# Are regular seeds better than feminized?



## zem (May 15, 2020)

After more than 15 years of trying, I think that regular seeds give more potent products. I don't know why and I always thought otherwise and I lost lots of efforts trying feminized so hard and I could not match the best regulars that I had, not even close. Anyone had a similar experience?


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## WeedHopper (May 15, 2020)

Good to know. I have never grown feminized beans. Probably never will. I like Mother Natures way of making seeds turn female.


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## Caw (May 15, 2020)

zem said:


> After more than 15 years of trying, I think that regular seeds give more potent products. I don't know why and I always thought otherwise and I lost lots of efforts trying feminized so hard and I could not match the best regulars that I had, not even close. Anyone had a similar experience?


A friend of mine has hesitations of using feminized seeds. He is a master grower. He didnt give much reason as to why though. 

Personally, I'd do regular seeds since there are so many more strains available. But, I have limited grow space and dont want to waste months with the possibility of finding out I only got males. I was over my friends house one day and he was furious that 8 out of 10 seeds popped were males. But, I'm sure he just crossed it with something else. 

He called me a couple days ago asking if I wanted some Blue Cheese pollen. It must be special as I know he has jars of various pollen in his house/kitchen.


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## 2RedEyes (May 16, 2020)

I’m a fairly new grower having grown maybe 10 or 12 grow cycles...first seeds I bought were from some seed producer in Spain...fem seed I think...I’ve since tried other feminized or regular seed from different sources including here on MP...
I’ve not noticed a big difference in potency but that could just mean I’m a lousy grower...however I think this current grow is looking better than some of my previous grows...I got a new light & maybe I’m learning stuff...don’t know cuz currently I’m pretty stoned...
had a couple of nice jams earlier tonight...wish y’all coulda been there...


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## zem (May 16, 2020)

Caw said:


> A friend of mine has hesitations of using feminized seeds. He is a master grower. He didnt give much reason as to why though.
> 
> Personally, I'd do regular seeds since there are so many more strains available. But, I have limited grow space and dont want to waste months with the possibility of finding out I only got males. I was over my friends house one day and he was furious that 8 out of 10 seeds popped were males. But, I'm sure he just crossed it with something else.
> 
> He called me a couple days ago asking if I wanted some Blue Cheese pollen. It must be special as I know he has jars of various pollen in his house/kitchen.


I noticed lately that the seeds market is flooded with feminized  more than regular seeds. What strains and from what breeders does your friend grow? Any recommendations?


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## AladinSane (May 16, 2020)

Good question. I have grown both and my unscientific answer is that I can not tell the difference. Have grown very potent buds from both. A favorite land race sativa that I have grown several times 4 or 5 years ago is only available as feminized beans. Have some in the mail now. Thru the years every time I checked on them, they were sold out. I tend to favor regular seeds as I enjoy a little "pollen chucking" some times.


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## AladinSane (May 16, 2020)

My present seed order is from Herbies Seeds (Herbies Head Shop). After the tracking number stopped working, I contacted customer service, they checked and said they're lost and issued me a reorder, which is in the mail. Good customer service, I will order from Herbies again.


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## Caw (May 16, 2020)

zem said:


> I noticed lately that the seeds market is flooded with feminized  more than regular seeds. What strains and from what breeders does your friend grow? Any recommendations?


My friend has been growing for MANY years. He is an avid music festival goer and frisbee golf player. He often gets seeds from his trips. And now he produces his own strains/crosses. 

Unfortunately I dont have any recommendations. I have bought seeds through Growers Choice seeds. They have a limited selection, BUT they accept credit card payment and are in the US. Pacific Seed Bank used to take credit card payments, but last I checked, they had temporarily stopped due to the virus (not sure how the virus affected credit card payments...?).


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## The Hemp Goddess (May 16, 2020)

Yeah, no credit card at Pacific.  I am rather peeved at Pacific Seed Bank.  I have been waiting for over 6 weeks for seeds and I am in southern Oregon.  They finally answered my 5th inquiry with an automated reply that didn't answer any of my questions or let me know when they might be sending out my seeds.  They took awhile last year, but not nearly this long.  Even with Covid 19 and it being growing season, this is ridiculous.  I will never trust them again.  It is getting too late to start seeds now.


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## stinkyattic (May 16, 2020)

I'll always buy regular seeds when possible. I want males too. I want the ability to f2 then backcross for a seed run if the smoke/ease of cropping/yield is good from one of the females.
I distrust feminized seeds like voodoo. If something i want is only available feminized,  I'll grudgingly buy it, and then find a straight run pack of its nearest relative for a pollen donor male and see if anything from that cross yields a keeper pheno.
Got some crop king black Indica going that was only available feminized which strikes me as odd considering the parents are both *supposedly * IBL s. Nice plants so far, but...
What's that jar smell like? 
Fishy, that's what.


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## 420trout (May 17, 2020)

.


