- 1). Take an electric toothbrush head--one that won't be used to brush teeth again--and insert it into the hand piece of an electric toothbrush. Tape a cotton swab to the toothbrush with masking tape so the swab extends out beyond the end of the toothbrush.
- 2). Position the cotton swab below the pollen laden anthers of the tomato plant and turn on the toothbrush. The vibration of the toothbrush will send out sonic waves much like a buzzing bee does as it approaches a tomato blossom. The vibration will cause the pollen to drop on to the the cotton swab.
- 3). Turn off the electric toothbrush. Rub the pollen-laden swab against the pistil--the tip of the long protruding tube of the blossom from which the pollen has just been harvested--and the pistils of other surrounding blossoms. Make sure to apply ample amounts of pollen to the pistil of each flower. The pollen travels down the pollen tube to fertilize the ovules at the base of the tomato flower.
- 4). Continue gathering fresh pollen and rubbing the swab against more pistils. Each blossom should be fertilized using pollen in this fashion. When the tomato blossom wilts and begins to fade look for a bulbous shape growing at the base of the blossom. This indicates the tomato flower has been successfully fertilized.
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