How to Send Out a Nice Packet of Tobacco Seed

[ChuckP]

Howdy Bob!

Great article and ideas! I've been using a old loose tea strainer to separate the seed, but I like the two filtration method better.

 

[workhorse_01]

It would work nice. I have the brass one for my navy colt.

Just a thought but I was wondering if a drop powder dispenser for reloading could be modified to drop about +/-100 seeds per handle pull? I don't have a drop dispenser, I have the electric dispenser with scales but I think it has a screw type dispenser that would damage the seed. A drop type could work though.

 

[Knucklehead]

It would work nice. I have the brass one for my navy colt.

I was thinking about buying one of the Lee powder measures and modifying the drum inside. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/540522/lee-perfect-powder-measure Maybe epoxy up the opening, then drill it in increments till it started dropping about 100 seed. What do you think from looking at yours? If we could get one to work, I bet Don and Bob would kill to have one. lol

 

[DGBAMA]

Just a thought but I was wondering if a drop powder dispenser for reloading could be modified to drop about +/-100 seeds per handle pull? I don't have a drop dispenser, I have the electric dispenser with scales but I think it has a screw type dispenser that would damage the seed. A drop type could work though.

Most electric measures I have used for powder are not actually a screw, but a "thread" inside thetube that the powder comes out of. Would not damage seed.
Damaged smokeless can dangerously effect burn rate. I would say safe for seed and a good idea.

 

[Knucklehead]

The measuring spoons Bob posted go down to smidgen size. These go down one size smaller to drop size. I have no idea how many seed that would be, but I think I'll order one of these and find out. Free Shipping. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norpro-Measuring-Spoons-18-10-Stainless-Steel-Mini-Set-5-Pc-Dash-Pinch-Smidgen-/390649874658?pt=Measuring_Cups&hash=item5af48c08e2

 

[workhorse_01]

Mine is the brass drum type. loosen the set screw and slide the base up or down, with a scale on the side. When you slide the funnel across the end it wipes off the excess.

I was thinking about buying one of the Lee powder measures and modifying the drum inside. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/540522/lee-perfect-powder-measure Maybe epoxy up the opening, then drill it in increments till it started dropping about 100 seed. What do you think from looking at yours? If we could get one to work, I bet Don and Bob would kill to have one. lol

 

[Knucklehead]

Cool tool. And that's for black powder? I want one of those beer can mortar cannons I see on youtube. Wicked awesome boom.

 

[Knucklehead]

The measuring spoons Bob posted go down to smidgen size. These go down one size smaller to drop size. I have no idea how many seed that would be, but I think I'll order one of these and find out. Free Shipping. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norpro-Measuring-Spoons-18-10-Stainless-Steel-Mini-Set-5-Pc-Dash-Pinch-Smidgen-/390649874658?pt=Measuring_Cups&hash=item5af48c08e2

I'm hoping the drop size will give me a good number for germination testing or at least get close so when I count them I can add or subtract just a few seed.

 

[Mad Oshea]

I use a tea ball to seperate by hand.

 

[JessicaNicot]

the scoop that I use to allocate out seed (which holds approx. 0.1g or ~1000 seeds) was made out of a shell casing from a really small bullet (I don't know hardly anything about guns so I cant tell you the caliber) that is soldered to a metal rod. I didn't make it, just inherited it along with the seed collection.

for threshing our seed in the lab we use USA Standard Testing Sieves that appear to be brass. we use sizes 25 (710 micron) and 40 (425 micron). for threshing some of the other Nicotiana species seed I have and even smaller sieve (size 48). we don't use it very often, but we also have this really cool blower apparatus for when the seed is really trashy. if there is only a little plant debris in your seed (and you don't have a ton of seed to clean), you can roll it across sheets of cotton fiber paper (fancy paper generally with watermarks that you can find at any office supply store). good seed will roll off the paper but other plant debris and aborted seed will not.