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## stinkyattic (May 17, 2020)

So the f2 using a good male from a pack of related seeds will give you a straight run that also includes males that have good genetic material from your favorite female from the feminized pack, plus a y chromosome from the related seeds. Picking a male is an art form that others are better qualified to elaborate on than I... there may even be a thread around here about it... but then you use the same "keeper" female you used for the f1, and pollinate HER with the offspring son. That's your BX1. so the offspring are now 75% genetic material from the original mother.  
This can be repeated indefinitely, choosing males that as closely resemble the traits you want in each successive generation, until all the offspring behave virtually identically, and you've got what is known as an IBL, or inbred line. 
Now, if the original feminized mother carries and expresses a lot of recessive traits, this is harder to stabilize.  And picking males is an ART!


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## 420trout (May 17, 2020)

.


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## stinkyattic (May 17, 2020)

Its a lot of time, patience, and especially finesse to end up with the offspring being very close to "m1"... and you gotta have plenty of room capacity to do it where you may not end up flowering out a ton of smoke for a while. So depending on your goals, you need to decide if it is worth the effort. This process takes years. Much respect to anyone who can pull it off!!!
IMVHO... if you love the mother plant enough to hang on to her good genes... bust out your scalpel and dip-n-gro, and get cloning, my friend!


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## zem (May 17, 2020)

stinkyattic said:


> Its a lot of time, patience, and especially finesse to end up with the offspring being very close to "m1"... and you gotta have plenty of room capacity to do it where you may not end up flowering out a ton of smoke for a while. So depending on your goals, you need to decide if it is worth the effort. This process takes years. Much respect to anyone who can pull it off!!!
> IMVHO... if you love the mother plant enough to hang on to her good genes... bust out your scalpel and dip-n-gro, and get cloning, my friend!


Yes I had done that many years ago and i did several back crossings until 87.5% but I think to be considered real F1 it had to be done one more time to get above 90% but those seeds are surprisingly stable. Any tips on how to choose a male? I went with the healthiest plant from the same strain and crossed it with the healthiest best female of that strain


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## Rosebud (May 17, 2020)

Hi guys, just stopped in to say hi zem, good to see you guy. I have a boy big sur holy bud in the bathtub now with a female, from Umbra that is a cross of bshb and Kali mist. I can't wait to see what get. I love me some BSHB. I hope I get seeds.


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## Daxtell (May 17, 2020)

I have been saving some seed from a hermed plant that pollenated itself.  I had numerous issues with that first grow. I figured the stresses hermed it.   I'm curious about what happens with females that pollenate themselves.  What will the offspring be?  Herm prone?  Probably.  Female because of chromosomes?  Sterile?

I've been busy with computer issues.  I better do some research before I mess my computers up again.


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## Lois OBerry (May 17, 2020)

zem said:


> After more than 15 years of trying, I think that regular seeds give more potent products. I don't know why and I always thought otherwise and I lost lots of efforts trying feminized so hard and I could not match the best regulars that I had, not even close. Anyone had a similar experience?


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## zem (May 17, 2020)

Rosebud said:


> Hi guys, just stopped in to say hi zem, good to see you guy. I have a boy big sur holy bud in the bathtub now with a female, from Umbra that is a cross of bshb and Kali mist. I can't wait to see what get. I love me some BSHB. I hope I get seeds.


Hi Rose! Good to see you. Wow you seem to have a plan for a good cross! Never even heard of BSHB


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## zem (May 17, 2020)

Daxtell said:


> I have been saving some seed from a hermed plant that pollenated itself.  I had numerous issues with that first grow. I figured the stresses hermed it.   I'm curious about what happens with females that pollenate themselves.  What will the offspring be?  Herm prone?  Probably.  Female because of chromosomes?  Sterile?
> 
> I've been busy with computer issues.  I better do some research before I mess my computers up again.


I guess that it will be prone to herm and probably other sorts of problems


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## Rosebud (May 17, 2020)

I am wondering if there are degrees of hermi'ng. Sometimes i will find one or two seeds in a huge outdoor plant and nothing else is pollinated so i figure it selfed.  I have never had a full blown hermi ruin a crop.  
zem. you know how I like sativa...well this one is a nice nice one. I really like it, so we will see.  I don't mind giving up the female for seeds. 
So nice to see you again. How are things in your part of the world? Are you having peace, I hope? I don't think we are.  Do you have covid 19 "over there"?


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## orangesunshine (May 17, 2020)

daxtell post "I have been saving some seed from a hermed plant that pollenated itself. I had numerous issues with that first grow. I figured the stresses hermed it. I'm curious about what happens with females that pollenate themselves. What will the offspring be? Herm prone? Probably. Female because of chromosomes? Sterile?"


your guess of the offspring is as good as any---imo even a geneticist would be guessing---if it were my predicament---i would stick to stable genetics


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## zem (May 17, 2020)

Rosebud said:


> I am wondering if there are degrees of hermi'ng. Sometimes i will find one or two seeds in a huge outdoor plant and nothing else is pollinated so i figure it selfed.  I have never had a full blown hermi ruin a crop.
> zem. you know how I like sativa...well this one is a nice nice one. I really like it, so we will see.  I don't mind giving up the female for seeds.
> So nice to see you again. How are things in your part of the world? Are you having peace, I hope? I don't think we are.  Do you have covid 19 "over there"?


