Whenever I buy cannabis seeds I’m always a bit overwhelmed with all the choices. It would take me forever to try them all, so I’ve devised a process to help you ensure you’re happy with what you ultimately choose.
The Best Way To Choose Cannabis Seeds
The best way to determine which cannabis seeds to buy is to first identify the effects you’re looking for and match those to an existing cannabis strain.
After you pick Indica, Sativa, or a Hybrid strain, you can look more closely at the secondary characteristics of individual strains (think White Widow versus Girl Scout Cookies) to narrow down your final candidates.
If effects or terpene profile aren’t high on your priority list for choosing cannabis seeds, you can always check out my data analysis of the most popular strains on Reddit’s MicroGrowery.
I’m reminded of the saying about Indica plants: Indica sounds a bit like “in-da-couch,” and that’s what you’ll get from an Indica strain.
Sativa strains are known more for their stimulating characteristics, and are typically recommended for daytime use. Take a look at the infographic below for a more detailed comparison of Indica and Sativa strains:
There are clearly a lot of factors to consider. Even though I frequently encounter people whose first requirement is “large dense buds,” you should ask if you also want the couch lock, drowsiness and big appetite that come with dense indica buds? Or would you sacrifice the difference in bud structure to be able to have a more sociable, good mood daytime strain?
This survey of medical cannabis users found a statistically significant preference for cannabis indica plants for pain management, sleep aid, and sleep quality.
The survey also found a statistically significant preference for cannabis sativa plants for nonmigraine headaches, glaucoma, neuropathy, spasticity, seizures, insomnia, and joint pain.
I would say deciding between Indica or Sativa seeds are probably the biggest part of your seed shopping process.
Hybrid Cannabis Seed Strains
Hybrid seed strains are the result of cross breeding Indica and Sativa plants. Breeders do this to try to end up with the best characteristics of both plants.
In addition to getting a bit of indica with your sativa, or vice versa, hybrids are also bred to have characteristics that make them easier to grow, or have higher yields. Gold Leaf is a hybrid strain that produces consistently high yields.
Should I Buy Feminized or Regular Cannabis Seeds?
I highly recommend paying a little extra for feminized cannabis seeds. The reasoning is simple. First, feminized seeds aren’t that expensive. Second, it’s hard to plan a grow with a certain number of plants without knowing how many plants will end up being females.
If you end up with regular seeds, perhaps bagseed or seeds from a home harvest, you’ll have to plant them and let them grow in order to find out their gender. If they turn out being males, it’s a lot of energy gone to waste.
You’ll be able to tell the gender after about six weeks. You’ll see female parts or male parts. At that point you should remove any male plants from the grow.
Other Seed Characteristics to Consider
High CBD or High THC?
It’s pretty well documented that consumers go straight for high THC seeds, leaving the low THC seeds sitting on dispensary shelves for a long time.
But the truth is that high THC doesn’t necessarily equal better experience. In fact, I’ve read countless stories of people who can’t go near the high THC strains because it gives them paranoia and ruins their experience.
For that reason, I encourage you to check out some CBD dominant seeds. I’ve read stories of people who nearly give up THC after trying CBD dominant cannabis or even a balance of 6-8% CBD and 6-8% THC.
This is also why I’m such a big proponent of CBD oil.
High Yield
What cannabis plant strain yields the most? There are several high yield strains available from reputable seed banks like ILGM. Some of the more popular high yielding cannabis strains are:
- White Widow
- Girl Scout Cookies
- Purple Haze
- Green Crack
- Gold Leaf
Easy to Grow Autoflowering Seeds
If you’re a newer cannabis grower, or simply like having a little extra convenience in the sometimes complicated growing process, you definitely want to consider autoflowering cannabis seeds.
Autoflowers tend to grow smaller in size, but they’re easier to grow. Your grow lights don’t need to be as strong because autoflowering plants remain in 18+ hour light cycles for the whole life of the plant. The longer light exposure decreases the required intensity.
Autoflowers eliminate the guessing game of when to switch from the vegetative phase to flowering. Even though they’re a bit smaller, you can fit 3 autos in a 2×4 foot grow tent instead of 2 adult photoperiods.
Terpene Effects
Another reason why high THC cannabis isn’t always the best is because the effects of the terpene profile in more moderate THC strains can go completely ignored.
In other words, this Blueberry Autoflower that has a more mild 14% THC along with pinene and terpinolene terpenes could give you a much better experience than White Widow that has 33% more THC and a more spicy, woody terpene profile.
Get to know your terpenes and their possible effects by reading this complete terpene guide from Leafly.
Price
Price is not necessarily a determinant of good or bad cannabis seeds. Price can be a reflection of supply and demand, especially when dealing with a commodity like cannabis.
Stick to the other factors like terpene profile and sativa versus indica.
Indoor or Outdoor Seeds?
Even though you can still grow an indoor strain outdoors, and vice versa, there are certain strains that grow better in one environment over the other. For example if you plan growing in an outdoor climate that’s regularly hotter than 80 degrees, you probably want a strain that will fare better with a bit of extra sun in its life.
Indoor Cannabis Seed Strains:
- Gorilla Glue
- Blue Dream
- Wedding Cake
- White Widow
- Blueberry
- Banana Kush
- Grandaddy Purple
- AK-47
- Super Silver Haze
- OG Kush
- Amnesia Haze
- Jack Herrer
- Northern Lights
- Super Skunk
- Gelato
- Bubblegum
- Afghan
- Pineapple Haze
- Green Crack
- Chocolope
- Bruce Banner
- Blackberry Kush
- Maui Wowie
- Blue Haze
- …and more
Outdoor Cannabis Seed Strains:
- White Widow
- Gold Leaf
- Durban Poison
- Wedding Cake
- Super Skunk
- OG Kush
- Northern Lights
- Strawberry Kush
- Sour Diesel
- Trainwreck
- California Dream
- Mango Kush
- Blue Cheese
- NYC Diesel
- …and more
Try a Random Strain!
With so many options available, it’s easy to get analysis paralysis. If you’re having a hard time, why not flip a coin? Especially if you’re buying more than one strain.
Pick one you’re confident you’ll enjoy, and then pick a name out of a hat to pick a random strain. Like I said, you shouldn’t necessarily worry about THC content alone.
What are the Best Cannabis Seeds to Buy?
The word best is pretty subjective. Your opinion of the best cannabis seeds will definitely be based on your personal feelings and taste. So why not start with your feelings and personal tastes when making a decision on what cannabis seeds to buy? Good luck.
Check Out Our Other Growing Resources:
Thanks for reading my cannabis seed buying tips! Don’t forget to check out my other valuable guides such as the Top Cannabis Seed Breeders – A Reddit Survey, Cannabis Watering Tips, Cannabis Nutrient Guide, and Grow Light Hanging Height Guide.
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