The seed I need - which cannabis seed suits me ?
Discussing this can sometimes grow into a daunting task - after all, the diversity in this area is now literally quite wide! So how to discover the right thing for yourself in this jungle of possibilities? To help you a little, we dedicate these lines to you, in which we introduce you to one or the other term, in order to let you recognize the trichome-like differences that make each variety potentially ideal for you.
What are cannabis trichomes, for example? You can read about it below! Or no desire to read for a long time ? Then take the shortcut and go straight to the shopping consultant !
Indi-Huh? and Sati-what?!
The two most resounding names that you will probably hear more often in this part of botany are "Sativa" and "Indica". But also "Ruderalis" with further venturing into these gardens. These are subspecies of the hemp plant under which the respective varieties can be roughly summarized with regard to their growth characteristics.
Sativa are tall, rather elongated plants. With growth heights above the 3-meter mark, one is tempted to speak of "trees". The blossoms and leaves of these green giants are of the same overall stature: narrow and elongated, the leaves grow fan-like on those branches that also have elongated blossoms.
As far as the effect is concerned, these cannabis ladies are known for their
• invigorating
• uplifting
• and clear effects - a quantum of euphoria, if you will!
Indica has a rather "dwarfish" character: small and robust. Given the average size (about 60-120cm), the less the merrier. The arms of this small miracle grow densely branched and carry many small "nest-like" flowers. In fact, when using Miss Indica, you shouldn't do too much anymore, as she usually causes
• sedative effects with
• intensive body stimulation
a real bed-goer! And last but not least:
Ruderalis: While Miss Indica was still about dwarfism, Ruderalis plants could be called the fast hobbits of the hemp world. The fact that this little creature grows beyond the 60cm is a rarity. And they are fast: the maturation is usually completed in 7 weeks. Nevertheless, their role is by no means small: in breeding, they are crossed with Sativa and Indica strains to obtain autoflowering strains that determine their own flowering season without light stimulation. Ruderalis has an essential peculiarity: unlike Sativa & Indica, Ruderalis is not photoperiodic.
Are you wondering what "photoperiodic" means? This question is easily answered:
Photoperiodic cannabis plants bloom when their specific light cycle makes this possible, which means: when the duration of the incidence of light steadily decreases, the plant "believes" it will be autumn and begins with the reproductive measures - in other words: it begins to bloom. For cannabis plants, however, which are not photoperiodic but so-called "autos", the situation is different: They bloom regardless of the light cycle, when they have reached a certain growth stage, independent of a shortened lighting duration - as easy as that!
Hybrids - because it's the mixture that makes the difference
Now - thanks to the persistence of the breeders - it is not necessary to place an either-or between Sativa & Indica. By crossing two or more species it is possible to combine the desired traits of one plant with the desired traits of another. Not only as far as the effect of the flowers is concerned. Aspects such as growth height, duration of the flowering period and other aspects can also be influenced. And the result? A splendid cannabis hybrid! Of course, there's not just one version of it, but:
• sativa dominant
• indica dominant
• 50:50 sativa:indica
Granted: That doesn't make the matter any easier to understand, but the probability is much higher that there is something suitable for you. Don't worry, if you approach the matter systematically (and ideally calmly), this sea of possibilities can quickly be reduced to just what you are looking for! Which brings us to the next question!
Male or female?
The gender issue is also not insignificant in gardening. Here the two terms "feminized" and "regular" come into play - which you have certainly already stumbled across in the course of your occupation with the subject. What is it all about? Well, this question basically leads us directly to the next one: What are you doing with the green little miracles? Are you out to enjoy the rich floral splendor? So it would probably be advisable to get feminized canabis seeds for you. Since these have no male chromosomes, you can enjoy your flower-rich harem of cannabis ladies after successful field work.
However, if your intentions are more towards breeding and cannabis seeds and you can separate the males from the females in time before all females are pollinated, then regular cannabis seeds are recommended.
Since they produce both female and male representatives of their species in an average ratio of 1:1, this gives you the opportunity to play the bee between these flowers. Don't worry: you don't need a bee costume, nor does it get any more dubious. What you need to do is simply harvest the pollen from the male plant to pollinate the chosen female with it when the time comes. But there are also purist connoisseurs who are interested in the flowers but reject feminized cannabis seeds because they don't want the feminization process as stress for the mother plant and expect better ladies from regular seeds. But they also have the stress to sort out the males in time and need double space at the beginning of planting: about 50% are sorted out as unwanted males.
Medicine or recreational cannabis pleasure?
Answering this question will also bring you one step closer to what you are looking for. Of course, a recreational user will take a different approach than someone hoping for a medical benefit from cannabis. If you are looking for a medical effect, it will be of central importance for you to find a cannabis variety that effectively alleviates the symptoms associated with your disease. Thousands of people are already working on this and trying to decipher the genome of cannabis for its effect on certain diseases.
Whether you're a recreational user or a seeker for a cure - what actually makes cannabis work?
First of all, the effect is influenced by a variety of different factors, which are not only related to the ingredients of the respective plant, but also to the subtleties of your metabolism. After all, you have a highly individual endocannabinoid system. Figuratively speaking, you can imagine your highly endogenous endocannabinoid system as a series of keyholes. In this example, the cannabinoids are the "keys" and your receptors are the "keyholes". Now it's the case that some locks fit keys that don't fit other locks. In addition, the structure of these "keyholes" varies more or less from person to person. In plain language: one and the same type can have a completely different effect on you than on the person next to you. This even goes so far that some people do not feel any effect at all when using cannabis. Each cannabis strain has a specific cannabinoid and terpene profile.