 

[skychaser]

It's probably a 22 short shell casing. And that's not a bad idea. That would be about the right size. I just made mine by pounding out a "spoon" on the end of a piece of heavy copper wire.
I use 600 and 400 micron screens. The 710 micron would be handy as rusticas and most oriental tobacco seed won't go through a 600. I could really use a machine to do the final cleaning. Winnowing is my least favorite part of the whole process and I'll have about 75 lbs to do soon. And that's just the tobaccos. You should try cleaning lettuce seed sometime. Or Zinnias. Akkk What a pain they are.

 

[workhorse_01]

With the powder measurer a .1 is a thousand seeds +/- 20. I think this would be a great standard to use across the board. It's accurate, clean, and the seed isn't hurt in any way. Very simple to use and inexpensive.

Mine is the brass drum type. loosen the set screw and slide the base up or down, with a scale on the side. When you slide the funnel across the end it wipes off the excess.View attachment 8191

 

[Knucklehead]

With the powder measurer a .1 is a thousand seeds +/- 20. I think this would be a great standard to use across the board. It's accurate, clean, and the seed isn't hurt in any way. Very simple to use and inexpensive.

Available from MidwayUSA: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/43...ure-with-swivel-funnel-10-to-120-grains-brass

 

[deluxestogie]

A thousand seeds (the smallest measure on the powder measure) is about 10 times as many seeds as a typical packet of seed for a home grower.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I just got my tiny measuring spoons from ebay. The drop size nestles right down into the smidgen size. I haven't measured any seed yet, but from Bob's description of the number of seed in the smidgen size, it may be perfect.

 

[workhorse_01]

Bob, The slider will do half that or even smaller, if the user wants to. I bet i can get it down to 50 easily if needed. I just set it @ 1/32 and counted 121 seeds on the first drop.The numbers are for powder weight.

A thousand seeds (the smallest measure on the powder measure) is about 10 times as many seeds as a typical packet of seed for a home grower.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

A thousand seeds (the smallest measure on the powder measure) is about 10 times as many seeds as a typical packet of seed for a home grower.

Bob

Bob, what do you recommend to get the 2000 seed for a seed bank donation? Aside from 10 scoops.

 

[Brown Thumb]

15 scoops should have the bases covered.

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob, what do you recommend to get the 2000 seed for a seed bank donation? Aside from 10 scoops.

I used to know. I think I used a 1/4 tsp. If you have a gram measure, its about 0.2 to 0.3 grams.

Visual Guesstimation Method:

• spread some seed on a sheet of dry, smooth white paper (not paper towel)
• using the blade of a dull table knife, count roughly 50 seeds, then move them to the side
• visually estimate a similar size cluster of seeds, moving them to the same pile on the side [now you know the "look" of 100 seeds, but without counting 100]
• now visually estimate 9 more piles of ~100 seeds, and move them to the first pile, to give the "look" of 1000 seeds
• in a single swoop, guesstimate a second pile of 1000 seeds [you now have roughly 2000 seeds, but only counted 50]
• remove the rest of the seed
• pour the piles of seed together into a 1 tsp measuring spoon, then transfer to progressively smaller measuring spoons, until you find the correct level measure
• use that final measure as your 2000 seed scoop, though you may want to heap a little extra for a margin

That's how I count the number of geese in a large flock in the air. I count 5, then guess the total count from the visual span of 5 geese.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Using the Tad, Dash, Pinch, Smidgen and Drop spoons, I measured five level spoons of each size on an accurate digital scale. I would take a heaping spoonful and level it with a business card. The results are posted below in grams:

DROP spoon: 0.03, 0.02, 0.03, 0.02, 0.02 This spoon will yield slightly more than 100 seed
SMIDGEN spoon: 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.06 This spoon yields around 200 seed.
PINCH spoon: 0.11, 0.11, 0.12, 0.12, 0.12
DASH spoon: 0.17, 0.17, 0.16, 0.17, 0.17 This spoon yields around 1000 seed.
TAD spoon: 0.43, 0.45, 0.45, 0.44, 0.45