Is it bad to find seeds in your weed?

by Nebula Haze

What does it mean to find seeds in your marijuana buds? Is it something to be worried about?

There’s a seed in my cannabis bud! What does this mean? Is it good or bad?

Sometimes you don’t see the seeds until they fall out of your buds

What causes seeds in buds?

Seedy buds are the result of pollination. What does that mean? Cannabis buds are flowers. Like other flowers, they make seeds when pollinated. Cannabis buds get pollinated when they come into contact with cannabis pollen while the buds are forming.

 Seeds happen when pollen gets on the hairs (pistils) of buds as they’re forming. In other words, seeds in weed are caused by pollination.

This bud is full of fat seeds because pollen got on the pistils during bud development.

Seedy buds with calyxes popping open everywhere

Pollen typically comes from the pollen sacs of a male cannabis plant. Male plants spray pollen everywhere when their flowers are mature. Sometimes female cannabis plants will produce pollen (known as herming) due to genetics or stress. Any source of pollen, whether the plant is male or female, can pollinate buds in the vicinity and cause seedy buds.

If you’ve found seeds in your buds, it happened while the plant was growing. Either the grower didn’t identify and remove all the male plants before they released pollen, or a herm was involved that self-pollinated or pollinated other buds in the grow area.

 

Does it mean the weed is bad?

Seeds in your buds aren’t good or bad. They are simply the result of pollination while the buds were growing. A few seeds here and there won’t make much difference in potency, though potency may be lower if the buds are very seedy.

The main problem with seedy weed is that you are getting less smokeable bud for the amount of total mass there. If buds are seedless, you get more bang for your buck. Seedless buds are known as “sinsemilla” (“sin semilla” is Spanish for “without seeds”) and are considered to be the highest quality and most potent type of weed.

Seedy weed is fine to smoke, though you should remove the seeds if possible (they have no THC and will pop if you smoke them). Unless there are tons of seeds, bud potency is unlikely to be affected.

 

Are “found” seeds good to grow?

I’ve seen some growers get impressive results with bagseed (seeds you find), but results may be hit or miss. Plants can grow in odd ways and the yields or quality may not be as expected.

The biggest problem is that seeds often don’t “breed true” to the buds that they came from. The resulting buds may end up nothing like the buds you found them in.

That is why many growers either stick to clones (which are exactly the same as the “mother” plant) or purchase seeds of a stabilized strain from a trustworthy breeder. This ensures each of the plants will grow the way you expect, and buds more consistently have the smell, yield and potency you expect.

Example of healthy cannabis seeds

If you’re not sure what strains to get, here are a few recommended favorites. These strains produce excellent weed and are generally easy to grow. Click the links for more information.

  • Blueberry – top-shelf looks and smell with classic effects reminiscent of 90s buds but stronger. Easy to grow.
  • White Widow – this version is MUCH more potent than regular White Widow. The buds tested between 24-26% THC. Don’t plan to do anything else that day ?
  • Platinum Cookies – for those who are looking for a face melter. These buds test up to 28% THC and produce buds with quintessentially “American” looks and smell. The mental and physical effects may be too intense for most beginners.
  • Bruce Banner FAST is a good choice for commercial growers with high THC up to 30%, big yields, and a short flowering time.
  • Afghan Hawaiian x Laos x Jamaican is a potent Sativa hybrid with great yields and uplifting unique mental effects
  • Wedding Cake Autoflower is an autoflowering strain that produces photoperiod-quality buds in about 70 days from seed to harvest.

Platinum Cookies is essentially a more potent version of the popular Girl Scout Cookies strain.

A purple Girl Scout Cookies plant (Platinum Cookies)- all the top buds have turned purple!

How can I tell if it’s a viable seed?

Mature cannabis seeds are typically dark brown or tan (the brown is a coating that can be rubbed off), and relatively hard. Very pale or white seeds usually won’t sprout.

However, I have been surprised to find some very flimsy or pale seeds sprout and produce amazing plants (we aren’t breeding cannabis for hard seeds after all). When in doubt, I highly recommend doing the true test to see if the seed is viable – try to germinate the seed and see if it sprouts!

The best way to tell if a seed is viable is simply to try germinating it

These seeds have germinated

These are all viable cannabis seeds. Every one grew into a healthy plant!

Macro closeup of feminized marijuana seeds

Learn Where to Buy Seeds

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