Cannabinoids are special active substances that are formed in cannabis plants and interact with said endocannabinoid system. Currently 113 different cannabinoids are known that are not produced in any other plant. The two best known are probably
• THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
• CBD (cannabidiol)
If you are a newcomer in this field, it might be a pleasant "first time" to look for a cannabis variety that has a high CBD concentration with a relatively low THC content. Unlike psychoactive THC, CBD is a non-psychoactive compound that acts as a kind of relaxing opponent. The already mentioned terpenes provide additional imprinting of the individual character of a plant.
Terpenes are the main constituents of essential oils which, especially in cannabis, cause an I-know-this-smell-yet-experience: Cannabis alone contains over 120 different terpenes. They are formed in the trichomes (Attention! Now the above introduction begins to make sense!). These are the fine glandular hairs that lie like dew over the flowers. And although every variety leads to an I-know-this-smell-yet-experience, there are differences in taste and smell...let's call it an aroma profile! That specific aroma profile of a plant is brought to life by a multitude of different terpenes: There are
• Lemons (citrus fruits)
• A-pinene (pine, rosemary, sweetish)
• Humules (earthy, woody, sage)
• Linalool (cinnamon, spice, mint)
• Myrcene (woody, mango, musk)
• Caryophyllen (camphor, lavender)
Just to show you a few examples of the huge range of aromas of our fragrant girlfriends. Cosy like the earthy breath of the forest? Lemony-fresh like an orchard? Earthy like the smell of fresh wood? Well-ripened cheese? Or a fruity berry party after all? Come closer - something for every taste! If you are already interested in cannabis terpenes, you can find them in their purest form in our THC-free CBD Shop
Muse-dance or couch poetry?
Speaking of the popular topic "Stimulation": What do feel like doing? Are you planning to give in to easy steps of inspiration and let's say...splotch a 2x2 meter canvas with paint? Then pure sativas or sativa dominant hybrids are the address whose bell might seem to you worth pressing. If, on the other hand, you would like to merge pleasurably with the lying medium of your choice in order to explore the infinite vastness of not doing anything together - then you are probably best advised with indica or indica dominant varieties. But who knows? Maybe the answer for you is in the middle and you get along better with a 50:50 hybrid! It may take a few trials to find the variety that best suits your needs. But hey: Maybe you will be lucky and find your golden herb right away! However, never forget to differentiate that different approaches are needed for medical and recreational use! And always remember that everyone can react differently to one and the same thing!
Get out in the field! Or into the wardrobe?
If, after this little odyssey of questions, you find yourself in the fortunate position of having found out which plant best meets your needs, you might feel the desire to grow it because it's legal in your country. Here are some ideas and suggestions before you throw yourself into the gardener's outfit. Which spatial conditions are suitable for your own cultivation? Will it be an indoor project or an outdoor event? It is important to clarify this as you will be confronted with different challenges. After all, not all interiors are the same. A spacious garage offers completely different possibilities than a wardrobe. If your tendencies tend to go outside, you should consider the climatic conditions of your home country. For both cold, low-light regions and warm, sun-drenched regions, there are varieties which are better able to cope with the respective conditions than others. As a rule of thumb, Indicas can cope better with cooler conditions than Sativas, which are better adapted to warmer climates. But in recent years so much has happened in terms of genetics that nothing is carved in stone here either. So if your room height doesn't exactly take on Tower to Babel dimensions, it would be obvious to fall back on Indica or Indica dominant varieties - we remember: Indicas grow more in width than in height. However, even in this case the amen in prayer is not yet spoken: gardening tricks such as
• SCROG (Screen of Green)
• LST (Low Stress Training)
• HST (High Stress Training)
• and others
make high growing Sativa and sativa dominant varieties potential candidates for indoor cultivation in rooms with low ceilings. You will find that for a variety of specific growing conditions an appropriate herb has grown to cope with them.
Also worth considering...
...is whether you want to dedicate yourself to our photoperiodic or rather to our self-flowering (i.e. autoflowering) friends. As already mentioned, photoperiodic cannabis plants start their flowering phase due to a prescribed light cycle. If the exposure time steadily decreases, they "assume" an approaching autumn/winter and initiate reproductive measures - which ultimately represents flowering and pollen formation. A great advantage of the photoperiodic ladies is that you can control when the flowering period begins with the appropriate specialized equipment. This way you can maintain the vegetative phase until you find that they like to put on their most beautiful clothes. The "downside": You need more specialized equipment to control the lighting, accompanied by appropriate grow and technique experience. Since you are such an inquisitive botanical student, you have certainly not forgotten that autoflowering strains cross ruderalis species - which means that unlike our photoperiodic friends, they begin to flower relatively independently of the light cycle. Which is a blessing, as you don't have to specialize as much in your equipment. Roughly speaking, autoflowering cannabis varieties are usually "easier" to grow. Some critical minds may suspect that autoflowering plants lag considerably behind their larger siblings in terms of quality.
However, you can also say here that enormous progress has been made in genetics issues in recent years, so that you can also expect a small-but-oho effect from autoflowering varieties of serious breeders. Wonderful! Since we are already here, this makes my next transition easier:
Quality and quantity - also important factors here!
It has to be said that one does not necessarily exclude the other: high yield with high quality is definitely within the realm of what is feasible. However, there are naturally varieties that are more demanding than others. If the green tone of your thumb is not yet too pronounced, the market naturally offers "entry-level models". Some beginners are justified in choosing easier to care for varieties, which yield yields after a short time.
Such successes can give a tailwind to dedicate oneself to plants that present a greater challenge. Before you relate quantity and quality and set personal priorities, another question needs to be answered: What does quality mean to you? Because what one person regards as particularly valuable is particularly dispensable for the other.
Before you go into the green...
...remember: Whichever cannabis seed you choose - make sure you get your potential fosterlings from a reputable cannabis seed bank. This way you can prevent disappointments before the matter even really gets going.