So, you are keen to grow marijuana seeds at home? Great idea! Buying online with no proper knowledge can mislead you into buying mixed (male + female) seeds.
Yes, marijuana seeds are gender biased. They have a male variant that yields no buds while female plants generate buds. So, which one is better? Definitely, the female which has a much higher concentration of THC. All feminized seeds would mean 100% production result as all plants will bear smokable buds. These female seeds, aptly called feminized seeds, are created by breeding two female plants. You can cultivate these seeds at home by following this DIY guide.
The process of feminizing seeds forces the female plant to produce pollen sacs like a male plant normally would. These plants can then pollinate other females. Genetically, they can then only produce female seeds.
How to Create Feminize Cannabis Seeds
Step 1: Light change: 12 sunlight/12 darkness.
Take one female marijuana plant and change its course of light to 12 hours daylight and 12 hours darkness each day until its flowering stage. If you’ve made it this far, you likely have a quality grow environment whether a tent or other.
Step 2: Role change: Force a female plant to produce sacs
This can be done in 3 following ways:
A. Naturally by Rhodelization – Low yield result
When a female plant under stress tries to survive in the wild, it naturally starts producing pollens to save its next generation. However, this makes the plant turn into a hermaphrodite ( a plant that produces both male and female flowers). Thus, upon breeding it is likely to produce hermaphrodite seeds. Therefore, we do not recommend this method!
B. Silver Thiosulfate method - Best yield result
This chemical commonly referred to as STS is the most efficient method. STS is a mix of half sodium thiosulfate and half silver nitrate that causes a hormonal reaction in the plants. It keeps the female hormone under presser. Thus, When you spray STS on female plants they naturally start producing pollen sacs. However, it does not become a hermaphrodite plant, unlike the above case. Simply spray your female plant, allow it to dry, and place it among its friends.
In this process, your plants have some risk of becoming hermaphrodites. Try to avoid this as much as possible by observing your plant and breeding out plant lines with sex changing tendencies.
C. Chemically from Colloidal Silver - High yield result
Colloidal silver is much easier to find and is the most popular method because of its high yields. Like before, the stress enhances production of the male hormone.
How can you get colloidal silver?
Buy ready to use colloidal silver – This is best only when you need a few seeds. A large quantity seeds would turn this project quite expensive for your pocket. Note: A ready-made solution of anything above 25 PPM (parts per million) silver would be ideal.
Buy a colloidal silver generator kit – This is economical as you can produce colloidal silver as many times as you please, for as much quantity.
As the plant reaches its flowering stage, start spraying this colloidal silver on the plant buds (the junction where the leaves meet the stem). Spray it daily until the flower starts developing pollen sacs which will later burst into pollen grains. Stop spraying once enough pollen sac become huge and fluffy, usually after 4 weeks.
Caution! Please use the mother plant only for pollinating to testing. Do not smoke with it because colloidal silver is harmful to your health. If you happen to use the pollen flower by mistake, seek medical care immediately.
Step 3 Harvest: Store pollens
Pollen sacs are ready for harvest when they are full and just start to open. If you stop spraying too early, the sacs might be empty. Once the pollen sacs are ready, harvest them, and keep them in a cool, dry place for about a week. Now, put these pollen sacs in a Ziploc bag, shake them and tada! The pollen grains have busted from the sac. In case it doesn’t, you can always cut and remove them. These pollens can be stored for up to a year if you manage to keep them away from the moisture! Add baking flour every once in a while to keep them dry.
Step 4: Pollination: Feminized pollen with Feminine flowers
Now pollinate 3-week-old female flowers with the feminized pollen grains using a paint brush. We do not recommend fertilizing the mother plant that produced the pollen since genetic diversity breeds stronger crops.
Step 5 Seeds: Use or Store
After about 5-6 weeks the flowers should start producing seeds. Make sure you don’t wait until the seeds start dropping. Be aware that some plants might begin to die just as the seeds become ready for harvest. Collect the viable seeds. It is up to you if you want to use it or label and store it.Knowing what we do about female marijuana plants, why even have male plants? With the feminization process, we limit genetic diversity which can sometimes lead to fragile or genetically diseased stock. Male plants cross pollinate and keep your crops sturdier.
Feminizing seeds is a lengthy process, and it often requires a lot of practice. In general, growers make several attempts before their first successful feminization. For most personal growers, the process requires too much time and money to not guarantee results. For professional growers, the process makes much more sense. Once they have their custom stock, cloning ensures the marijuana maintains its consistency. Not to mention, feminizing is much more cost-effective in bulk. Nonetheless, hobby growers find great joy in feminizing their own seeds as a feat of personal accomplishment.
Are you ready to take the jump and start feminizing your own crops? Have you started the process yet? What are you waiting for? Find all your essentail cannabis grow tent gear for the best prices at Smart Grow Tents Shop.
