Destigmatizing + Understanding White Label Seeds By Beth Mathieu
What is BWL Bulk/White Label?
BWL is an abbreviation that we use at North Atlantic Seed for Bulk/White Label, and it is how we source our own “house” seed menus: NASC BWL, Private Label, and Commercial Cultivars. White Label is a term that is commonly used among wholesalers, distributors and seedbanks within the cannabis seed industry and beyond, and all it really means is that the seeds were purchased from farmers under the pretense that we could sell them using our own brand and our own name: North Atlantic Seed Co.
Unfortunately, BWL has gotten quite the bad rep in forums and threads online, and that’s why we have always chosen to highlight “BWL” as transparently as we have: 1. We want growers to understand that we did not breed these seeds ourselves. Hopefully, this helps them make an educated decision about who they source their genetics from. 2. We want to destigmatize White Label seeds. Below, I am going to discuss why I think this topic is so important for every grower to understand.
Are BWL Seeds Bad?
Our perspective–as people who understand this industry quite well–is that BWL seeds can be just as great and just as terrible as any other seed. Shocking, right?
What matters is the intent and the breeding practices of the farmer who made the seeds. Like any industry, there are seed mills out there churning out millions of seeds a month purely for the profit; these businesses probably don’t have the grower’s best interests at heart. Conversely, there are craft operators that put a great deal of heart, care, time, and expertise into their breeds. Both types of farmer can supply BWL seeds, so sourcing is really what becomes important, and that is guided by our values as a business, and your values as a grower.
Agriculture and farming is an industry where it’s hard to make a good living nowadays. As farmers and breeders ourselves, we have lived this struggle, and we have no shame in supporting breeders who are creating and refining high-demand genetics for others to brand and sell.
There are many breeders in our community who are incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about genetics, but they have no interest in all of the other things that come along with running a front-facing business: They don’t want to sit behind a computer all day, or work on marketing campaigns, or become beholdent to social media. They want to be in their gardens. And yet that is the business of seeds; more and more, that is what it takes. For these types of breeders and farmers, White Labeling seeds gives them an opportunity to make a living doing what they love without having to be a great business-person at the same time. For this reason, we are not ashamed at all to source White Label genetics for our house brand, but in large part, that’s because we do our due diligence. We are intentional about the breeders we support and rely on in this way because we care about your experience as growers.
Where Does NASC Source BWL Seeds From?
At North Atlantic Seed, we are always trying to improve and refine the seed menus we are offering to our growers. And I’m not just saying that. We care so much about getting this right, and we recognize that this is what builds trust and integrity.
If you’ve been watching closely over the years, you might have noticed that the North Atlantic Seed BWL menu has undergone frequent changes. While we don’t have the ability to grow out every single strain ourselves, we try to grow out as many as we can, and we listen closely to what our customers are telling us about their experience with these seeds. We have turned our menus over many times, and we have tried the same strains from many different breeders. We are always whittling away, trying to make our BWL menu better. This is a process that will never stop because genetics will never stop evolving and getting better.
What we want you to know and hear is that NASC sources genetics from the breeders you already know and trust, as well as from other farmers who you might never know, but who deserve to have their genetics grown just as much as the next person. These are people who are doing good work and they are good people.
Ultimately, we understand that people are going to have opinions about breeders, genetics, White Label seeds, and virtually everything else. Have it. But we want to set the record straight as far as NASC’s relationship with White Label goes: A lot of the derogatory commentary we see tossed around online is so off the mark from the reality of the industry, and it gives people a bad taste about something that is very misunderstood. Yes, there are bad actors out there, but my hope is that our growing community is aware that there are a lot of good actors too, so let’s not stigmatize this category of seeds as a whole. That only serves to hurt the breeders and farmers who are doing hard work and trying to make an honest living just like you and I.
Moroccan Peaches and the Rise of the Sativa Hash Plant, story provided by Purple City Genetics
Hash has lived in a narrow lane for a long time. Heavy. Sedative. Indica-dominant. The plants that wash well are almost always the ones that put you down. Dense resin, strong returns, predictable results. And for years, that tradeoff was accepted. If you wanted yield, you gave up energy. If you wanted lift, you gave up washability. Two different worlds.
The Constraint
Sativa plants have always carried some of the most compelling terpene profiles in cannabis. Citrus, tropical fruit, bright, volatile expressions that jump out of the jar. They also tend to fail where hash begins. Loose trichome structure. Lower return. Poor mechanical separation. So they get pushed out of the category. Distillate inputs. Flavor contributors. Not centerpiece hash. Meanwhile, the hash world optimized around what worked. The result: technically strong, but creatively limited.
El Krem: A Different Objective
El Krem was built to break that constraint. Not by chasing THC. Not by chasing yield alone. By selecting for expression first. The goal was to create plants that could sit on a table with dozens of jars and still stand out. Lime, orange, peach. Layered terpene profiles that don’t flatten out after extraction. At the same time, every cultivar had to function in the real world. Flower or hash. Jar or wash. Because growers don’t get to specialize anymore. They need optionality. This is what defines the El Krem line: dual-use genetics built for both flavor and function
Moroccan Peaches
Moroccan Peaches didn’t arrive quietly. From the start, it stood out for combining two traits that rarely coexist: Effect and washability. A sativa-leaning hybrid with loud lemon, orange, and peach terpenes. Bright, expressive, immediately recognizable. But what made it different wasn’t just the flavor. It was how that flavor behaved. Across crosses, peach showed up consistently. It held its signal. It carried through different pairings without collapsing into sameness. More importantly, it didn’t flatten everything around it. It organized it. Part of what makes that possible is structural. The peach-leaning expressions we’ve selected tend to carry dense, uniform resin heads and a terpene profile that reads clearly even after processing. That combination matters. It means the signal doesn’t just. of stability is present, it stops behaving like a note and starts behaving like a framework. That’s when you can actually build around it. Peach became a baseline strong enough to pressure-test everything it touched. Traits paired with it had to hold their ground. The ones that did started to define the edges of the expression: citrus on one side, gas on another, candy and sour filling in between. The ones that didn’t got absorbed. That’s how the range sharpens instead of getting muddy. Underneath that, structure. Resin that actually separates. Trichomes that hold. A plant that returns when you wash it. That alone would have made it notable. The effect made it different. Upward. Energetic. Engaging. Not the slow descent most hash delivers. That combination changed how people thought about what hash could be.
Why It Stuck
Most hype strains fade. Moroccan Peaches didn’t. Because it solved a real problem. It gave extractors something new to work with. It gave smokers a different kind of experience. It gave growers a plant that could perform in both lanes. That’s rare. And when it shows up, you build around it.
The 2026 El Krem Peaches Collection
For 2026, Moroccan Peaches became a foundation. Not a single release. A breeding block. The goal was to expand its core traits across a wider spectrum without losing what made it work. Each cross explores a different edge of the same structure: ● Fez: peach nectarine layered with incense and citrus depth ● Habibi: peach and Z-driven structure with strong bag appeal ● Moroccan Zowah: extraction-forward with candy and sour gas undertones ● Saffron: shorter cycle while holding the peach-forward identity ● Cheri Granada: full-spectrum fruit expression with floral and wood notes Different directions. Same backbone.
Beyond the Pack
Seedlings and clone releases pushed the work further. Different pairings. Different environments. Different outcomes. Some leaned tropical. Some leaned gas. Some sharpened citrus. Others pulled deeper into kush structure. Not every expression needs to last. But every expression adds resolution. This is the same philosophy behind the seedling program: early looks into where the line is going, not just finished products
The Shift
El Krem represents a change in how hash is evaluated. From yield to experience. From output to expression. Moroccan Peaches sits at the center of that shift. Not because it’s louder. Because it expands the range without losing structure.
The Point
Cannabis isn’t supposed to exist in one lane. Not in flower. Not in hash. Not in experience. El Krem is built to preserve that range on the extraction side of the plant. Because once you start narrowing what works, you don’t just lose options. You lose entire categories of experience. Written by Eric Rosen, Purple City Genetics
Atlas Seed shares indoor growing tips & strain recommendations! And don't miss out on Atlas Seed Breeder of the Week deals!
Are you interested in cultivating cannabis indoors on a home scale?
Growing cannabis indoors provides an opportunity to have full control over the growing environment and produce high-quality yields year-round.
In this comprehensive indoor cannabis home grow guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up your indoor cannabis garden.
From choosing the right equipment and selecting the ideal strains to mastering essential cultivation techniques, we’ll equip you with the knowledge you need to embark on a successful indoor cannabis growing journey.
