WHAT IS PROPAGATION?
Propagation: 1) The action of breeding or multiplying by natural processes: procreation, generation, reproduction. 2) The action of spreading an idea, practice, etc., from place to place. 3) Increase in amount or extent; enlargement; extension in space or time.
Propagation is The Grow, however some growers treat propagation only as the events that occur between the planting of the seed and the transplanting of the seedling to the main grow environment. We will correctly treat propagation as the entire process of growing from seed to harvest, including the logistics of the grow: in short, propagation represents the events that occur over the entire life cycle of the plant. This Chapter focuses on the first stage, germination, but first we\’ll discuss propagation logistics. You will hear the term propagation used to describe elements of the grow that may be seen as one-time actions like seed towel propagation, but we ask you to bear in mind that propagation is the continuous growing process.
Propagation Logistics
So, what are you going to do? Are you going to buy a batch of 10 seeds and grow them all in one go? Are you going to then kill the males and just use the females? Are you going to keep the males and produce more seeds from the females? How many seeds can a female plant produce? What can you do to guarantee that all your seeds will grow? This is where propagation logistics come into play. The answers to these questions depend largely on the size of your grow area and your budget.
Let\’s say you have about $200 to spend on seeds. You can buy an expensive strain, like a G13 cross, grow the weed G13 strain and produce more seeds from it. You could get between 100 and 2000 seeds depending on plant size and grow conditions. If you produce lots of seeds this season, you may never need to buy seeds for this strain again.
There is something else you can do to prevent the need to ever buy or grow from seeds again, called cloning. Cloning is a technique whereby you grow a number of plants and select a quality female. You then take cuttings from that female plant and grow these cuttings into new plants. Clones always retain the same sex and vigor as the mother plant, so it is possible to create a garden of plants through cloning that will last for decades from a single mother plant. Cloning is described in detail in Chapter 11.
For the new grower it is advised that you buy 10 seeds and only germinate three the first time, followed by another three and then the last four.This will allow you some degree of experimentation as you may fail on your first attempt to germinate the seeds.
For people who have germinated seeds in the past, it is advised that you germinate five followed by another five the next week. Only if you are a long-time grower with a good amount of growing experience should you germinate all the seeds at once. In this way, you can reduce the risk of failing some, or all, of your seeds because of bad germination methods.
During your plants\’ growth you may decide to pollinate only a few of your females. You will need two grow areas to do this: one for growing all your female plants; and another for growing one or more females mixed in with males. As stated before, this depends on the size of your grow space and your budget. It is important that your pollination room be kept well away from your all-female grow room because pollen can travel by air. Bees and other insects can spread pollen, and so can you. Always wash your hands and face after handling a male plant to prevent pollen from a male plant getting onto a female that you wish to keep for sinsemilla.
So, now you nave 10 seeds and your goal is to achieve 100 percent germination results. The following section on germination will help you achieve an optimal success rate.
