babygro
Well-Known Member
SkunkyI agree with this statement videoman. I did a grow of grapefruit (feminised seed), and they were fine. i got paranoid a couple of times, but I never actually got a hermie. Not sure on the stronger phenotypes as I've never done a normal seed grapefuit grow. Definitely though, from my experience feminised seed are well worth the money. The only thing i really have against them is the lack of available strains. Very limited choice in comparison to buying normal seed.
The problem with them is as you've highlighted here - it's the increased risk in getting a hermaphrodite plant that you don't spot and manages to pollinate all your plants if you don't spot it in time. There is an increased risk of that happening when using feminised seeds, unless you watch them all extremely carefully - who wants that hassle?
What they are good for, is people who have limited areas to grow in, and can only grow 1 or 2 plants at a time - by using feminised seeds they can be assured of getting 100% female plants and no males which is not guaranteed at all if you only grow 2 plants from standard seeds.
Two plants are a lot easier to watch for herm traits than say half a dozen or more.
Personally, I beleive the best plants will always come from standard seeds, selected from a seed breeder with high breeding standards. The seed breeders themselves are the most important choice and not the strain.
Unfortunately, very few people ever bother even looking at the reputation and quality of seed breeders and get caught up in the 'who's got the strain I want' or "which strain has the highest blah blah" fiasco.
Feminised seeds have their place however and I do agree with Videoman in the sense that for some people they can provide a viable cost effective alternative to growing out more standard seeds to get the number of females they want - but that still comes with risks attached and people do need to be aware of those risks.