If you’re looking for a super simple step by step guide, we have prepared a beginners guide to growing cannabis DIY list that you can read in just a few minutes; and for a more in depth exploration, see the table of contents to our expanded guide below:
Easy Home Grower’s Guide for Feminized Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds
Direct sow seeds into the pot at a depth of ¼” that the plant will finish its life cycle in. No need to transplant as shock during this phase can be detrimental to plant growth. Although transplanting can occur with precision .
28-35 days will be Veg and 30-40 days will be Flower. Feed your plants the nutrient mixtures that are appropriate for the stage of growth.
You can pinch/top your plant right before it initiates flowering if you would like a more even canopy and desire multiple kolas at the top of the plant. Only top/pinch 1-2x and DO NOT top/pinch after flowering phase has begun
Use high end light fixtures, either HPS or LED with a PPFD between 650-1000 over the entire canopy for best results.
Trellis your plants with netting or bamboo stakes for best results with even ripening. Remember that plants that are flopped over will not ripen as well as plants standing tall and erect.
Harvest when >50% of trichomes are milky white. Use our flowering times as guides.
Simple Beginners Growers Guide for Feminized Photoperiod Marijuana Seeds
Seeds can be sown directly into pots or placed in a soil plug and transplanted.
Plants can be pheno hunted and cloned when a unique “winner” is found.
Light cycles should be at 18/6 for Veg and 12/12 for Flower
Use high end fixtures, either HPS or LED with a PPFD between 650-1000 over the entire canopy for best results.
Indoor flowering times are between 63-75 days depending on strain
Harvest when >50% of trichomes are milky white.
Table of Contents: Expanded Indoor Growers Guide
1. Planning your Indoor Cannabis Grow: Local Cultivation Laws
A. Know Your Local Laws for Cannabis Growing
2. Choosing the Ideal Cannabis Strain for Beginner Home Growers
3. Cannabis Equipment for Indoor Marijuana Cultivation
A. Lighting for Indoor / DIY Beginners Marijuana Growing
B. Climate Control for Home Grower Cannabis Cultivation
C. Automating Cannabis Home Grows
D. Water Management for Indoor Weed Growing
4. Choosing the Right Growing Medium for DIY Marijuana
5. Nutrients for Indoor Cannabis Cultivation
6. Integrated Pest Management for at Home Cannabis Growing
7. Nursery Management for DIY Indoor Cannabis Growing
Our next toke is Nuclear True Blood by Dirty Bird Genetics. She is a cross of Nuclear Forest x Maui True Blood. Read on to learn about our experiences.
I'm reaching for the Nuclear True Blood when I am ready to unwind for the night. It brings on a very pleasant, mellow relaxation. I was still alert and able to engage, but I definitely didn't want to participate in anything that required hard concentration. It was perfect for a card game with my spouse, followed by an SNL rerun. There were also snacks involved because this one definitely brought on some munchies. Fans of pine and citrus will appreciate Nuclear True Blood's profile.
- Crystal
This strain from Dirty Bird is a fun one! The buds are sugary and dense and have little orange hairs. It has a lovely piney, citrusy aroma and grinds up well. It was fresh and spongy when I got it and burned nice in the bowl. I would consider this a hybrid for sure. It mellows you and calms your mind but doesn’t zap your energy. The effects are relaxing and motivating at the same time. If you smoke it, definitely have some snacks ready!
- Mariah
Read another smoke report featuring Dirty Bird Genetics!
Breeding Cannabis from F1 to IBL with Dirty Bird Genetics
by: Beth Mathieu
First and foremost, I want to send a heartfelt Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers here at NASC + Dirty Bird Genetics, to our own mothers, grandmothers, and maternal figures, and to all of the beautiful mothers out there who have been a part of this community with us for the past 10+ years. We see you, we appreciate you, we LOVE you, and we want to acknowledge and celebrate how beautiful the maternal instinct is.
Last year for Mother’s Day, I sat down to write a blog about a plant mother that is near and dear to me personally, and to our NASC/Dirty Bird family: The Brunch. As someone whose career was built upon plant mothers, it seemed fitting on Mother’s Day. The article detailed the filial evolution of this flagship strain that the Dirty Bird Genetics team had created. It was the very first cultivar we bred that really shined, and it really propelled us into this new venture breeding. Looking back now, it’s fascinating to consider how much those first creations (like the Brunch) influenced the genetics to come, much like the generational connections that run through families. The Brunch now sits atop many Dirty Bird Genetics family trees; she’s a mother, a grandmother, and even a great grandmother to many.
This Mother’s Day 2026, I want to pick up where I left off one year ago today, filling in another year of progress as we work our way to the end goal of creating a Brunch IBL (In-Bred Line).
The Brunch F1
The original Brunch F1–a regular, male/female iteration of the F1 strain still found on our menu today–will unfortunately never be recreated because we lost the Peanut Butter Breath mother that was used in the original project back in the early 2020’s. It was a mother I had preserved for almost a decade prior, selected from a revered pack of seeds made by Thug Pug Genetics. These seeds were gold back in the day, and this cut was a favorite of many clone customers I worked with. She created incredibly dense, striking flowers with vibrant greens, dark purples, and bold oranges. Her bud was as top shelf as it comes–easy to manicure, high test, colorful and dense–but her morphology left a few things to be desired. While she wasn’t prohibitively tall, she did have very long internodal spacing, and she was definitely a plant that wanted to grow vertically. Her floral sites were spread out across long stems, meaning she wasn’t the best yielder. Her terpenes were self-referential: Nutty and earthy. We knew there was likely more to draw out here.
The Peanut Butter Breath cut #3 by Thug Pug used to create the Brunch F1
The Mimosa father, selected from a pack of Mimosa by Symbiotic, had beautiful morphology and strong, tangy terps that came through even on a stem rub of the vegetative male plant. He was vigorous, sturdy, and a well-suited, well-proportioned match to compensate for the Peanut Butter Breath’s shortcomings.
In our first test run of the Brunch (PBB x Mimosa) progeny, we selected two keeper phenotypes: the Brunch F1 #5 and the Brunch F1 #8. They weren’t perfect, but they stood out as special to us for several reasons. They were dripping in trichomes, testing between 25-30% THC / 1-3% CBG, they had insane, dark purple coloring with a gorgeous yellow fade, and to our surprise and delight, a unique apple terpene profile was seeming to emerge. We knew there was still work to do–we needed to bulk her flower up, and we needed to tighten her internodal spacing–but this was now a much stronger palette to work from than what we’d had previously.
The Brunch F1 #5
The Brunch F1 #8
The Brunch S1 (Feminized Iteration)
In order to create our first release, we knew it’d be beneficial to feminize our work, and that would also give us the opportunity to take the first step toward locking in some of the features we loved in the male/female test stock. To do this, we took the Brunch F1 #5 and the Brunch F1 #8 and we crossed them and selfed them across several different breeding projects, testing the progeny of each to determine who was the strongest, and which genetics we would move forward with. When all was said and done, and all of the seed lots were tested, we selected two cuts to mother in order to breed the Brunch lineage further. These cuts were named the Brunch - Dark Horse Cut (#8 x #8 - #3) and the Brunch - Lover’s Cut (#5 x #8 - #5) (aka the Arugula Cut).
The Brunch 88 #3 - Dark Horse Cut
The Brunch 58 #5 - Lover’s Cut aka “Arugula Cut”
Breeding and feminizing our favorite phenotypes of the Brunch F1 created some drop dead gorgeous feminized Brunch S1 genetics. The coloration had darkened from purple to almost black, and the yield and morphology was beginning to trend in the right direction: Less stretch and more flower. It was very hard to choose our keeper cuts from these seed lots, but we realized that was a good problem to have. It was at that time that we decided that the Brunch S1 would become our first Dirty Bird Genetics - Volume 1 release. Exciting! You’ll still find these seeds on the Dirty Bird Genetics Volume 1 menu today (although I’ll warn you guys, when they sell out, they will almost certainly be gone for good). You’ll also find this s1/f1 iteration of the Brunch in many of our genetic family trees, including staff favorites:
Dirty Mimosa: A Brunch backcross and outdoor champion that clocks in with a lightening fast 43-47 day flowering time
Dirty Mimosa pictured outdoors in a local Maine garden.
Bad Apple: Probably my personal favorite Brunch-related strain, and a cultivar that has only continued to impress me more as we’ve bred with it. The Bad Apple has pungent terpenes that range from rotten Apple to gym sock funk, and our keeper “Sugar Mill” cut is the single most trichome-laden plant I’ve grown in my 15 year career. In 2026, this Brunch-child created two of my favorite strains we’ve bred to-date: Apple Peelz and Candy Apple Kush.
