Considering Popping a Bag Seed? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

If you don’t have a reason NOT to, pop that seed.

Dear Friend & Subscriber-

I recently was having a conversation with Lovin’ in her Eyes about whether or not to pop a bag seed I had.

Bag seeds are taboo to some and hidden gems to others, largely dependent on your situation and goals.

If, like Lovin, you are always on the hunt for something special and unique, a bag seed could provide just that. On the other hand, if you’re growing at scale, having a wild card with unknown sexual stability that is the product of parents with intersex tendency, a few missed pollen nodes and you may be dealing with more seeds than you’d like. Additionally, if your grow and workflow are not equipped to anticipate and react to the unknowns of bag seeds, then it may not be the best choice.

“Pop every seed,” they say.

If it is a viable seed (not cracked, smashed, etc.) and you have the ability, many experienced growers would say, “Go for it; pop that bag seed.” There’s no real way to know if the seed will yield a “good” or “bad” plant without germinating it. It all comes down to your attention to detail and your preparedness for the unexpected.

Under this mentality, I popped a single bag seed I’d gotten in a bag of Spunday (Sundae Driver x Betty White) from Indica here in Colorado.

Call it superstitious, but I, like many, believe that buds that only yielded one or two seeds are producing a couple potential gems. So, I germinated it and it cracked with vigor. Not being quite ready to see where the experiment would go, I’ve kept it in Veg, cloning as needed for the past couple months.

When I was plant-sitting for Love for the Plant, I got a chance to see compartmentalized tent growing in action, and it gave me the idea of using an older tent as a “testing ground” for seeds.

Without giving away too much of his setup, Love for the Plant uses grow tents, and, like many, he has upgraded and added to his tent collection over the years.

Having been through a similar process, I’ve always kept my tiny 2x2x4’ tent that I started with and used it occasionally for drying, but otherwise haven’t used it as a growing tent in quite some time.

Seeing his grow with a 2x2 in use for small plants reminded me that, even if the equipment isn’t your optimum (maybe it’s an older light or smaller tent), you can still maximize the space.

After talking with Lovin, I decided against popping an additional bag seed, but I did make the decision to flip the Spunday to Flower as of yesterday.

It helps that I already had clones of the Spnuday, which made this spontaneous decision a bit less reckless. I transplanted her to a 5 gallon SmartPot and made sure she had proper air circulation before she began her final approach to flower. The leaves already have heavy Afghan traits, and I’m excited about this as the other genetic in the grow that shares it is the Poon Tang Pie, a favorite of mine.

So, in an ode to both the growers’ adage of “pop every seed” as well as a tribute to the late Betty White, I’m excited to see what this little bag seed has to offer.

Considering Popping a Bag Seed? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions:

What is your grow setup?

• Do you have a separate space for experimental seed (potential for intersex)?

• Intensity/Age of equipment?

  • For example, less intense lights are typically less likely to push a plant to extremes that might produce intersex expressions.

What is your time and timeline?

• Do you have the ability to check every growth node, every day for potential intersex traits before they become a problem?

  • In the case of Lovin, she spends the time to do this during a hunt, which gives her more flexibility in what she’s running because she can notice and address an issue before it becomes a problem.

What is your end game?

• Is it for the headstash?

• For commercial use?

• For breeding?

• Finding something special?

• For fun/first grow?

  • Sometimes, a bag seed is the perfect low-cost motivation to get started growing, and all you have to do is set your bar at keeping the plant alive.

  • Other times, a bag seed can start you off with a handicap if you’re a first grower. It all depends on the seed.

What are your limitations?

• Space

• Plant Counts

• Cloning/Ability to keep cuts around while you hunt

• Power Load (if creating a new space)

• Nutrients

• Substrate

What is your Risk Tolerance?

• Can you kill the plant if it all goes to shit?

• Are you OK with a couple of seeds here and there if you miss something?

• Can you tolerate the spend on pots, substrate, power, nutrients, IPM, etc.?

A bag seed is typically the product of two plants, one that shows intersex traits and pollinates another, nearby plant.

Occasionally, a plant may pollinate itself, but it appears to be less common. So, starting from bag seed means that your best case scenario is one sexually stable parent and one mostly stable (worst case, they’re both unstable). 

You could find something special. 

You could just enjoy a one-off run.

It could even be your first inspiration to grow

As long as you don’t have a reason NOT to, pop that seed.

You can always cull it later if you change your mind (though from personal experience, this is easier said than done).

Until next time,

Ben “Pop That Seed” Owens

P.S. Spunday Grow Tracker

As The Grow-Off is wrapping up (awards and test results come in at the end of the month), I’ll be transitioning that tracking effort to documenting my flower experience with the Spunday for premium subscribers. If you’re just joining or you are starting a bag seed journey of your own, I encourage you to subscribe and engage with the process.

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