🌱 RE-PLANT Pot 💡 More light, more grams🍁
Customer support:+420 770 321 565info@higarden.eu
    Home / Blog / Step-by-step growing / Seeds and Germination / How to buy seeds for indoor growing

    How to buy seeds for indoor growing

    Are you already looking forward to planting three plants in the tent after the New Year, but cannot make sense of the vast range of seeds on the market? In our article, we explain in detail the most common terms you will come across when buying and give you several tips on which seeds are best for indoor growing.

    With seeds it is similar to wine. The name may reveal quite a lot, but it often does not tell you whether you are buying quality or whether you will like it. Behind an interesting name, however, there may be a cultivar that is not suitable for indoor growing or will be difficult to cultivate. When buying, therefore, think practically. The most important criteria when choosing seeds for indoor growing are the structure and sex of the plants, the length of maturation and the content of active substances.

    Sativa vs. indica

    Among growers, it is common to distinguish between sativas and indicas. Although experts have certain doubts about the correctness of such a distinction, seed sellers use this division to distinguish varieties with a long maturation period (sativas) from varieties that ripen more quickly and have smaller growth (indicas). The longest-flowering sativas can take more than 12 weeks to mature and can grow to enormous sizes. This does not make pure sativas the best candidates for indoor growing in a grow box, where space is limited. In addition, a long maturation period also means higher costs for the growing cycle. That is why most growers choose either pure indicas or hybrids, that is, crosses between sativas and indicas.

    • Sativa varieties: Narrow-leaved varieties with a long flowering period of approximately 10 to 12 weeks, originally from equatorial regions.
    • Indica varieties: Broad-leaved varieties originating from mountainous regions with a short flowering period of approximately 8 to 10 weeks.
    • Hybrid varieties: Crosses between sativas and indicas that are selectively bred to obtain a certain type of plant. The flowering time and plant structure depend on the combination of the parents’ genes.

    Photoperiodic vs. autoflowering varieties

    Most plants are short-day plants and begin to flower only when the length of the day drops below a certain threshold. In indoor growing, this means that we divide the growing cycle into two phases – the vegetative phase, when the day length is 16-18 hours, and the flowering phase, when the day length is reduced to 12 hours. The exception is autoflowering cultivars, which have been crossed so that they flower independently of the length of day and night.

    • Photoperiodic varieties: Short-day cultivars whose flowering depends on the photoperiod. In indoor conditions, they begin to flower only after switching to the 12/12 regime.
    • Autoflowering varieties: Varieties independent of the photoperiod, which begin to flower regardless of the length of day and night, usually about 21 days after germination.
    • Fast or early varieties: Cultivars with a rapid onset of flowering and a short flowering period are referred to as early or fast. However, they are not autoflowering .

    Feminised vs. regular seeds

    Plants are dioecious, and in the population we find both male and female plants. Most growers focus only on cultivating female plants for seedless flowers. These contain the highest amount of active substances. To achieve this, it is necessary to remove the male plants from the garden in time, which can be a challenge for inexperienced growers. Most growers therefore now use feminised seed, from which only female plants grow . Regular seed also has its place, however, as it is used in breeding new cultivars and is important for preserving the species.

    • Regular seed: Seeds originating from plants pollinated in the usual way, from which both female and male plants grow after germination.
    • Feminised seed: Seeds originating from feminised plants , from which only female plants grow.

    Content of active substances and terpenes

    The main attraction is the content of active substances, especially cannabinoids, but also terpenes and flavonoids. The best-known cannabinoid in is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is responsible for many of the effects of this herb. No less important is CBD (cannabidiol), which, unlike THC, does not have a psychoactive effect. Based on the THC and CBD content, we divide into three chemotypes, with specific legal regulations applying to the cultivation of with a THC content above 1%. The same also applies to large-scale cultivation of with a THC content below 1%.

    You may be interested in: How to grow legally

    • Type 1: Varieties with a high THC content and a low proportion of CBD. Modern cultivars can contain up to 30% THC with trace amounts of CBD.
    • Type 2: Varieties with a balanced proportion of THC and CBD.
    • Type 3: Varieties with a minimal THC content and a high proportion of CBD. Registered type 3 cultivars with a THC content below 0.3% are sometimes also referred to as technical.

    For more useful tips and guides for beginner and experienced growers, follow our Higarden growing blog.

    Next article