Bad Apple - Sugar Mill Cut (Day 42)
Apple Peelz (Day 49)
Candy Apple Kush (Day 44)
The Brunch F2
We knew early on that the Brunch was a project that we wanted to fully realize the potential of by creating a stabilized Brunch IBL (in-bred line). Now that we’d created and tested several iterations of the Brunch genetics, we were able to formulate a set of goals for the project:
Preserve Apple Terpene Profile: It’s unique to the Brunch and we love it.
Morphology: Shorten internodal spacing, select for lateral growth, preserve high calyx-to-leaf ratio, and retain a foliage volume that is ideal for air flow, light penetration, and outdoor cultivation.
Yield: Improve yield by selecting cuts that stack well, have dense flower, and yield respectably.
Flowering Time: Ideally, under 56 days.
Color: Preserve the dark purples and maroons that are signature to the Brunch.
Effect: Retain the social, happy effect that is signature to the Brunch.
Using the Brunch F1 #5 and a Brunch F1 male that we labeled #12, we made the Brunch F2. In cannabis breeding, the F2 filial generation is known to contain the largest number of phenotypes and the most genetic diversity of any other generation. We found this to be true with the Brunch F2. We saw divergence in color (purple/green), terpenes (apple/earthy meh), and in both flower and plant morphology. Speaking generally though, these plants grew much more laterally than their F1 counterparts thanks to our parental selections. We were also able to eliminate the “scraggly” phenotype that appeared in about 10% of our F1 seed population. These F2 plants had stronger, more bushy structure as a whole, accompanied by a higher volume of foliage, more compact, golf ball shaped flowers, and tighter internodal spacing.
After carefully watching our F2s grow, we whittled our selection down to two winning cuts that we would use for our F3 breed: The Brunch F2 #7 and #13. They each had something we loved, but neither had everything. The #7 had the most incredible, vibrant, apple terpene profile; there was something that smelled distinctly more “appley” about this plant than any we’d smelled previously, and we were confident this was the direction we wanted to go with the terpene profile. The #7 plant wasn’t perfect though: it stayed vividly green way longer than we would have liked, purpling in the final week of flower, long after we’d written it off as a green pheno. This was something we felt cautious about because color was one of the goals we’d set for the project. The #13, on the other hand, took on a beautiful, deep purple color early in flower–something we loved–but it lacked an exciting terpene profile, leaning more towards the subdued, nutty, earthy profile of the Peanutbutter Breath.
The Brunch F3
Brunch f3
V79 have better floral mass . Long intermodal spacing and classic brunch nugs, small leaves
139 #1 - Apple terps.
**V79 #1 - stacking the most - best floral mass. Striped maroon and purple and yellow leaves.
V79 _#2 - shorter but similar burgundy and purple and sugar/ apple terps
V79 #5- Apple gas Peanutbutter - very purple but not a great yield
Brunch 139
Biggest nugs yet. long and skinny and tie together up the stem
*3- Apple cheese. Tall. Long stacked buds. Very impressive stacking and yield - double floral mass of what we normally see, and very high calyx to leaf ratio
4- more arugula look. Apple smell.
When it came time to make our Brunch F3 seeds, we had a choice to make: We had to decide whether to breed our F2 #9 male with the wonderfully appley #7, or the spectacularly purple #13. This choice proved to be an impossible one, so we decided we would take the more intensive path and breed in both directions. Over the course of the next year, two Brunch F3 seed lots were created: The Brunch F3 v79 (made with our #9 male and our purple F2 #7 cut) and the Brunch F3 v139 (made with our #9 male the wonderfully appley F2 #13 mom).
In testing these two Brunch F3 lines we’d created, we saw the genetics take the most marked strides forward to-date. Most notably, the plants were stacking better than ever before, yields were improving, colors were popping (though continuing to diverge a bit between green, maroon and purple), and we were really starting to hone in on a consistent terpene profile. While the apple terpenes were predictably more dominant in the v79 seed population, we ultimately chose a cut from the v139 population to move the line forward to F4 (see pictured below). The Brunch F3 v139 #3 boasted the biggest colas we’d seen in a Brunch to-date. They were long, dense, and they tied together beautifully up the central stalk creating a long, beautiful arm of purple, funky, apple Brunch. The #3 cut had close to double the floral mass of any Brunch we’d seen before. It had an incredibly high calyx-to-leaf ratio, purple flowers, and its terpene profile was pungent and unmistakably apple. It checked all of the boxes, so the choice was a remarkably straight forward one.
Brunch F3 v139 #3
Brunch F3 v139 #3
The Brunch F4
In early 2026, we were able to test the Brunch F4s that we had made using only the F3 v139 #3 cut. This was the first time we had chosen to advance the Brunch line through a process called selfing (crossing a plant with itself through reversal). The v139 mother cut had so much to offer, and we were curious to see how this choice would evolve the line, so we created and tested our first population of feminized F4 seeds.
It has only been a month since we harvested our Brunch F4 test plants, and the project is still fresh in my mind. The F4s were easily the most exciting yet. The diversity we saw in the F4 generation was markedly different from what we’d seen previously. To use an analogy, imagine crossing a black lab with a poodle. The Brunch F2 + F3s were what I’ll call Bloodles; they were mutts. Their traits were messy and indistinguishable, resembling their parents in some ways while also blending together to form strange iterations of curly, black-and-white Bloodle soup. We saw countless combinations of traits–some that we liked and some that we didn’t–all unpredictably smooshed together. The F4 population was different. The traits we were selecting for were finally segregated in an easily observable way. Phenotypes were so much more identifiable. To circle back to our genius analogy: The Golden Doodle was born, alongside pups that looked remarkably black lab, and pups that looked remarkably Poodle.
While we did observe a little bit of inbreeding depression in our F4s–which is to be expected–overall the plants had several consistent qualities: They had an extremely short 50-day flowering time, a remarkably high calyx-to-leaf ratio, very compact, long, conical flowers, medium internodal spacing, 1.5x stretch, ideal foliage volume for air flow and light penetration, high trichome density, balanced vertical and lateral growth, and overall they were healthy, self-supporting, easy-to-grow plants.
One of the most interesting things about the Brunch F4 was that we finally saw a purely green phenotype emerge in 20% of the population. The 80% majority were purple: 50% solid, dark purple in both foliage and flower, and 30% predominantly purple with a little green fade. The terpenes were consistently apple-dominant–exactly what we wanted–and we were so excited to find that the apple smells were only deepening further, evolving into more of a complex, warm-yet-tart apple pie. For the first time, we did note some sour gas smells coming through on a slim minority of plants, with one plant exhibiting sour gas only; no apple.
The biggest obstacle we’ve faced in choosing our winning cut(s) of the Brunch F4s has been deciding what to do with the visual feast that is the green phenotype. We’d been very intentionally selecting for purple coloring from the outset of this multi-year project, and yet these green plants were hard to turn away from.
Thank you so much for reading about the journey we’ve gone on to create the Brunch, one of our most beloved plant-mothers. I’d like to wish all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day. Know that you are seen, loved, and celebrated every day!
Our next toke is the Alpha Series' Apple Peelz by Dirty Bird Genetics. She is a cross of Sex Melon x Bad Apple. Read on to learn about our experiences.
The unique smell took me back to a stroll down a row at an apple orchard during a New England Fall. It has the fragrant and sweet aroma of a discarded apple core that has been sitting in the sun. I love the sweetness of this strain. It brings on a very functional and smooth high, which I found to be a great afternoon pick-me-up. This one will not lock you down or make you feel heavy. She would be a great companion for a walk on a beach or in the woods.
- Crystal
Apple Peelz (Sex Melon x Bad Apple) by Dirty Bird Genetics is a fast favorite! This plant is beautiful, smells sweet like apples, and has stunning deep purple leaves. The buds are dense and covered in crystals. It’s a great sativa-dominant hybrid that provides a lovely daytime high. It will calm your nerves and melt away your worries but won’t deplete your energy. I smoked this in the morning and then spontaneously deep cleaned and rearranged my dining room and kitchen. I would highly recommend this strain for when you want to take the edge off but still feel energetic and functional.
- Mariah
Read more about the differences between Alpha Series, Limited Series, & Tester packs.
A Comprehensive Shopping Guide By Growers, For Growers
Looking for recommendations that you can trust this 4/20? Look no further. At North Atlantic Seed, not only do we have the unique opportunity to work closely with our breeders and our customers, but we also love to grow as many genetics as we can each year. This year, we’ve taken all of this anecdotal breeder and grower experience and we’ve combined it with NASC Here are the standouts we’ve identified this 4/20:
BEST SELLERS 2026
Below are NASC’s Best Selling Autoflowers + Photoperiods of 2026 pulled directly from our Q1 2026 sales data.
