������            Well, it's been a few weeks since my first article but as I promised I would share more secrets of gardening with all of you who want to grow your own cheeba. Today I'll be discussing a very important topic (aren't they all though?), what seeds to use and how to guarantee that they'll grow into some healthy kids.

           Trying to keep some sort of order, I'll discuss the seed part first. You've probably heard that using stash seeds from some good buds you come across is a good way to go. I've used seeds that a friend had kept over the years, and I did in fact produce some very healthy, high yielding, and potent plants. However, I also produced almost as many hermaphrodites as I did females and let me say that it is a great disappointment when you have to kill a plant that's half way through the flowering stage. Even worse however, is when those late appearing male pollen sacks pollinate your beautiful ladies and your left with extremely seedy bud. The reason for the high number of hermaphrodites is because seeds that you find in a bag are often from a hermaphrodite plant that Joe the commercial grower failed to notice among the hundreds of plants he was growing. The second reason not to use mysterio seeds is because you have no idea what the genetics are of the plant that the seed will produce. This means that you could put all sorts of time, effort, money, and RISK to produce unstable, low yielding, low potency marijuana. If your going to do something, especially since you are risking horrible legal repercussions, then you mine as well do it right. This is why I urge you to spend the extra $50 or $60 and buy yourself some seeds from a reputable seed bank. As I've said before, all of our acquaintances have been ordering from Marc Emery Direct Seed Sales for some time now, and we have received nothing but high quality marijuana seeds in a very efficient and reliable manner. The choice is up to you, there are many places that are legitimate and there are just as many which aren't, so be careful who you choose.

           That said, we can now move on to germinating your seeds once you are ready to grow. For those of you who don't already know, germination refers to sprouting the seed before planting it in order to insure that it will grow into a plant. You probably did this in grade school with beans, same deal with pot. There are many ways to do this but I will share with you the method that we've always used and had great luck with. Remember though, that different strains have different germination success rates and take varying amounts of time. Our success rate has always been close to 100% and I'm sure yours will be too. First, soak the seeds in a glass of purified water with a Ph of between 6.2 and 6.8 (this is the same Ph of water that you must use for your plants entire life) for 24 hours. You should put the cup in a warm place (between 80� F and 90� F), I like to put it between a waterbed mattress and the bed frame. Then you take 2 plates and put about 3 layers of paper towels on the first plate. Then dump the water with the seeds onto the paper towels and place another 3 layers of paper towels on top. Both layers of paper towels should be soaked but you MUST drain off any standing water (no puddles!). Fold the tips of the towels inward so they are not hanging over the edges of the plate and then invert the second plate on top of the first. Store the plates in a warm place (between 80� F and 90� F) and check the paper towels at least once a day and add water as needed so that they do not dry out. The seeds will "pop" anywhere between 1 and 14 days. Be patient, even if all but one of the seeds pops in a few days don't give up on the last one until 14 days are up.

           Once the seeds germinate they will have a white "tail" coming out of them. Plant the seeds into your growing medium (ex. Soil, rockwool cubes) about � inch below the surface and lightly cover with soil. Use tweezers when handling the seeds, as touching them with your hands will decrease their chance of growing. Plant the seeds with the "tail" pointing up. Place the seeds 6 inches beneath a fluorescent light for 24 hours a day until they are about 2 inches tall. If you are using fluorescents for the vegetation stage then you can now move the lights to within an inch of the plants. Otherwise you can put them under your new light source (ex. Metal Halide) but be sure to keep the light at least 1 foot above the plants because of the increased heat and intensity.

           Well that's all for this topic, if you have any questions you can email me at CannabisCanada.net
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