Having marijuana seeds is a gratifying experience to start your growing operation, and growing them ensures that you have a steady supply of cannabis plants. It is accessible, and you can do it in just about any available growing medium.
When growing marijuana, you need to know how long it takes for your plant to grow from seedling to harvest. You need to know how to care for your cannabis plant and which strain is right for you. You'll have to find seeds from someone who has been legally growing free weed for years and has a green thumb.
How to Tell If Marijuana Seeds are Viable
Viable seeds are strong enough to germinate and pop through its hard casing and sprout its crucial tap root.
- Look at the seed's color. A mature marijuana seed will be almost black, with a brownish tint.
- If they are hard like a rock when pressed into your hand, they should be viable.
- Check how dry they seem by rubbing one between your fingers. Do they feel dry and crunchy when rubbed together? If so, then they should be viable!
Buying seeds that are weak or damaged will not be able to germinate. They may be hollow inside or have holes in them, which will cause them to rot before they have a chance to sprout.
Understanding Your Cannabis Seeds
Autoflowering cannabis seeds are a type of cannabis seed that doesn't need to be switched to a 12/12 light cycle to start a marijuana flowering stage. They will begin to blossom once they reach a certain age, regardless of the light cycle. Most growers prefer autoflowering seeds as they are quick and easy to grow indoors. In addition, they produce large yields of high-quality buds with little care required once they've started growing flowers.
On the other hand, photoperiod seeds will only start flowering when they've been kept in darkness for at least 12 hours each night for several days in a row. They can produce both male and female plants (necessary if you want to get seeds). So if you're looking for a particular strain that grows well without any special care, this might be the one for you!Feminized seeds have been bred only to produce female plants; they are created by crossing two females. They are more stable and accessible to grow than regular seeds. This is great if you're looking for a crop of buds without worrying about a male plant pollinating your produce and making them unusable.
With feminized cannabis seeds, it’s much easier to produce only females by using methods like germinating seeds indoors or using coco coir instead of soil as a growing medium.
The downside is that feminized weed seeds are more expensive and can't be used for breeding purposes.
Regular cannabis seeds are a mix of male and female plants. They're cheaper than feminized seeds, but they require more care and attention because you'll need to identify the male marijuana plants before they pollinate the females.
Here is what you should know if you need males to cross new strains and genetics.
- Male and female cannabis seeds will "pre-flower" 8-10 weeks after germination.
- Cannabis sex organs emerge at branch nodes.
- Males have spherical balls that become pollen sacs and discharge pollen.
- Females have spherical structures with long hairs that mature into pollen-catching pistils.
- Pre-flowers may be too little to see without a magnifying glass.
- Clones may take on negative traits from the mother plant.
Only female cannabis plants develop buds, so it's essential to remove male plants, so they don't fertilize females. The pollinated female plant will produce seed-filled buds, making your cannabis harsh and unpleasant.
Why Should You Grow Cannabis Seeds Indoors?
Germinating Seeds indoors has many advantages over outdoor growing: You can control the environment, temperature, humidity, and lighting conditions for optimal plant growth and yield when growing weed indoors. Outdoor growers must contend with unpredictable weather conditions that negatively affect their crops.
How grow cannabis indoors?
To germinate cannabis seeds using the paper towel method, you'll need:
- Clean and sterile potting soil
- A plastic bag or container (that can seal off)
- Some wet paper towels or paper towels with holes in them (you'll be putting these on top of the seeds to keep them moist)
- Seedling starter soil or plant-based compost, like Miracle-Gro® Seed Starting Mix.
- Some water
- A pot plant with drainage holes at the bottom
- A humidifier (if you live in a dry climate)
- Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights
- Warmth (if it's cold out)
- A pencil or chopstick (to poke holes in the lid of the container)
- A hydroponic setup with nutrients (you can buy or make your own).
- A growing medium for the plants to grow in—should be dark enough to keep them from flowering too early or too quickly.
- Purchase from a quality cannabis seed bank that offers various strains. Look for strains that are Indica-dominant and have a high THC content. These will provide the best results when grown indoors without natural sunlight. Ensure you live in states that have legalized the use of the cannabis plant.
- Soak the seeds in water for about 12 hours before you start growing them. To germinate marijuana, make sure they're sitting in at least 1⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) of water—you don't want them to float. Gently stir them every few hours to keep them from sticking together or getting clumped on top of each other.
- After 12 hours, take the seeds out of the water and place one wet paper towel on a plate. Spread your seeds 1⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) apart on the towel so they won't dry out too quickly or touch each other when the seeds are starting. When you do this, ensure that all of your seeds are facing up, giving them access to air circulation throughout their growth process; otherwise, they could get moldy!