NASC Best Sellers: Top 3 Autoflowers
Purple Lemonade Auto by 420 Fast Buds
Blue Dream Auto by 420 Fast Buds
Acapulco Gold Auto by Auto Seeds
NASC Best Sellers: Top 3 Photoperiods
Acapulco Gold (F) by Barney’s Farm
Mandarin Cookies V2 (F) by Ethos Genetics
Blueberry Muffin (F) by Humboldt Seed Company
BEST OUTDOOR STRAINS 2026
This year NASC set out to curate a line of genetics that commercial farmers and outdoor home growers could rely on for uniformity, resilience, quality and performance. We are asked for outdoor recommendations every day, and because we live in one of the harshest climates in the US for growing, we know the struggle it can be to find reliable genetics. The NASC Commercial Cultivars series was sourced from US breeders and tested and bred on a commercial scale to meet the needs of the home grower and the commercial grower alike. For that reason, this line of True F1 Hybrids and IBLs are our picks for outdoor 2026:
NASC GROWERS CHOICE - COMMUNITY-VOTED FAVORITES:
The strains below are YOUR favorite strains of 2025. These results came directly from the Grower’s Choice survey that NASC conducted in Jan 2026.
Strain of the Year - Autoflower:
Gorilla Cookies by Fast Buds
Banana Purple Punch Auto by Fast Buds
Banana Jealousy Auto by Ethos Genetics
Frostbanger Auto by 420 Fast Buds
Gorilla Zkittlez by 420 Fast Buds
Purple Lemonade Auto by 420 Fast Buds
Strawberry Milk and Qookies by Night Owl Seeds
Grape Gas by Twenty20 Mendocino
Double Grape Auto by Mephisto Genetics
Guava Auto by 420 Fast Buds
Strain of the Year - Photoperiod:
Blueberry Muffin by Humboldt Seed Co.
Slurricane #7 by In House Genetics
Dirty Mimosa by Dirty Bird Genetics
Mandarin Cookies V2 by Ethos Genetics
Orange Cream Pop by Humboldt Seed Co.
Bubba Whip by Twenty20 Mendocino
Chem Funk by Ethos Genetics
Chicken N’ Wafflez by Humboldt Seed Co.
FX3 by Solfire Gardens
Irie Maiden by Romulan Genetics
Strain of the Year - Extract:
Blueberry Muffin by Humboldt Seed Co.
Honey Banana by Lovin In Her Eyes
Trich Beast by Solfire Gardens
Orange Cream Pop by Humboldt Seed Co
Golden Sands by Humboldt Seed Co.
Irie Maiden by Romulan Genetics
Maui Wowie Squared by Dirty Bird Genetics
GENETICS FOR A CAUSE:
This year, we have been hard at work behind the scenes trying to educate lawmakers and influence positive policy changes for cannabis seeds and genetics in DC. We’ve recently started a campaign called Keep Seeds Legal! When you purchase the strains on this menu, 100% of proceeds go towards fighting the “hemp ban” set to take effect this Nov 2026.
Dirty Bird Alpha Series (Apple Peelz Fem Photo and Gas Berry Auto Fem)
Offensive Selections New Breeder
HUGE Mephisto Genetics Drop (40+ New Strains)
Barney's Farm New Strains
Cannarado Grape Pie Drop (4/10)
Romulan Genetics Garlic Fever F1 (4/17)
Dirty Bird Nuclear True Blood Volume Drop (4/17)
, Compound Genetics Black Amber Drop (4/20)
Offensive Selections Exclusive Atlantica Drop (4/20)
In House Genetics Drop TBD
Purple Caper x Ed Rosenthal Drop TBD
Royal Queen Seeds New Drop
& MANY MORE!
Angel's Rest (F) by Offensive Selections
505 Headbanger Auto (F) by Mephisto Genetics
Apple Peelz (F) by Dirty Bird Genetics
Discounts
Private Label 10% OFF
& MORE coming later this month!
BOGOs
Barney's Farm BOGO (Cont.)
Dirty Bird Buy 2, Get 1,
In House Genetics BOGO (Sugar Pie)
, Mosca Seeds New Drop BOGO (Creme Cartel)
& MORE coming later this month!
FREEBIES
Keep Seeds Legal Donation Freebies at Checkout
Purple Caper Freebies Updated to 7 FREE per pack
Rare Dankness Double Freebies
Sin City Seeds Sticky AF Drop Freebies
Mosca Seeds Drop Freebies (Creme Cartel 6pk)
Purple Caper x Skunk Magazine Collab Freebies
Romulan Genetics Freebies (Spiced Sugar F1)
Offensive Selections Freebies
Romulan Genetics New Drop Freebies
& MORE coming later this month!
BOTW
Ethos Genetics (Double Freebies / 10% OFF / Giveaway)
Barney's Farm (10% OFF / BOGO)
James Loud Genetics (Double Freebies / 10% OFF)
4/20 Preview
HUGE Breeder Freebie Bundle Starts 4/19 (Barney's Farm, Brother's Grimm and In House Genetics OR Fastbuds, Mephisto and Twenty20 Mendocino)
Purple Caper Sitewide Freebies
Lamb's Breath BOGO
Atlas Seed BOGO & MORE
Giveaways from Gnome Automatics Vault, Bomb Seeds and a HUGE 4/20 NASC Giveaway
Discounts on North Atlantic Seed Co BWL, NASC Private Label, NASC Commercial Cultivars, Sin City Seeds, Royal Queen Seeds, Purple Caper, Brother's Grimm, In House Genetics & MANY MORE!
Cannabis plants are dioecious which means they can be male or female. The bud/flower and extracts people consume comes from female cannabis plants which produce cannabinoid rich trichomes. These trichomes house THCA (the precursor to THC) and other cannabinoids that have physical and mental effects when ingested.
While male plants can produce THC, they are much less potent than females and are not desirable for consumption. Male plants also produce pollen that can cause female plants to create seeds. This is usually not desirable for most growers who are looking to maximize flower yield and potency. Once a female plant is pollinated, it will focus more of its energy and resources to creating those seeds rather than focusing on floral growth and trichome production which will end up affecting your final yield and lowering the potency of your crop.
If you’ve seen some seeds being advertised as “Reg” or “Regular” and others being advertised as “Fem” or “Feminized seeds” then you’ve probably wondered what the distinction is. (Get Fem seeds here)
A regular (reg) seed is made by a natural female cannabis plant being pollinated by a natural male cannabis plant. There is a 50/50 chance for each seed to be female or male from a batch of reg seeds. (Get Reg seeds here)
Feminized seeds are made by forcing a female cannabis plant to produce anthers through chemical means or through rodelization. Once a female plant produces anthers it is only capable of passing along X sex chromosomes so almost all the seeds from a batch of “fem” seed will be females.
There is still an approximate 1% chance of chemically feminized seeds producing a male or producing plants with hermaphrodite traits (i.e. having both male and female parts on the same plant). This is because of evolutionary drives in the plant to reproduce which can sometimes overcome the feminization process.
This same concept applies to non-feminized plants as well since hermaphroditism is possible in any cannabis plant. Appropriate horticultural practices and careful breeding to lock in genetic material that produces desirable traits are required to greatly reduce your chances of finding male flowers (anthers) in your female plant.
FEMALES
Female cannabis flowers produce pistils. A pistil is the female reproductive organ of the plant and contains the stigma, style, and ovary. The stigmas are the small white hairs that come out of a female flower and are used by the plant to catch pollen and then transfer it down the style into the ovary where seeds are created.
The presence of these emerging hairs indicate that your plant is a female and, when grown appropriately and depending on genetics, will produce dense, cannabinoid rich flowers. These stigmas will start to form out of bracts that are located at the axils or nodes of the plant. These are the areas where a leaf or new branch is growing out from the main (or apical) stalk of the plant.
A female cannabis plant showing its slender, white stigmas growing from the bracts.
Another female cannabis plant with developing stigmas. The extra-long white hairs are hard to miss!
This is a female cannabis plant. Note the long, slender white hairs (stigmas) growing from the green bracts at the node (where the branch diverges from the main stalk).
MALES
Male cannabis plants produce stamens which are composed of an anther and a filament. The filament is a cylindrical tube that holds the bulbous, ovoid anther up. The anther is the part of the male cannabis plant that produces pollen. Anthers will grow in the same spots as pistils would on a female cannabis plant but look much different. When first forming, male anthers look like a ball on a stick and then will elongate over time into a banana-like shape. If you see anthers on your plant and no stigmas you can be sure it is a male. If you are growing for flower yield and potency, you will want to remove and discard any males before they pollinate your females.
Anthers forming at the bud sites on this male cannabis plant. These banana or pod-like growths will eventually open and release pollen.
