Buck5050
Underground Chucker
When working with limited space or just attempting to make a small personal stash of seeds, single branch breeding has served me well. Over the course of a couple of years, I have developed a little method that I found works quite well in both pollinating a particular site and keeping the cross-pollination down to a minimum leaving me with more usable flowers.
Things needed:
Small plastic bags-- I used the pillow cushion bags that come in most shipping boxes. These make a great bag because they are longer than they are wide and being filled with air proves they don't have any holes for loose pollen to escape.
Spray bottle water-- I use just a run of the mill spray bottle filled with RO water set on mist
Viable pollen-- I use pollen from a male usually but this method works for female pollen as well
Tweezers-- I use these as a tool for controlling the pollen and the bags if need be.
Small container--for holding small bags
Tags-- in cases where you bag multiple branches with different pollen
Ties-- used to tie up the bottom of the bag around the branch
The first thing I do is separate the plant from other flowering girls and turn off all my fans. The least amount of air movement the better. Once I have her separated I decide on the branch that will be pollinated. Here's a shot of CandyMan outside the flower tent:
I'll be hitting her with some of the GG75 pollen I collected a few weeks back.
Here I checked two of the pillow bags for leaks:
Verified with no chance of pollen falling out without me knowing.
Since they still were holding air I snipped off one end making sure to keep some length on the bag:
One of the bags I took and placed it on the selected branch to be pollinated dry (with no pollen) and sprayed down the rest of the plant with a decent mist of RO water:
The idea here is if somehow pollen gets loose during the process that it will be neutralized by the residual moisture. This can help eliminate some stray pollen going back into the flower area. Once the plant is sprayed down I remove the bag we used as a shield and discard it. Taking consideration at keeping the moisture away from the previously covered area.
Using the other bag, I stuff it in a small container and fold back the edges:
Using a vial and some tweezers I gently sprinkle in a bit of pollen directly into the bottom of the bag. Keep in mind I don't need much since this will be contained in a small area around a couple of buds.
Gently lift and pinch the baggie to not let the pollen get carried away. From that point, I take it very slow and steady while placing the bag on the target branch.
It helps if you can bend the branch some to create more of a horizontal direction to pull the bag over the buds. Once I get the baggie bottomed out over the bud I gently roll it out to its full length and pinch or tie the bottom.
Here is where tieing the bottom of the bag nicely to the branch will help contain the pollen.
I also give the plant another spray down of RO water and the area around the process. When that done she'll go back into the flower area with the bag on for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, I remove the plant from the area again and use a spray bottle while I remove the bag. I use the spray bottle to mist the pollinated area before placing the plant back in with other flower girls.
Things needed:
Small plastic bags-- I used the pillow cushion bags that come in most shipping boxes. These make a great bag because they are longer than they are wide and being filled with air proves they don't have any holes for loose pollen to escape.
Spray bottle water-- I use just a run of the mill spray bottle filled with RO water set on mist
Viable pollen-- I use pollen from a male usually but this method works for female pollen as well
Tweezers-- I use these as a tool for controlling the pollen and the bags if need be.
Small container--for holding small bags
Tags-- in cases where you bag multiple branches with different pollen
Ties-- used to tie up the bottom of the bag around the branch
The first thing I do is separate the plant from other flowering girls and turn off all my fans. The least amount of air movement the better. Once I have her separated I decide on the branch that will be pollinated. Here's a shot of CandyMan outside the flower tent:
I'll be hitting her with some of the GG75 pollen I collected a few weeks back.
Here I checked two of the pillow bags for leaks:
Verified with no chance of pollen falling out without me knowing.
Since they still were holding air I snipped off one end making sure to keep some length on the bag:
One of the bags I took and placed it on the selected branch to be pollinated dry (with no pollen) and sprayed down the rest of the plant with a decent mist of RO water:
The idea here is if somehow pollen gets loose during the process that it will be neutralized by the residual moisture. This can help eliminate some stray pollen going back into the flower area. Once the plant is sprayed down I remove the bag we used as a shield and discard it. Taking consideration at keeping the moisture away from the previously covered area.
Using the other bag, I stuff it in a small container and fold back the edges:
Using a vial and some tweezers I gently sprinkle in a bit of pollen directly into the bottom of the bag. Keep in mind I don't need much since this will be contained in a small area around a couple of buds.
Gently lift and pinch the baggie to not let the pollen get carried away. From that point, I take it very slow and steady while placing the bag on the target branch.
It helps if you can bend the branch some to create more of a horizontal direction to pull the bag over the buds. Once I get the baggie bottomed out over the bud I gently roll it out to its full length and pinch or tie the bottom.
Here is where tieing the bottom of the bag nicely to the branch will help contain the pollen.
I also give the plant another spray down of RO water and the area around the process. When that done she'll go back into the flower area with the bag on for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, I remove the plant from the area again and use a spray bottle while I remove the bag. I use the spray bottle to mist the pollinated area before placing the plant back in with other flower girls.
