Fems vs Regs

[Chunky Stool]

Some folks say that feminized seeds are not as vigorous as regular seeds. Pest & mold resistant is also not as good.

Other folks say that's a bunch of poppycock.

Personally, I thought they were the same, genetically speaking, and fems are more efficient if you don't want males.

however...

This is the first year I've ran mostly fems outdoors, and I've had many more gray stem mold infections than in previous years.
Amputation is the normal cure, but sometimes entire plants are culled when it's really bad.

I should also mention that some of the infections actually healed. ("Healed" = no active mold growth, just a permanent scar. Active growth is fuzzy and obvious.)

I have an active mold prevention plan which includes silica, Southern Ag GFF, and diluted milk.
But this is the Pacific Northwest, where temps are in the 40s at night w/humidity of 90%.

Gotta admit, I'm a little paranoid because that gray stem mold is probably the same thing that causes bud rot later in flower.
(I am convinced that bud rot starts on the stem, not in the bud, but that's a completely different topic...)

Yeah, I'm rambling now...

What do you think?

Are fems as vigorous and resilient as regs?

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

Ive never noticed a difference in terms of overall healtg between the too, always found that to be more strain dependent. But i do find fems veg slower and always thought thats what people meant by less vigorous. Its not across the board, but every time i run a mix of seeds most of the regs grow faster than most of the fems.

 

[HBZ]

This has always been a touchy debate that has never been panned out or settled..As far as I know and I read constantly about cannabis, this debate has never been put to bed...Most ppl when talking about this just believe what they want and go with it...My personal belief is fems are more likely to herm..Why? Because that's how they were made in a round about way..Alot of ppl think that's absolute bullshit! Even tho that's what I believe to be true I've seen both regs and fems herm..Another brain bust -- every damn legendary cut has been from a accidental pollen disaster 🤔 ..When it comes to this it's just going to depend on personal opinion probably.. Personally back when I got real serious about growing and chucking I followed one guys grows and advice closely..He would NEVER use a fem seed in a chuck and heaven forbid even speak of a S1..The longer I keep doing this my opinion is changing towards there is no difference...You will have stability in either or trash in both...These days the ONLY reason I shy from fems is im always always always hunting for that true gem male to use...If i purchase a pack of seeds i always hope for mostly male plants to look thru.. Surely there is someone that is way smarter than i on this subject with scientific backing...Ide love to be directed to such a article if one exists..Been riding on personal opinion for far to long..Would love to hear what @Schwaggy P has to say about it

 

[Schwaggy P]

Would love to hear what @Schwaggy P has to say about it

Is it a bad idea to use feminized plants for breeding?

 

[Rosinallday]

I wonder about flower time also with fems. I have a few different fems flowering outside and they are by far the slowest plants I've ever come across.

 

[Chunky Stool]

I wonder about flower time also with fems. I have a few different fems flowering outside and they are by far the slowest plants I've ever come across.

Interesting...
I've had mixed results this year when it comes to the onset of flowering. And there doesn't seem to be a trend when it comes to fem vs regs.

The number of dark hours required to flower doesn't seem like a trait that breeders care much about.
I have learned that their definition of "Fast" means once a plant starts flowering, it finishes quickly.
It has nothing to do with the number of dark hours required to start flowering.

There's the rub - a plant that can flower in 4 weeks is useless if it requires 12 hours of darkness to start flowering. (outdoors)

Also, I've grown plants that were "semi-autos" that had a percentage of ruderalis which was supposed to make them "fast". 😜
It has been my experience that only about 10% of those seeds start flowering early. (It is definitely a recessive trait - to make pheno hunting extra fun.)

Have you ever grown Early Bird by Vashon Seed?

I'm going to buy a few packs the next time JBS has a sale. And maybe some JuJu Bee for indoors. (I loves me some sticky icky)

 

[Rosinallday]

Interesting...
I've had mixed results this year when it comes to the onset of flowering. And there doesn't seem to be a trend when it comes to fem vs regs.

The number of dark hours required to flower doesn't seem like a trait that breeders care much about.
I have learned that their definition of "Fast" means once a plant starts flowering, it finishes quickly.
It has nothing to do with the number of dark hours required to start flowering.

There's the rub - a plant that can flower in 4 weeks is useless if it requires 12 hours of darkness to start flowering. (outdoors)

Also, I've grown plants that were "semi-autos" that had a percentage of ruderalis which was supposed to make them "fast". 😜
It has been my experience that only about 10% of those seeds start flowering early. (It is definitely a recessive trait - to make pheno hunting extra fun.)

Have you ever grown Early Bird by Vashon Seed?

I'm going to buy a few packs the next time JBS has a sale. And maybe some JuJu Bee for indoors. (I loves me some sticky icky)

Don't know about early bird, other than I like the name. I like the plants that have the early onset of flower outdoors and finish quick, that's how you get the nice looking buds.
The zoap s1 that I have just started flowering. Could finish December 1st I guess. gonna get chilly

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

There's the rub - a plant that can flower in 4 weeks is useless if it requires 12 hours of darkness to start flowering. (outdoors)

Yeah, ive been thinking about this a lot lately. My Hippy Slayer x Bahlki cross starts flowering in August, when there is barely 7 hours of full darkness a day. Last year they finished in 6 weeks, so end of September. But I cant imagine they would flower under 7 hours of darkness in a tent. There has to be other trigger for outdoor plants. Someday Id like to invest in a programable light dimmer and see what happens if you replicated a real summer night and see what happens. But I digress

 

[Chunky Stool]

Yeah, ive been thinking about this a lot lately. My Hippy Slayer x Bahlki cross starts flowering in August, when there is barely 7 hours of full darkness a day. Last year they finished in 6 weeks, so end of September. But I cant imagine they would flower under 7 hours of darkness in a tent. There has to be other trigger for outdoor plants. Someday Id like to invest in a programable light dimmer and see what happens if you replicated a real summer night and see what happens. But I digress

Slayer / Bahlki sounds awesome for outdoor crops!

