TheNewGuy2012
Member
I use to grow outdoors only so I liked to make seeds and have a sensi bud on the same plant for smoke. so i decide what buds get pollinated and let the main cola grow seedless. here is how i go about it...
~SELECTING A MALE
Males should be smelled and observed of their floral traits. These traits include sturdiness, stem & branching structure, density or number of stamen/pollen basket clusters in a single area, stem or stamen colors, trichome production, & smells. what you think your plants should look & smell like, is what you should select. By rubbing the leaves and stem of males you can determine if they have the potential for breeding or if they are genetically inferior. Male plants should be fragrant (not just ganja green or soap-like) and trichome production should be looked at wit at least a 10X scope. Frosty males will most likely make frosty females or at least a percentage of them; & further selection will have to be done in the future to keep the line more stable. By saving the pollen from the original male, you can make the line more uniform threw the use of back crossing or inbreeding with your best females from future offspring. select your best females and your best male to cross with and keep your seeds from the best specimen. with future generations your line will become more and more stable as time goes on.
edit: when i was strictly working outdoors and i had 1 male but a bunch of females to try... i would use the 1 chosen male's pollen on all the different pheno's that looked like winners, smoke tested them when they were dry to figure out which i would like to grow, & which ones tasted like garbage or simply don't compare to a better one in the batch.
~Harvesting Your Male, Collecting The Pollen, and Storage~
I fill a 16 oz. solo cup or a shot glass with tap water and cut the top of the male off about 6"-10" long. this makes it easy for the plant to lean and drop the pollen onto a collection plate. I used my keif box collecting tray as the collection plate, glass is also excellent for collecting, paper, foil and plastic are also options but are not as good, they will work just not as good.
Place the fresh cut stem into the water as soon as you cut it for better preservation. plants store for about two weeks with 1 or 2 - 20 watt CFL bulbs, sufficient air supply, and the water is changed once every 2-4 dayz. Treat it like a flower in a vase, try not to expose the bottom of the stem to air for more than a few seconds becuz this will create an air bubble in the stem and the plant won't last as long as expected. During the time it is kept alive in the cup of water... the cut at the bottom might start to shrivel, so i cut off the dead part to let the fresh cut stem take up the water.
once the pollen is collected on a tray, it is scraped up with a brand new razor blade and stored in a clean baby food jar. EDIT: READ BELOW ABOUT THE NEW STOTAGE JARS(Clean the hell out of the jar and make sure it is bone dry as water kills pollen and would cause your pollen to mold.
My last 3 pollen collections went bad because the baby food jars are not as airtight as i would have liked. my new jar of choice is the ball 4oz canning jar. it has a band, lid & seal just like the big ones. Case of 12 quilted jars include 2-piece silver colored caps. Mouth size is 2-1/2" in diameter. 4 fluid ounce equals 1/2 cup. These jars can also be used for freezing.
~Pollinating The Females
Once you have collected your pollen you can now use a horse hair paintbrush to dip into your pollen and "paint" onto your selected buds to pollinate. Careful about flinging the pollen around, be delicate and wipe any excess pollen off the brush on, the inside of the jar. It works easier if you try to use the tip of the brush only. personally I like to pollinate lower branches only and leave the top colas seed free for great sensimilla smoke.
once your used the desired amount of pollen, cap the pollen and store in the freezer for up to 18 months. viability goes down with age and i've even read an article that stated stored pollen may also generate more males but honestly I think you get males no matter what seeds you grow... well unless their feminized but you get the idea.
TIP: If pollinating in an indoor setup i would recommend changing your cloths once leaving the room to prevent any future accidental pollination if re-entering the room in the same day. another good tip is to use a spray bottle to kill any stray pollen. Always allow at least 4 weeks for your seeds to mature before harvesting.
EDIT: water actually breaks down the cell wall of pollen, it doesn't kill it immediately. if i can find the article, i will post the pics of the various stages
~SELECTING A MALE
Males should be smelled and observed of their floral traits. These traits include sturdiness, stem & branching structure, density or number of stamen/pollen basket clusters in a single area, stem or stamen colors, trichome production, & smells. what you think your plants should look & smell like, is what you should select. By rubbing the leaves and stem of males you can determine if they have the potential for breeding or if they are genetically inferior. Male plants should be fragrant (not just ganja green or soap-like) and trichome production should be looked at wit at least a 10X scope. Frosty males will most likely make frosty females or at least a percentage of them; & further selection will have to be done in the future to keep the line more stable. By saving the pollen from the original male, you can make the line more uniform threw the use of back crossing or inbreeding with your best females from future offspring. select your best females and your best male to cross with and keep your seeds from the best specimen. with future generations your line will become more and more stable as time goes on.
edit: when i was strictly working outdoors and i had 1 male but a bunch of females to try... i would use the 1 chosen male's pollen on all the different pheno's that looked like winners, smoke tested them when they were dry to figure out which i would like to grow, & which ones tasted like garbage or simply don't compare to a better one in the batch.
~Harvesting Your Male, Collecting The Pollen, and Storage~
I fill a 16 oz. solo cup or a shot glass with tap water and cut the top of the male off about 6"-10" long. this makes it easy for the plant to lean and drop the pollen onto a collection plate. I used my keif box collecting tray as the collection plate, glass is also excellent for collecting, paper, foil and plastic are also options but are not as good, they will work just not as good.
Place the fresh cut stem into the water as soon as you cut it for better preservation. plants store for about two weeks with 1 or 2 - 20 watt CFL bulbs, sufficient air supply, and the water is changed once every 2-4 dayz. Treat it like a flower in a vase, try not to expose the bottom of the stem to air for more than a few seconds becuz this will create an air bubble in the stem and the plant won't last as long as expected. During the time it is kept alive in the cup of water... the cut at the bottom might start to shrivel, so i cut off the dead part to let the fresh cut stem take up the water.
once the pollen is collected on a tray, it is scraped up with a brand new razor blade and stored in a clean baby food jar. EDIT: READ BELOW ABOUT THE NEW STOTAGE JARS(Clean the hell out of the jar and make sure it is bone dry as water kills pollen and would cause your pollen to mold.
My last 3 pollen collections went bad because the baby food jars are not as airtight as i would have liked. my new jar of choice is the ball 4oz canning jar. it has a band, lid & seal just like the big ones. Case of 12 quilted jars include 2-piece silver colored caps. Mouth size is 2-1/2" in diameter. 4 fluid ounce equals 1/2 cup. These jars can also be used for freezing.
~Pollinating The Females
Once you have collected your pollen you can now use a horse hair paintbrush to dip into your pollen and "paint" onto your selected buds to pollinate. Careful about flinging the pollen around, be delicate and wipe any excess pollen off the brush on, the inside of the jar. It works easier if you try to use the tip of the brush only. personally I like to pollinate lower branches only and leave the top colas seed free for great sensimilla smoke.
once your used the desired amount of pollen, cap the pollen and store in the freezer for up to 18 months. viability goes down with age and i've even read an article that stated stored pollen may also generate more males but honestly I think you get males no matter what seeds you grow... well unless their feminized but you get the idea.
TIP: If pollinating in an indoor setup i would recommend changing your cloths once leaving the room to prevent any future accidental pollination if re-entering the room in the same day. another good tip is to use a spray bottle to kill any stray pollen. Always allow at least 4 weeks for your seeds to mature before harvesting.
EDIT: water actually breaks down the cell wall of pollen, it doesn't kill it immediately. if i can find the article, i will post the pics of the various stages
