Seed Tips ►
How To
Early Method for
Seed Sexing ...
by Olivia Sobelman , contributing writer
Seed projects can be incredibly
fulfilling . They give you the opportunity to grow strains that no one else has . They can grow bigger than their cloned counterparts because they have their taproot , and they are easier to come by in states that don ’ t have dispensaries widely selling clones . The obvious choice for most growers is to opt for feminized seeds .
There are a lot of methods for creating feminized seeds . Incredibly reputable breeders have seed formulas down to a fine science . The downsides are that the feminized seeds are less stable than regular seeds regardless of how well they are bred .
The basics are that male and female seeds are bred from a male plant pollinating a female plant . The seeds are then both male and female seeds , the same way that a man and a woman can have either a male or female child . A feminized seed is produced from a female plant that is stressed on purpose , and that pollen is used to pollinate another female plant creating female seeds — no male was involved . The seeds created from the same plant that is stressed to produce the pollen aren ’ t kept or sold as feminized seeds because they are incredibly prone to hermaphroditism .
Germinating regular seeds and finding a female will allow you the most stable genetics . You can also use feminized seeds and never have an issue , but it raises the odds , and the same plant might perform poorly when faced with the stressors of growing outdoors if you were to move it outside when the season permits . So that ’ s something to keep in mind and keep an eye on .
When you find a female plant that you like , the next step is to clone it to keep that strain around , so you have it as long as you want it .
However , before any of that , you will need to determine the sex of your plant . When the
18 February 2021 plant reaches a certain age of maturity , typically between 6 and 10 weeks , you can check the nodes for early flowering pistils . The only sure-fire way to really tell is to flower out the plant and watch for the gender to reveal itself either in the form of a pollen sac ( the precursor to a pollen flower ) or pistils on a female — the hairs that you see during bud growth .
Here ’ s an easy method for determining sex that will prevent you from flowering out the entire plant just to have to cut it down midway through and risk seeding out your grow .
Male
Female
● When your plant reaches maturity , within 4-8 weeks , depending on the strain , take the top from the plant if you are topping your plants or at the very least take a robust clip of a branch and prepare it the same way you would a clone .
● Dip the bottom of the stem in a rooting solution for good measure and put them in a rooting medium . Any will work , but I use the Root Riot style rooting plugs .
● Next , label the clipping to match the plant you took it from and place the label in the same little cube as the clipping , so there is no mistaking which plant it is .
● Once you have all your clones taken , put a dome on the chamber to prevent any pollen from escaping and to keep humidity regulated in the chamber .
● Next , place the entire chamber under a 12 / 12 light cycle ( 12 hours darkness , 12 hours of light ). Either under a light as small as a veg t5 strip or if you are in flowering in another tent or room already , just put the tray in there off to the side .
The coolest part about this method is that you don ’ t need to actually root-out your clones to achieve the results — they simply start flowering regardless of roots , and you ’ ll have results on whether it is a female or male before you even have roots . This happens , most likely , within 7-10 days on average . Keep in mind that the more robust a clone you take , with more node sites and foliage , the better you will be able to see any of the plant ’ s developing sex indicators .
This method is space and time-efficient . This way , you can get results faster than any other , and you won ’ t need to keep extra male plants around for longer than you needed because you can cull them out of your grow area faster than waiting until they are ready to flower .
As I said , seed projects can be incredibly fulfilling and a great opportunity to learn about the science of growing awesome plants . Experiment with seeds , grow , and have fun .
Olivia Sobelman is a threetime U . S . Cannabis Cup Winner and co-owner of the Grow Depot Hydroponic Superstore in Columbia , MO .
www . GrowDepotSupply . com .