Auto or Fem?

[demcc3]

I posted this on a certain Grower's group on Facebook but as suspected I received many different answers (par for the course in that group) I decided to post the same thing here to get an answer or two from the well informed growers here. Here is the FB post:

"hello fellow growers! So this past July I bought a 3-pack of Charlottes Web from Pacific Seed Bank. It was listed as Feminized regular seeds. Early in September I successfully germinated them and they had great tap roots.
I have an Aerogarden and I started them in that. When they were about 4" I transferred them to solo cups. From there, after about 2 weeks I put the two best plants into their 5-gal pots under SF2000 lighting. The lights have been set at 18/6. Both plants are about 12" and even the third plant are showing signs of flowering. WTF?! Do I let things go and hope they grow and explode or do I start over with another strain?"

[Tersky]

Pics would help. When you say signs of flowering what does that mean? Mature female plants can have a pistol or two but that doesnt mean they are flowering. Alternatively, the seed bank could have made a mistake. If they are forming actual buds instead of pre-flowers i would be inclined to say that they are auto's and that the seed bank made a mistake possibly. You could contact the seed bank if this is the case and they may send you some new seeds but idk. Regardless i would keep them on 18/6 as there is no need to shorten light times for autos anyways. Whether you start from fresh or keep these going is really a choice you need to make. I would grow them out personally, but know that if they are already flowering that the yield may not be as big as you anticipated. Could still be good practice!

[demcc3]

Thankyou for the quick response. The seedbank is Pacific Coast Seedbank. Ive ordered from them once before with no issues. I was checking out one of the plants under main light and discovered this ("these")
This plant isn't even 10" tall yet. The picture in questioin has my fingers in it lol...but..are those what I think they are...BALLS??

[Tersky]

ok yeah that does look like flowering imo. I would say they are probably autos. Seed banks can make mistakes. If this were my plant i would get in touch with the seed bank and let them know the situation. They may or may not refund or send new seeds but since you didnt get what you asked for then there is no harm in asking. I dont think those are male parts but just calyx as they seem to have pistols coming out of them. It's normal imo.

[Farmbuck]

No not a male. I grew male & female plants and this is definitely not male parts.

[demcc3]

Oh whew! I'm glad I didnt pull and toss 'em! I only have 7 grows under my belt and I had never seen calyx like that

[D.A.A.S.69]

Yep, seedbank made a mistake , female autos.
Youll end up getting more bud from them than you think come harvest.
GoodLuck

[ChadWestport]

Can you imagine dropping a tray of seeds with a couple strains going while working at one of these places? OMG, what do you do? I know Sensi Seeds has an "indoor" and an "outdoor" mix and that is basically how they handle that one. As has been said, definitely a female plant that is in flower, the balls you mention are just the swollen calyx from the pre flowers. No need to worry about male parts. Enjoy the grow!

[crucialbunny]

Has anyone else noticed a growing trend of autos popping up in what were advertised as photo seed? Plants these days have been bred seven ways from Sunday and it makes me wonder if we're losing stability in what's being marketed.

[Motoman15]

Seed issues becoming more common. Ive had full blown hermaphrodites and autos that were photos and visa versa within last 18 months or so. Different seed banks involved so I feel the industry as a whole is having QC problems, could be due to increase in demand.

[Rwise]

Feminized regular seeds

To me this is a contradiction in their description. Are they feminized or are they regular seed? Feminized should only make female plants, regular seed makes both male and female plants. Then auto vs photo, looks like you got autos.

[FunkyButtLovin]

I've heard nothing but bad things about Pacific. They don't sell Charlotte's Web (or Angel) autos and only a couple of breeders even make them. There's no telling what you might have.

[Canuck147]

I've had one order from Pacific Seed Bank - won't order from them again - less than 50% germination in the seeds I bought. And because they are only a middleman and not the seed producer - they didn't seem to care about their poor germination percentage.
Farmer's Lab Seeds get my money now.

[ChadWestport]

Sucks to hear when companies don't back the stuff they took your money for.

[dphipps1020]

I just had this happen to one of my plants that was supposed to be a mother. She's supposed to be a photoperiod so I already cloned her. Now she's really small and the clones will be too. Not too happy about it because I was planning on cutting more clones soon, but at least I have more of those seeds to plant. I guess I'm just going to have to wait for a little while on the next one to be sure.