Buying cannabis seeds vs. bag seeds in South Africa

Weed seeds, cannabis seeds, beans, dagga seeds. No matter what you call them, they are essential if you want to grow your own cannabis in South Africa. Should you be buying cannabis seeds or just use seeds from a bag of weed? Since personal use and cultivation of cannabis has been decriminalized in South Africa I’ve been getting the same question repeatedly: “Where do I get cannabis seeds?”

You have two options:

• Buy cheap marijuana seeds
• use bag seed for your grow (not advisable)

Although personal use and cultivation of cannabis have been decriminalized it is still illegal to sell anything “weed”. But there is no growing your own weed if you don’t have seeds. Yes, you can resort to growing from clones. But clones can be fickle little plants and for the novice grower, the chances of success are much more likely when growing from cannabis seeds.

Buying cannabis seeds in South Africa

South Africa is not the largest country in the world, but it’s not exactly the size of Belgium either. I’m happy to let you know that it doesn’t matter where in SA you live, Cape Town / Western-Cape, Johannesburg / Gauteng, Durban / KwaZulu-Natal, you can get cannabis seeds anywhere in South Africa. In fact, there are probably cannabis seeds closer to home than you might think.

If you know a guy/gal who grows, smokes or uses cannabis in any form, you might be able to get some cannabis seeds from him/her. Your other option is to buy cannabis seeds online. There are a bunch of international cannabis seed banks that ship to South Africa. I have a list of cannabis seed banks here to help you find a reputable seed bank. There are also local seed banks. Some local seeds banks simply sell imported seeds under a different brand or name, while other local seed banks import sealed breeder packs and then resell these in South Africa.

The main advantage of buying your cannabis seeds online is that you can have them delivered to your postbox, local Postnet or even any address that you choose. No need to leave your house, or even put on pants for that matter. And if you buy seeds from a reputable breeder, you will have hundreds (if not thousands of strains) to choose from and you know what you are getting exactly what you pay for.

 

 

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When you buy a sealed breeder pack from a reputable breeder, you know what traits the plants you grow will have. For instance, if you buy Dutch Passion Durban Poison you know you will be growing one of the best South African sativa strains in the world. When you spend your hard earned money on buying cannabis seeds you want to be sure you get exactly what you are paying for.

Bag seeds in South Africa

Not familiar with the term “bag seeds” because of your not a cannabis seed dialect expert?

“Bag seeds” are simply the cannabis seeds that you find in cannabis that you, or someone else, already has. Ideally, you want cannabis with no seeds. Cannabis with no seeds is known as sensimillia and is normally the highest quality and strongest weed. But, every now and then you might find a seed or two in the bag or container that your cannabis came in. You might even find the seed when grinding some dagga up for your pipe, bong or joint.

These bag seeds can be a perfectly viable option if you want to grow your own cannabis. The best part about cannabis bag seeds is that they are free. Nothing is quite as sweet as using cannabis you grew yourself from a free seed. If it’s you first grow, using bags seeds will also give you the opportunity to try cannabis cultivation and hone your skills without the risk of losing money buying cannabis seeds and then botching your grow. Buying cannabis seeds can be expensive. Anything from R100 – R500 per seed. It hurts emotionally and in your pocket when you buy an expensive cannabis seed and your plant never makes its harvest.

The biggest issue with bag seeds is that you really won’t know exactly what you get. Regardless of the name your dealer gives you for the bag of weed you just got, chances are it might not be what he says. In South Africa cannabis is often sold as a strain it really isn’t. Bag seeds might have slightly different traits when grown to its parent plant simply because it might be a seed from a plant that hasn’t been properly bred to a stable strain. If you had a good bag of bud and you find a seed in the bag, it will likely produce good bud when grown. But bag seeds rarely grow the same way as the plant the seed came from.

Final verdict: Buying cannabis seeds vs. bag seeds

It really comes down to personal preference. If you are on a tight budget or you are a first-time grower you might be better off just using some bag seeds before you start spending your hard earned cash buying cannabis seeds. On the other hand, if you are looking for specific traits in your cannabis, like sativa or indica dominant, or a high CBD percentage because you want to make cannabis oil for medicinal purposes, then buying cannabis seeds in a sealed breeder pack would be a better option.

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. Growing your own cannabis can be a really rewarding experience, regardless of the seeds you choose to use for your grow. None the less it is important that you keep in mind that your results, and harvest, can vary a lot depending on the seeds that you use. Certain cannabis strains are harder to cultivate than others, and some strains prefer growing indoors vs. outdoors.

Before you put any seeds in the ground do some research and make use of Google. That way you can ensure that your first cannabis grow is a successful one, whether you are buying cannabis seeds or using seeds from a bag.