Quality Weed Seeds And Why You Need Them

With the amount of care it takes to grow marijuana, it’s important to start off on the right foot. This means beginning with healthy cannabis seeds that will give your crop the best chance to return high-quality plants. Purchasing seeds from a trusted seed bank is the first step toward success. Even then, you should be able to identify viable cannabis seeds and know how to tell if a marijuana seed is good to avoid wasting your time sprouting duds. So, what are some methods to identify bad and good weed seeds? Keep reading to learn more on how to identify weed seeds – good or bad.

Top Quality For Top-Shelf Marijuana Seeds

Top-shelf crops typically come from top quality beginnings. With seeds, that means the highest quality options are proven genetically and are viable for vigorous growth. Regardless of the nutrients, lights and environments you provide your plants, starting off with top genetics provides a better guarantee for a quality end-product. When you’re sure of the genetics you’re growing, you’ll know what to expect as far as growing tendencies, health and lifecycle, in addition to knowing the expected cannabinoid and terpene profiles. The overall health of your seed is also important, which is why we’ll cover how to identify healthy cannabis seeds next.

Trusted Sources For Viable Cannabis Seeds

Where you purchase or receive your seed from will tell you a lot about its background and future for growth. Seeds purchased through the black market or from underground retailers are often not shown the level of care they need to be healthy for new growth. If you happen to come across a couple seeds in a bag, there’s a certain chance they could be viable cannabis seeds. However, you can never be sure of the quality, background or specific requirements of a seed that was just an accident. That’s why you’ll want to purchase from a trusted source that can provide details about the strain and genetics to ensure the best possible grow results. You can follow the guide that comes next to investigate the health of any seed or pick up on any signs of poor handling from unreliable sources.

How Seeds Are Stored Matters

Due to the lack of legality for cannabis cultivation across the globe, some seeds available for purchase can come from sketchy or shady backgrounds. They might also not be handled properly for their ultimate preservation and overall health. Again, that’s why it’s so important to purchase seeds from trusted sources.

When making the journey of being shipped to a new location, the packaging containing the seeds is highly important to avoid damage and preserve the vitality of the seed. Top breeders always pay more attention to the way their seeds are packaged, ensuring that fluctuations in temperature, humidity or light won’t harm the precious goods. For instance, Humboldt Seeds places their seeds in glass tubes inside a wooden box, and Delicious Seeds are known for the reusable lightleak-proof bags they ship their seeds in.

Another factor to consider when you’re planning to germinate seeds is whether they’ve been frozen or not. While some cultivators say freezing is ideal for seed storage, others say seeds that have been frozen have a more difficult time producing healthy plants. For further information on how to store seeds properly, check out our full guide.

On The Surface – What A Seed Can Tell You

When in doubt, there are a few unmistakable signs from cannabis seeds that will help identify if they are healthy or not. By looking, feeling or testing your seed, you can tell from the very beginning if it will be viable for growth.

Take A Look – How A Healthy Seed Should Look

The first sign of a healthy cannabis seed is its size. For viable seeds, the motto ‘the bigger the better’ holds true. Smaller size is a sign of immaturity, meaning the seed will have less of a chance to germinate. Mature seeds are also round and fat, and have a symmetrical teardrop shape. Bad weed seeds are normally irregular in shape. As for coloring, you’ll want a seed that’s gray, brown or black with darker spots or lines. Seeds that are white or green are immature and most likely will not germinate properly.

Feel For Firmness – How A Healthy Seed Should Feel

A healthy seed will be identifiable by touch as well. Viable cannabis seeds typically have a waxy coat that you’ll also be able to see. In addition, seeds should feel firm to the touch. You can check the firmness of your seed by placing it between your index finger and thumb. Apply slight pressure to test the overall strength or firmness. Healthy seeds should remain firm while slightly squeezing, and not feel as though they’re going to burst or break. If the seeds do crack under this slight amount of pressure, they shouldn’t be used.

Test Your Seeds With A Floating Method

After reviewing your seed’s appearance and strength, there’s another method you can use to check if your seed is good for planting or not. You can test for bad weed seeds by checking the seed’s buoyancy. To use this simple method, fill up a cup of water (preferably distilled). Place your seed on the surface of the water and leave it for 1-2 hours. If your seed still floating when you re-check it, it’s unhealthy and should not be planted. Any seeds that sink to the bottom of the cup are most likely healthy and can be germinated.

Germination Time – The Final Test

The last approach for checking your seed’s health is to simply move on to germination. To germinate your seeds, you’ll use a common technique often known as the germination sandwich method. You’ll need a paper towel, water, and two plates or a Ziploc-style bag. Wet the paper towel lightly and fold it in half so it’s slightly thicker. Place the seeds onto the wet paper towel and fold it over once to cover them. You can either store the paper towel on and under a plate or place it into the Ziploc bag. After two days, check to see if your seed has sprouted. If so, you have a viable cannabis seed that’s ready to be sown for growth.

Top Seed Source To Turn To

As we’ve discussed, you’ll want to know your seed source and their practices, since you’ll be trusting them to begin your new crops successfully. This is why Herbies is your most trusted source. Herbies keeps their seeds in ideal storage conditions of 4-6°C (39-43° F) 24/7 for ultimate preservation. Also keep in mind that top breeders invest into research and design for the best packaging to keep seeds safe and sound until the moment you decide to germinate them. Herbies only curates seeds from top breeders across the globe, and can therefore guarantee germination.

Choosing Good Weed Seeds For Better Crops

When you’re starting crops from seed, it’s imperative to find viable and healthy cannabis seeds. With the information you’ve learned from this article, not only do you know how to identify weed seeds as good or bad by their look and feel, but also how to test them for yourself. Use these helpful tips to avoid bad weed seeds and disappointment from the start. By using a trusted source like Herbies that offers proven genetics handled with care, you’ll have a better chance of producing a top-quality product.

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