Partial pollination
By Ed Rosenthal - Tuesday, July 12 2005
Is it possible to partially pollinate a female, or is it all or nothing? I just want a few seeds.Big Luke,
Houston, Texas
Yes. You can pollinate a few flowers or a cola without polluting the entire plant.
To do this, make sure to keep the male plant in a garden separate from the female. If the male plant is in the garden, remove it before its flowers open. Once the male plant flowers, place it horizontally between two newspaper sheets, so the pollen drops to the paper and is easily gathered. If the plant is too large, cut branches off and place them in a vase with water with paper underneath to catch the pollen. Place the pollen in a small jar or bowl.
Pollinate the plants when there is little wind or draft. Paint the buds that you wish to pollinate with pollen using a small watercolor brush. Make sure that the stigmas are thoroughly covered with the pollen. Label the bud so it is easy to identify. Within a month, the seeds will be ripe.
You can pollinate the same plant with one or even several different males in this controlled pattern without jeopardizing the sinsemilla qualities of the plant's other buds.
Readers with grow questions (or answers) should send them to Ed at: Ask Ed, PMB 147, 530 Divisadero St., San Francisco, California 94117, USA. You can also email Ed at AskEd@cannabisculture.com, and send queries via his websites at www.ask-ed.net. All featured questions will be rewarded with a copy of Ed's new book, Best of Ask Ed: Your Marijuana Questions Answered. Sorry, Ed cannot send personal replies to your questions.