Could I interest you in a trade? I have LOTS of unopened packs from various sources.

 

[Frimpong]

When a male is introduced the gene pool opens up quite a bit. As far as flowering, I've noticed a big difference with clones versus seed only because the clones are sexually established.

 

[Hawkman]

Being that fem's come from reg's - reg's being the 1st generation --might be better in some respects ----thoughts ?? !!!!

 

[RookieBuds]

Is it a bad idea to use feminized plants for breeding?

AWESOME read (just your post), I learned a ton just from that

 

[RookieBuds]

I had this idea in my head that if I wanted to best preserve a cut, I should "self" it and make fem seeds of that cut, so is that totally wrong?? Am I just subjecting future progeny to very likely more problems or weaknesses??

 

[WODAHS]

Is it a bad idea to use feminized plants for breeding?

Why is it bad?
I'm on my LAST RUN with a Feminized Lineage that I was Blessed to receive and grow in the mid Eighties for a number of years.
The beans have been stored for nearly 30 years, and popped all of them this year for an outdoor run / Pheno hunt, lost half to Septoria & my own doings with Killing the Spores. I have since taken cuttings and will be crossing them with ? so I can keep the Genetics from being completely lost.

SO WHY IS IT a bad idea to use feminized plants for breeding?

 

[RookieBuds]

Why is it bad?
I'm on my LAST RUN with a Feminized Lineage that I was Blessed to receive and grow in the mid Eighties for a number of years.
The beans have been stored for nearly 30 years, and popped all of them this year for an outdoor run / Pheno hunt, lost half to Septoria & my own doings with Killing the Spores. I have since taken cuttings and will be crossing them with ? so I can keep the Genetics from being completely lost.

Curious if you read his post that he linked? He explained everything pretty well, and he didn't definitively say you shouldn't, but rather lays out some possible implications when doing so 👍

Seriously, his one single post might fully address your question

 

[WODAHS]

Curious if you read his post that he linked? He explained everything pretty well, and he didn't definitively say you shouldn't, but rather lays out some possible implications when doing so 👍

Seriously, his one single post might fully address your question

Thanks,
I'm new to this forum stuff and don't always no how to navigate this site.
I see know what you mean, didn't realize that was a link. Thanks for the TIP!

 

[BH]

Tbh I love feminized and not being a breeder I feel better knowing I can say good bye males , key is picking legit breeders and strains but also hermie scanning like any issue for growing , daily scanning and scouting . many times I have found balls in first 1-4th week of bloom and it was less than 5 balls and when I removed them and scanned daily majority of time I never see them regrow back or have hermie issues the 2nd time ran? Just saying i by being told and saw online to always kill the hermies, what I notice is many times best pheno growing wise is the hermie and being not a breeder and those results seem to be for me why not keep em? Like everything key is scouting and knowing the issues

if you want to grow without any worry of hermies get urself a nice 1-4 cemented clones or already ran moms and forget doing seeds. I don’t blindly support people who need every sqft and need in small sqft for need of 1-3lb min per 4x4. just saying if u go by plant count and many states have small and if u do regulars and 50%ish are males and than high % will also lower ur chances of prime % of harvest %. I’m willing to take loose because of needs of always wanting and wanting to explore but also plant count isn’t my limits . I also know my will to hunt hurts a huge % of guratee of 1-3lb per 4x4 100%. just being honest cause there’s too many people acting like if u grow seed blindly all will be like the keeper the breeder is presenting as the example of the seed pack.

the pro is you can find a keeper and a plant that works for you, so many times the “keeper” for other is def not my favor of smoke or growing and pkant itself doesn’t like my style. Since I don’t and never will grow one plant that style isn’t gonnea work but also best qc/sop for me on hunting for strains is based on what works and what everyone likes on end result. My biggest issue was thinking these seeds or clone was gonnea be as good or cemented to work in my garden and grow style. So sometimes people need to realize maybe pick what’s best in theirs vs huge claims .


for me more I germinate and have to clone it and also run em multi times if I like it obviously before cementing in the mom. doing regulars at my scale works but man the feminized ones are even better , as long as u hermie scan! shoot if the plant is runty and slow and small. Let them stay alive but to save sqft put them via side light and take em as extra’s. interesting thing is I’ve seen many side lighter pheno’s and runty/small even be my favorites smoke wise, but I have yet to this date willing to keep those pheno’s around , I’ll keep the bud as head stash if I like it enough but fuck the ultra low yeilders lol

 

[HBZ]

Why is it bad?
I'm on my LAST RUN with a Feminized Lineage that I was Blessed to receive and grow in the mid Eighties for a number of years.
The beans have been stored for nearly 30 years, and popped all of them this year for an outdoor run / Pheno hunt, lost half to Septoria & my own doings with Killing the Spores. I have since taken cuttings and will be crossing them with ? so I can keep the Genetics from being completely lost.

Awesome...what strain?? @COLDBROOK FARM

 

[WODAHS]

Awesome...what strain?? @COLDBROOK FARM

There're an Afghani & Thai that a friend had crossed and worked with for 20+years in the N. East ever since the late Sixties Early Seventies after returning home from Nam. His work ended in the early Nineties & has since Passed along time ago.

 

[HBZ]

There're an Afghani & Thai that a friend had crossed and worked with for 20+years in the N. East ever since the late Sixties Early Seventies after returning home from Nam. His work ended in the early Nineties & has since Passed along time ago. View attachment 183056 View attachment 183057

Very interesting...looking forward to seeing some flowers!