Method Two
An alternate method of transferring the pollen requires no tools or instruments. Simply pluck the male flower carrying the pollen and gently remove all the petals. You then take it to your selected female flower and gently stroke the stamens across the stigmas, which have a sticky feel. The pollen will of course adhere to them and fertilisation will take place. From this point on continue as for the above method.
What happens following the application of pollen? Usually the petals of the female flower will fall anytime from 4–7 days later, sometimes longer, and the female stigmas will turn brown and dry up. Also the female seedpod situated behind the petals will swell. There is of course always the exception where the petals fail to fall or the pod swell, yet it has been fertilised. It is very important to remember to attach a label to the flower you have fertilised at the time. Waiting to see if the cross takes before doing so will lead to confusion and incorrectly named crosses.
The problem that faces us now is how to see that the fertilised pod stays attached to the plant for sufficient time to ensure that the seed inside ripens and will germinate when sown. Once the petals on the female flower/s have fallen remove the large centre male flower. This reduces the weight on the main flower stem and the chance of it falling prematurely. Then take a small paper bag and place it over the fertilised female flower or flowers if you have fertilised both, and tie it with a fine string around the main flower stem, not just the stem of the fertilised female flower. This is done for three reasons:
If the pod does fall it will be caught in the bag and not lost.
If the pod stays on the plant and dries and splits then the seed will be captured.
Finally if the whole flower stem falls then this can easily be seen among the foliage.
How long then do pods need to stay on the plant? It is of course better that the pods remain undisturbed on the plant for 6–8 weeks, however pods will ripen much more quickly in the height of summer than in late autumn. Often they will fall before they are ripe or of course be knocked off. I have had correspondence with growers in the UK regarding this and viable seed, although a reduced amount, can be obtained from pods that have fallen after just twenty-three days
How does one treat the pods when they come off the plant? The secret is a slow drying process. Each pod and its label should be placed into either a small paper bag if not already in one or into the small clear plastic film containers (without the lid). These are then placed in a warm dry place to dry out thoroughly to the point that the pod splits. It is at this point that the seed is harvested and cleaned.
Cleaning your Seed
The following are two ways in which seed can be cleaned.
Method One:
Have a number of sheets of clean white paper. Place one of these on a flat surface and break open the dry seedpod and pass the contents through a fine sieve, which will remove the debris. Crease one end of the paper and incline it allowing the seed to fall onto another sheet below, repeating the process three times. The good seed will roll off the top sheet leaving the chaff and debris behind.
Method Two
In this case use clean dry white china cups. Repeat the process with the sieve and then gently roll the seed around the inside of the cup tipping the contents into another. The good seed will roll into the other leaving the chaff behind; again repeat the process three times.
Once the seed has been cleaned it must be packaged and stored, kitchen foil is ideal for this purpose. Cut the foil into 5cm squares and tip the seed into the centre of each square. Fold the square in half and then fold down the top three times and repeat the process on both ends. Write a self-adhesive label with the cross details and affix. Place the packages in a clean plastic bag and store in the refrigerator.
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