seed viability...
- Thread starter Gquebed
- Start date
GroErr
Well-Known Member
I use a 4-5 week rule of thumb after cutting the plant down and extracting the seeds, regardless of whether they were produced indoor or outdoor. It gives them time to "cure" which in this case is just drying a bit. Anything before 4 weeks I've found reduced germ rates, 5-6 is better and if they were allowed to mature long enough you should have 100% viability. Only difference I've seen is better production and reliability indoor, simply because you don't have things like weather, bugs and getting enough light to be concerned with. Indoor you have total control over the environment and more time to mature the seeds if needed, indoor I'll normally let them go a bit longer whereas outdoor I don't have that extra time available. Frost/snow and cooler weather doesn't help much.
BTW: I'm talking from experience, even though I preach the 4-5 week rule, I don't always follow it because I get too excited to plant new crosses!
Gquebed
Well-Known Member
Its probably because i just ate a cookie, but... im not sure i understand...I use a 4-5 week rule of thumb after cutting the plant down and extracting the seeds, regardless of whether they were produced indoor or outdoor. It gives them time to "cure" which in this case is just drying a bit. Anything before 4 weeks I've found reduced germ rates, 5-6 is better and if they were allowed to mature long enough you should have 100% viability. Only difference I've seen is better production and reliability indoor, simply because you don't have things like weather, bugs and getting enough light to be concerned with. Indoor you have total control over the environment and more time to mature the seeds if needed, indoor I'll normally let them go a bit longer whereas outdoor I don't have that extra time available. Frost/snow and cooler weather doesn't help much.
BTW: I'm talking from experience, even though I preach the 4-5 week rule, I don't always follow it because I get too excited to plant new crosses!
So after you cut the plant down you wait 4 to 5 weeks before planting the seed?
Or once the buds that produce the seeds are 4 to 5 weeks old they are good to be cut down andvplanted?
GroErr
Well-Known Member
Apologies for any confusion, once the plant is finished the round (say it's a normal 8 week strain, let it go the full 8 weeks), you cut it down, remove the seeds from the buds, then wait 4-5 weeks before you plant those seeds. Otherwise, if you try planting them only 1-2 weeks after harvesting the seeds, your germination rate will be 50% or less.
Gquebed
Well-Known Member
Ahhh...
I was planning to grow a couple plants outside this year and was thinking i would let a male ravage a female so i could get more seeds from that strain. The trouble is... frost could easily come before the 8 weeks itll take for the female to finish...
GroErr
Well-Known Member
Yeah you're a Canadian like me, you get a short window outdoor. They can be alright if pulled early but the longer the better for seeds imo. Hitting them early can offset it a bit but you don't want too early or they won't take well. I normally let them go a few extra days, but indoor. You can get a lot of seeds from a single cola if you just want some seeds for yourself.
Gquebed
Well-Known Member
I was planning to pollinate a bud or two indoors, then i thought of the outdoor thing...
Id be afraid of screwing up and "infecting" more than one plant...lol
Anyway, if one bud is pollinated will the whole plant's potency level suffer? Or just that of the specific bud that was pollinated
GroErr
Well-Known Member
I'm not so sure potency suffers at all, there could be a slight difference due to the plant focusing energy on the seeds but idk if it's noticeable enough to be concerned about. I smoke/vape seeded bud, when I de-seed it I break it up and throw it in a jar ready to smoke or into the hash bin if I have more than I can smoke sitting around. I don't find a noticeable difference between that and sensi bud.
Gquebed
Well-Known Member
Interesting.... what we accept as fact even though evidence hasnt been provided, or what we accept just because it has been repeated over and over again.
Like pollinated bud being less potent. I have never been shown any evidence of that and yet i have always believed it simply because everybody says so...
The one thing that seemingly backs up the claim, for me, is that back in high school we used to get "Columbian" all the time and it always had seeds. Then all of a sudden BC indoor sensi came along and it was, back then, unbelievably potent. It was said that was simply because it was never pollinated.... and i believed that ever since...
Never gave a thought that the difference was simply the strain even though that was obvious too.
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GroErr
Well-Known Member
Yeah, haven't read any actual lab studies on this potency subject but in my own experience as that's primarily what I smoke/vape (whatever's left after de-seeding them), it's not noticeable to the average smoker imo. If we were legal and could get testing done easily I'd send some out to get a read, you might find a 1-2% difference if any, certainly not something the average smoker would notice.