A close up of male anthers. These are also still young but will release pollen if not removed from the room. Unless of course you’re breeding, in which case let them grow!
A male cannabis plant showing mature anthers. (the banana or pod-like appendages). These are getting close to opening and releasing pollen.
Male plants aren’t useless and for some people, they are very important. Some growers keep their males to purposefully produce seed. The creation of many new strains is done this way. Many breeders “hunt” their males to select traits they believe will be beneficial to the next generation just like they would “hunt” (grow out many and select the best from that crop) female plants. They then remove the undesired males from their grow space and allow the chosen male(s) to pollinate a portion of or all their space. Some growers also wish to make seed to save for next year’s crop.
Methods of Identifying Males and Females
The oldest way of checking to see if your ‘reg’ plants are male or female is to “sex them.” This refers to changing the light they receive to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness to prompt the plant to begin making reproductive organs (i.e. pistils and stamens).
Some people will make this light change occur early in the growth process to see what characteristics the plant will express and then will take any females they want to grow and “re-vegging” them or placing them back into a more light-heavy schedule (18hrs Light/6hrs dark, 20 hours light/ 4 hours darkness, etc.) to cease the promotion of flowering.
This allows the grower to see what sex their plants are and discard any males before continuing to veg out and then bloom the females to get the potent buds at final harvest.
This method has some drawbacks to it, namely the need to re-veg an entire plant or to take cuttings from all the plants you want to flower out, cloning them, and then sexing out the clones. This can be labor intensive and can also stress any female plants out with the switches in light schedule.
The stress endured by the females can translate, in some instances, into those females producing male and female parts when blooming out again for the second time.
This is also not always the most feasible method for outdoor growers who will have much more difficulty in precisely manipulating daily light schedules.
For many people who grow reg seed, they will flower out their entire crop and watch closely to identify and remove any males before any pollen is dropped. This avoids adding stress to all of your plants but also is time intensive and requires vigilance to ensure your crop is not seeded.
Fortunately, with advances in technology there is a fast and simple way to identify plant sex way before they get anywhere near large or old enough for their flowering stage.
Many commercial labs across the U.S. are now offering sex ID testing for as little as $20 per plant. Around 3 weeks after being planted, young plants are able to be tested. All that is usually required is a couple of small hole-punch sized pieces of leaf that is placed in a plastic bag, sealed, and then mailed to a lab for testing. Some labs require an entire fan leaf to determine sex but even this is a small amount of material to gather.
This option allows growers to very quickly determine male from female plants and saves a lot of time and resources from being wasted on any unwanted males.
We hope this guide has been helpful in identifying male and female cannabis plants. Remember to always check in on your grow to ensure any unwanted anthers don’t appear or are removed immediately. Happy harvest!
Reg or regular seed is seed produced with a natural male pollen donor and a natural female cannabis plant. Fem or Feminized seed is produced with a female pollen donor and a natural female cannabis plant.
Regular seed can produce male (XY) and female (XX) plants. Either laboratory testing or growing some seeds out and sexing them can help you identify if they are male or female. Males obviously make pollen which, when hitting a stigma, traveling through the style then into the ovary on a female plant, will cause the females to create seed. This can easily ruin a crop if a grower is going for seedless flower which makes identifying plant sex very important early in the growing process.
There is nothing wrong with regular seeds. They can still produce amazing plants as long as they’re tended to appropriately just like with plants from feminized seeds. The main difference is knowing you’ll have to pop more seeds to account for any males you may have to get rid of if you’re going for seedless flower. Many people prefer regular seeds over feminized seeds for many reasons. One such reason is to breed their own strains and to create their own seed for next year’s grow.
Feminized seeds produce 99.9% female seeds due to the pollen donor being female (XX). Since a female in these instances is made to create pollen there is no ‘Y’ chromosome to pass along thus no natural males should be able to form from the seeds produced. This results in almost all the seeds from a feminized pollen donor (XX) and a natural female cannabis plant (XX) being female. This can save much time by cutting out the need to sex plants when planning for your particular grow space and harvest goals. Feminized seeds are preferred by many people as well for many reasons. One big reason being the time and money saved on growing out many possible males and sexing or testing them before discarding them.
Both regular and feminized seed can lead to plants that show hermaphroditism (male and female sex organs/ anthers and pistils on the same plant) if not cared for properly or if poor parental choices were made by the breeder during seed creation. It is important to regularly check on your plants to monitor for unwanted anthers and remove them or the entire plant before they pollinate the other females in the grow space.
Regular Seed
Feminized Seed
50% chance of male or female plant
Can exhibit hermaphroditism
Can produce amazing plants with high yields
99.9% Chance of female plant
Can exhibit hermaphroditism
Can produce amazing plants with high yields
Photoperiod vs AutoFlower (Photo vs Auto)
Photoperiod plants, or “Photos,” are cannabis plants that require a change in the amount of light they receive to trigger flowering. Generally 12 hours of light followed by 12 hours of darkness will prompt photoperiod plants to create their sex organs (pistils/buds for female plants and anthers for male plants) and grow their flowers. This is often called “12/12” or “12/12 lighting.”
Auto-flowering plants do not require a change in light schedule to begin flowering and will do so after a certain number of days after being potted. This is due to the underlying genetics in auto-flower varieties that allow them to trigger flowering without any change in light schedule required. Auto-flower plants are not good candidates for cloning as they have a short window of time in vegetative growth before they start flowering out. This means any cuts taken from the ‘mother’ will still flower around the same time the mother would, making them poor choices for mother plants.
Some breeders have labeled particular strains as “Fast” or ‘Fast Flower.” This generally means the plant is still a photoperiod plant and will require a change in the amount of light/darkness it received to trigger flowering but that it will complete its flowering period much sooner than the average photoperiod plant.
Photoperiod
Auto-Flower
Requires change in light schedule to trigger flowering
Can be feminized or regular seed
Handles appropriate transplanting well.
Tolerance varies by strain
Good for cloning
Flowering triggered after a certain number of days regardless of light schedule
Can be feminized or regular seed
Does not handle transplanting very well
Bad for cloning
Regular and Feminized seeds can be either photoperiod or auto-flowering varieties
Examples:
A plant grown from a regular auto-flower seed would have a 50% chance of being male or female and would start flowering at a certain time after planting regardless of the amount of light it received.
A plant grown from a feminized auto-flower seed would have a 99.9% chance of being female and would start flowering at a certain time after planting regardless of the amount of light it received.
A plant grown from a regular photoperiod seed would have a 50% chance of being male or female and would require a change in the amount of light it receives to trigger flowering. (12 hrs light/12 hrs dark)
A plant grown from a feminized photoperiod seed would have a 99.9% chance of being female and would require a change in the amount of light it receives to trigger flowering (12 hrs light/12 hrs dark)
Let's agree: the Dirty Bird Genetics family are nerds (in the most endearing way...obviously), so of course we would overthink things like pricing when it comes to assigning value to our genetics. Because we recently threw a new menu at you with the launch of our Alpha Series, we wanted to take a moment to explain where our heads are at when we are deciding which of the menu tiers a strain gets released into:
ALL STRAINS ARE:
Highly promising and exciting on multiple levels.
Tested by a lab for cannabinoids and terpenes
Grown out and tested indoors by yours truly.
Herm-free unless specifically noted in the profile (which would be tremendously rare).
VOLUME SERIES: Volume releases are reserved for the best of the best. What that means is very personal and it evolves with time as we learn and grow, and as our genetics become more and more refined. If a cultivar is released in the Volume series, then you know that strain is some of our best work to-date. We have a very high level of confidence in these genetics, and that standard only grows month-to-month and year-over-year. At present, a strain released into the Volume series meets the following criteria:
Test results for cannabinoids + terpenes came back very favorably.
Morphologically stable and vigorous - We are looking for homogeneity here and will always speak to phenotypic variation within the strain descriptions.
Expressed desirable traits such as well-proportioned internodal spacing and high calyx to leaf ratio.
Terpene profile is ON POINT - complex, pungent, in your face. We are big fans of unique terpene profiles.
Quality observed is consistently high-level in all of the seeds we tested.
Yield is moderate-to-high
Overall bag appeal and trichome coverage is high
ALPHA SERIES: The ALPHA Series is the newest addition to the Dirty Bird Genetics menu. As we’ve grown and evolved as breeders, our standards– like our genetics– have grown and evolved, too. We set a very high bar for our Volume series, and it’s a bar that is increasingly rising. Many of our favorite projects may miss that bar ever so slightly, for one silly reason or another, while still being truly phenomenal overall. The ALPHA Series is home to these genetics. It offers budget-friendly, high-end cultivars that go well above and beyond the genetics you can source at similar price points.
