Seeds or Clones, How to Start? by Papa0G

As an educator and advocate for cannabis cultivation, I get asked a lot of questions. The most common question I receive is how to get started. The answer to this question isn't complicated, but it's important to know where to acquire the right materials. The most important piece of this puzzle is genetics. Genetics is a term growers use to indicate which strain or cultivar they are growing.

So, how do you get the genetics you need? There are a couple of factors you should consider first. There are two ways a new grower can obtain genetics: clones or seeds. When considering what to buy, there are some factors you should understand.

Access is an important consideration when acquiring the genetics you need. While clones are a way to get started quickly, they aren't always easy to find. Clones can be purchased at some dispensaries, and there are a few clone producers you can find online. Seeds, on the other hand, are much more accessible. There are many cannabis breeders with websites where you can buy seeds. There are also quite a few online seed banks. When I started, I bought seeds from England and Spain because there weren't any seed banks in the US yet. Nowadays, there are many US-based seed banks, and access to seeds is exceptional.

A second consideration when obtaining genetics is shipping. Shipping clones can be difficult, but it's not impossible. As you can imagine, shipping a live plant has its challenges. On the other hand, seeds are extremely easy and discreet to ship. The likelihood of seeds being damaged during shipping is low, whereas damage to clones is common.

Now that we've concluded that seeds are a more practical option, let's talk about the benefits of buying seeds for your garden. Cannabis strains have been cultivated and preserved worldwide for generations. By buying seeds, you have access to breeders and seed banks around the globe with genetics you couldn't find anywhere else. While shopping at a seed bank, you'll notice the wide variety of strains available. Another great benefit of buying seeds is the availability of specific cannabinoid strains. This means you can select strains that are purely medicinal or that have the THC or CBD levels you need. For me, this was the big lesson. The reason I started growing cannabis was to produce medicine for my family.

When buying cannabis seeds online, you may encounter some unfamiliar terms. While reviewing seed information, you might see terms like F1, S1, or BX1. These terms indicate the generation of the seeds. F1 is the first generation of that cultivar, so F2 is obviously the second. Feminized seeds are very common, meaning all seedlings from that seed line will be female. When seeds are feminized, they are called S1. S1 genetics are the product of a process that forces female plants to produce pollen. The pollen produced by these female plants is then used to pollinate a clone of that same strain. The resulting seeds are now S1 and will only produce female offspring. A seed labeled BX1 indicates that it is the product of a backcross. A backcross occurs when an F1 generation plant is pollinated by the parental generation. The parental generation plants are called P1, but they are not available for purchase. P1 genetics are coveted and almost impossible to acquire.

There are some secondary benefits to buying cannabis seeds that may not be immediately obvious. While growing cannabis plants, you might encounter some critical mistakes. The benefit of buying seeds is that you have as many chances as you need to get it right. If you encounter a critical mistake and run out of seeds, you can go to a seed bank and buy more. Cannabis seeds offer growers a variety of genetic expressions that make cultivating these plants fun and interesting. Many of the strains I grow in my garden have variations in leaf size, color, and flower density. These variations give you the opportunity to select your favorite based on the criteria that are most important to you.

If you're interested in growing cannabis at home, there are many things to consider. While the equipment you use is important, the most crucial factor is what you grow. Starting with some research, you can develop a plan to cultivate the most medicinal cannabis possible for you and your situation. If growing your own cannabis is something that interests you, begin your research now and create a plan to grow your own medicine.

JAKE HOGAN

@papa0G

ENGLISH

Seeds or Clones, How to Start?

As an educator and advocate for cannabis cultivation, I get asked a lot of questions. The most common question that I get asked is how do you start. The answer to this question is not complicated, but knowing where to acquire the proper materials is important. The single most important piece to this puzzle is genetics. Genetics is a term used by cultivators to indicate which strain or cultivar they are growing.

So how do you get the genetics you need? There are a couple factors to consider first. There are two ways a new grower can get genetics, clones or seeds. In considering which to purchase, there are a few factors you need to understand.

Access is a better consideration when acquiring the genetics, you need. While clones are a way to get started quickly, they are not as easy to find. Clones can be purchased at some dispensaries, and there are a few producers of clones that can be found online. Seeds; on the other hand, they are much more accessible. There are many cannabis breeders with websites that you can buy seeds from. There are also quite a few online seed banks. Back when I started, I was buying seeds from England and Spain because there were no seed banks in the United States yet. Today there are many seed banks based in the United States and access to seeds is exceptional.

A second consideration when obtaining genetics is shipping. Shipping clones can be difficult, however it's not an impossible task. As you can imagine shipping a living plant has its difficulties. Seeds on the other hand, are extremely easy and discreet to ship. The likelihood of seeds being damaged while shipping is low, while damage to clones is common.

Now that we have come to the realization that seeds are a more practical choice, let's talk about the benefits of purchasing seeds for your garden. Cannabis strains have been cultivated and preserved all around the world for generations. When purchasing seeds, you have the ability to access breeders and seed banks from all over the world with genetics that you could not find anywhere else. While shopping for seeds at a seed bank, you will notice the wide variety of strains available to you. Another great benefit of buying seeds is the availability of cannabinoid specific strains. What this means is that you are able to select strains that are purely medicinal or that have the THC or CBD levels that you need. For me this was the big take home. The reason I started growing cannabis was to produce medicine for my family.

While shopping for cannabis seeds online, you may come across some terminology that is new to you. When reviewing seed information, you may come across terms like F1, S1 or BX1. These terms are used to indicate which generation the seeds come from. F1 is the first generation of that cultivar, so obviously F2 is the second. Feminized seeds are very common, which means that all seedlings from that seed line will be female. When seeds are feminized, they are called S1. S1 genetics are the product of a process that forces female plants to produce pollen. The pollen produced from these female plants is used to pollinate a clone of that same strain. The resulting seeds are now S1 and will only produce female offspring. A seed with the term BX1 means that this seed is the product of a back cross. A back cross occurs when an F generation plant gets pollinated with the parent generation. Parent generation plants are called P1, however they will not be available for purchase. P1 genetics are coveted and nearly impossible to acquire.

There are a few side benefits of buying cannabis seeds, which may not be readily apparent. While growing cannabis plants, you may inevitably run into some critical errors. The benefit of buying seeds is that you have as many chances as you need to get it right. If you do come up against a critical error and run out of seeds, you can head on over to the seed bank and buy more. Cannabis seeds offer the grower a variety of genetic expression that make growing these plants fun and interesting. Many of the genetics I grow in my garden have variations of leaf size, color and flower density. These variations offer you a chance to select your favorite based on criteria that are most important to you.

If you are interested in growing cannabis at home, there are many things to consider. While the hardware you use is important, the most important factor is what you grow. Starting with a little research, you can come up with a plan to grow the most medicinal cannabis it's possible for yourself and your situation. If growing your own cannabis is something you are interested in, start doing your research now and put together a plan to grow your own medicine.

JAKE HOGAN

@papa0G