Creating a feminized plant for pollen. Problem is the plant has been in flower for 44 day (6 weeks 2 days) and it is super full of pollen sacks, but just isn’t dropping any pollen.
Am I missing something here? The plant was verified female and the pic is a clone that I started on STS every 4 days with colloidal silver every day in between.
XY pollen is about 0.05mm in diameter. XX pollen is supposed to be smaller than that and also far less prodigious. Are the sacs opening up? If so, perhaps you just can’t see the individual pollen grains.
Thanks much @KeystoneCops. I thought about that too. Cut off a branch and bounced it off my trim bin for a while and nothing. Hmmmmm.
You might be right it is just being slow.
Worst case scenario the plant I was going to pollinate with this male will have to be pollinated with some Purple Haze pollen I froze a few months ago. Trying to keep the strain unchanged, but maybe I can still get some pollen and try again later. This is Gold Leaf so if I use Purple Haze we get Vikings? (Purple and Gold).
They will drop pollen once they are ready. When doing colloidal silver, you should start the first day of flower. It takes longer to turn a female into a male than the natural way, but they should start dumping pollen soon
Got it thanks @MattyBear. I did start STS the first day of 12/12s. Guess this one is just not in a hurry. Something to file in the memory banks for later!!!
Purple and gold? Well we better let @PurpNGold74 know about this!
Going to be a newb asking questions here…
What’s STS?
What is the process exactly?
Because you are making fem seeds correct?
Use the silver on a female bud is all I thought you had to do but of course I don’t know anything on this topic. Did you buy the silver? Where from?
Your turning a female into a male?
I thought you just cover buds in the silver and that was it, it seedd
Silver Thiosulfate. It’s an alternative endocrine inhibitor, similar to colloidal silver. People are anecdotally reporting better results, especially with varietals that resist feminization otherwise.
Normally you would use CS or STS, but I do both. I have a colloidal silver generator and can make as much as I want practically free. STS does work better and it is easy to make once you have the stuff. Silver Nitrate and Sodium Thiosulfate. @KeystoneCops has it correct. I believe ethylene is suppressed and allows plant to go “male”. This silver does this and the STS gets it into the plant vs. on it like CS.
Colloidal Siver is expensive to buy I think. You can use a couple of silver coins to make that. A lot of info on Youtube on how.
As for Silver Thiosulfate, you can buy Silver nitrate and sodium thiiosulfate via the mail in the US. I got the silver nitrate at "sciencecompany for ~$24 and the Sodium Thiosulfate, Pentahydrate, 500g for ~$10. This will make A LOT of STS.
If you need instructions they are readily available or I can supply easy enough. It is not hard to produce.
****** A Silver Nitrate (AgNO3) & B Sodium Thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) / Ratio A:B= A 0.1g to B 0.78g per 100ml
100ml (3.38 ounces) of H2O each part; Part A solution = 0.1g Silver Nitrate; Part B solution = 0.78g Sodium Thiosulfate Pentahydrate
200ml (6.76 ounces) of H2O each part; Part A solution = 0.2g Silver Nitrate; Part B = 1.56g Sodium Thiosulfate Pentahydrate
300ml (10.14 ounces) of H2O each part; Part A solution = 0.3g Silver Nitrate; Part B = 2.34g Sodium Thiosulfate Pentahydrate
400ml (13.5 ounces) of H2O each part; Part A = 0.4g Silver Nitrate; Part B = 3.12g Sodium Thiosulfate Pentahydrate
500ml 16.9 ounces of H2O each part; Part A = 0.5g Silver Nitrate; Part B = 3.9g Sodium Thiosulfate Pentahydrate
Ready to spray STS
Equal amounts of stock ratio A&B (1:1) + 9x RO ratio of (1:9) or (Part A + Part B) x9 RO. ( Ex: for 400ml ready to spray solution add 20ml of A +20ml of B) x 9RO or 40ml stock x 9RO=360 RO water. 40ml+360ml=400ml)
200ml = 10ml A + 10ml B + 180ml RO water = 6.76 ounces
300ml = 15ml A + 15ml B + 270ml RO water = 10.14 ounces
400ml = 20ml A + 20ml B + 360ml RO water = 13.5 ounces
500ml = 25ml A + 25ml B + 450ml RO water = 16.9 ounces
Preparation of STS: **The finished STS is a 50/50 mix of the stock solutions diluted in RO water. Ratio of Stock solution to water is 1:9.
The silver nitrate dissolves within 15 seconds. The sodium thiosulfate takes 30-45 seconds to dissolve.
The silver nitrate solution (A) is then mixed into the sodium thiosulfate solution (B) while stirring rapidly. The resulting blend is stock silver thiosulfate solution (STS).
Part A + Part B x 9 RO = Silver Thiosulfate Solution. [Example: To make 200ml add 10ml each of A&B (20ml total) x 9 RO (180ml RO) mix together for a total of 200ml of ready to use solution] .
Always Mix Part A in to Part B! This means putting part B in a container first and then adding part A while stirring.
Application :
The STS working solution is sprayed on select female plants until runoff.
Do the spraying over newspaper in a separate area from the flower room. Keep solution away from root zone/soil. Cover with paper to prevent dripping into pot.
After the plant dries move it into 12/12 immediately. This is usually done three to four weeks prior to the date that the target (to be pollinated) plants will be ready to pollinate. Response times may vary slightly depending upon the strain. More specific times can be determined by trial with your own individual strains.
~ 21 days 12/12 for results. 30-35 days optimum for planning purposes .
Use pollen to pollenate females 4 weeks into their flowering stage.
** Warning Note: Disposal of even small quantities of silver nitrate in waste systems connected to a septic tank is guaranteed to destroy the septic bacteria and require pumping out, flushing and seeding with fresh bacteria.
I should have said I have taken the work of others and put it in what I posted after testing out ratios etc. and coming up with a chart I can easily refer to.
I make 400ml of STS at a time and that is enough for several plants. Keep stock solution in the fridge until you need it. I make 100ml bottles of stock at a time. Then add 20ml of each part to 360ml of RO for 400ml of spray.
YES.
Once they are sprayed they are toast. I get the pollen and throw them out. I have read many sources warning not to use plants sprayed with STS. I don’t use even the ones with colloidal silver for that matter either. (By use I mean other than pollen collection. For Pete’s sake don’t smoke or consume any of the treated plants).
Thanks for mentioning @KeystoneCops.
An interesting fact I read in a white paper states no hermaphrodite caused by STS was noted in sever other types of plants. I don’t think the STS prepared correctly puts much if any stress on the plant. This is why I don['t have a problem using feminized clones for pollen and seeds.
