# Great Strains for beginners - advice from the pros when shopping for beans



## Aldebaran (Feb 26, 2010)

I decided to open a fairly significant thread for beginners who are in the market for seeds but might make a bad purchase through sheer ignorance or because they might think the name is cool but don't know the exact specifications of the strain they've bought. I'm thinking there are Veterans  that could offer good tips on tested seeds that would be manageable for Novice indoor gardeners. 


I'm hoping this thread is not considered useless...


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## jack of all trades (Feb 26, 2010)

as far as i know seed companys stat how hard it is to grow a certain strain


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## warfish (Feb 26, 2010)

I went with White Widow and Northern Lights for the 2 main strains on my first grow.  Both of them are supposed to be good for beginners and I found them to be pretty easy to deal with.


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## monkeybusiness (Feb 27, 2010)

Yep, there's a whole lotta choices out there. As far as specific strains go it depends on what you are looking for in the type of plant and type of buzz. What kind of a high do you want? What kind of conditions will you be growing in? 

 If you're looking for a good entry level company to browse that won't cost you an arm and a leg i personally recommend Nirvana Seeds and Mandala Seeds. About $30 per 10 seeds, give or take. Nirvana has a lot of popular strains and Mandala's seeds are extremely well breed strains. Both seed lines can be purchased from the Attitude. 

I steer away from feminized seeds myself.

Happy hunting! it can get quite addicting too. I have way more seeds than i can grow anytime soon. I'm talking years! (and i wouldn't have it any other way!)


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## Locked (Feb 27, 2010)

Addicting is an under statement....lol


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## legalize_freedom (Feb 27, 2010)

They are all easy to grow ...we are the ones that complicate the process usually.


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## Locked (Feb 27, 2010)

legalize_freedom said:
			
		

> They are all easy to grow ...we are the ones that complicate the process usually.



You know what really complicates things?.....A dead hooker in the trunk........


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## Bowl Destroyer (Feb 27, 2010)

bagseed is fine for beginners, IMHO, lol


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## PUFF MONKEY (Feb 27, 2010)

indicas seem to have more forgivness for noob mistakes...WW is said to be one of the easier strains to grow...i've heard good things about seedsman's WW and i have 2 fems, just havent grown them yet.


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## warfish (Feb 27, 2010)

Bowl Destroyer said:
			
		

> bagseed is fine for beginners, IMHO, lol


 
I have to disagree with this.  For one, IMO/E bagseed is nothing but trouble waiting to happen.  You have no real idea what you are getting at all and more than likely the genetics of the bagseed will have hermie traits in them.
And for another good genetics alone can really help to make your first grow a great success.  You will have a general idea of what the plant likes and dislikes already.  Plus the confidence that if grown out properly you will have some solid dank.

The less frustrations you have on your first grow the better


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## North Fork Hermit (Feb 27, 2010)

> You know what really complicates things?.....A dead hooker in the trunk........



*  "I thought she was a call girl"  .....lol....*


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## legalize_freedom (Feb 27, 2010)

warfish said:
			
		

> I have to disagree with this. For one, IMO/E bagseed is nothing but trouble waiting to happen. You have no real idea what you are getting at all and more than likely the genetics of the bagseed will have hermie traits in them.
> And for another good genetics alone can really help to make your first grow a great success. You will have a general idea of what the plant likes and dislikes already. Plus the confidence that if grown out properly you will have some solid dank.
> 
> The less frustrations you have on your first grow the better


 
I agree with Warfish on this....however, I think that newbies should practice, practice, practice germinateing seeds...and bag seeds are excellent and cheap source for practicing on.  Get the seedling to where it has a few sets of healthy leaves, and toss it in the compost pile...do this as often as you can with free seeds.

The only reason I say this is because it seems like alot of newbies have trouble with germinateing for some reason...and they always seem to want to blame the seed company or the breeder.  When in reality it is more than likely rooky mistakes...so I'm all for practicing on bag seed until you figure out your method...and then use the good beans.