- Store seeds at around 80 degrees Fahrenheit (21-29 °C). This is the best temperature and humidity for cannabis germination. To germinate, seeds must be kept warm. You can keep seedlings warm with a heat lamp or at the refrigerator's top. Ensure not to overheat the seeds, or you'll dry out the paper towels
- Cover your seeds with a moist paper towel; Use a spray bottle to spray the top towel; this will keep them from drying out while allowing them to breathe enough to stay alive until the seeds germinate—usually between 1-2 days; after planting them! Some varieties may take longer than others.
- Watch your germinating cannabis seeds grow! You'll know they've sprouted when you see shoots emerging from the seed coat.
- After germinating your seeds, it's time to get them into vegetative growth. You'll use a growing medium and tap root to help your plants grow strong and healthy.
- Transplant your germinated cannabis seeds; it's time to begin receiving nutrients through their roots via the hydroponic system.
NOTE
Do not prod, pull, or touch any germinated seed as they open, as this can damage the roots.
Discard any seeds that have not opened and grown roots within a few days.
Planting Cannabis Seeds
Growing cannabis seeds is easy, but you need a moist environment and rich soil that drains well but retains moisture to keep roots moist but not soggy wet like standing water.
Fill your pots ¾ complete with potting soil- Potting soil should be loose and airy, with a good balance of peat moss, vermiculite, sand, and perlite.
Poke holes ¼ inch (0.64cm) in the soil for your seeds using a pen or pencil. Use tweezers to drop your seeds.
Make sure you drop the sprouted weed seeds with the taproot facing into the hole—the taproot is the long root that will grow out of one end of the seed.
Don't tug at them when you pick them up with tweezers; if they are stuck to paper towels, wet the towels down first, so they're easier to grab hold of first!
Cover the seeds with soil and water lightly to avoid disturbing them too much. If you have more than one seed per pot, make sure they are evenly spaced apart so they don't crowd each other out when they start growing!
How Do I Care for My Young Plants?
Caring for your young marijuana will help them grow strong and healthy, which will improve the quality of your harvest. Here are some tips to give them the attention they need.
- Water your marijuana regularly. Ensure that the water you give them is clean and free from any chemicals or debris, and make sure that your soil drains well so that the roots don't get waterlogged. Let it dry out before watering again if you see that the soil has become soggy.
- Keep the temperature in your grow room between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. This will help keep your plant healthy and happy!
- Give them enough light. Your seedlings will need about 16 hours of direct sunlight every day; If you don't have enough natural light where you live, consider investing in some artificial grow lights for your plant's growing period—just make sure they're not too close or too far; from where your plant is growing!
- Use a carbon filter to remove any odor from your grow room before venting it outside or into another room where people might smell it!
- If you're growing in a pot, make sure it has drain holes at the bottom so excess water can drain away quickly. Pour an inch or two of gravel into the bottom of your pot to keep roots from circling each other and getting tangled up.
- Add fertilizer to your young plants' soil every few weeks (or as directed on the package), starting when you plant them until they're about two months old. You can also use compost as mulch around their roots—just don't let it touch their stems or leaves!
What to do with Mature Marijuana Plants
The right time to reap is when your marijuana matures, but it may become over-mature or decline in quality if you wait too long. So how can you tell when they are ready?
Marijuana usually reaches maturity between 50 and 70 days after germination.
The most significant indicator that your plants are ready for harvest is their trichomes (the little crystal-like structures on top of buds). Trichomes make up between 60% and 80% of a marijuana plant's weight, so when they turn from clear to cloudy or amber, they're full of THC and ready for consumption.
Another indicator is the color of the leaves on your plant: they should be bright green before harvesting (but not too bright). When leaves turn yellow or brownish-green, they've lost much of their chlorophyll (which helps them photosynthesize or convert sunlight into energy)
If you're like most growers, your primary concern is getting the best marijuana buds possible. And that means harvesting at the right time.
But if you've got a plant that's already grown to its full potential, You can harvest your mature cannabis plant to make cannabutter or cannabidiol (CBD) oil—but there are a few things to keep in mind before doing so:
- You'll want to choose a strain that's high in CBD content—not THC. If your plant has been growing for months (or even years), it has more CBD than THC.
- Use gloves and proper ventilation when handling the dried buds; they contain oils that could irritate your skin or lungs if inhaled directly from the flowers themselves!
Growing Marijuana Seeds
Growing your own marijuana plants can be a fun and rewarding experience. Once you know what to do, you'll have access to a whole new world of marijuana strains that you might not have been able to find elsewhere.