PVP
Tomatophile
head spellerer
Only an Amateur
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Post by PVP on Mar 10, 2010 13:50:08 GMT -5
For emasculating the flowers (ripping part of the sepals and all pedals and ather cone off) I have used tweezers. The kind with a chisel tip that's diagonally advanced to one side. No picture available.
But I found in the past two years that it's more practical to let my thumbnails grow a little longer toward the outside, keeping them trimmed that way, and holding the blossom between the diamond shaped between two index fingers and two thumbs and peeling the flower with my thumbnails. Easier to keep up with thumbs than with tweezers too.
To collect pollen, my favorite recepticle is a dark shaded lens popped out of a discarded pair of sunglasses. The lens in the exact right shape, size and the dark color shows the pollen shed immediately.
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Mar 10, 2010 14:54:50 GMT -5
I don't use chisel tipped tweezers. Mine are pointed and very sharp. I use and old electric toothbrush to help the pollen shed and I collect it with pieces I cut out of old orange pill bottles. Pollen shows up well on the orange plastic and who doesn't have a few pill bottles layin around? I like PV's sunglass lens idea. May give that a try this year. My wife ain't gonna like it when her shades suddenly disappear. ;D I also use fluorescent string tags that i think i bought at walmart to mark crossed blossoms. I mark emasculated blossoms with some fluorescent marking tape so I can recall which ones i did the day before.
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Post by frogsleapfarm on Mar 11, 2010 11:47:02 GMT -5
I use a pointed and very sharp tweezers too, both for emasculation and for tearing apart anthers on a dark shaded sunglass lens (thank for the idea PV). I use yellow twist ties to mark emasculated flowers, and fluorescent string tags to mark crossed flowers.
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PVP
Tomatophile
head spellerer
Only an Amateur
Posts: 798
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Post by PVP on Mar 11, 2010 14:18:17 GMT -5
I think I'll buy a pair of those sharply pointed tweezers.
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Mar 11, 2010 14:47:55 GMT -5
I can send you my extra pair that I bought last year that are exactly like mule's. I really didn't care for them and went back to my older pair. I had no need for the magnifying glass and it just got in the way.
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Mar 11, 2010 20:28:31 GMT -5
oooooo...good idea!
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PVP
Tomatophile
head spellerer
Only an Amateur
Posts: 798
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Post by PVP on Mar 11, 2010 20:55:14 GMT -5
I prefer hornworm sushi
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Post by frogsleapfarm on Mar 11, 2010 22:53:02 GMT -5
one more thing that helped last year .... I also use a Sharpie to record the pedigree and then put on a piece of Scotch tape to "waterproof" the tag. Almost every improvement I made last year in technique resulted from some stupid mistake I made earlier, but such is the history of my life.
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Apr 19, 2011 5:44:27 GMT -5
Looks great! Just a few observations summer. Hard to see the tip of those tweezers but they don't look very sharp. That may make it more difficult to grasp and pull the anther cones. Thin sharp points work better I've found. Also, good idea with the shampoo bottle strips. You will be able to see the pollen very easily on the black plastic. One thing though, they may be too wide. You will find that the thinner the piece, the easier it will be to maneuver underneath the blossoms while collecting the pollen. Mine are about an inch to an inch and a quarter wide or so. About the width of a microscope slide. Maybe just cut them a bit thinner if you find this and see if it helps. The tulle bags you have are 2x3" or so? I only use those when bagging blossoms that I want to ensure purity on and not really for working with crosses(I'll take my chances). I've found that the larger ones(4x6"?) work better at bagging entire blossom trusses instead of just one blossom. Also, a tip with those bags is to cut off the excess above the drawstrings. It will make them MUCH easier to use. Trust me on this, you will see.
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Apr 19, 2011 17:59:58 GMT -5
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maf
Breeder in Training
Posts: 102
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Post by maf on Apr 19, 2011 18:47:29 GMT -5
I really want some of those bags but I can't see myself going into a shop and buying some. Last year I tried using a teabag (empty of tea) to cover a flower, but it didn't work too well.
Luckily, when crossing, I remove the petals so the insects are unlikely to bork my cross. Still need some bags for ensuring purity of saved selfed seed though. Any alternative suggestions?
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maf
Breeder in Training
Posts: 102
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Post by maf on Apr 19, 2011 19:02:00 GMT -5
I found it easier to remove the male parts with my fingers than with tweezers. Then again, my tweezers did not look as good as those ones.
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Apr 19, 2011 19:28:05 GMT -5
I really want some of those bags but I can't see myself going into a shop and buying some. Last year I tried using a teabag (empty of tea) to cover a flower, but it didn't work too well. Luckily, when crossing, I remove the petals so the insects are unlikely to bork my cross. Still need some bags for ensuring purity of saved selfed seed though. Any alternative suggestions? They're sold at walmart maf.
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Apr 19, 2011 19:41:32 GMT -5
Those look fine summerhawk. I've used broader tipped tweezers similar to that and have found that I prefer a finer tipped one like the ones in my photo. You may find differently so you should see how they work for you.
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neoguy
Tomato Gardener
Posts: 26
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Post by neoguy on Apr 20, 2011 7:12:20 GMT -5
This year I'm trying 1 gallon paint strainer bags, they can be found at any commercial paint supply store or HD and Lowes. They are more expensive but larger. I've had problems with blossom drop in the past, I hope this will provide more air flow and less blossom drop.
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