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## erwinsweeney (Feb 27, 2010)

monkeybusiness said:
			
		

> Yep, there's a whole lotta choices out there. As far as specific strains go it depends on what you are looking for in the type of plant and type of buzz. What kind of a high do you want? What kind of conditions will you be growing in?
> 
> If you're looking for a good entry level company to browse that won't cost you an arm and a leg i personally recommend Nirvana Seeds and Mandala Seeds. About $30 per 10 seeds, give or take. Nirvana has a lot of popular strains and Mandala's seeds are extremely well breed strains. Both seed lines can be purchased from the Attitude.
> 
> ...


 
I agree with Monkeybusiness.  Get some decent genetics that don't cost an arm & leg.  I have grown some of those $30 Nirvana strains and they are among my favorite.  I don't recommend growing out bagseed because like others have stated, you have a very good chance of hermies, even if conditions are perfect.  Being that your a beginner, it probly won't be perfect, I know mine wasn't.  I personally like Nirvanas AK-48.  It is pretty simple, not too tall, easy to clone, good yields, very potent.  It does require extra cal-mag sometimes I've found.  Good luck.  Read up as much as you can.


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## theblacksheep (Feb 27, 2010)

imho i agree that bag seed should just be used to experiment with germination,before i started my 1st grow which is half way through week 6 of flowering i thought about using bagseed but decided against that,my 1st grow contains 5 greenhouse lemon skunk,1 pineapple express from g13 labs and a dna genetics hash plant haze and im very happy with how its all goin and definatly suggest gettin a breeders strain over bagseed anyday.
i ignore all the noobs who blame the breeder and genetics there just angry it didnt turn out how they expected for example im havin a problem with 2 of my lemon skunks,they have plenty of bud sites but they arent really buddin or are extreamly slow cause my other 3 are packin it on and crystal covered but the other 2 just seem to want to grow taller and almost to tall for my tent which is 2mtrs so im a little worried bout them but i wudnt go blaming greenhouse etc,anyone got any ideas y thats happenin?or could i lst them this late in flowering 1ce the rest are finished?
i would suggest the g13 labs pineapple express for a bigginer there good producers and i found it easy to grow cant wait for it to finish


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## Locked (Feb 27, 2010)

North Fork Hermit said:
			
		

> *  "I thought she was a call girl"  .....lol....*



_No they are only call girls while they are alive...when they are dead they are just hookers._...


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## Locked (Feb 27, 2010)

I only use bag seed for my diabolical experiments....That and I practice different germination techniques on them and then kill them...


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## Aldebaran (Feb 27, 2010)

Hey Hamster where did you get that magnificent tent ? All I can find are Darkroom tents. Are those the same things. Also, that White Dwarf on your second grow (autos), is that a short plant? if so where did you get those?
I'm already ordering 10 Lowriders from Nirvana. Thanks for the tips you guys/girls. I might try NL and WW too but I don't want trees growing in my house. trying to stay low key you know? I might try that Sea of green method
for those, One more thing Hamster, you think if you wanted you could do a Sea of green in that tent you have? I gotta get me one of those tents!!!


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## Mr.Wakenbake (Feb 27, 2010)

I think that your very first attempt should be bagseed. 

Yeah you're right... it's a crap shoot.

However, you aren't wasting money...

You may get something worth keeping... 

And you will learn how to not kill something that didn't cost you more than the sack of schwagg it came in...

My suggestion. Find a sack of good middies with very few seeds and go with that for your first go. 

After that start spending money. Why waste 50$ on "decent" genetics when you might kill off your first 1,2 or 3 attempts like I did and a lot of others did.


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## Aldebaran (Feb 27, 2010)

Like your quote implies Mr. Wakenbake.I feel a lot of dealers are shady, and at least for me middle-men are even shadier,but not all, statistically females are more trustworthy than males at on my count ,plus add in the common courtesy bonus I pay to helpful middle guys or girls and the fact that a lot of commercial I find have a lot of immature seeds. basically I just feel that the black market is pretty much unreliable and not to be trusted, but that's me.. but thanks for the suggestion


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## Locked (Feb 27, 2010)

Aldebaran said:
			
		

> Hey Hamster where did you get that magnificent tent ? All I can find are Darkroom tents. Are those the same things. Also, that White Dwarf on your second grow (autos), is that a short plant? if so where did you get those?
> I'm already ordering 10 Lowriders from Nirvana. Thanks for the tips you guys/girls. I might try NL and WW too but I don't want trees growing in my house. trying to stay low key you know? I might try that Sea of green method
> for those, One more thing Hamster, you think if you wanted you could do a Sea of green in that tent you have? I gotta get me one of those tents!!!