Alpha Series strains meet all of the same criteria as the Volume series, but one thing likely gave us pause. For example, the Apple Peelz (Sex Melon x Bad Apple) is one of our favorite boutique strains to-date, but 10 days into flowering we threw out two plants in the test run that had really serrated, arugula-like foliage (like the Brunch “arugula cut”) because we needed to save space. The project finished phenomenally, but because we weren’t able to see how that phenotype finished, we felt we couldn’t release it into the Volume series. This series will definitely be maximum bang for your buck!
TESTERS: Let me first say, it was probably unwise to name the Tester series, “Testers.” One might assume we haven’t grown these out when in fact we have. The Tester series is home to the projects that we see a lot of potential in and think people would enjoy, but that missed the mark in a meaningful-enough way that we cannot justify releasing it as an Alpha or a Volume release. This might include long internodal spacing, too much phenotypic variation, or foliage that is denser than we prefer. Many of these projects are good enough to continue breeding forward, or working into other projects. Testers are released at a price point that is super affordable for any grower, but the quality is good enough that we think even the connoisseurs would find loads of keepers here. Some of our favorite cuts ever have come from Tester series genetics.
Solfire Gardens, a Pacific Northwest seed company where passion meets biology, innovation intertwines with tradition, and selection creates the extraordinary. Their genesis dates back to 2015, when their founder, a dedicated University of Washington biology student from Seattle, decided to cultivate an institution out of his sheer fascination for pheno hunting and the world of seeds.
The NASC Cast Crew had the pleasure of sitting down with Sol of Solfire Gardens. Listen to what he has to say below, and follow us on Vimeo for even more content!
Twenty20 Mendocino has always taken the difficult path, the right path, the path less traveled. Their objective will never be to sell the most seeds, but to create the finest product. This is not a race and their goal isn’t to win; their goal is to stand the test of time and maintain pride and craftsmanship in everything they do. As sure as the sun will rise, they pledge to never release seeds to the public that have not been grown, tested, and approved by us. In a world of rapid-fire releases, social media hype and whimsical market demands, they promise to create our own path, march to the beat of their own drum, and always put quality over quantity.
The NASC Cast Crew had the pleasure of sitting down with Aaron of Twenty20 Mendocino. Listen to what he has to say below, and follow us on Vimeo for even more content!
In House Genetics specializes in micro-breeding cannabis seeds, offering a variety of high-quality strains that cater to all types of growers, including those looking for outdoor cannabis seeds. With new strains released every month, In House Genetics consistently leads the way in innovative crossbreeds and exclusive limited runs. The team’s years of experience and in-depth knowledge of genetics have allowed them to produce some of the most potent and sought-after seeds in the industry. Passionate about their craft, they continue to push the boundaries of cannabis research and development, securing their position at the forefront of the cannabis seed industry.
In 2025, In House Genetics dropped some new strains like Electracane, Purple Rush, Dripzilla, Midnight Zushi, Jamz, and many more! They offered a variety of freebies and constant discounts as well! Below, you'll find the top five strains by In House Genetics at NASC.
JELLY BREATH S1
Jelly Breath S1 is a hybrid strain that is a producer of very dense frosty flowers ranging from grape to cookie flavors.
BANANACANE
Bananacane grows vigorous, resinous heavy buds. Her aroma and flavor profile include ripe banana, berry/sherbet, caramel and earth. This strong indica-leaner can cause sedation and is excellent for sleep. She is a great option for extracts, too!
SUGAR CANE
Sugar Cane is an absolute eye-stopper. She is a mood-booster that will help you focus. You can expect a flavor and aroma profile of sweetness with floral and grape notes.
SLURRICANE #7 S1
The buds of Slurricane #7 S1 become large and resinous. She brings on heavy, sedative effects. You can expect a profile of loud, grape gas with creamy undertones.
PLATINUM KUSH BREATH REMIX
Both of the parental strains of Platinum Kush Breath Remix are very heavy duty so this is not one for the inexperienced smokers out there. She has a lovely, pure-gassy flavour and aroma which will have all the Kush lovers out there going crazy.
Changing the ethos of cannabis, with commercial boutique innovations, game-changing genetics, mind-opening insights and the best possible products, Ethos uses science and data to apply the best practices, make the most effective combinations and produce winners time and again. Offering the most elite, most efficient cultivars – from F1s to IBLs and Alpha Fems to autoflowers – Ethos Genetics, founded by Colin Gordon, is based in Colorado, USA. Colin and his team work to produce quality in their products as well as their contributions to the greater community. ETHOS is raising expectations.
Mandarin Cookies V2 grows like a champion and can put out very colorful and flavorful flowers. The V2 version has added even more citrus along with the always-welcome gasoline by moving away from the Forum Cut into a much chunkier, OG-Kush-heavy version named Ethos Cookie #12.
PLANET OF THE GRAPES RBX
Planet of the Grapes is made to produce and is extremely high in both cannabinoid and terpene percentages. Heavy flower yields are easy to get on this low-maintenance, medium-height, strong, lateral plant. She tests and extracts huge in usable oils! Her aroma is only outdone by her flavor: sharp grapes, sweet citrus and the signature musky, greasy flavor of Chem D. Acrid aromas like propane and "hooch" accompany the more citrusy pheno. You can expect intense, heavy, classic “Indica” effects.
CHERRY GAR-SEE-YA R1
This is not your typical compact, leafy cherry variety. Cherry Gar-See-Ya R1 stacks chunky, baseball-sized nugs from top to bottom. She is easily trained, beginner friendly, and loves growing outdoors
10TH PLANET R1
10TH Planet R1 leans to the heavy side, with intense, classic “hybrid” effects. Journey into an otherworldly blend of grape, citrus, gasoline and thick, skunky spice. Chunky, large and dense flowers give phenomenal yields in any system or space.
CRESCENDO RBX1
Crescendo RBx1 is medium-tall with some stretch. Sour, gassy and citrus flowers are crushingly strong! She is beginner friendly and is a high yielder!
Before their seed bank was created in 2007, RQS had long-time knowledge and passion for cannabis breeding. Following enormous interest in their strains, they opened our first shop in Amsterdam, the Damstraat location, in 2010. In 2011, they launched the Royal Queen Seeds website. In 2016, they welcomed first clients to their shop at Carrer dels Tallers in Barcelona, Spain. In 2022, they opened their newest location in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2023, they started operating in the United States and launched the first true F1 Hybrid Cannabis seeds in the market! Today, RQS operates in the US and in 28 countries in Europe and offers 100+ high-quality strains, growing equipment, growing advice, knowledge, tips and more!
In 2025, Royal Queen Seeds dropped some new strains like Sticky Queen, Sticky Queen Auto, Mexican Rush, and Mexican Rush Auto. They offered freebies and BOGOS as well! Below, you'll find the top five strains by Royal Queen Seeds at NASC.
SPECIAL QUEEN #1 AUTO
Special Queen #1 Auto offers tantalising flavors and a deeply stoning experience. Perfect for quiet evenings, this cultivar will melt your body into the couch while keeping your mind alert and switched on. You can expect a bountiful yield in a matter of weeks.
NORTHERN LIGHT (F)
Northern Light has been the basis for many of the award-winning classics in the history of cannabis. It is simply one of those knockout smokes that guarantees a couchlock session for the next few minutes. The Afghan heritage really shines through in the smoke and anyone looking for that strong stone need seek no further than this beautiful strain.
SPECIAL KUSH #1 (F)
Special Kush #1 likes to grow wild as if in the mountains of Afghanistan; this means it will fill up any space it can. Indoors, care should be taken that it doesn’t overgrow its space, but given enough space, like outdoors, it can grow to over 3 meters tall. The smoke carries a very hash-like taste with a full body stone present from its Indica background.
NORTHERN LIGHT AUTO
Northern Light Auto is a versatile strain that is as perfect for discreet indoor growers as it is for high-volume, home-growers outdoors. After a brief vegetative phase, this strain begins producing an abundance of flowers, finishing its entire life cycle in 10–12 weeks after planting the seed. She provides a generous harvest and might be one of the highest-yielding autoflowering strains available.
SPECIAL QUEEN #1 (F)
Perfect for a first-time grower who doesn't want to invest too much in his experimental growing, this Special Queen is a classic skunk that grows with ease, doesn't stretch too much and can be harvested in 8-9 weeks. The smoke is that of a classic skunk stone. It is mostly mental and provides smokers with an uplifting high that will relax even the most anxious stoners.
With nearly 30 years of expertise, Barney’s Farm continues to innovate, offering high-quality outdoor cannabis seeds, as well as strains suited for indoor, greenhouse, and hydroponic cultivation. Their commitment to excellence and continuous development of new genetics ensures that growers of all types can find the perfect seeds for their needs.
