I may have a variant of the usual method.
I took a fine forceps and pulled* off an anther taking the green filament with it. Maneuver the filament in the forceps so you're holding it just above the cut end. You hold it so the loose end of the anther is up and the other end is just above the wax paper. Then touch a 512 Hz tuning fork to the loose end of the anther and the pollen pours out. Not too high or it blows away.
Repeat 16 times for all the anthers. Keep sealed in freezer.
I found it much easier. No more fussing with odd positions or holding the wax paper in your third hand. No wasted pollen. Worked great! The "T" is where you touch the tuning fork.
Be careful pulling off the anther, you don't want to rip off part of the ovary!
About 4 days after flower opening, I test one anther a day-use the technique above just over a black surface (I use my keyboard). If you get a little flurry of pollen, harvest. Otherwise repeat next day.
*Actually, "snip" it off with the forceps by squeezing. You don't want to rip the ovary wall as this aborts the developing seeds. If you pull the anther of the filament, you can hold the wide end of the anther up and the small end down-touch the tuning fork to the forceps tip multiple times to get all the pollen. Collecting into tiny ziploc bags is very convenient.
I took a fine forceps and pulled* off an anther taking the green filament with it. Maneuver the filament in the forceps so you're holding it just above the cut end. You hold it so the loose end of the anther is up and the other end is just above the wax paper. Then touch a 512 Hz tuning fork to the loose end of the anther and the pollen pours out. Not too high or it blows away.
Repeat 16 times for all the anthers. Keep sealed in freezer.
I found it much easier. No more fussing with odd positions or holding the wax paper in your third hand. No wasted pollen. Worked great! The "T" is where you touch the tuning fork.
Be careful pulling off the anther, you don't want to rip off part of the ovary!
About 4 days after flower opening, I test one anther a day-use the technique above just over a black surface (I use my keyboard). If you get a little flurry of pollen, harvest. Otherwise repeat next day.
*Actually, "snip" it off with the forceps by squeezing. You don't want to rip the ovary wall as this aborts the developing seeds. If you pull the anther of the filament, you can hold the wide end of the anther up and the small end down-touch the tuning fork to the forceps tip multiple times to get all the pollen. Collecting into tiny ziploc bags is very convenient.
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