Cannabis seeds are generally a only few milimeters wide and can contain a wide range of genetic information making up the many strains available today. Seeds are generally feminised and remain the most common way to aquire genetics from a breeder.
Sex
Seeds that are not already feminised can be either male or female but its not possible to tell until the plant has grown and exibits signs of sex in the vegatitive phase. Growers who are trying to produce buds need to grow female plants, male cannabis plants are generally reserved for breeding purposes. If a plant is stressed it may display physical characteristics of both male and female plants, this is known as a hermaphrodite.
Germination Methods
Germination is the process of reactivating metabolic machinery in an otherwise dormant seed, creating a seedling. Seeds can be placed placed directly into soil around 10-15mm deep[1] and left to germinate or you can germinate them by using one of the methods below before sowing into your growing medium. The seed has successfully germinated when a tap root pertrudes from the seed casing and should be moved to the growing medium at this point.
Clamshell method
Glass of water
Seeds can be germinated in a glass of water. They should be taken out when the tap root begins to protrude from the seed casing.