Damn Tiny Seeds...

Has anyone else noticed that there are tiny seeds in many otherwise quality strains? I'm not talking even white larger seeds, but these little (often pinhead-sized) seeds that camp out in calyxes and pop out when you break them open, normally via grinding..

It really doesn't matter where you get it, I've ended up with tiny seeds from plenty of respectable places that have the fire. What's the deal? Is something causing this? Not all of the strains I see with them have remnants of hermie flowers, some are totally clean. Is it that 48 hour pre-harvest dark period that everyone loves? I dunno, but it's annoying... I have 4 or 5 strains in my jars right now with tiny seeds that you only notice when you grind it up and look carefully or notice them on a scope. They're still quality smoke, but it annoys me nonetheless.

Dispensary owners/budtenders -- if someone came back to you and said "there's seeds in this" and it's these little buggers, what would you say? It does degrade the smoking experience, but they aren't really SEED seeds, hippie bombing all over the place... They seem very common, do you guys normally grind up a sample and check before buying vendor meds? I notice this first thing on most of the strains I smoke, but I can see how people who don't grind and load their bowls carefully would miss them.

This is by far the most common bud issue I see, along with dead mites... more common than mold, probably thanks to our dry climate.

I know what you're talking about and I hate those little undeveloped seeds! I've only come across it a few times and the last time I was sick of putting up with it after paying top dollar for an eighth. Fortunately I picked it up at one of my favorite shops and they let me bring it back in and exchange it with no problems!

I suspect, at least in that instance, that the buds got pollinated by intersex male flowers very shortly before harvest so the seeds didn't have a chance to fully develop. I think in the shop they said it was from some late hermies caused by light issues. It made the smoke really unpleasant for me. There were basically pinhead sized hard things scattered all throughout the bud and they tainted the taste:rasta:

This is what happens when plants Hermie and growers cut them on the brink in order to save the product and not take a total loss. This happens a lot with poor genetics and grow room problems and unfortunately f1's and feminized seeds, I have had it happen and I have 25+ years under my belt. This is why I try to grow mainly IBL's and proven genetics instead of the lastest fad, but when I do get a plant with this I let the buyer know and reduce the price dramatically, it would be up to the store owner to disclose this and price it right for their patients. In my opinion it does not always affect the quality, just the quanity(you are paying by wieght for little bugers), I am sure we would all love perfect bud but with all the new growers and so called breeders it will only get worse before it gets better.

Yeah it's just weird that I often see hermie flowers (especially on purple strains, they stand out against the dark color like crazy) and there are no little seeds, but I'll often see seeds minus the hermie flowers. I bet the feminized seeds have a lot to do with the prevalence of it the last few years since they're more prone to hermie activity, etc. I noticed this well before the dispensary scene, it seemed like almost every other batch of nice nug I ended up with from dealers had them too for the last 3 years or so. Seems like the gene pool is getting tainted. I'm growing my next batch from pure seed stock, screw all these random clones and feminized seeds. I'm gonna fire up some Deep Chunk so I can get a nice landrace Indica mother to cross into things.

You're right that it can happen to the best growers (just like pests, mildew, etc., it happens to all of us at some point), I just wish the dispensaries would check their meds more thoroughly and knock the price for these quasi-hermie strains down a peg (like $10/8th less than normal). It just seems like they don't acknowledge the issue for the most part and hope people don't notice...

Honestly I'd rather have a true seeded plant because then I can get some seeds to save for myself... I'm less pissed when I find a giant viable seed or two than when it's these little bastards spread evenly throughout all my bowls, killing the flavor with their woodiness. I would love for the strains with tiny seeds to be placed on the shelf as 'mid-grade'

I am sure we would all love perfect bud but with all the new growers and so called breeders it will only get worse before it gets better.[/QUOTE]


I couldn't agree more, Although I think many of the "Newbie Growers" will fall by the wayside this summer as they have to start dealing with things they never anticipated like heat and pest issues.:jointsmile:

We try to give people a heads up when there are undeveloped seeds in a strain. We'll weigh the bag a little over and let them know there will be extra cleaning involved. They tend to form more in the colas, so not every bag will get them. Sometimes it means we'll drop a strain an entire grade, so you're getting the same quality meds but at a better price.