How To Recognise High-Quality Cannabis Seeds

To grow amazing and fierce marijuana plants, one must start with the fundamentals. Sowing high-quality cannabis seeds is essential for encouraging vigorous plants. Differentiating between low-quality and high-quality seeds will save you loads of time and money. There are many aspects to consider surrounding each tiny seed, such as its shape, size, colour, sex, origin, germination, and of course, strain. This guide will provide you with all the information you need to distinguish the ultimate cannabis seeds from the duds.

View Top 10 Feminized Cannabis Seeds

WHAT TO LOOK FOR (SIGNS OF A GOOD SEED)

Let’s begin with how healthy seeds should appear. Knowing what colour, shape, and size the seeds should be is very helpful, although it doesn’t guarantee that they will sprout. The colours you’re looking for are brown, grey, or black. The seeds should have dark lines and spots, which usually don't appear in predictable patterns; that's normal.

A healthy seed will have a nice waxy coat, which reflects light when exposed. As a rule of thumb, the seeds should be quite large to facilitate optimal development. But again, there is no guarantee that this will result in a seed that sprouts.

TYPES OF BAD SEEDS

Avoid underdeveloped seeds that are either white or green. That colouration means that they haven't reached full maturity. If there are any cracks, breaks, or dents in the seeds, they’re also low-quality. It’s good to note that even when a seed appears to look perfect, it could be a dud based on its genetics and/or how it was handled prior to your acquisition. Sometimes seeds simply don’t sprout; they look good, were handled well, but are a no-go. This is simply the luck of the draw.

WAYS TO TEST YOUR SEEDS + GERMINATION

There are a couple of tricks to test your cannabis seeds for quality. Since the seed should have a waxy surface, expose it to light to see if it has a sheen to it. This method doesn’t determine if the seed is 100% good-to-go, it’s more of an early indication.

The seed should not crush between your thumb and index finger when pressure is applied. Seeds that crack or completely crumble are undesirable and most likely won’t sprout.

The floating method is a good one. Insert the seeds into a glass containing lukewarm water. The seeds that float are poor-quality while the ones that drop are desirable. This method should be used right before germination, otherwise the moisture will damage the seeds. The seeds can also be germinated directly in the glass of water, although they have to be removed before 24h and placed into a grow medium or a wet paper towel. If you wait any longer, the water will overwhelm the seeds and they will die.

The germination process itself is the ideal method for testing the quality of your seeds. One of the most common germination methods is to make a "germination sandwich." Here's the recipe.

1. A wet paper towel is placed on a plate. The water needs to be clean, preferably bottled as opposed to tap water. The paper towel should be really wet, but not dripping with water. Also, it should be folded twice so that the surface is quite thick.
2. The seeds are placed on the paper towel, with at least 3cm separating them from one another. This is so the roots do not tangle. If seeds from different strains are placed on the same paper towel, one needs to keenly note which seeds are which.
3. Another folded, wet paper towel is placed on top of the seeds. Finally, the entire lot is closed with another plate, finalising the "sandwich."
4. This plate sandwich should be placed in an environment around 20°C. Once the seeds begin to sprout after around 2 days, they're ready for sowing.

Of course, one could also kick it old-school and simply plant the seeds directly in the growing medium. Proper germination is preferred, however, because you want to ensure that the seeds are optimised for success. If the seeds are placed directly in the medium and don't sprout in a timely manner, sowing another seed is undesirable, because the plants will grow in separate stages.

CAN YOU TELL THE SEX?

No, you can’t differentiate between male and female seeds based on their appearance. However, if you purchase feminized seeds from a reputable seedbank, they will all become female. If the origin of the seeds is known, you might be able to differentiate the sex of the seed. The only true way to find out is to grow the plants. During the flowering period, the females will grow pistils and males will grow pollen sacks.

CAN CANNABIS SEEDS EXPIRE?

Yes, cannabis seeds can expire depending on the preservation methods used. If a seed is subjected to a humid environment and not planted directly, it will be good for nothing. Furthermore, seeds don’t like extreme hot or cold. They should also not be subjected to very much light.

The best preservation method is to vacuum-pack the seeds and place them in a dark, cool environment. Some prefer to place their seeds in a refrigerator or even freeze them, although these methods are debatable because the refrigerator can produce moisture and the freezer may rupture cells within the seed.

INCREASE CHANCES OF GETTING GOOD SEEDS BY PURCHASING FROM REPUTABLE SEEDBANKS

When getting seeds from homegrown plants or from mates, they will most likely be unstable. Not to mention, the conditions under which they were subjected will likely be unknown. The best way to make sure you get ahold of feminized, high-quality cannabis seeds is to purchase them from a reputable seedbank.

Seedbanks specialise in breeding high-quality strains, storing the seeds in a controlled environment, and ensuring the sex. Here at Zamnesia, you can find high-quality seeds of top strains from around the world.

Miguel Antonio Ordoñez

With an AB Mass Media and Communications degree, Miguel Ordoñez is a veteran writer of 13 years and counting and has been covering cannabis-related content since 2017. Continuous, meticulous research along with personal experience has helped him build a deep well of knowledge on the subject.

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