I found this and decided to post it.
Cannabis Pollen, Harvesting, Using, and Storing
Posted on September 16, 2023 by Jerry —What Does a Male Cannabis Plant Look Like
This my friends is a male plant, and as far as male plants go this would be the Arnold Schwarzenegger of male cannabis plants!
Have you ever wondered how to judge the genetics of a male cannabis plant?
I would say size would likely be first (bigger plants make bigger plants), with number of budding sites (again more is better, and they should produce copious amounts of pollen!), plant structure (limbs should be big and strong to support large flowers), bud structure (high bud to leaf ratio), budding duration (females that bloom longer create bigger buds…generally), scent (yes some will smell amazing), vigorous growth (hugely important I think), time to bud (faster will likely create faster female offspring), Trichomes (yes some male plants can have trichomes, and more is better.)
And, as you can see above Sir Wild Thing has not disappointed! I think he is about everything one would look for in a male cannabis plant. His genetics will likely improve the genetics of nearly any female he is allowed to make seed with.
Harvesting Cannabis Pollen
Harvesting the pollen from a male plant is not rocket science. You simply hold a container under a flower and shake the flower, allowing the pollen to fall into your container. Along with the pollen spent flowers will also fall in.
I have used a very big stainless steel bowel to hold under the flower clusters then giving them a good shake. You can see it on the right, you can also see the generous coating of pollen on the sides of the bowl.
If you want some pm me I will tell you how.
Cannabis Pollen
One thing to keep in mind when harvesting cannabis pollen is moisture is your enemy! You will want to dry the pollen immediately. Moisture can and will destroy cannabis pollen’s fertility
I usually simply spread out the spent flowers and pollen on a flat surface inside of my very dry house. (relative humidity is very low here) for a few days to ensure a very low moisture content.
Another thing to add here is you will want no wind at all when collecting pollen (cannabis plants are wind pollinated, your precious pollen can easily blow away), so pick a windless day, or turn off that fan when collecting it.
Using Cannabis Pollen
This too is not rocket science, although some online would make one think so.Basically to use pollen you have collected you simply use a very small paintbrush, the kind used to paint a picture.
You pour a very small amount of pollen in a dry container (never dip your brush directly into the main container holding your supply of pollen!) Then you dip your brush in your little match head pile of pollen you poured out, and transfer it to your waiting female cannabis flowers. It really is that simple!
You will again want no air movement when pollinating, or you could pollinate an entire room of plants…accidentally. I cannot stress enough….cannabis pollen can be very invasive….with even a small amount of air movement.
And, of course if one wanted to pollinate an entire room of plants, that would not be hard to do. Simply have a fan blowing on your ladies, drop a match head sized dollop of pollen into the stream of air from the fan, or use your fingers to sprinkle the pollen into the stream of air. Do this every week or two during flower and you can have room full of fully seeded plants.
If you still have questions about this, you can ask me in a comment,or you could search YouTube as I am sure there are a ton of good videos, showing the process.
Cannabis pollen from a male cannabis plant is helpful for those looking to breed cannabis strains, and it is also useful for those looking to preserve the genetics of a certain strain.
Storing Cannabis Pollen
Cannabis pollen can be stored for up to a year, or more. It is a great way to preserve a favorite genetics for future breeding programs.
As I stated above pollen is pretty delicate, and it’s main nemesis for long term storage is moisture. The pollen you store must be dry.
Pollen is usually stored in either a refrigerator, or freezer. It is also important to not allow temperature fluctuations during storage. I like to store my pollen in very small vials, then if I plan to use some, I simply take one of the vials out, without warming the rest of the pollen.
Pollen at room temperature would likely remain viable for about one week. Properly stored pollen can remain viable for a year or more.
Although some frown on it, I plan to mix this pollen with dry flour, at a ratio of about 1/2 (ratios vary from 1/1 to 4/1). There are a few reasons for this.
The first reason is it simply makes the pollen easier to handle. The second reason is the flour can absorb any moisture (kind like rice) that may be present…helping to preserve the viability of the pollen. Don’t worry, this will not make the pollen any less effective when pollinating your flowers, it will still do it’s job!
Stored pollen should be in complete darkness, and in an air tight container. Avoid any temperature fluctuations. Airtight, dark pollen stored at a steady temperature is key to successful long term storage.
Conclusion
I am collecting quite a bit of pollen from Sir Wild Thing! The image below is about a tablespoon full. This likely enough cannabis pollen to seed 10 acres of cannabis, and will be enough to give some to everyone who wants some.So if you would like some of this pollen just pm me I will tell you how.
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