Feminized seeds or not?

[sadhu9]

I have used fem. Seeds and have not had good luck with them! I get hermies! What do other people think about using feminized seeds? Any help appreciated, i need to start a new grow!!!!!

 

[Bud Grant]

The conventional wisdom would be to buy a 10 pack of regular seeds. Pick the best female out of the group and take clones from her. The clones will be identical to her and will give you the best plants.

 

[sadhu9]

Thanks for the quick reply. You make perfect sense. Sometimes I get wrapped up in everything I don't use common sense. Go with a known substance.!

Peace

 

[Bud Grant]

no problem sadhu.
Now if you wanted to do a one time grow, the female seeds would make more sense. However, like you said they are prone to genetic problems such as the hermi issue.

 

[sadhu9]

Thanks again, BUD... I have some fem. WW seeds and will do a one time grow with them. I still have some Da Purps clones from a fem. DP seed. I will let them mature and hope for the best! One question...hermies are from a light stress or other stress put on a plant. It's not something that can infect other plants in my grow room? I had two different strains turn to hermies! The only thing related to both is I went from a 18/6 veg lighting to the lantern effect veg lighting(12 on 5 1/2 off 1 on 5 1/2 off) during the grow. A problem doing this? Have you ever tried this lighting technique?
Thanks

 

[Bud Grant]

actually I have not heard of that lighting technique. I'm pretty old school as far as lighting techniques. However I am now convinced that 24 hours on is fine for vegetative periods. Stress supposedly plays a role in herms, so is genetics. However, if you keep getting herms, you may want to try going back to a traditional lighting schedule either 18/6 or 24 hour. Keeping temperatures in the optimal range etc.
I have also heard that you should wait for your plants to show preflowers before switching to 12/12 lighting. I've heard that failure to do this can lead to female plants forming stamens. Clones are already going to be female, but seeds that are forced to be flowered before they are sexually mature (showing preflowers) are more likely to herm on you. Hope that helps

 

[Jimmycricket]

I have used fem. Seeds and have not had good luck with them! I get hermies! What do other people think about using feminized seeds? Any help appreciated, i need to start a new grow!!!!!

Real good quality fem seeds will not hermie.

Anyone can make bad fem seeds that have a high probability to hermie. Just like anyone can make mediocre regular quality seeds, but it takes a master to make a GDP or a Chemdawg or a white widow.

 

[Jimmycricket]

GLR lighting is a fine style of veg lighting and does not make plants more or less prone to being a hermie. Tbh any type of lighting in veg is just fine as long as it gives enough light to keep a plant from flowering.

However once a plant starts to flower many things could potentially happen to make them hermie.

Weird lighting
uneven temperatures
bad nute regimens
bad watering
possibly other stresses too.

Indoors my first thing to look for would be interrupting of the 12 hours of dark if i had a lot of hermies.

 

[sadhu9]

I know the 12/12 lighting is working but what do you consider uneven temperatures? Mine have been at 74 to 64 degrees at the lowest. The nutrient schedule seems to be fine, the plants are big and healthy DW culture. All the hermies were clones. two strains from fem seeds I bought and one I had. All are ruined!

 

[Jimmycricket]

temps were fine then.

check for things like light leaks.

The probability of 3 different strains all going hermie genetically as opposed to stress seems very unlikely.