Male plants put seed in your weed
Cannabis is a unique plant because it requires both male and female plants to reproduce. At times, female cannabis plants can turn into self-pollinating plants (hermaphroditic). It’s not generally a good thing when plants self-pollinate. It’s just as bad when female plants are pollinated by neighboring male plants.
It is incredibly unfortunate for a gardener to lose a cannabis crop to seeds. For example, a cultivator will have a beautiful garden of buds growing from sinsemillas (seedless female cannabis plants). And later start seeing seeds develop within their female plants. It’s heartbreaking because that’s at least three months of work, wasted.
There are many reasons a plant produces seeds. But the most common reasons come down to pollen and stress. They also guard against males and pollen specifically. If any pollen gets into a flowering room, the plants will produce seed instead of weed. A stressed female plant can mutate and produce pollen sacks.
Wash greenhouses and watch the light
When female plants accidentally become pollinated, it’s just as bad as losing a crop to pests and diseases. This means that after months of work, loads of money invested into equipment and the crop is not marketable.
Basically, nobody will buy it under normal conditions. Many people that find male plants in their garden rip them out right away, but sometimes it’s too late. The pollen has already done its damage.
Unless they intended to create a new breed of cannabis from seeds, commercial growers could lose millions of dollars. Imagine, a building bigger than a Super Walmart that can grow 10 thousand sinsemillas plants at once.
Seeds can cost a company millions of dollars
Depending on strain, each commercial plant can easily produce anywhere from 2-10 pounds of cannabis. Depending on how it’s grown and where it’s sold, the price for a pound of high-quality seedless cannabis is around $2000-$4000.
Now imagine that Super Walmart sized crop gets pollinated. If the entire crop develops seeds, the growers have lost millions of dollars, months of work and likely many peoples jobs. The reason is simple: people won’t smoke marijuana with seeds in it.
That is why after every harvest, growers thoroughly wash their greenhouses. This is to keep pests, diseases and pollen from invading their new batch of cannabis. Just remember that a garden can be completely clean from cannabis pollen, but female plants can still develop seeds. Female plants turn hermaphroditic when they become stressed or have their light cycle interrupted.
People don’t smoke marijuana with seeds
Many consumers have purchased a bag of weed only to find that it had seeds. The hallmark of an inexperienced grower or someone who just had a bad year, seeds preclude smoking. There are uses for seeds, but the main way that people make money off of cannabis is by growing it without.
Smoking herb with seeds tastes disgusting and smells worse. Many smokers stop inhaling when they hear the famous snap, crackle and popping sound when accidentally lighting a seed. Besides tasting nasty, burning a seed causes it to explode. The ensuing fireball in your lap can get your attention real quick and leave permanent burns in the carpet.
Smokers who take a big hit from a bowl with seeds will start to cough uncontrollably and develop a nasty headache. The worst part is that you can’t get high from smoking seeds the same way you can from smoking a pure bud. In states where marijuana is legal, businesses that sell weed have to hit certain quality metrics. The specifics vary from state to state but generally frowns on weed with seeds.
Some dispensaries will exchange your bag for another seedless variety if you tell them about it right away. Unfortunately, not all stores have a refund policy when it comes to returning seeded cannabis. It’s best to ask ahead before making a purchase at a new dispensary what their refund policy is.
See what male plants can do for you
It’s not always a bad thing to grow male plants. They serve a purpose in the cannabis industry other than destroying sinsemillas. Male cannabis plants are used for controlled breeding, to make hemp fibers, produce concentrates and assist in garden control.
Sometimes, cultivators want to grow male plants and cross them with female plants to create new versions of cannabis seeds. Like taking the dankest sweet indica and crossing it with the stickiest sour sativa to create an intense indica/sativa flavor fusion. This is called breeding and it breaks down into some pretty deep science. The biggest takeaway for me is that males provide half of the genetic makeup inherited by seeds.
Its best to look closely at the male plants genetics to see what they’ll pass on. Like their rate of growth, shape, resistances to pests and molds and weather resistances. These traits can be passed on by either parent and increase the quality of future generations. With over 8,000 strains of cannabis currently known today, the number of cross breeding strains is seemingly infinite.
How about some hemp fiber
Male cannabis plants are used for making hemp fibers by many manufacturers. This is because male cannabis plants produce softer material. Female plants produce coarse, stronger fibers that make it a bit more difficult to manage. Soft fibers from male plants are used to make clothes, tablecloths, bags, rope and more.
Back in the day, hemp was used to make essential ship items like sails, rope and clothes. Gun powder was wrapped in hemp cloth and bandages were made from male hemp as well. Hemp production is one of the most essential industries for developing societies. It has been important for humans since the dawn of civilization and continues to show itself to be indispensable.
Hemp is not a plant that can get a person high as is. Hemp farmers do not generally grow both smokeable and non-smokeable cannabis plants. They stand a higher chance of accidentally pollinating their female plants only to produce more hemp fields.
Males produce concentrates and act as garden enhancers
Male plants are less psychoactive than sinsemillas. They do not produce buds, just seeds. But they do produce small amounts of cannabinoids that are found in leaves, stems and pollen sacs which can be extracted. Hash and oils are created from these extractions in the same way as for female plants.
Both male and female plants also produce terpenes. Terpenes are aromatic oils that are used in gardens to repel insects and pests. Think of it as a natural bug spray. Some people suggest allowing male cannabis plants to grow alongside regular vegetables or flowers to keep pests at bay. Your mileage may vary with this method. Just make sure your male plants are nowhere near sinsemillas.
Male plants are also handy in gardens because their taproots allow moisture and nutrients to infiltrate and improve soil quality. Cannabis plants are deep rooting plants with long taproots. These long taproots dive deep underground and break apart low-quality soil. They prevent run-off and loss of soil during heavy rains as well.
Learn before you grow
Keep in mind, cannabis pollen can travel long distances. It is determined to find a female. It is recommended to have a clear understanding of how pollen works and travels before purposefully culturing it. Your neighbors will thank you.
