Cannabis Seeds

This category follows a cannabis seed from the mother plant to germination. It starts with the structure of the seed and moves through harvest, drying and storage to the question of how well it germinates.

• Seed Anatomy

  What is sold as a cannabis seed is botanically a fruit, and its structure explains why the hull has a say in whether it germinates.

• Harvesting and Cleaning Seed

  The sequence takes cannabis seed from the harvest through sieve and airflow into a sealed container, and each step has an end you can check.

• Drying Seed

  Hemp seed needs 5–7 % moisture content for storage, and the balance shows when it has got there.

• Seed Storage Containers

  Whether a container keeps seed dry is decided by the material of its wall, and between metal and polyethylene lie orders of magnitude.

• Improving Germination

  Temperature, germination medium and hull decide how a weak seed lot emerges, while the best-known additive lowers the germination rate.