants if you are lucky. Otherwise, you’d be looking at 4 or 5 female plants while the rest are males. You can keep them for pollination later.
However, if you buy a pack of 10 feminized seeds, the odds of getting a male plant out of it are null. This explains perfectly how feminized seeds bring higher yields than regular ones.
Growing: Since their genetics have not been tampered with, the regulars are more resilient when dealing with stress and environmental pressure. As a grower, you know how fragile these seeds are and how much attention they require to meet their needs at a certain time.
However, regular seeds can withstand this stress because their genetic adaptations remain intact.
With feminized seeds, you have to pay two times more attention and effort.
They are not as resilient as regular seeds and fold immediately under stressful conditions. This could lead to shunted growth, or they’ll turn into hermaphrodites, putting the whole garden at risk of unwanted pollination.
Taste and Potency: Due to the genetic engineering of the feminized seeds leading to increased levels of THC, the buds are more potent and euphoric than the regular version of the same variety.
The taste and aroma are also stronger than regular seeds, making the effects on the body more pronounced and long-lasting.
Some people still prefer regular seeds’ natural taste and aroma to feminized ones. These people claim that natural seeds are richer and have various effects and flavors.
Conclusion
There is no particular answer to which one is better between both.
The best one for you at the moment will depend on your personal goals as a grower. If you want quick cultivation with female plants in your potting medium, it’s better to go for feminized seeds.
However, if you’re looking for a populated growth medium with both sexes, you should try regular ones.