You know i'm always around. Yes we have covid 19 the kids have been home since months and the pools are set to open tomorrow gyms and other activities remain closed, it is insane but i am a survivalist. Thanks for asking I hope you have peace soon.


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## stinkyattic (May 18, 2020)

Daxtell said:


> I have been saving some seed from a hermed plant that pollenated itself.  I had numerous issues with that first grow. I figured the stresses hermed it.   I'm curious about what happens with females that pollenate themselves.  What will the offspring be?  Herm prone?  Probably.  Female because of chromosomes?  Sterile?
> 
> I've been busy with computer issues.  I better do some research before I mess my computers up again.



Herm prone under the same conditions that the mother termed under
100% female (no y chromosome)
Viable


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## zem (Jul 3, 2020)

AladinSane said:


> Good question. I have grown both and my unscientific answer is that I can not tell the difference. Have grown very potent buds from both. A favorite land race sativa that I have grown several times 4 or 5 years ago is only available as feminized beans. Have some in the mail now. Thru the years every time I checked on them, they were sold out. I tend to favor regular seeds as I enjoy a little "pollen chucking" some times.


How are you doing A.S.? I would like to know more about that favorite landrace that you mentioned. Name, breeder, specs and why is it special to you? In fact I just noticed that my favorite tasting and favorite high is still with two fem strains but I think that the potency that I achieved with regulars just seemed to be more. I have a strain that is called Ripper Haze that is my favorite, its taste and its high are just outstanding but I never seem to get the weed that gets you ripped with a couple of puffs with feminized while i grew many more fem than regulars, with the fewer times i tried regulars, i achieved that potency several times.


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## Ed. J (Jul 7, 2020)

Herbies is NOT a reliable store. Herbies will take your money, not send anything, and guve you the runaround lies about refunds. Save yourself Money and Trouble!


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## AladinSane (Jul 9, 2020)

zem said:


> How are you doing A.S.? I would like to know more about that favorite landrace that you mentioned. Name, breeder, specs and why is it special to you? In fact I just noticed that my favorite tasting and favorite high is still with two fem strains but I think that the potency that I achieved with regulars just seemed to be more. I have a strain that is called Ripper Haze that is my favorite, its taste and its high are just outstanding but I never seem to get the weed that gets you ripped with a couple of puffs with feminized while i grew many more fem than regulars, with the fewer times i tried regulars, i achieved that potency several times.



I am doing fine, sir. I was talking about Dr. Grinspoon, a landrace Sativa, only available feminized, from Barneys Farm, at 26% thc. My all time favorite is Apollo 13, do not know the % of thc, only that it kicks behind. Did just get some Bruce Banner seeds that are 28%thc.


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## AladinSane (Jul 10, 2020)

Ed. J said:


> Herbies is NOT a reliable store. Herbies will take your money, not send anything, and guve you the runaround lies about refunds. Save yourself Money and Trouble!



You have 4 posts and all are slamming Herbies Seeds (Herbies Head Shop). Do you have any thing else to say ? Herbies has several positive posts from other members.


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## Herbies Seeds (Jan 12, 2022)

Ed. J said:


> Herbies is NOT a reliable store. Herbies will take your money, not send anything, and guve you the runaround lies about refunds. Save yourself Money and Trouble!



We’re sorry to hear that you consider us not a reliable store.

Could you please tell us why? Did you have some bad experience at our shop? If so, would you be so kind to share its details? You may also contact us through Personal Messages to discuss it further.

Please let us know your opinion to help us become better and improve our work.


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## Herbies Seeds (Jan 12, 2022)

AladinSane said:


> My present seed order is from Herbies Seeds (Herbies Head Shop). After the tracking number stopped working, I contacted customer service, they checked and said they're lost and issued me a reorder, which is in the mail. Good customer service, I will order from Herbies again.


Thank you for your feedback!


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## WeedHopper (Jan 12, 2022)

This is an old thread my friend and i haven't seen those members in a while. Glad to see you care though.
Send me some beans and ill make sure they get them.


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## ROSTERMAN (Jan 13, 2022)

WeedHopper said:


> This is an old thread my friend and i haven't seen those members in a while. Glad to see you care though.
> Send me some beans and ill make sure they get them.


Stop begging the sponsors for free seeds


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## WeedHopper (Jan 13, 2022)

Hey,,a man can try cant he.


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## RonnieB (Jan 13, 2022)

Feminized and autoflowers are both unstable genetics compared to regs. Plus you have to worry about getting males. HOw ever I think your more  purist growers would rather avoid mustations. I pulled a herm from my garden today, thank GOd I caught


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