What are regular seeds?
Regular seeds are cannabis seeds that have not been feminized: they give male plants and female plants in roughly equal numbers. They are seeds just as nature makes them, from crossing a male with a female.
In cannabis, the females are the ones that form buds. The males produce pollen, and if that pollen reaches the females, it pollinates them: the plants put their energy into making seeds and the buds end up full of them.
That's why, if you grow regular seeds to harvest buds, you need to spot the males and remove them before they release their pollen. It's like sifting: you sow extra and then keep only the females.
How do you tell a male from a female?
You can see it in the first flowers, which appear where the branches join the stem. Males form little closed balls, the pollen sacs. Females form little white hairs, the pistils. It's a bit tricky at first, but if you pay attention you'll soon get the hang of it.
Advantages
- Ideal for breeding: if you want to make your own crosses and produce your own seeds, you need males.
- Good mothers for cuttings: many growers pick the best female from a group of regular plants and keep her to take cuttings (pieces of the plant that are rooted and give exact copies of it).
- Classic genetics: some traditional strains are only available as regular seeds.
Disadvantages
- More work: you have to keep an eye on the plants and remove the males in time.
- Space that doesn't produce buds: part of what you sow will end up discarded.
Who are they a good option for?
For growers with some experience, and for anyone who wants to make their own seeds or find a mother plant. If it's your first grow, feminized seeds are usually easier.
Related terms
Before you grow, check the laws in your country: growing cannabis is not allowed everywhere.
