You can pick or wait.
Bob
Bob
Bramleyjordan Grow Log 2021
- Thread starter Bramleyjordan
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Bramleyjordan
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Thanks. I'll wait so less chance of drying green
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Hey guys, I found a few of my seed pots have turned brown. We are having wet weather at the moment so the pod is wet but brown. I picked one off and going to let it dry out. Should I have picked this or should they fall off when ready?
Ordinarily, the seed pods of Nicotiana tabacum remain closed as they turn brown, and remain on their respective blossom stems. The brown ones can get wet in the rain without damaging them. I usually wait for most of the pods in the head to turn brown, then cut the plant stalk below the tie for my bag. The still-bagged head is then suspended upside down in a dry location for several months, prior to extracting and cleaning the seed.
Bob
Bob
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the information. I am not using bads for the flowers, they are just out in the open. I've currently got the 1 seed pod on the heat mat (with my harvested, stem drying leaves) this is what it looks like.Ordinarily, the seed pods of Nicotiana tabacum remain closed as they turn brown, and remain on their respective blossom stems. The brown ones can get wet in the rain without damaging them. I usually wait for most of the pods in the head to turn brown, then cut the plant stalk below the tie for my bag. The still-bagged head is then suspended upside down in a dry location for several months, prior to extracting and cleaning the seed.
Bob
Anything I'm doing wrong or could be doing better? Should I leave the others on until that whole stem has brown seed pods and replicate what you do just without the bag?
Cheers
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I just read through all 105 posts in this thread. Perhaps I missed it. What variety of tobacco are you growing?
Bob
Bob
Bramleyjordan
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Haha, cherry red I'm growing.
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
I am looking to sell most of the seeds that I produce to friends ebay etc but am wondering how to know the quantity... there is absolutely no way I am counting them and sorting hahahaha
It's got to be done by weight? Does anyone know? Thanks
It's got to be done by weight? Does anyone know? Thanks
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Can't believe one seed pod produced this many seeds when there are hundreds pods left between the 3 plants!
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How to Send Out a Nice Packet of Tobacco Seed
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.
I would discourage you from selling your un-bagged, open-pollinated tobacco seed. You won't know what you're selling, and anyone willing to purchase it will most likely be a novice who doesn't know any better. I think it's fine for your own, private use, if you are not fussy about the tobacco variety.
This is, of course, just my personal opinion.
Bob
This is, of course, just my personal opinion.
Bob
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Okay thank you for the information
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Hey guys.
When waiting for the seed pods to turn brown, do they need to be attached to the plant?
E.g if all the flowers have died off and the pods are still green/yellow, are the seeds already developed inside and cutting the whole top off and hanging till dry would be okay? Or are the seeds still developing until the pods go brown attached to the plant?
Hope it makes sense haha
When waiting for the seed pods to turn brown, do they need to be attached to the plant?
E.g if all the flowers have died off and the pods are still green/yellow, are the seeds already developed inside and cutting the whole top off and hanging till dry would be okay? Or are the seeds still developing until the pods go brown attached to the plant?
Hope it makes sense haha
The safest approach is to wait for the pods to brown completely. If you remove the entire bud head, including the stalk, then fully enlarged pods that are still green will produce viable seed once dry. If you pluck off individual, green pods, then they may dry before the seeds complete maturation, and may show an unacceptably low germination rate. With yellow pods, they just need drying.
Bob
Bob
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Great thank you.
Most of my leaves are harvested now so the plants a bit wobbly. I'll try stabilise the plant until brown.
I have a nice 1g if seeds already
what's best way to store them since I wont be selling
The seed must be completely dry. I use 2" x 3" Ziploc bags. (Hobby stores sell them for use with sequins and beads, etc.) Each is carefully labeled with full variety name, year, and any other relevant info. I place these into a 1 quart freezer Ziploc bag labeled with the grow year. This then goes into a plastic dry box (used for kayaking and canoeing), along with a desiccant pack, and kept in a small, dormitory-size refrigerator. Unlike my regular kitchen fridge, this little one is not repeatedly opened. My seed kept this way has show excellent germination after ten years.
Studies in rural areas of India, without cold storage facilities, have shown that dryness is the most important factor in maintaining seed viability. So when you later plan to open some stored seed that has been refrigerated, you should allow it to come to room temperature, prior to opening. This avoids moisture condensation within the packaging.
Bob
Studies in rural areas of India, without cold storage facilities, have shown that dryness is the most important factor in maintaining seed viability. So when you later plan to open some stored seed that has been refrigerated, you should allow it to come to room temperature, prior to opening. This avoids moisture condensation within the packaging.
Bob
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much. Funny enough I have a small camping style fridge that I just got for my recent holiday! I am storing the seed in a little baggy in a metal tin at the moment so will use the fridge.The seed must be completely dry. I use 2" x 3" Ziploc bags. (Hobby stores sell them for use with sequins and beads, etc.) Each is carefully labeled with full variety name, year, and any other relevant info. I place these into a 1 quart freezer Ziploc bag labeled with the grow year. This then goes into a plastic dry box (used for kayaking and canoeing), along with a desiccant pack, and kept in a small, dormitory-size refrigerator. Unlike my regular kitchen fridge, this little one is not repeatedly opened. My seed kept this way has show excellent germination after ten years.
Studies in rural areas of India, without cold storage facilities, have shown that dryness is the most important factor in maintaining seed viability. So when you later plan to open some stored seed that has been refrigerated, you should allow it to come to room temperature, prior to opening. This avoids moisture condensation within the packaging.
Bob
Thanks
skychaser
Well-Known Member
I share that opinion. Also, pods that are not fully brown on the plant will contain large amounts of low germ and low viability seed. The photo Bob posted above shows pods at all stages of maturity. The ones that are brown with their stems fully brown could be snipped out individually and should have good seed. Yellow less so, and green pods will produce very low quality seed if cut at that stage. I have literally had 100's of germ tests done by certified testing labs over the years and the results don't lie. Harvesting too soon produces low quality seed.
Dry is is definitely the most important thing in storage. You want the moisture content down to the 5-7% range. I do not refrigerate any of my seed. I keep it all in an unheated and very dry storage room. A company I sell too, who shall remain nameless, had 2 strains of tobacco seed they bought from me that were testing very low after only 18 months in storage at 36%, and the other at only 8%! I had mine from the same batches re-tested and it came back at 94% and 92%. After much discussion, I believe their problem was that they were taking it in and out of refrigerated storage to make seed packs without letting the temperature equalize and resealing the bags trapping in moisture. Or they were really keeping it in the trunk of an old car out back in the sun.
How much you can fudge on waiting for seed pods to fully brown will depend on your climate. The drier the climate, the less you can cheat. It's about how long a time the attached stalk remains alive.
Bob
Bob
Bramleyjordan
Well-Known Member
Hey me again I have now harvested all the leaves on my plants that I let go to flower. Am i right in thinking, the plant will now quickly die as my understanding no leaves = no photosynthesis? Still got about 100 seeds pods on each plants so wondering what I can expect now? Ta
I have now harvested all the leaves on my plants that I let go to flower. Am i right in thinking, the plant will now quickly die as my understanding no leaves = no photosynthesis? Still got about 100 seeds pods on each plants so wondering what I can expect now? Ta- Status