Like the original namesake, the Acapulco Gold flowers with fat colas, flecked with beautiful reddish-brown calyx, each covered with beautiful crystals of THC. The smoke has an intense fruit-cocktail flavor that lingers for hours. This is a sativa dominant strain that offers a long-lasting high, balancing relaxing stress reduction with a real upbeat effect.
MIMOSA X ORANGE PUNCH
Mimosa x Orange Punch is a colourful Cali strain that everyone can succeed with! It is a dream to grow for a beginner, yet can produce extreme concentrations of THC. Once dried and cured, the buds have a delicious citrus, candy, and orange flavor. It gives a complete sense of euphoria and happiness to generate a truly uplifting sensation.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
Pineapple Express is a wonderfully flavorful and truly legendary 60% sativa-leaning hybrid, powered by a myrcene-dominant terpene profile with a genetic heritage pedigree that speaks for itself. It is naturally highly resistant to molds and diseases and does not require any special skills to grow. The taste and aromas of are distinctly tropical with fresh-cut pineapple, tropical fruit, and mango with undertones of cedar and spice. The smoky aromas are distinctively funky and skunky.
RUNTZ MUFFIN
Runtz Muffin features a sweet and fruity profile with citrus notes. This strain offers a relaxing and euphoric experience, accompanied by a gentle body high.
GORILLA Z
Gorilla Z is characterized by a sweet, fruity terpene profile with chocolate undertones. Provides relaxing and mood-enhancing effects.
Whether you are a novice or an expert grower you have probably heard of “reg” or “regular” cannabis seeds and “fem” or “feminized” cannabis seeds, and having an understanding of regular versus feminized cannabis seeds is paramount to understanding breeding and feminization. Both reg and fem seeds produce cannabis plants when germinated, but with one big difference: feminized or fem seeds have a 99% chance of producing female flowers. This fact is massively important for many cannabis cultivators who don’t have time to sex plants or have such a volume of crop growing that the genetic insurance of 99% female plants is integral to a bountiful harvest.
With regular seeds you have a 50/50 chance of getting a male or a female plant. This requires constant vigilance in checking your plants daily once in their flowering stage, or opting for third party lab testing of leaf material, to ensure a male doesn’t grow out anthers and release unintended pollen into the grow room, facility, or outdoor field/garden.
There are pros and cons to both feminized and regular seeds. Which kind of seed to grow is a choice growers must make with their harvest goals in mind. A person interested in breeding may want natural male plants to use in the creation of their new strain, thus with this goal in mind, reg seeds would be the best option for this grower. A person interested in maximizing their yields and filling their grow space with cannabis that will produce female flowers only may want to consider feminized seeds if they won’t have time to meticulously check their crop for males.
The Biology of Feminized vs Regular Seed Breeding:
You have probably heard about ‘X’ and ‘Y’ chromosomes at some point in your early education. These refer to ‘sex’ chromosomes that determine the plant’s biological sex. A female cannabis plant has two ‘X’ sex chromosomes (XX) whereas a male cannabis plant has one ‘X’ and one ‘Y’ chromosome (XY). The ‘X’ and ‘Y’ chromosomes don’t necessarily look like the letters and are just named that due to the ‘Y’ chromosome being discovered after the ‘X’ chromosome. The researchers who discovered this decided to use an alphabetical naming convention since ‘Y’ follows ‘X’ in those 26 letters we all know so well.
Regular Cannabis Seed Breeding
With regular cannabis, a male (XY) plant creates anthers that house and store pollen. Pollen is the genetic material passed from male flowers to female flowers that, when combined with female reproductive cells (gametes) in the ovary, creates a cannabis seed. Normally anthers open up like a small hand and release pollen which is then largely wind blown onto female (XX) plants. The sticky white hairs on female cannabis flowers, known as stigmas, catch this pollen on their surface. The pollen, if viable, then creates a pollen tube which penetrates the stigma and grows down into the style, a tube-like structure that connects the stigmas to the ovary, and then down into the ovary where the male and female gametes create a zygote, a fertilized egg cell. This zygote will become a seed that will be able to be harvested roughly 6-8 weeks after successful pollination (although some differences in seed maturation do exist between different cultivars of cannabis). Since male and female reproductive cells are mixed, there is a 50% chance of the resulting progeny (new seed) being either male (XY) or female (XX).
Feminized Cannabis Seed Breeding
All cannabis has the potential to create male flowers and intersex traits (male and female flowers on the same plant) due to evolutionary drives for the species’ survival. With feminized cannabis a female (XX) plant is forced to create male flowers through one of several processes. Once a biological female (XX) is forced to produce male flowers it also produces active pollen, albeit much less pollen than a biological male (XY) cannabis plant would. This pollen does not contain a ‘Y’ chromosome thus the resulting seeds will all be ‘XX’ or female with their resulting sex chromosomes. If there is no ‘Y’ chromosome to pass on, then the crop should all be female when those seeds are grown.
Intersex Traits
Intersex traits (male and female flowers) can still be expressed by feminized seed due to evolutionary survival drives at the genetic level. This is why it is critically important for anyone breeding feminized cannabis to repeatedly test their pollen donors and their pollen receivers (seed mothers) to see if those cultivars have high or low chances of ‘herming’ or developing intersex traits. If a parent plant has a high chance of herming then usually its offspring will too. If parent plants solidly show only male or female traits on one plant after repeated grows in multiple environments, then they may be good parental choices for passing on low herm rates (or the tendency to express only biological sex) to the offspring. This is obviously very valuable to growers and breeders as it ensures 99% female plants in their grow with little chance of their crop going to seed which can reduce cannabinoid and terpene content in trichomes significantly. Image shows a Cannabis flower showing both male and female parts. The wispy, white hairs are the stigmas of the female sex organ (Carpel if singular, pistil if multiple carpels fused together) and the bulbous green masses are the anthers of the male sex organ (stamen).
How to ‘Feminize’ or ‘Reverse’ Female Cannabis Plants:
Rodelization Method
There are several methods for making biologically female (XX) cannabis plants express male flowers and create pollen. The oldest method is known as rodelization where the female plant is left to ‘over-ripen’ or grow far beyond its normal harvest date. This stress can lead the plant to expressing intersex traits in order to produce some seed to keep its genetic line going. Sometimes severe physical stress, drought stress, or overwatering stress can produce this effect. Light stress can also produce this effect if cannabis plants are exposed to light for long enough at some point during their 12 hours of darkness in the flowering stage. This method has largely been discontinued as it requires the pollen donor plant to express intersex traits rather than full male flowers, thus the tendency of the offspring to herm is greatly increased.
Silver Thiosulfate aka STS Method
There are several solutions that can be sprayed on female cannabis plants in order to create male pollen sacs through the suppression of the female plant hormone, ethylene. One of the most commonly used methods, and the method that we use here at Dirty Bird Genetics, requires a substance known as Silver Thiosulfate (Ag2S2O3). This substance can be made by combining silver nitrate and sodium thiosulfate in the right proportions to make STS spray.
Cannabis, like many living organisms, has hormones that regulate important biological processes for the plant. Ethylene is one such hormone that promotes female floral initiation in cannabis. Silver Thiosulfate suppresses the female plant hormone, ethylene, by binding to it and inhibiting its action. When this occurs for long enough (over enough days) the female plant, due to evolutionary survival mechanisms, switches to producing male flowers in order to continue the genetic line. It’s that simple.
With Silver Thiosulfate in an aqueous solution (mixed with water), the female cannabis plant to be reversed is given foliar sprays of STS solution. The spray is focused more on the flower sites forming in the vertices of the branches and nodes of the plant rather than the leaves. To initiate flowering, the spray is usually done once a day in darkness, or right before the lights in the grow space go out. This allows the spray to settle on the plant without causing leaf or shoot burn from the intense lighting. This also allows the Silver Thiosulfate to bind to the ethylene released by the plant instead of it being evaporated too quickly by the heat and intensity of the grow lights in the area.
This image is showing a node where a new inflorescence will grow (the small protrusion in the vertex of the branches). If left alone this will become a female flower. If sprayed with STS this will become a male flower (anther) and will produce pollen. This is the kind of area to target when spraying STS as it will bind to the ethylene being released at these spots.
After 2-3 weeks of foliar sprays, the female plant should exhibit male flowers. Once the male flowers are growing and obviously male (little bulbous sacs without white hairs) the foliar spray is stopped to allow the plant to create the pollen it has been driven to create. After another 1-2 weeks or more of growth under flowering conditions (12/12 light schedule) pollen should be produced and ready to use.
