In recent years in France, cannabis seeds have become increasingly popular. They are even considered superfoods because of their health benefits for consumers. Cannabis seeds are very crunchy and, above all, have a unique flavor. Aside from their nutritional appeal, cannabis seeds are also highly sought after for growing cannabis. Since France is the largest consumer of cannabis in Europe, the highest-quality seeds are not easy to find. Furthermore, some low-quality seeds are circulating and can easily blend in with the rest. It is therefore important to be able to distinguish them in order to produce high-quality cannabis. In this article, discover some tips for purchasing cannabis seeds.
What are the different types of cannabis seeds?
There are generally three types of cannabis seeds: regular seeds, feminized seeds, and autoflowering seeds. Generally, almost all seed banks and seed sellers will let you choose from these types of seeds.
Regular cannabis seeds
They result from natural reproduction between a male plant and a female plant. They are generally produced through hand pollination. A professional manually pollinates a female plant using pollen collected from a male plant. Regular seeds are nearly identical to those found in the wild cannabis population.
Regular cannabis seeds are inexpensive and readily available. Experts actually recommend using them when you’re just starting out in cannabis cultivation. After all, as a beginner, you’re likely to make many mistakes. Given the relatively low cost of this type of seed, you can easily replace them.
However, it is difficult to tell male regular seeds apart from female ones. So there’s a good chance you’ll end up with male seeds in your greenhouse. Unfortunately, these seeds are usually unwanted unless you want to collect them.
Feminized seeds
Feminized cannabis seeds can be planted directly in the ground to produce buds. Using them eliminates the need to separate cannabis plants by sex to remove the males. They therefore reduce the risk of males contaminating your crop. Note that a single male seed can pollinate a large portion of your crop. Your female plants will then be busy producing seeds instead of buds.
Feminized seeds are produced by inducing the monoecious state in a female cannabis plant. They are nearly identical to the self-pollinated female parent seeds.
Autoflowering seeds
Autoflowering cannabis seeds are characterized by a short growth period and a rapid flowering period. Unlike other seeds, they transition from the vegetative stage to the flowering stage as they mature. They can be harvested in as little as 3 months after being planted. In addition, they are smaller than other types of seeds. This is primarily due to their Ruderalis heritage.
Are cheap cannabis seeds really worth it?
It doesn’t matter whether the seeds were produced after years of selective breeding or by an amateur—they all look the same. This is, in fact, one of the major problems beginners face when choosing cannabis seeds. Cannabis growers are therefore forced to conduct thorough research on seeds to ensure they make good purchases.
In reality, the best cannabis strains require years of work. This helps stabilize and optimize their characteristics. They are released onto the market only when their breeders are confident in their performance. For the most part, the best seeds are developed to offer cannabis growers greater flexibility in cultivation. They are therefore easier to grow and adapt to a wide range of growing methods. Ultimately, all cannabis growers will agree that cheap cannabis seeds simply aren’t worth it.
How can you ensure the genetic quality of seeds during procurement?
When a seed’s origin is unknown, professionals refer to it as having “unstable genetics.” To avoid buying a seed with unstable genetics, ask questions when making your purchase. Make sure the breeder tells you where the seed comes from and how it was crossbred. In other words, make sure you know the seed’s history. Otherwise, you might end up with a poor-quality seed that will perform poorly.
An amateur breeder can cross a female seed with a male seed and then sell it as a hybrid strain. But professionals use multiple rounds of backcrossing. This allows them to stabilize the seed and ensure the production of strong cannabis plants.
How can I get cannabis seeds?
There are many options available to you for purchasing cannabis seeds.
Getting cannabis seeds from friends
This is one of the easiest ways to get cannabis seeds. If you have friends or family who also grow cannabis, you can ask them. You can also ask your friends or family for cannabis cuttings. This will allow you to grow a few plants and produce your own cannabis seeds. However, it’s important to be careful when transferring and propagating the plants. Among the most reliable methods for doing this, the simplest is pollinating the female plants with pollen from the male plants.
If the cannabis seeds are intended for cultivation, it is important to know in advance where they will be grown. This is because the choice of seed depends on the growing location. There are, therefore, outdoor cannabis seeds and indoor cannabis seeds.
