Heirloom Varieties

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Heirloom seeds are the product of many years of selective planting and seed saving. The original seeds bore a plant or flower that had particular traits the grower liked – typically flavor, color, or psychoactive effect. The grower then saved the seeds from the desirable plant and repeated the process the next season selecting for similar type plants. The term “heirloom seeds” came about because the selection process fr some cultivars has been going on for generations, often passed along within a family and/or shared with friends.

Heirloom varieties are non-hybrid (open-pollinated). This simply means that they breed relatively true. Thus, growers can save seeds from their crops, pant them the following year, and expect to see offspring that are much like the parent generation. Any ff-types in each generation should be rogued out of the breeding population to keep it pure, as they are likely the result of pollen contamination from an external source.