Collecting Pollen

[ViktorVaughn]

So there are some flowering males in my garden and the pollen sacs are opening up and falling off but I don't see any pollen to collect. What could be the problem? Not fully mature yet? Help is appreciated.
Vik

 

[Guest]

Yup!

Gotts wait a bit,get a small tray ready,cup
or paper to hold under them balls.......
WHen you collect pollen get rid of any flowers or balls
that may fall in with pollen the moister will kill it a bit??
Keep it dry in a cup for a max of 2 weeks still fertile!!

 

[lc00p4]

vikster the slikster! sip sip malt liquour! as lougrew said... long-term storage calls for freezer.

 

[Smoke68]

And fast before it becomes sterile!

 

[OneCanSam]

If I want to collect pollen, what I do is to take a small cup (like the small plastic cup that comes with a bottle of liquid Nyquil or one of those small paper bathroom Dixie cups.

I then make a slit/cut horizontally to the cup, then take a paper hole puncher and make a hole on the cup's bottom that fits around the stem, then simply place the cup under the target pollen node and the pollen falls right into the cup. (You can use a small piece of tape to fully seat the cup in the proper position to best collect the pollen) Once collected, I either use the pollen right away, or store it in the freezer for future use.

 

[Guest]

Ever buy cocaine?

that cute little folded paper packet is perfect for storing pollen


Ya dod need to get the nose candy to get the packet - you can fold a new one.




Dessicant is a good thing - moisture reduces potency and storage life.

 

[Highfromthelou]

helpful tip listed above..

 

[Highfromthelou]

helpful tip listed above..

 

[Bass Akwards]

Blowing in the wind ...

Blowing in the wind ...

So there are some flowering males in my garden and the pollen sacs are opening up and falling off but I don't see any pollen to collect. What could be the problem? Not fully mature yet? Help is appreciated.
Vik

So there are some flowering males in my garden and the pollen sacs are opening up and falling off but I don't see any pollen to collect.
Vik

You didn't mention if the garden was indoors or outdoors.

If it's indoors, with disease and pest-free plants, plus sufficient ventilation and good air-flow over the garden, the released pollen might not be visible. If there's a branch with more than a few open flowers, and you don't see a puff of pollen when the branch is tapped first thing in the AM, before the fans kick-in, that would be unusual.

You probably now have a seed-crop growing.

Dig it. Let it go as long as possible, when the bracts split and show dark seeds beneath most of the bud, cut off the water and let them cure on the stalk for a week, then let it sit in the dark for 48 hours before harvest.

Dessicant can be obtained free at the local chain pharmacy. Just ask the Pharm-Tech to set aside the little bags of crystals that are routinely tossed whenever a large bottle of pills is opened. Some of them are little hard plastic drums, and might contain activated charcoal as well. Both will work.

 

[Finklsteinshtkd]

so I have one male out of all my girls...if I want to pollenate one chosen bud, should I take the male out of the room and put it in my bathroom with the light on?? or just put a clear bag over my male and leave him in the indoor garden?? or will that suffocate him....if I put him in the bathroom will it veg before pollen drops??someone that has done this before please help me...i've heard of people ripping the male flowers off and opening them on their counter in the kitchen to get pollen onto a paper towel...is this possible or just b.s.?

 

[Rgd]

so I have one male out of all my girls...if I want to pollenate one chosen bud, should I take the male out of the room and put it in my bathroom with the light on?? or just put a clear bag over my male and leave him in the indoor garden?? or will that suffocate him....if I put him in the bathroom will it veg before pollen drops??someone that has done this before please help me...i've heard of people ripping the male flowers off and opening them on their counter in the kitchen to get pollen onto a paper towel...is this possible or just b.s.?

Not a paper towel,its too porous.
Use a piece of glass or even tin foil
Your idea works great.

 

[VirginHarvester]

Not a paper towel,its too porous.
Use a piece of glass or even tin foil
Your idea works great.

How do you know when the pollen inside is mature enough to harvest?

Another question on this topic, lets say you're growing indoors with a tent or whatever space and you have fans blowing and odor control fan/filter. What do you do if anything to make sure when your pollen sacks open the pollen gets to the females and dusts them. I picture so much of the pollen being sucked into the filter and lost, or just blown everywhere but the buds. I had the thought of just turning fans off for a few days as soon as sacks start busting but then the pollen might just fall to the ground. Or, I thought about moving the males to their own chamber with no fans and collecting with those little cups as described and hope the odor without fans isn't too strong.

And also something that was implied here but I didn't realize is you can take pollen and hold it say in a small cup for a week or so and as long as it stays dry it's still good. Is that right?

