Seed & Grow Questions
Do you have seed and grow questions? From the finest seeds, grow the finest plants! So check out our FAQs for some essential beginner’s tips to make the most of your cannabis seed purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
You plant cannabis seeds... and harvest cannabis plants! In their natural environment (outdoor) plants will begin to bud when the hours of light and darkness change as the season passes from Summer to Autumn, so flowering takes place between September and November in the Northern hemisphere.
In an artificial environment (grow room), light management controls the growing (vegetative) and the flowering (budding) stages.
Typically 18 hours of light / 6 hours of darkness is used to keep a plant in vegetative state for 2 – 4 weeks, before switching the timer to 12 hours of light /12 hours of dark for flowering.
A good cannabis strain description will give details of expected plant growing times and a guide to when to harvest.
The exception to this rule is the autoflowering cannabis plant, which will flower automatically, 60 – 75 days after the seed has been planted. The reason for this ‘auto’ behaviour is the presence of cannabis ruderalis genes in the strain.
This short, stubby cannabis plant naturally grows in the Arctic Circle and has adapted its behaviour to live through 24 hour daylight during the summer. By harnessing these genes, cannabis breeders have developed a plant that is shorter in stature and quick to finish without a rigid light/dark hours program.
-
NEVER give nutrients to cannabis seeds! In the early stages of cannabis plant growth, just as with any plant, nature will do its own thing.
From seed to seedling stage, a plant is delicate and does not need extra nutrients in addition to those it is taking from a good potting soil. When the plant has established itself, and is experiencing rapid growth during the vegetative stage, is the time to introduce nutrients to the feeds (extending this program through the flowering stage).
There are many nutrient products available for the grower to buy and a good manufacturer will provide a guide to dosage and frequency for different stages of growth.
-
If you have an indoor grow setup, such as a grow room or grow tent, then you can grow cannabis seeds all year round. If you are growing outdoor cannabis then it really depends where in the world you live (cannabis seed guides will often refer to regional latitudes).
Each region, as well as climate conditions will produce different grow environments and provide distinctive challenges for the cannabis grower. As a rule, cannabis seeds are planted outside in May and harvested between September and the end of October in the Northern hemisphere (in the Southern hemisphere cannabis seeds are planted in September and harvested in March). Paradise Seeds has comprehensive guides to growing in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.
Cannabis plants are notoriously versatile plants! For thousands of years they have grown wild in parts of Asia, Africa and South America. Feminized cannabis seeds will reward today’s outdoor cannabis grower with a rewarding yield in most regions of the world. If growing indoors, even the smallest area can be converted into a convenient grow space and there are plenty of grow tent products on the market to fit most spaces. For those growers with space restrictions, there are specific cannabis strains that are naturally shorter in height and autoflowering varieties will fit into the tiniest of spaces.
-
No. Cannabis seeds require darkness to germinate. Cannabis growers need to follow nature’s path, even though they are artificially germinating seeds.
It is commonly known that you plant a seed in soil and cover it before it starts to grow, so it is important to take this lesson and adapt the principle to the germination methods described above.
-
If you place cannabis seeds in a glass of water to germinate, sometimes they float, sometimes they don’t! So don’t worry if they do sink, they will not drown.
However ungerminated seeds run the risk of developing rot in the taproot, which is why after 36 hours you should remove them. For this same reason, with the tissue paper method it is important that the paper is moist and not submerged under water.
Always follow the Goldilocks rule – Not too wet, not too dry, just moist!
-
To germinate feminized cannabis seeds and start growing, you don’t need any specialised equipment apart from a plant pot and a sunny windowsill! However, if you are interested in how to grow cannabis indoors then the growing process requires some basic equipment.
A new grower will need a grow space (convert a cupboard or buy a grow tent), light/s (research whether HPS or LED is the best option for your space) and a timer, an extractor fan and carbon filter to take away the smell, fans for air movement inside the space, a grow medium (eg soil) pots and trays (to catch water leakage).
-
Most marijuana strains sold these days are in the form of feminized cannabis seeds.
Difference between feminized and regular cannabis seeds?
These were first developed by breeders in the early 2000s and quickly became popular with cannabis growers.
A batch of regular cannabis seeds may include both male and female plants, requiring the grower to ‘sex’ the plant and throw away the males during growth in order to prevent them from pollinating females (which will force them to produce seeds instead of flowers/buds). With feminized seeds, every seed in a batch will produce a female plant that will only produce flowers.
-
There is no definitive answer to this! A better question is what kind of cannabis do you want to grow?
Those who are looking for an uplifting/energetic effect will choose a sativa strain, while those looking for a more relaxing/heavy effect prefer an indica strain. Most new growers are also looking for a cannabis strain that is easy to manage, forgiving of grower’s mistakes and rewarding in yield, such as Wappa or Durga Mata.
Whatever cannabis seeds you choose, always ensure that they buy them from a trusted and reliable source. An established cannabis seed company, such as Paradise Seeds, will produce strains through its in-house breeding program.
This ensures cannabis seeds come with high germination rates (in the case of Paradise this is 95%+) and stable genetics (which will produce plants as advertised). Like everything, you pay a bit more, but in return you get a guarantee of quality.
-
Yes we do. Each cannabis strain is different and may display different characteristics in its growth pattern.
To help you get the best from your Paradise Seeds strain, we've prepared a useful infographic here.
-
Your particular environment and where you live in the world will influence how best to grow outdoor cannabis plants.
Most strains will thrive in sunny conditions, such as in Mediterranean regions, with enough water and ideally some shade to prevent them overheating.
If you are growing in a cooler/wetter region then this will need some more thought in regards to choice of variety (Paradise Seeds cannabis strain descriptions will guide you with this) and grow method.
For a good basic guide to growing outdoor plants in your region, see our grow tips for:
-
Outdoors, if you have a small space then autoflowering plants provide a great option due to their short and compact form.
The easiest way to grow indoor cannabis is to use a grow tent.
However if you have space limitations then there are possibilities to grow in the tiniest of spaces!
To give you some idea of how easy it is to transform a small space into a stealth cannabis grow, check out our blog here.
-
There are two tried and tested methods to successfully germinate cannabis seeds:
Video Cannabis Seed Germination
Take a small plate and lay a layer of tissue paper down - toilet paper will do nicely! Moisten this by soaking the tissue (and running off the excess water) and then place your seeds on top.
On top of this add another layer of tissue paper and soak. Place in a warm dark place and make sure your tissue paper stays moist. Your seed should germinate in 1 – 4 days.
Drop your cannabis seeds into a glass of water (always avoid using chlorinated water) and place in a warm dark place for up to 36 hours (if they have not germinated in that time, revert to the tissue paper method).
For both methods, it is important to pay attention to temperature. If it is too cold this may stop your cannabis seeds from germinating.
-
Paradise Seeds has an excellent reputation for its high germination percentage rates (95%).
-
Store them in a dry, cool, dark place in their original packaging or an airtight container.
A refrigerator is an ideal storing environment.
Stored correctly, your seeds will last from 2 – 5 years.
-
Some people just love the way the cannabis plant looks! Autoflowers make very exotic houseplants.
They are quick to grow and will achieve a very manageable height (below 1m), producing exotic looking flowers.
There is also a niche community of growers who cultivate bonsai cannabis plants. Read all about it here.
Cannabis seedling first leaves image from PH: Scotty Frey