When it comes to growing cannabis seeds are one of the first things that you will need to understand. This is not an article about buying or selling seeds, this article will help you to understand if your seeds are good or bad. Cannabis breeders are always looking to create better strains of cannabis and with that better strains of seeds.
How to tell if Cannabis Seeds are good by looking at them?
No matter where you found your new cannabis seeds, friend, trade, purchased cannabis seeds. As a new grower you will want to check them over for quality, freshness, and color to make sure the cannabis seeds are good.
Quality cannabis seeds will be solid, be darker brown in color and be a good size overall. Some cannabis seeds may have “tiger striping” on them, this is normal for quality cannabis seeds. Right away you can tell bad seeds if they are green, light in color, are not solid and will crush under a small bit of pressure. These are seeds that will most likely never grow. Sure you can give them a go however they will only have a small chance of germination.
Another great way to tell if your seeds are viable is to use the sink or float method. You can read about that here.
How Age plays a Factor With Good Cannabis Seeds
When cannabis grows in its natural habitat, the plant will grow from seed, to a full male or female reproductive plant. The male plant will pollinate the female plant which in about six weeks will produce cannabis seeds.
These new seeds will fall to the ground in the fall, where they will sit until next spring when they will have the right conditions to grow and produce all over again.
These seeds in nature are only around for one year. This will be as fresh as the cannabis seed can be after a year, your seeds will start to diminish in germination rates each year they are kept.
How to tell if your cannabis seeds are old?
The older that a seed becomes the less germination chance it will have for the grower. The seed will look dry, start to lose its color and will get more brittle as the years pass. Growers have had success with seeds that were 5 and 6 years old. To get seeds this old to germinate will require a very sterile environment and procedures. However, very old seeds can be germinated if the grower knows what they are doing.
Where can you get Cannabis Seeds that are good?
While there are no places that we can guarantee quality seeds, there are places that you will have the best chance of getting quality cannabis seeds.
Though Cannabis Friends
Know someone that has some seeds, these may be the most suspect seeds that you can get. However if your weed friends were growing them and had good quality cannabis seeds, this will be a good solution. When your friend offers the seeds use the steps above to check their quality before planting.
If they don’t look like quality seeds, then you either need to get better weed buddies, or get them to give you some better seeds.
Trade Cannabis Seeds Online with other Growers
This is another great way to find some quality cannabis seeds. However this will mean that you will have some quality seeds to give back in return. If this is the case, then this is an awesome way to get some extra seeds for your grow room. There are many places to find growers that would like to trade seeds with you.
Growers can check out Facebook, Forums, Seed Trading Clubs among many other spots you can find to trade seeds. You may have to go through a probation period however this is pretty normal to weed out scammers and such.
Use a Well Known Online Cannabis Seedbank (Recommended)
There are hundreds of Cannabis Seedbanks online. All you have to do is a bit of research to find a good seedbank. You can read here to help you find a Seedbank that we recommend.
There are many choices for seeds these days and a quality Seedbank can help you find the right strain that you are looking for.
If you are looking for a quality Seedbank with fair pricing we recommend Green Avenger Seeds. They have a germination guarantee so your seeds will be viable when you receive them.
This is normally one sure way to know your cannabis seeds are good.
Using DIY Seed Testing
Once the grower has their seeds there are a few testing they can run to make sure their cannabis seeds are healthy for germination.
Give your seeds the squeeze test
Using your middle and index finger, take one of your seeds and gently push down on it. If you feel it crack under the pressure you know this isn’t going to be a viable seed. Healthy cannabis seeds should be able to stand up to some gentle pressure.
The Paper Towel Test
This is probably one of the most used and reliable testing that growers can use to see if their seeds are viable.
First get a piece of paper towel and fold it in quarters, then take some clean water, gently soak the paper towel that you have folded over. Take your seeds and place them in the middle of the folded paper towel. Next take the paper towel with the seeds in it, and place it in a plastic sandwich bag. Leave the bag and the seeds in a warm space, not hot.
Give the seeds at least 24 hours before opening the bag to check on your seeds. If the cannabis seeds are good they should be starting to sprout. If they have not started to sprout, place them back in the bag and wait another 24 hours. If the seeds have sprouted you know the seeds are good, if they haven’t you can try returning them to the bag for another round of 24 hours..
After the next 24 hours the chances of the seeds being good are very slim. You can read this article to understand when you should give up on your seeds.
Why you should Only grow seeds you find in your buds as a learning experience
Many new growers will find seeds in their cannabis buds and want to grow them because the buds were awesome. While this can be a great first time learning experience, using these seeds is generally not good practice if the grower would like to know if their cannabis seeds will germinate. Many times these seeds will come because of hermaphrodite cannabis plants. These plants will pass along their poor genetics to your plants, and you will end up with seedy cannabis buds yourself.
You can read more about hermaphrodite cannabis here.
Sometimes the best thing is to just put them in the soil
Overall the best way to find out if your cannabis seeds are good or not is to just place them in the soil and wait for them to push themselves up out of the soil. If they can not do that then there was most likely something not right with the seed. It will also give you the opportunity to remove any weak or strange growing cannabis plants from your grow right away.
