As your plant matures (and you get one step closer to that first satisfying puff on the most delicious, home-grown, and pampered pot you’ve ever smoked) you will start to notice changes in foliage production and developing appendages. Small growths will appear at the juncture where leaf stems connect to plant stalks. Certain plants will grow taller and thinner while others will remain short but bushy. These changes are a direct result of the plants reaching a new level of growth in which they are sexually mature. Once plants begin to show signs of their gender, you can better identify which plants will be more potent and which plants you wish to reproduce to keep you smoking throughout the year.
A female cannabis plant that has received pollen from a male will produce many seeds over the course of its maturation cycle. Upon senescence, when the female plant is fully mature and ready for harvest, its seeds will be ready for stratification and collection.
How to Collect Seeds
To collect seeds, it’s important to wait until they are fully mature and ready for harvest. Cannabis with seeds takes longer to mature than cannabis that only produces flower.
To tell if a seed is mature, take a look at its shape and color. Premature seeds will be small and light in color, taking on a beige hue. Fully mature cannabis seeds are more full in shape and size and have a much darker brown hue, sometimes accented by black tiger stripes.
Deseeding cannabis can be done by hand or machine. This process typically takes place after the plant has been dried for one to two weeks after harvest. This way, seeds will have reached their maximum maturity and plant material will be brittle enough to break apart with minimal effort.
When collecting seed by hand, use a fine screen to help catch trichomes that will break off during the process. This material is valuable and it would be a shame to waste.
Collecting Pollen
Collect some pollen by brushing the pollen sacks on a flowering male plant while holding a clean sterilized plate underneath. The plate will catch some of the pollen as it falls from the pollen sacks.
After collecting the pollen, bring it to the area where the females are growing. Turn all fans off and make sure no breeze will blow the pollen into the air. If necessary, cover the plate with a bowl or something that will serve a similar purpose.
Choose one or more flowers on a female plant for pollinating. It is best to choose small flowers that are lower down on the plant. Keep in mind that each small flower you pollinate will produce at least 10-50 seeds.
Seed and Pollen Storage
After seeds are collected, they’re stored in opaque, air-tight containers to prevent them from rotting or sprouting prematurely. Though cannabis flower is usually cultivated to be seedless, sometimes the seeds are the whole point. Breeders pay special attention to the pollination, harvest time, and drying process when growing cannabis specifically for the seeds to improve the likelihood of a successful harvest.
Have you ever harvested cannabis seeds? Share your experiences in the comments below! If you do not, would you like to start grow cannabis at home? What about trying our indoor grow package? It contains all kinds and sizes of inline fans, carbon filters, indoor grow tents and cannabis grow lights, you do not need to purchase others.
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