The outdoor growing season is around the corner and many growers are getting ready to grow those massive outdoor plants. To get the best results you need to start early and take some things in consideration. We are going to help you prepare for a wonderful outdoor season!
Picking the strain
First you need to pick a strain that you like. There are thousands of different strains available and choosing one can be difficult. They all have their own different pro’s and con’s. Depending on where you located it can be better to grow an indica dominant strain or a sativa. Colder climates with short summers are better for indica’s. They take less time to flower and are more resistant to cold. If you’re living in a hot and humid environment with long summers, a sativa dominant might be the best option.
We summed it up:
Indica
– Flowers fast
– Resistant to cold
– Short in height
Sativa
– Flowers slow
– Resistant to heat
– Tall in height
Learn more about Strains:
What type of seeds or clones?
You need to decide if you’re going to plant feminized seeds, regular cannabis seeds or an auto flower. Getting clones is an option as well. They all have their own characteristics and depending on your own situation and preference wisely pick one or multiple!
Clones
Clones are always a copy of the mother plant so you’re 100% sure it’s a female plant. They are not easy to get however. Some countries do allow the sale of clones. Austria is one of them.
– Always the same genetics as mother plant
– Might contain bugs or molt
– Always female
Germinate Feminized seeds
Feminized seeds give female plants. Great when you want to save time by not having to select males from females. Female seeds however sometimes carry genetic problems and are often very stress sensitive.
– In general more genetically unstable
– Always female
Germinate Regular seeds
Regular seeds are more stable but gives you the risk of having males that pollinate your females if not taken out on time. Weeding out the males takes time and effort. When you have a limited amount of seeds you can germinate due to laws. There is often no room for selecting males and females.
– Chance on male plants
– More stable in general
Germinate Auto flower seeds
Last but not least the auto flowers. These types of cannabis seeds bloom ready within a specific time period. As in normal cannabis plants start to flower when the days get shorter and there is at least 12 hours darkness. In some situations this type of plant is recommended.
– Flowers ready in specific time
– Lower yield
– In general more genetically unstable
Where to Get Your Seeds?
Getting seeds online
There are many ways to get seeds. Best way is to order them from a reputable website. There are many around and not every seed bank sends to every country. We know that ILGM sends seeds to most countries (inc USA) and have good experiences with them. You can have a look at their seeds here. They also support most payment options so it’s an easy way to get your seeds.
Getting seeds local
Some countries like the Netherlands have shops where they sell cannabis seeds. Here you can get advice and buy safely and anonymously. Don’t have any shops? Ask around, maybe a friend knows some hobby grower that makes seeds or find seed breeders in local forums or FB groups.
Bag seed
You might have found some bag seeds in your bud. This can mean two things.
The plant had some stress and created seeds. This can happen from light stress during dark periods or big temperature changes during the flowering period. If this happens you usually find a few seeds but not much. These seeds are exact copies of the female plant and can often produce unstable plants that are mostly female.
Another reason is that a male was near and pollen got onto the female bud and some seeds got produced. In this case the bud contains a lot of seeds that carry both male and female genetics.
Bag seed is always a gamble. But some of the most famous strains have come from bag seeds or are crossed with bag seed. You need some luck but it’s possible to find a true gem. Save them up for that special season!
Germinating Seeds
You got your seeds, what now? Time to germinate them. Luckily all seeds germinate the same. There is no exception.
First let’s have a look at the seeds. There are a few things you can tell by their appearance.
You can’t tell if the seed is male or female by looking at them. What can you see then? Well a seed needs to be healthy. In general a healthy seed is dark brown, greyish or black. Often with a tiger print. Any very light yellowish or cream colored seeds are often not good. Press the seed slightly with your finger on a table. If it crushes it, you found a not fully matured seed. Good seeds can take a little pressure and will push into your finger.
Germination methods:
1. Germination Method – Soil:
The easiest way is to take a small pot and fill it with soil. Make sure big bits of soil are taken out as well of any stones or small sticks. There is special seedling soil available in garden centers if you want to be extra fancy. Make with you pink a small hole until your second finger joint. Throw in the seed and cover it with loose soil. Add a little water and ching film over the top. Put some holes so it can breathe and put it on the window. Within a few days (3-5) a little sprout will come up. If it grows too high you can repot it a little deeper in one size bigger pot.
If you have more seeds and you wan’t to make sure they germinate before putting them in the ground. You can do the next method.
2. Germination Method – Pads
Get a little dish and cover it with either make up removal pads or toilet papers. Add a little water and put the seeds on it. Cover it with pads or paper and cover the dish with cling film. Do add some holes so that it can breathe. Within 2 to 3 days you can see what seeds germinate and put them in small pots.
Ready to go outside
When your little ones are a little stronger you can re pot them bigger. Around mid April when days are longer and warm enough (min 16C) they can go outside. Depending if you are going to put them in the full open ground or in pots. You might have to transplant them a few times! Now let’s hope for a good summer and keep the bugs away!
Leave a Reply