How to Germinate Weed Seeds

Weed seeds are usually the beginning of that fantastic smoking session that you just had or that edible that gets you high. You may have probably asked yourself if it is possible to grow your weed and watch it bud into a mature plant that you can harvest.

While many experienced weed growers usually prefer growing several plants, as a beginner, consider growing one or two marijuana plants. Preferably you can use feminized cannabis seeds for germinating your own cannabis plants. These are easier to grow than regular marijuana seeds.

It is not an easy affair germinating marijuana seeds, and neither is it a hard one as long as you have the necessary information to germinate weed seeds properly.

If you’re interested in learning the art of germinating weed seeds, keep reading this article. 

 

What Are Cannabis Seeds?

In your interaction with cannabis products, you may have come across tiny oval-shaped seeds that are often embedded in the bud of some cannabis strains. They are usually relatively small, measuring about 3.2 to 6.4 millimetres in diameter.

Weed seeds can either be male or female. While male seeds are crucial in pollination, female seeds are the ones that produce the buds that you’ll harvest after the germinated cannabis seeds reach maturity. Because of this, many experienced growers mostly go for feminized cannabis seeds.

Cannabis seeds are usually available in weed shops and online dispensaries for weed growers. On their outer shells, you can easily identify them by their distinct lines, often called tiger stripes.

 

Different Ways to Germinate Weed Seeds

When growing weed seeds, chances are that among your seeds, there will be seeds that will germinate and seeds that won’t, often known as duds. As a weed grower, you want to ensure that the germinated seed number is higher than the duds.

You can only achieve this through the best germinating methods that even seasoned growers implement as they grow their cannabis plants.

How to Germinate Seeds

The following are ways you can use to germinate your cannabis seeds.

Soaking in Water

It is a straightforward way to germinate cannabis seeds. The seeds are left to soak in water, preferably lukewarm water, for a few hours before planting. It ensures that the seeds have enough moisture content to help them in the earlier stages of germination.

Use of Moist Paper Towels

The paper towel method aims to expose the seeds to enough moisture to help them germinate. Place the cannabis seeds in between two moist paper towels. 

Keep the seeds in a dark room or cover them with a plate to prevent light from reaching them. As a beginner grower, you may want to consider autoflowering cannabis seeds, which offer less control over how much light the plant needs.

As soon as the seeds form taproots, you can transfer them to where you plan to plant them.

Use of a Germination Station

Germination stations provide controlled growing conditions like in greenhouses. Most of them are trays with potting soil, and a source of heat underneath that maintains soil temperature at 21°C.

To germinate your weed seeds, plant them in the growing medium and wait until they are old enough to be transplanted to a place where they can grow to maturity. You can buy germination stations at your local cannabis shop or make one yourself.

Planting Directly in the Soil

It may sound like a traditional method, but weed plants thrive in natural conditions, where they grow at their own pace. In addition, this method ensures that the plant isn’t interrupted in its germination stages by transplantation.

To effectively grow marijuana seeds using this method, plant your seeds an inch deep in the soil. The soil also has to be moist.

If, after using any of these methods, the marijuana seeds haven’t sprouted after two weeks, then the seeds are probably duds and won’t germinate into mature cannabis plants. You can try again using other weed seeds.

What Do You Need to Germinate Marijuana Seeds?

As a first-time weed grower, you may be at a loss in what exactly you need to nurture your cannabis seeds into fully matured plants. Experienced Marijuana growers like Kyle Kushman will tell you that the materials you require depend on the number of plants you’re growing.

Generally, the materials that you’ll need to germinate marijuana seeds include:

• Distilled water
• A growing medium that will nurture the young germinating cannabis seeds. It can be a germinating station, a jiffy pot, or paper towels
• A source of warmth for the germinating seeds

 

Weed Seed Germination Steps

From the time a cannabis seed starts germinating to when it is ready for harvest, the marijuana plant goes through four stages. 

These stages include:

1. Germination stage – The seed sprouts and shoots from the ground. The roots also start forming and growing into the soil. The seeds germinate between 3 and 10 days in this stage
2. Seedling stage – In this stage, the young weed plant is delicate and requires constant warmth. Moving the plant around in this stage isn’t ideal. This stage takes 2 to 3 weeks
3. Vegetative stage – In this growth stage, the cannabis plant takes shape. It adds plant mass, stems and branches become more firm, and the leaves also increase in number. The plant will remain in this stage for 3 to 16 weeks
4. Flowering stage – At this stage, the weed plant matures for 8 to 11 weeks until it is ready to harvest. The buds form and fill up with THC in readiness for harvest.

 

Where to Buy Cannabis Seeds Online in Canada?

Since weed became legal in Canada in 2018, the Canadian government has started regulating cannabis seeds. In addition, there have been a lot of cannabis shops selling marijuana products as well as seeds.

If you wish to find quality viable cannabis seeds in Canada, you can find them at Weed Delivery Vancouver, which has a well-stocked seed bank consisting of many pot strains and varieties.

 

References

1. Trevor Hennings. (2020, October 1). Cannabis seeds 101: How to grow marijuana from seed. How to Grow Weed From Seed | Cannabis Seeds 101 | Leafly. https://www.leafly.com/learn/growing/cannabis-seeds-101
2. Kushman. (2021, November 18). How to Germinate Marijuana Seeds | Homegrown Cannabis Co. How to Germinate Marijuana Seeds | Homegrown Cannabis Co. https://homegrowncannabisco.com/grow-your-own-with-kyle-kushman/how-to-grow-marijuana/how-to-germinate-marijuana-seeds/
3. The Seed Pharm. (2023, February 1). Buy Feminized Cannabis Seeds Online. Available at: https://www.theseedpharm.com/product-category/marijuana-seeds/feminized-marijuana-seeds/
4. Government of Canada. (2022, January 27). Regulation of cannabis seed – Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Regulation of Cannabis Seed – Canadian Food Inspection Agency. https://inspection.canada.ca/plant-health/cannabis/cannabis-seed/eng/1532127211185/1532127233686
5. Weed List. (2023, February 1). Buy Regular Cannabis Seeds Online in Canada. Available at: https://weedlist.org/product-category/seeds/regular-seeds/
6. Worms. (2016, April 8). Size, shape, and colour: three cannabis seed characteristics. Size, Shape, and Colour: Three Cannabis Seed Characteristics. https://www.dinafem.org/en/blog/size-shape-colour-cannabis-seed-characteristics/