Got both my tents on ebay...White Dwarf is available on Attitude and Dope seeds I belive...and it doesn't get tall at allmaybe 24 inches or so if you keep the pot on the smaller side.  I am sure you cld set up a sea of green in the tents..they are quite spacious inside.


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## Locked (Feb 27, 2010)

This is the tent I hve from the same place I bought my first tent...

hXXp://cgi.ebay.com/2x4x5-FT-HYDROPONICS-GROW-TENT-HYDRO-BOX-HUT-CABINET-BL_W0QQitemZ160406960188QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2558fff83c

Change hXXp to http


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## Droopy Dog (Feb 27, 2010)

legalize_freedom said:
			
		

> I agree with Warfish on this....however, I think that newbies should practice, practice, practice germinateing seeds...and bag seeds are excellent and cheap source for practicing on.  Get the seedling to where it has a few sets of healthy leaves, and toss it in the compost pile...do this as often as you can with free seeds.
> 
> The only reason I say this is because it seems like alot of newbies have trouble with germinateing for some reason...and they always seem to want to blame the seed company or the breeder.  When in reality it is more than likely rooky mistakes...so I'm all for practicing on bag seed until you figure out your method...and then use the good beans.


:yeahthat: 

I agree 110%.

Too much not being able to get it to a few sets of healthy leaves.

DD


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## Droopy Dog (Feb 27, 2010)

Mr.Wakenbake said:
			
		

> I think that your very first attempt should be bagseed.
> 
> Yeah you're right... it's a crap shoot.
> 
> ...



For sure, it will be better than the smoke the seeds came in.  If grown under good conditions anyway.

I'm growing bagseed that was given to me.  Turns out, it's a pure indica with very little smell and a 3 hit couchlock.  Was lucky for sure, but for my situation I doubt if I could have bought better genetics.  Especially the potency and no need for odor control.

DD


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## legalize_freedom (Feb 28, 2010)

theblacksheep said:
			
		

> imho i agree that bag seed should just be used to experiment with germination,before i started my 1st grow which is half way through week 6 of flowering i thought about using bagseed but decided against that,my 1st grow contains 5 greenhouse lemon skunk,1 pineapple express from g13 labs and a dna genetics hash plant haze and im very happy with how its all goin and definatly suggest gettin a breeders strain over bagseed anyday.
> i ignore all the noobs who blame the breeder and genetics there just angry it didnt turn out how they expected for example im havin a problem with 2 of my lemon skunks,they have plenty of bud sites but they arent really buddin or are extreamly slow cause my other 3 are packin it on and crystal covered but the other 2 just seem to want to grow taller and almost to tall for my tent which is 2mtrs so im a little worried bout them but i wudnt go blaming greenhouse etc,anyone got any ideas y thats happenin?or could i lst them this late in flowering 1ce the rest are finished?
> i would suggest the g13 labs pineapple express for a bigginer there good producers and i found it easy to grow cant wait for it to finish


 
Just takeing a guess here...I haven't looked into your strains...but most skunk is a sativa...so I'm assuming that your other strains are indica dominate, and the skunk is going to go a little longer than the rest.  Sounds like you might want to start doing some lst work


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## the chef (Feb 28, 2010)

Man! Alot of good responses, here's mine. Dinafem through the Attitude! Did my first real grow with blue widow(fem). The seeds i didn't lose due to...well good kush, came out awsome! Dinafems got a few auto's and thier prices are cheap. The varieties have grown since i first used the Tude. Gl and happy bean hunting!


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## PencilHead (Feb 28, 2010)

Hamster Lewis said:
			
		

> You know what really complicates things?.....A dead hooker in the trunk........


