How to germinate marijuana seeds?
In this article, we offer you the ultimate guide to germinating cannabis seeds. A detailed look at the peculiarities of the seeds, the main considerations to take into account during this delicate process, and a step-by-step guide on how to germinate marijuana seeds.
Why choose seeds instead of clones?
Choosing marijuana seeds to start a crop over clones has many advantages. For example, we have access to the original genetics that have not been degraded by making clones of clones, they bring no risk of fungus, disease, or pests and, once planted in good conditions, they have greater vitality and health.
Another advantage of choosing marijuana seeds rather than clones is that you can select from a much wider range of strains.
Many hobbyists tend to choose feminized seeds, as this means more convenience and better use of space. It also saves time trying to get the female plant. However, the world’s top connoisseurs still prefer regular seeds – why is that?
The Importance of Regular Cannabis Seeds
The big difference between feminized seeds and regular seeds is that the latter give rise to both male and female plants, while the former only give rise to female plants, excluding exceptions of the nature or unsuitable growing conditions.
One of the advantages provided by this type of regular marijuana seeds is that they produce 100% original specimens. Remember that Cannabis is a plant that naturally has 2 sexes, and feminized seeds are naturally modified to produce only female plants. All feminized seeds are descended from a mother that has been treated to produce feminized seeds, whereas regular seeds come from a mother that has not been treated.
Regular seeds tend to be more resistant to insects and mould, in fact, they are generally more resilient and reliable in every way.
People who choose feminized plants usually do so because they don’t have enough space to grow the plant, or because they don’t want to go to the trouble of discarding the males. However, it is much more advisable to start from regular seeds, thus selecting the ideal female, and then make clones of it, as recommended by the best banks, such as DNA, TH and TGA among other breeders.
In fact, the female plant is the object of desire for a hobbyist, while the male plant is the object of desire for a professional seed producer. The great importance of the males is that they are the ones who treasure the genetics to create new strains or stabilize existing ones. This is why seed breeders pay millions for males and despise females, unlike consumers.
How to select a Strain
As a general tip, don’t rely on just any marijuana seed advertisement. It is best to do extensive research on the medicinal crops you want to grow in your garden, or ask experts. As important points of research that anyone can easily do, we highlight two.
The good reputation of a bank will increase the chances of success in a Cannabis grow. For example, there are certain producers who have always had an excellent reputation around the world, so a seed from one of these seed banks will always work better than one from an unknown seed bank.
The experience of other growers is very important too, but with nuances. Because anyone can leave content on the internet, it has become more complicated to detect who is saying the right thing. Usually, with a little attention and monitoring, we can tell the good ones from the bad ones. You should trust only those users who have been posting for years and whose results are good, and not just anyone.
Marijuana germination considerations
First you have to take into account the type of marijuana you want to germinate, it is not the same to germinate a seed given by a friend, which is used to your climate and is easy to germinate well, than to try to germinate a tropical hybrid in a cold place. Very significant fact, it is very easy to germinate bad seed and it can be very difficult to germinate a very good seed.
There are professional growers who try to germinate thousands of seeds of a pure breed, and they don’t manage to germinate most of them. Are they doing it wrong?, not at all, they are trying to recover some seeds that have a very valuable genetically talking. But, they are used to very specific conditions, so it is not easy to germinate them properly.
As a final preliminary consideration, here’s something that should be obvious, but is not. The seeds are different, even if they are the same variety of the same brand, they are not exactly the same. Imagine that they are like siblings in a family, one is born and grows strong, and the other is not, one is smart, and the other is dumb, so it’s the same with plants. What are we getting at with this, that expecting to always germinate with 100% success is to have no idea what a seed is. Some are stronger than others and normally few people have the perfect conditions to always expect perfection, the most normal thing is to expect success according to experience and the amount of work done.
Considering everything said, 60-90% rating of success for a non-professional grower is a good rate.
How to germinate marijuana seeds
In order to germinate marijuana seeds properly, the seeds must be exposed to a temperature of between 20°C and 30°C. However, there are other factors involved in germination, so it is possible that 21°C to 27°C will produce more female plants, and higher temperatures will produce male weed. Our recommendation is 23 degrees and the temperature should be as stable as possible, this can be achieved by using a heated blanket. Temperature drops or rises, even if only temporary, will lower the success rate.
With regard to humidity, this must be around 90%, why? Because there must be oxygen, if there is no oxygen the amount of seeds that will germinate will be decimated.
Next we come to water, the most important element for plants. Tap water is bad, mineral water is very bad, osmosis or demineralized water is good. Period.
Finally, what will best help to maintain these ideal germination conditions for marijuana seeds are mini greenhouses, which are available with integrated heating blankets. You can see several models of these, also called propagators, in our online shop.
There are many rudimentary methods of germinating seeds, the more basic the worse. This is the most delicate process of a whole crop, and the more professional it is, the better it will turn out. There is nothing worse than a first timer who does the bare minimum and expects 100% germination every time, this is just pure ignorance.
From worst to best, the means that can be used to germinate marijuana are:
- A glass of water, which is widespread and unfortunate for many reasons, such as it is cooler than room temperature, there is no oxygen, and people who use this method often use tap water, which is full of chlorine and other harmful elements. This is the favourite of people who have no idea what they are doing.
- Any kind of wet paper, very dangerous because it is either very waterlogged or dries out easily, making you have to keep an eye on it and inevitably leads to absent-mindedness, causing it to dry out too much or remain waterlogged for too long. Both situations can lead to no success or only the strongest ones germinating.
- A Jiffys are already a recommended option, these pressed peat plugs swell on contact with water, making it easier to germinate seeds. Used in the right way, they maintain just the right humidity.
- The Root Riot or any other product designed specifically for germinating seeds, in addition to the advantages of the improved jiffys, also carry root stimulating products, making them the best choice by far.
And always use the good water, remember.
Germinating marijuana seeds with Root Riot
- First and foremost, it is important to wash your hands with soap to remove any grease residue or contaminants
- Make a hole of about 1 cm (in the new root riots this is already done)
- Insert the seed, so that the pointed end sticks upwards.
- Place the block inside the mini-greenhouse at stable 23 degrees.
- Spray osmosis water regularly to have a stable 90% ambient humidity.
- Do not allow the cue to dry out, but do not drown them either.
- Once the seeds have germinated, transplant them into a pot of approximately 4 litres (except for the autos, which are should go directly to the final pot), with a substrate in excellent condition, without removing the Root Riot.
Conclusions about germinating marijuana seeds
As you can see, germinating marijuana is not difficult, but it does take a bit of dedication and effort to get a satisfactory result.
To learn more about the cultivation of marijuana or Cannabis, this website brings more information about it, so the invitation is to click on the various links to expand the knowledge of this medicinal herb.
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Fundador de Experiencia Natural, creativo y emprendedor, diseñador, master en grower y marketing. Por una normalización de todas las plantas y sustancias primando pacientes y usuarios.
