Feminization is the production of female-only seeds. Growers have been familiar with it for decades. The benefits of feminized seeds are obvious. However, if their cost was much higher than for ordinary seeds earlier, the difference is not so noticeable today. Moreover, everyone can produce feminised seeds on their own and enjoy 100% of females.
Feminization techniques: What to choose?
Generally, the feminization process means that we are crossing two female plants. As a result of their “union,” feminized seeds will grow. This is achieved by various external influences that cause the appearance of male sex organs on the female cannabis plant. After that, you collect pollen from a forcibly modified plant and fertilize the flowers of the second female plant. There are two ways of feminization: rodelization and the use of chemicals.
- Rodelization is a method of creating stress-induced hermaphrodite plants (with male and female organs). Cannabis is exposed to unusual lighting pattern that stresses a plant and may cause the appearance of male sacs.
- Use of chemicals. This is a more popular method, which consists of spraying the females with special substances. The result is the same: pollen sacs begin to develop. Silver thiosulfate, gibberellic acid, and silver nitrate can be used for this purpose. However, the most common substance is colloidal silver. Therefore, we will consider this method in more detail.
Colloidal silver feminization: Step-by-step guide
With this technique, the grower needs to select two female cannabis plants. The first is sprayed with colloidal silver, and the second is pollinated with the pollen of the first. Colloidal silver is a solution of silver in water that you can buy at a pharmacy or prepare yourself. The strength should be at least 15 ppm (parts per million) and preferably 30 ppm. Stages step by step:
- For the first cannabis plant, set the lighting mode to 12/12.
- Spray branches once or twice a day with colloidal silver. It must be done until the plant acquires the male sex organs.
- Now, you need to observe the maturity of the pollen sacs: they should increase and start to crack. At this time, the sacs can be cut off.
- Collect the pollen in an airtight container. Be sure to avoid moisture.
- The next step is to obtain seeds. Apply the pollen with a watercolor brush to the buds about 12-21 days after the start of flowering. Repeat the procedure 2-3 times with an interval of several days to guarantee the result. All seeds that grow from a plant pollinated in this way will be girls.
I need feminized seeds right now!
The main question is: does it make sense to make feminized seeds? The answer is a direct yes! Males will not bring you the desired buds; therefore, when sowing ordinary seeds, half of the crop will be unusable. If you don’t want to do feminization yourself, you can purchase ready-made feminized seeds. Herbis has been breeding cannabis for over 10 years and offers feminized seeds that will produce 99.9% female plants with up to 35% THC. If you’re a lover of quality buds but do not want to bother with feminization, it’s time to order from Herbis.
