Tag: cannabis Seeds

Germination isn’t really just about your seed cracking and a tap root appearing, it is about the transition of a seed into a very small, but viable cannabis plant.

So, let’s start at the beginning.

How long did you soak your seeds in water for? Did they all sink to the bottom of the glass before you transferred them to the moist paper towel? Seeds that were still floating are unlikely to have absorbed sufficient water to successfully germinate.

If you leave the seeds in water for too long, the tap root will not form and the germination process will grind to a halt.

Once you transferred your seeds to the damp paper towel, over the next few days did you ever let any parts, or all of the towel dry out? At the earliest stages of germination, the smallest of errors can have major consequences.

Similarly, the paper towel mustn’t be steeped in water – the tap root grows naturally as it searches for water – if it is too easy to find, it just won’t grow.

If your water has loads of additives, such as copper and chlorine, this can poison your plants, while handling the seeds with dirty hands can also poison them. Make sure you either wash your hands
with a non-toxic soap, wear latex gloves, or use tweezers.

The next thing to check is the temperature of the seeds. The optimum temperature to keep them at for good germination is between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 to 21 degrees Celsius. If the seeds are too cold, they just won’t germinate, even if everything else is perfect.

The roots of plants don’t like light and the same applies to the tap root and subsequent roots that will develop when your seeds germinate. Almost total darkness is ideal for germinating seeds, even though it is hopeless for growing seedlings!

It is interesting to note that it is certain wavelengths in light that affect germination and it is the blue wavelength that tends to corrupt germination, while the red wavelength promotes germination.

You also have to take into account when bought your seeds? While cannabis seeds can remain viable for a large number of years if stored in perfect conditions, they can be ruined inside a couple of weeks if not stored correctly.

Finally, and unfortunately, it’s a fact of mother nature that not all seeds will germinate. Some will be duds and this is out of our control.

So, did we miss anything out? we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

The first thing to say is that not all seeds germinate at the same speed – some may germinate within a couple of days; others may take over a week.

To begin with, check your seeds.

They should be brown, hard and dry. If they look green and fresh, they haven’t yet matured and will not be ready.

The equipment you then need to germinate your seeds is not exactly cutting-edge technology.

Two plates, four sheets of kitchen roll, some distilled water, and that’s it.
Oh, don’t forget your seeds!

First off, dampen, but don’t oversoak the kitchen paper with the distilled water.

Then lay two of the four sheets on a plate.

On top of the sheet place your seeds, approximately an inch apart.

Then place the remaining two sheets of paper on top and gently press them down.

Finally, invert the second plate and place it on top to form a dome.

Now the seeds are in a dark, damp place.

To help them germinate, all they need is a little warmth, keeping them at a temperature of between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Over the next few days, check that the paper never dries out, but don’t oversoak it.
You will know when a seed has germinated as it will have split, and what is called the tap root will have begun to grow.

At this stage resist temptation to touch your seeds as they are very fragile and susceptible to germs.
Get some small, two-inch pots and fill them nearly to the top with potting compost.

Make a small hole in the centre of the compost, about a quarter of an inch deep using a pencil.
Then, using a pair of tweezers, gently transfer the germinated seed into the soil with the tap root pointing downwards.

Dampen the soli with a spray bottle to keep it moist, but if the compost becomes too wet, the seedling may wither and die.

We’ll cover lighting in a separate video as there’s quite a lot to discuss, so in the meantime, if you have any germinating tips, share them with us in the comments below, and of course if you enjoyed this video make sure to subscribe to our channel, so you too can become a cannabis expert!

These flowers usually contain a stamen – the male bit, and the pistil, the female bit.

The cannabis plant, however, is a bit different.

There are male plants and female plants.

Thanks to this wonder of nature, you can subsequently cross pollinate cannabis plants.

This means you can take the male of one strain and cross it with the female of another, to produce a third strain.

This crossing of different cannabis strains has lead to the creation of tens of thousands of new breeds and crosses, allowing breeders to promote the most desirable characteristics.

Male cannabis plants flower and only produce pollen.

Female cannabis plants produce buds, which, when fertilized with pollen from the male, produce seeds that will then grow either male or female plants.

However, If the buds on the female plant aren’t pollinated, they simply grow bigger and juicier, and it is that which is the Holy Grail of the cannabis producer.

Now, don’t ask us how this was discovered, but here’s a curious thing.

When buds first appear on a female cannabis plant and you spray them with colloidal silver, this tricks the buds into thinking they have been fertilized and seeds are produced.

But that’s not the end. Because there has been no male pollen involved in the process, all the seeds produced will only grow female cannabis plants.

They call these seeds feminized, we call it clever.

Did we miss anything out? Let us know in the comment section below, and of course if you enjoyed this video make sure to subscribe to our channel, so you too can become a cannabis expert!

It is not as difficult as you might think….

You simply cross-breed a female non-autoflowering cannabis plant from an indica or sativa strain with a male plant from the Cannabis ruderalis strain, an autoflowering variety.

First, the female and male plants are selected for cross breeding.

Once the male plant begins to develop pollen sacs, its kept isolated from the female and other plants.

When the pollen sacs open on the male plant, a small, plastic ziplock bag is placed over the sacs and shaken until the pollen is in the bag. This is repeated with all pollen sacs before the bag is sealed.

Two weeks after the female plant develops white pistils, it will be ready for pollinating.

Place the ziplock pollen bag over the female pistils’ stem and shake, gently sealing the bag around the stem and pistils.

The bag is then Shaken again two hours later, rotating it around the stem, before removing the bag.
Seeds will burst from the plant a few weeks after they begin to form, and voila!

You now have the seeds for an auto flowering strain of cannabis plant.

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