So how long does it take for a plant to sexually mature?
It's dependent on both strain and condition. I've seen plants with as little as 3 nodes show sex under 12/12.
You may be misunderstanding what I'm proposing, so I'll lay it all out.
The OP had a question as to whether he should heep his bud. I said he should keep both the bud and the seed. The first crop of this same "batch" of seed had hermied under stress. I suggest growing the seeds from this batch to determine a few things:
1) The stability of the strain. If these seeds grow without issue, then they're stable and worth keeping.
2) pollen source. If these seeds show any Males (with a proper sample size; say, 10 plants) then OP has a contamination issue that needs to be dealt with.
I suggested OP test these by first sterilizing his room theng growingwith reduced 24 hour cycle, or no 24 hour cycle.
This should have 3 effects:
1) reduced time to show sex.
2) reduced resources in growing. Plants with a reduced vegetative growth cycle will be smaller, and thus, require less space and nutrients. (This won't reduce time to finish flower.)
3) 12/12 from seed is more stressful on the plant (in theory, I don't have a published article for this. Feel free to call it BS.) Thus testing, to a point, stability.
If the OP has all female plants, it means he missed pollen in his grow.
if OP has all stable plants, the seeds can be used again.
If the OP has ANY males it means he has outside pollen entering his grow space.
whether or not it's worth it to the OP to do the test isn't my call, but nothing I've stated here (besides possible light stress) is false.