Getting seeds from seed banks
As noted above, the sale of cannabis seeds is legal in France. As a result, there are many seed banks that distribute seeds of varying quality. However, if you can afford it, it’s recommended that you purchase from a seed bank in a neighboring country—specifically, Spain or the Netherlands. These seed banks offer a wide variety of seeds for various uses. They also provide customers with the information needed to make an informed choice.
There are seed banks known as “Breeders” that sell their own seed varieties. To help you decide, you can simply rely on reviews from their customers or online users. The goal is to get a sense of the seed bank’s reputation and the quality of the seeds it offers.
To help you out, here are a few strains that are known for producing good buds:
- The Seed og kush;
- The b45 seed;
- The Critical+ 2.0 seed;
- The Amnesia seed;
- The Seed critical mango;
- The Moby Dick seed.
Also note that professional breeders are the best source for high-quality seeds. Before putting their seeds up for sale, they subject them to numerous quality tests.
Shop Online
This is a great alternative if you can't make it to a store or if you'd like to keep things discreet. However, before you make an online purchase, you should make sure the seller is trustworthy.
There are many factors that can give you an idea of how reliable a seller is. First, start by paying close attention to their sales website. Does it look more like an amateur site or a professional one? Take the time to browse through the different sections of the site, including the FAQs. Does the seller offer secure payment options on their site? Finally, check the guarantees provided by the seller.
Online shopping gives you the advantage of a convenient and fast delivery service. You also have the opportunity to find much better prices than in brick-and-mortar stores. To find the best online suppliers, it’s a good idea to compare prices with offers from other countries. In fact, countries like Spain and the Netherlands often have better products. Plus, the law allows you to purchase seeds from these countries.
Sourcing through social media
The method of sourcing seeds through social media isn’t very popular, but it can yield more than satisfactory results. To use this method, all you need to do is follow breeders and seed shops on social media. From time to time, these sellers host contests to give away free seeds. You’ll just need to meet the contest requirements to have a chance to win free seeds.
Another option is to become an influencer in this field. Seed sellers are looking to form partnerships with influencers to gain more visibility. However, you’ll need to be careful about what you post, or you risk being censored.
Shopping in-store
If there’s a specialty store near you, you might prefer this option. Far from being mere places to buy seeds, these stores are also great for learning about different seed varieties. The salespeople can make some recommendations based on your gardening goals.
To find a store where you can stock up, you can do some online research or ask your friends and family. Word of mouth will help you quickly find a specialty store near you.
Which variety should you grow?
As you know, there are many different strains of cannabis. Just make sure to grow the one you like best. You can take note of the strains you like when you buy cannabis oil at stores. You can also take note of the strains you like when you smoke with your friends. Then all you have to do is get the seeds for those strains and grow them.
It is important to note, however, that some varieties are easier to grow than others. These varieties are more resistant to mold and pests. They are therefore better suited for beginners.
Some cannabis strains also take longer to germinate than others. Depending on your growing environment and climate, you might want to choose a faster-growing strain. For example, Indica cannabis has a shorter flowering time than Sativa cannabis.
How many seeds should you buy?
When you plant seeds in the ground to grow them, keep in mind that not all of them will germinate. Even if these seeds come from the best breeder in the country, not all of them will germinate. To avoid any surprises, you can assume a germination rate of 75 percent. So it’s possible that, on average, one-quarter of the seeds won’t germinate once they’re planted.
When working with ordinary seeds, some will not be used because they are male. Of the remaining female seeds, some will not germinate and will be discarded. However, the proportion that will grow into flowering plants will still be high.
To get an idea of how many seeds you’ll need, start by considering your production goals. If you want to harvest 10 cannabis plants grown from regular seeds, plan on using about 40 seeds (that’s four times as many seeds). Of those 40 seeds, some won’t germinate, and others will be male plants that you’ll need to remove. However, once you’re done sorting, you’ll still have enough plants to meet your production goals.
When it comes to feminized seeds, you'll probably need 20 seeds to get 40 cannabis plants. At that point, you'll only need to discard the ones that didn't germinate.