 

[Finklsteinshtkd]

i've read lots of places that you CAN take pollen and save it for up to three weeks...and even longer if you freeze it...alot of people suggest using silica packets(drying agent you find in a new pair of shoes) along with freezing to keep them dry...I have no idea how you know when the pollen inside is mature, otherwise i know people just bust them open and get the pollen out...my guess is you bust one with your fingers and see if it was ready...i do this every now and then just to see, but i don't really know thats why i posted this thread...i put a clear plastic bag over the top of my male and sort of twisted the bag shut at the bottom...you have to open once a day and let the plant air out, but when the pollen sacs open i'll have pollen in the bag....I was going to use, and have heard of many people using, a small paint brush to rub in the pollen and then 'paint' onto my chosen areas...so i can still maintain sensimilla in most of my yield...

 

[VirginHarvester]

i put a clear plastic bag over the top of my male and sort of twisted the bag shut at the bottom...you have to open once a day and let the plant air out, but when the pollen sacs open i'll have pollen in the bag....I was going to use, and have heard of many people using, a small paint brush to rub in the pollen and then 'paint' onto my chosen areas...so i can still maintain sensimilla in most of my yield...

So you could then if you wanted use a paint brush to take some of that pollen put it on your brush then brush over a bud to make some seeds, or even put that bag over some bud branches and rub some of the pollen onto the buds then cover the males back up or get rid of them. But by doing what you say you still get the pollen from the same grow space without seeding the entire crop, right? I've been imagining I would have to have two grow spaces to get pollen, build a box out of a plastic tub with fan and filter, or just do open pollination and deal with the results. The plastic bag thing sounds great as long as my temps and humidity are in check.

Is there any way to put the males or a clone from it back into veg once they get that mature in case the result is really good and you want to get some more pollen? I suppose the best thing to do is get really good at harvesting some, drying it, then storing it and cataloging it but I'm just curious about the options.

 

[Verdi99]

I will make a few seed on almost every strain I grow for out door use.I have a 70 watt hps security light mounted to a wall and an 18 in. x 24 in. mirror that I set my male on.As the pollen sacks open the pollen will fall on the mirror and you can just take a card and scrape up the pollen.I usually bend the branches of the male horizontally so the pollen dont fall on the leaves.This method works great for me,hope it helps you...Verdi

 

[marijuanamat]

I normally just place my males on a window sill if its autumn/winter/spring or under a 20w CFL when daylight hours are over 12.I fold the branches over a piece of A4 paper tapping the branches everyday after the first pods open so it falls on the paper,i then leave it out on the side for 3 days before mixing the pollen with 50% flour which is then added to a small sealable bag with few grains of rice in to soak up any moisture still in the pollen,i then wack it in the freezer for long term storage.
The flour is added to make the pollen go further so and once a female is ready for pollination i take it out the freezer and let it defrost/warm up alittle before using it.
I always do my pollinating in a room far from the main bloom room so there's less chance of accidental pollination.I use a small artists brush which is lightly dipped into the pollen bag to apply the pollen and after that's done i repeat that for 3 days until most of the calyxes are pollenated,i then wait a few hours after the last application of pollen then spray the whole plant with plain water to kill any excess pollen thats on the plant then she get's placed back into the main bloom room.

 

[panopticist]

I like this thread.

So now my question is, when do you paint on the pollen?

Early in flowering, say right after sexing? Or do you wait until the buds get bigger, say halfway through?

 

[lordbudly]

could anyone snap a picture of the packet that cocaine comes in? and instructions of how to fold it? this sounds like the perfect thing to store little one use packets of pollen

 

[Finklsteinshtkd]

lol...I think BC powder is what he was reffering to...headache medicine in powder form...i guess you could use the same folded paper to sell cocaine with though..lol..go to a convenience store and ask for BC powder its usually behind the counter...its great for headaches..

"The power's in the powder...the powder of BC!!! YAH"

 

[lordbudly]

I did some researching and came across the "medical fold" which i assume is what all ur talking about with bc powder and cookoo cocaine, i was bored one day and couldnt remember how it went so i just tried to do it myself and came up with my own fold which is probably the same but im to lazy to check, its where u take a small square of paper like 1.5 inch by 1 inch, fold it into thirds, then have it all like folded up, and fold one end,really hard, so no pollen falls out, then u fold over the other end the same once you fill it, you can write what pollen it is on there, and then you freeze, one packet is enough to heavily impregnate a good 5-10 nice sized popcorn nugs, but i split it up with flour