- Cannabis
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by Wendy Thompson
Know What You Grow! – Seed Edition
Growing cannabis can be an easy, rewarding hobby. It can also be somewhat of a challenge so let’s go over a few common mistakes growers make that can affect the yields and overall plant health.
“My friend gave me a bag of seeds for free” is something I have heard a few times before and it could be the beginning of the end of your crop. There are many different types of cannabis, some being hard to grow as they are very picky about conditions, some are very simple, hardy, and are relatively easy to grow. Knowing what kind of seeds you have is crucial to maximizing yield. An example of this is Colombian Gold, this strain grows very large and has a longer flowering period. Short summers or a late start will not allow it to go through its full flowering period. This forces you to harvest early before the weather turns.
Another HUGE thing to consider is what type of seeds do I have?
Regular Seeds are made by crossing a male with a female cannabis plant and can produce male or female seeds, now whether you get a Male or a Female is unknown until they reach about 8 weeks of age from seed. If you don’t notice the male in time, you run the risk of pollinating yours and/or your neighbors’ crop.
Feminized Seeds are made when a female cannabis plant produces male flowers, this can be achieved by introducing light during the dark period or by using colloidal silver which changes the plants’ chemistry causing them to produce male flowers with pollen. The pollen is then introduced to a female plant and since the male pollen originally came from a female plant the seeds should be female. If done correctly it can almost guarantee the seed you have is female.
Auto-Flowering Seeds are strains of cannabis that have been crossed with Ruderalis. Ruderalis is the third subcategory of cannabis next to Indica and Sativa. It is typically found closer to the north or south poles and has a very different growing period compared to strains found closer to the equator. Due to the lack of sunlight near the north and south poles, Ruderalis can finish out their life cycles no matter how much light is present. This means the plant will flower when they reach a certain maturity not when the light schedule changes allowing you to finish your crop before the season dictates.
A perfect outdoor grow seed is Dutch Passion Feminized Purple #1. It does not require any special growing techniques or feeding schedules. Purple #1 is a strong, vigorous, and uniform purple hybrid cannabis plant with approximately 50% Indica and 50% Sativa genetics. If you are looking for a beautiful purple cannabis strain with a fast average flowering time of 8 weeks and a unique look, this is a perfect choice!
If you’re a grower or thinking of taking up the hobby or just want some more info then come, stop by, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. We have many different varieties of seeds available, nutrients and other grow products.
Next up in our common mistakes series……How To Keep Pests Out of Your Garden
41 Cannabis Co. Budtender – Ryan McPhee