 
Man, just when I start thinking *I'm *the only one having these problems.  Thanks, Ham, now I don't feel so all alone.


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## theblacksheep (Feb 28, 2010)

legalize_freedom said:
			
		

> Just takeing a guess here...I haven't looked into your strains...but most skunk is a sativa...so I'm assuming that your other strains are indica dominate, and the skunk is going to go a little longer than the rest.  Sounds like you might want to start doing some lst work



thanks for the reply legalise freedom,the lemon skunks are a indica/sativa hybrid that are a 8 week strain but take them to 9 weeks to bring out the lemon more,its just 2 out of 5 that are doin the extreamly slow thing the rest have chunky buds glistenin with thc but i think im gonna lst the other 2 when the rest finish in 2-3 weeks,even my hash plant haze is budded a lot more and its a 70% sativa.
i see the valid points for bagseed and seedbank strains just for me personaly i went with good genetics off of attitude and all my seeds germed without a problem but i suppose its each to their own when it comes to seeds.


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## dirtyolsouth (Feb 28, 2010)

HI,

I've found that popping beans is a part of growing that takes a certain feel to do well consistently and it really helps to get your 'chops' up before germinating seeds that you've not only spent $$ on but also impatiently waited for while sweatin' it out with visions of orange jail jumpsuits dancing in yer head while you hovered over the mailbox...:hubba:  I've been growing pot since the early 90s and there's nothing that humbles me as a grower like failing at popping some valuable beans.  On one of my first grows with some seeds I brought back with me from a trip to Amsterdam (back before Marc Emery or anyone was selling seeds internationally) I had a miserable failure and if I had started with bagseed I never would have killed off half a tray of potential dank while trying to find my way.  And there was no way to re-order my beans unless I got on a plane to Amsterdam...
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Germinating and growing from seed requires getting the balance right between moisture and air and every method and environment is a little bit different so it can take some small tweaks to get things rolling along smooth.  By far I prefer to grow from clone stock and sometimes it can be years between my grows from seed.  Maybe it's cuz I'm such a pothead...:joint:but each time I go back to popping beanz it takes me a bit of re-learning how to best optimize conditions for having great success with seedlings.  I usually get 20-30 fresh bagseeds from pals to play with and get my seed popping green mojo together before I reach for the high dollar breeder packets.  There are many ways of germinating and doing things but you need to find a method that works for you in your setup and a method you can have consistency with. 

Anyhooo....  I totally agree that you should get good genetics to grow to fruition but I suggest playing with some bagseed until you can consistently germinate and grow seedlings to a few sets of leaves so that you get your skillz up to speed...  Then OVERGROW the world with diggity dank...  The PASSION is goin' to getcha... 

Happy Growing!


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## Locked (Feb 28, 2010)

Just look at the PITA the beginning of my Fall 2009 was...I cld not get a bean to pop for nothing...wasted a whole pack of a Cali Orange Bud cross...I always keep some bagseed around to keep the germing chops up now...I feel like I hve what works best for me down and I hve had no germing problems since...


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## Aldebaran (Feb 28, 2010)

Hey guys/girls I just want to say thanks for all the wise insightful recommendations. It is a relief to me, that this thread was not considered useless. I remain hopeful that before this thread dies,  at least a few more New members/guests might take a look in here and be imbued with the knowledge that otherwise could only be acquired through time, patience, and at least a few mistakes. I know that there's still plenty of room for error in the cultivation process, that much I've gathered. 

  I think most newbies over-complicate the germination process in their minds because naturally speaking, we would think (why not just place the seeds in whatever substrate we're using. If one grows using any of the hydroponic methods than I'm guessing doing this might not be the best Idea. 
  A while back, a friend and I just threw some Bag seed in normal ground soil to see if anything would grow, Oh it grew, a nice patch too. I pulled them though because I was frightened that I would get busted. 

to hamster and monkey thanks for the great info on tents!!! 

Stewie Griffin's life lesson number 12

Don't Leave bodies in the trunk!!


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## Disco94 (Feb 28, 2010)

I would say the top 3 for a beginner... Northern Lights, Big Bud, White Widow in no particular order. They are all very stable and quite tolerant of stress.


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