Mark=20 wrote:

...

>We never dried any of our pollen.  We ran it through a seed cleaner and =
>then picked it clean with tweezers.  It went directly into the freezer.  =
>We vaccuum sealed it and sold it to the local Hawaiian health food =
>stores for $12.95 a pound!  It was a money-maker.

        Without looking up the standards such as they are, I would
deprecate this method.
Lloyd may well be right that there's such a thing as overdrying, but there
sure is under-drying.  Wouldn't it be best to dry the pollen before
packaging, so that when opened the packed pollen will be less likely to
moulder?  I like the fungus kingdom, but some of them are killers.
        Horizontal gauze racks about a yard square over an electric heater
I've seen in commercial drying.  The attic under an ordinary 'tin' roof is
at 30 - 55 Celsius in spring, summer & autumn days in my temperate climate.
Given suitable ventilation, such an attic is the basis for drying a  LOT
of pollen.  But I haven't tried it; and the depredations of varroa may
prevent my doing so for the indefinite future.
        Anyhow, I reckon pollen should be dried before distribution.

R


-
Robt Mann
consultant ecologist
   P O Box 28878  Remuera, Auckland 1005, New Zealand
                (9) 524 2949