The marijuana plant is produced through sexual reproduction or pollination that involves the fusion of male and female gametes. Pollination is a process where pollen from male plant flowers is transferred to female plant flowers by insects or wind. Simply put, a male and a female plant are required for pollination to occur. However, you would not need a male plant in case you are growing cannabis purely for consumption purposes, i.e., to get CBD oil or to simply smoke. In this case, the female plant holds all the power, as it is responsible for producing the flowers or buds that have all the good stuff.
To get all female plants for healthy buds, you will require feminized seeds. You can either check out high-quality feminized marijuana seeds at TheSeedFair or make your own seeds at home. Below you can find 5 ways to make feminized seeds. You will be surprised how easy and cheap the whole process is. So, let’s get started with what feminized seeds actually are.
What Are Feminized Seeds?
A feminized seed is a seed that guarantees almost 100% that the plant that will grow from said seed will be a female. In contrast, seeds that are not feminized can come out as male or female.
As stated in the introduction, a normal seed comes from the crossing of a male and a female plant. In contrast, feminized seeds are obtained by crossing pollen from a female plant with flowers from another female plant. Due to crossing two female plants, the resulting seed holds feminized DNA, therefore guaranteeing female plant growth.
The result of this curious combination gives rise to feminized seeds. With the germination and cultivation of these seeds, you will obtain a very high percentage of female plants, all of them with the same genetics and characteristics as their parent.
5 Ways to Make Feminized Seeds
Anyone can make feminized Cannabis seeds at home. Below, we are listing 5 methods of how you can grow your very own feminized seeds inside your house.
1. STS
STS (silver thiosulfate) is the most widely used method to obtain feminized marijuana seeds.
The seeds produced by the fertilized plants will are 100% guaranteed to be feminized.
2. Rodelization
Rodelization is the natural process that “dioecious plants” have (those with male and female specimens) to ensure the propagation and preservation of their genetics. When a female plant is about to end its life cycle and has not yet been fertilized, it tends to develop male flowers to produce pollen. Once developed, male flowers will then release pollen to fertilize other female plants kept around the first plant. In this way, the male pollen will self-fertilize the female flowers, guaranteeing the perpetuation of their DNA, therefore resulting in naturally occurring feminized seeds.
3. Light Poisoning
Light poisoning involves the steps to put the female marijuana plant through irregular light cycles. The aim is to cause stress and hormonal imbalance in the female plants by subjecting them to these sudden and abnormal changes.
This imbalance triggers the development of male flowers with their corresponding pollen. However, despite the terrifying light stress to which the plant is subjected, it does not always react by developing male flowers, as your plant may also die.
Furthermore, producing feminized seeds by light poisoning has a significant drawback. The radical and uncontrolled light stress to which the female plant is subjected can cause hermaphrodite. Studies have shown a high chance that the resulting feminized seeds will give rise to descendants who might inherit this hermaphroditism. Therefore, light poisoning is not a recommended choice.
4. Gibberellic Acid
Gibberellic acid is a plant hormone (100% natural) discovered in 1935. You can buy it in powder from a grow shop.
It is very easy to use Gibberellic acid to produce feminized seeds. All you need to do is to buy Gibberellic acid, dissolve it in the water and spray your female marijuana plants for a variable period of 5 to 7 days and then leave the plants to produce male flowers.
It usually takes 2 to 3 for the female plants to produce their first female plants. Once male flowers are grown and matured, you can fertilize the female plants with the help of a paintbrush by taking pollens from male flowers and sprinkling them on female flowers. Or you can leave the plants for natural pollination.
The only drawback of gibberellic acid is that it has to be dissolved in a very exact amount, with the aggravating circumstance that each strain typically needs a different concentration. Therefore, do your research on how much Gibberellic acid is required for the marijuana strain you have.
5. Colloidal Silver
Colloidal silver is one of the preferred ways for growers to make feminized seeds, and as a result of years of experimentation, the method is highly polished and perfected. To perform this method, you will need a plastic or glass cup, distilled water, a 9V battery, alligator clips with a battery connector, and two silver coins.
You must repeat the operation at least once a day for (+ or -) 15 days, or until the male flowers appear. Once the flowers have matured, you can use a paintbrush to take pollen from the male flowers and drop them on the female flowers, or you can wait for the natural pollination to get your feminized seeds.
Tips to Make Feminized Seeds
Here are a few tips to get the best quality feminized seeds:
As a final note, the plants treated with Colloidal Silver or TST should not be consumed under any circumstances. Having artificially varied its properties makes the plant or buds highly toxic.