- Joined
- Oct 19, 2019
- Messages
- 6,850
- Reputation
- 6,281
- Reaction score
- 33,809
- Points
- 0
- Currently Smoking
- Various strains, via MCT oil tincture, gummies, dry flower vaping.
I posted this elsewhere, and someone suggested that I put a copy here:
I keep working on my ways of doing this stuff. Seems to be part of my diy addiction.
When making seeds, I like to pollenate single branches rather than whole plants, so I need to collect pollen. This is how I now do it.
First, I make myself a pollen strainer with a small mason, one of those tiny ones used for jelly. The screen is just a chunk of metal coffee filter screen that I cut out of an unneeded filter. I shape it a bit concave by cutting it a bit large, and forcing it into the mason ring so that the ring clamps it down beneath it. Here it is disassembled to show all parts:
And here it is after loading with male flowers from a reversed plant:
I pluck the flowers with a pair of sharp point disection tweezers. The ones marketed on Amazon for ingrown hair would work, they need to be sharp point. Once flowers are collected into the strainer, the entire mason goes into a stainless container with some silica gel in the bottom. After closing the stainless container and an overnight dry, I stir the flowers around and tap the jar to move pollen through the screen.
This is what I am left with in the mason, nearly pure pollen:
If I am ready to apply to a seed plant, this stuff is ready to go. If I want to store longer term, I move it into a small glass jar, and put it in the drying chamber for a few hours or overnight to make sure it is bone dry, then I cap it tightly and put it in the freezer. Here is my WDA pollen before it hit the freezer:
The silica gel in this pic needs to be dehydrated again, but it will finish the pollen off ok.
I have produced seeds with pollen kept in the freezer for more than a year, but am not sure how much longer it would remain viable.
Happy pollen handling peeps!
I keep working on my ways of doing this stuff. Seems to be part of my diy addiction.
When making seeds, I like to pollenate single branches rather than whole plants, so I need to collect pollen. This is how I now do it.
First, I make myself a pollen strainer with a small mason, one of those tiny ones used for jelly. The screen is just a chunk of metal coffee filter screen that I cut out of an unneeded filter. I shape it a bit concave by cutting it a bit large, and forcing it into the mason ring so that the ring clamps it down beneath it. Here it is disassembled to show all parts:
And here it is after loading with male flowers from a reversed plant:
I pluck the flowers with a pair of sharp point disection tweezers. The ones marketed on Amazon for ingrown hair would work, they need to be sharp point. Once flowers are collected into the strainer, the entire mason goes into a stainless container with some silica gel in the bottom. After closing the stainless container and an overnight dry, I stir the flowers around and tap the jar to move pollen through the screen.
This is what I am left with in the mason, nearly pure pollen:
If I am ready to apply to a seed plant, this stuff is ready to go. If I want to store longer term, I move it into a small glass jar, and put it in the drying chamber for a few hours or overnight to make sure it is bone dry, then I cap it tightly and put it in the freezer. Here is my WDA pollen before it hit the freezer:
The silica gel in this pic needs to be dehydrated again, but it will finish the pollen off ok.
I have produced seeds with pollen kept in the freezer for more than a year, but am not sure how much longer it would remain viable.
Happy pollen handling peeps!