Many companies use different schedules for their foliar spray and Silver Thiosulfate dilution rates, and many of those companies also give this knowledge to the public. I do not suggest attempting this without thorough knowledge of both chemicals, and without researching the process first. Do your research before attempting anything to ensure the safety of you, other people and animals, your plants, and the environment.
Tips, Tricks, and Takeaways:
-Regular plants produce the most pollen: Feminized or reversed plants can produce a good volume of usable pollen but they often produce far less pollen than regular, biologically male (XY) plants. This does not mean they can’t be viable in breeding programs, just that more reversed females may be required to make the volume of pollen to get the seed yield a breeder or seed producer wishes to harvest.
-Steer clear of intersex traits when breeding: It is advisable to breed with plants that do not show intersex traits, when untreated, to limit the chance of hermaphroditism in the resulting seed.
-Keep pollen contained: All pollen has the ability to travel great distances, so it is important to keep effective separation and isolation of different breeding projects if they occur simultaneously in separate rooms within the same location. Some breeders will stagger their pollination in different projects so only one kind of pollen is being actively produced and spread at a time. Other breeders will have entirely separate locations for their feminized vs regular breeding projects to ensure isolation. If breeding outdoors, it is critically important to use good judgment and try to limit the spread of your pollen to other grower’s fields. Some outdoor breeders will use collected pollen and ‘paint’ it onto the stigmas of their females so no open pollen release from males occurs. This limits the spread of pollen to neighboring fields/grows and is just part of being a good neighbor. Just because you wanted seed didn’t mean the grower a mile down the road did.
-Pollen is damaged by water: It is advisable to spray yourself down with clean water (especially your hair and clothes) from a spray bottle after completing a pollination to ensure you are not trailing viable pollen everywhere you go. The picture above is a cannabis plant grown outdoors that could be affected by improper or negligent pollen harvest/release.
Summary:
Both regular and feminized seeds will yield cannabis plants when germinated and grown. Feminized plants will have a 99% chance of being female and, if the parental selection was done appropriately/the plant is grown appropriately without undue stress, should yield only female flowers (buds). Regular seed has a 50% chance of being male or female when grown and will need to be watched to see if male traits are exhibited when entering the flowering stage. Some growers do not have the time to wait and watch for this nor do they want to invest time and money into supplies growing a plant they will just discard half way through its life. Other growers do enjoy using regular seed in order to get viable male plants to create new cultivars and some swear by anecdotally reported increased vigor and quality of regular seed over feminized.
Both regular and feminized seed can show inter-sex traits (herming) so initial selection of the parent plants is paramount in increasing the stability of the sexual expression of the offspring. It should also be noted that utilizing appropriate and effective growing techniques will decrease the chances of intersex traits being expressed.
Neither regular nor feminized seed is better for all growers as the type of seed used is largely dependent on the intentions and goals of the grower. Feminized seed is produced largely the same way regular seed is produced, using pollen to combine with female gametes in the ovary on a female flower to make a zygote and then a seed. The major difference is that the pollen donor that makes feminized seeds is a female that has been driven to express male flowers, through rodelization or chemical means, thus having no ‘Y’ chromosome to pass along to the next generation of seed when pollinating other females.
Whether you grow regular or feminized seeds is entirely up to you. Both can produce amazing cultivars that create the cannabinoids and terpenes we love as well as stunning plants that are impressive even in their vegetative stages. It’s all about a grower’s intention, harvest goals, and preferences so get to planning, do your research, and grow your crop with confidence. I hope this guide has been helpful in illustrating some of the differences between feminized and regular seed. Happy Harvest!
Key:
Regular M/F Cannabis Seed: A cannabis seed that was bred from one male parent (XY) and one female parent (XX). Regular male/female cannabis seeds have roughly a 50% chance of being female versus male.
Feminized Cannabis Seed: Feminized cannabis seeds have a 99% chance of being female as both their parents are females (XX/XX).
Reversing: By suppressing the female plant hormone, ethylene with chemical applications such as STS spray, a female plant is able to be reversed, meaning it produces male sex organs which in turn create pollin and impregnate your desired female plants.
Ethylene: The female plant hormone responsible for female floral initiation. In producing feminized seeds, ethylene is suppressed through chemical application in order to produce male sex organs on a female plant.
Rodelization: Keeping un-pollinated female plants alive way past normal harvest times and/or inducing stress in un-pollinated females in the hope that they turn hermaphrodite (i.e. exhibit male flowers/anthers that will produce pollen)
Intersex/Herm: Having both male and female parts. For cannabis this means male flowers (anthers with bulbous sac on top that contains pollen) and female flowers (the buds with white hairs or stigmas coming out) are on the same plant. Sometimes a single cannabis bud will have both male and female flowers on it which means it ‘hermed’ or is showing ‘inter-sex’ traits.
Silver Thiosulfate aka STS: A substance made by mixing silver nitrate with sodium thiosulfate in the correct proportions. It binds to the ethylene that female cannabis plants release in order to signal flowering. STS stops female flower development by arresting this ethylene. Once this occurs, the cannabis plant will begin to generate male flowers (anthers) and eventually pollen.
Stigmas: The long, sticky white hairs on female cannabis flowers. Stigmas catch pollen and transfer it down the hair into the style and then into the ovary where the male and female gametes create a zygote, which is a fertilized egg cell, eventually resulting in a seed.
Pollen: Pollen is the genetic material passed from male flowers to female flowers that, when combined with female reproductive cells (gametes) in the ovary, creates a cannabis seed
Pollen Sacs: The top of anthers, a.k.a male flowers or staminate flowers. Sacs containing pollen grains.
Anthers: Male flowers that produce pollen. They have stringy ‘filaments’ or stalks that have a bulbous sac on top that will open when mature and the environmental conditions are right and will release pollen grains.
Flowers: Part of a plant that facilitates sexual reproduction Most often the seed bearing part of a plant. For cannabis the ‘buds’ that are grown out in females are the female cannabis flowers. These are the flowers many people buy to ingest medically and recreationally due to their high cannabinoid (THCA, CBGA, etc.) content. The male cannabis plant creates anthers as its flower.
Interested at taking a stab at genetics yourself? Check out some fem and reg testers fresh off the shelves from Dirty Bird Genetics!
A thought provoking journey to a half baked moon and back, Mezzaluna is sure to test your limits - enjoy these insider insights from a high flying Crystal!
One of my favorite things about consuming cannabis is finding that strain that can be considered pure magic. Mezzaluna, a new strain by Dirty Bird Genetics, definitely checks all of my boxes.
I consume cannabis for various reasons, but my favorite place to get to is one of calmness and happiness. Mezzaluna made me feel relaxed and alert, but also happy, goofy, and kind of motivated with curiosity. The goofy part of the high was more like a cerebral trance and I could tell some of my senses were being impacted. I enjoyed listening to music with Mezzaluna because it allowed me to audibly highlight any instrument at any point in a song. The level of creative and thought-provoking energy that Mezzaluna brings could lead to some really fun activities. However, beware of the activity because I almost fell into a social media doom-scrolling black hole.
Besides that fun ride, Mezzaluna also has other charming qualities. After grinding the buds up, the aroma took me back to childhood and heavy consumption of sour candy. The taste on the exhale was a combo of fermented berries, earth, and gas.
I also found some potential symbolism with the name and my experience. Mezzaluna means half moon in Italian, which according to Google, a half moon represents balance and reflection. I think that falls in line with my experience of it being balanced and thought-provoking.
She is also an extremely beautiful plant. Whenever I see a plant that has frosted buds with some pops of that burgundy-wine color, I know I am about to be served a sweet terp-salad.
If you get the chance, you definitely want to go on a journey with Mezzaluna (Fem Photoperiod)!
Disclaimer: Cannabis seeds are sold as souvenirs, and collectibles only. They contain 0% THC. It is imperative that you check your state and local laws before attempting to purchase seeds, and we are not liable for what you do with seeds after receiving them. The statements on this website and its products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Consult your doctor before use. North Atlantic Seed Company assumes no legal responsibility for your actions once the product is in your possession and is not liable for any resulting issues, legal or otherwise, that may arise.
Are you 21 or older?
You must be 21+ to enter this site.
Sorry, you must be 21 or older to enter this site.
![Dirty Bird Genetics Maui Wowie [squared]](https://www.northatlanticseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Maui-Wowie-Squared-2-245x245.jpg)
![Cold Queso (F) [TESTER]](https://www.northatlanticseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cold-queso-no-text-copy-245x245.webp)
![Mezzaluna (F) [TESTER]](https://www.northatlanticseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/mezzaluna-cannabis-seeds-by-dirty-bird-genetics1-800x800.webp)