SeaF0ur
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- Jan 7, 2014
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Yeah... seeing your work for sale before its even finished is a real shitty look....
pollen...
I use a cardboard catch tray. I put colored construction paper on it for the pollen to fall. others take branches off the plant before they spew and put em like roses in the windowsill, again, leaning sideways over paper or foil or something.... even easier, a M & F can be put in isolation together.
drying is important. in my method, the pollen sits on the tray for a while so it dries out over time.
others cut the pollen up to 40-50% high with baking flour to dry it further, but moisture kills pollen.
I usually put a small amount of flour (5-10%) and I always put rice in the jar I place the pollen in.
keep it dry dry dry.
Since I keep male plants, I store my pollen in a cool dry place in the back of a desk drawer in cork stoppered glass vials that are then in a tupperware with silica packs ripped open and the balls in the bottom of the tupperware.
If not keeping males, pollen should be separated into single serving sizes, packed separately and after drying good, placed in the freezer. Single serving sizes stop condensation killing it going into and out of and into the freezer.
Pollination can be done with a small paint brush, but thats a bit messy... I like to put pollen in the corner of a breadbag, roll that corner to keep it in place, slip it over the branch like a sock, secure the breadbag around the stem with a pipe cleaner, and shake it like Michael J Fox... I leave it an hour or so, then kill the fans and remove the breadbag. I dont spray water on them, but finding an extra dozen seeds elsewhere dont bother me too much. If it does you, after the hour, when removing the bag, give em a water spritz. you'll get much less seed if you do.
Seeds take 4-5 weeks to develop properly, so your pollination window closes 4 weeks before chop. I like 5.... bigger better lookin seeds plus you can hit at 5, and then again at 4 weeks before chop to have nice proper lookin seeds.
Seeds must be dried as well, and its easiest to cure the seeds with your buds.
Collection is a sticky bitch. get your frisbee and get to work.... I believe that covers things pretty well.
Viability is the real deadlock there... I do gift out pollen at times, but viability cannot be assured, and failure cannot be verified, so a business I dont think it could be, unless you flowered males at all times for fresh pollen stock.
Not sure on time... but definitely keep it in the back coldest corner of the fridge. at our dilution and application rates I'd simply not make giant batches of it.
I do a different process of aerating kelp in water for long periods of time.