Growing from seed can have advantages, in the same sense that growing from clones can. Depending on where you are in the world, the growing culture may dictate if seeds or clones are the way to go due to practicality and laws. Below are six reasons why growing from seed has advantages over starting with clones.
By Stoney Tark
Different Phenotypes
When talking about cannabis, the phenotype is a specific characteristic that will reflect the growth structure, the flowering time, production levels, trichome levels, as well as the plant's resistance to pathogens, rooting ability, terpene profile and effects. When growing with seed, depending on whether they're regular or feminized, you will encounter various differences in the plants that are being grown. It is generally a good idea to name and number your pots and taking a clone of each, so when you come to sexing them to find if they're male and female, you can revert back to the clone library. Growing with clones will only allow you to see one genetic match within the entire crop, which is the most effective way if wanting to produce a large commercial yield of just one variety.
Growing With Symmetry
When training your seeds to grow into bushy and thick plants with neatly-pruned canopy you will need to pinch your plants out to obtain the desired shape. When starting from seedling, you will create a shape that is both symmetrical and more efficient with regards to plant pathways and nutrition. When growing with clones, it can be difficult to perfect such techniques as mainlining or fluxing, because they heavily depend on an even distribution to each supporting branch, as well as a detailed level of symmetry. Pruning cannabis plants is done to focus the plant's energy to the remaining growth, so working with a canopy that has symmetrically been trained from the main step upwards, can ensure the pruning process is done with maximum integrity.
Ambitious Breeders and Seed Production
As a smoker, making the jump to grower is a right of passage in the cannabis world. Striving towards creating your own strains and loosely throwing around the term 'breeder' is a whole other level that requires skill and patience, as well as an end goal. To make your own strains, you will need to start with seeds and varietal species that will work well together. It is possible to make feminized seeds with female clones, however, that is a process that requires colloidal silver and heavy experience within the garden. When growing with regular seeds, phenotype hunting is one part of the fun, yet the real exciting part is the sexing window where you can learn which plants are male and female. From this point on, you can begin to make F1 To F2 hybrids and start to dial in the certain traits you, as a breeder, desire.
Taking Clones!
Starting from seed and having the option to take clones, for practical reasons, for commercial-scale farming and to add to a mother room, is a far better situation that the option of only being able to acquire clones. It may be extremely beneficial for growers to purchase registered clones from a dispensary. Besides, if you live in Canada and must work with the laws regarding seeds, then you may have no option but to start with clones. Starting from seed will save you investing in clones later down the line.
The Variety Of Life
With the number of seed banks nowadays higher than ever before, the varieties on offer are incredibly numerous. As a grower, you now have the option to choose from indica, sativa, hybrid, CBD-rich, and THC-rich cannabis varieties. Choosing which strain is best suited for your needs is now easier than ever with a wealth of information from the seed bank available. Obtaining a pack of seeds and having them discreetly arrive at home can be much easier than sourcing reliable clones and sometimes the only way they can have access to the genetics in the first place. One great advantage of starting with CBD-rich seeds is that medical patients looking for a strain with a ratio of cannabinoids will not be too overwhelmed and will be able to enjoy a wide range from various seed banks.
Feminized Seeds
One excellent benefit of growing from feminized seeds is that the sexing process is not required, meaning that the grower can ensure an all-female crop. Another advantage of female seeds over regulars is that all growing space or farmland can be utilized as efficiently as possible. Hydroponic systems can be filled without needing to remove any male plants after flowering has commenced. Feminized seeds are uniform, reliable and will contain the same genetic makeup. Growers who practice the Sea of Green technique will find growing from feminized seeds logistical, time-saving and highly practical.
No Chance Of Spider Mites
If you have ever grown from clones and they were, unfortunately, host to a colony of spider mites, you will know firsthand how devastating the effects can be. A heavy, aggressive spider mite invasion can cause a farmer to lose a crop and be set back in multiple ways. Bringing in any unwanted pests to the garden should be avoided at all costs, yet it is not always possible to quarantine clones. Growing from seed will ensure that there are no chances of contamination of plant disease or insects, particularly spider mites. On the basis that your growing environment is sterile and professional, there should be no reason for there being any pests whatsoever within the indoor garden.
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