Feminized Seeds , Whats Your thoughts!?

I was rushing a bit and oversimplified…
What I mean is that when you have a interesting specimen by selfing it you will have in the offspring all her potential phenotypes… there you can start pheno hunting and when found “your” fav pheno starting to stabilize it by doing the usual cubing process but with reversed pollen of the choosen one , without introducing alien male genes that will need to be washed out.
Posting from phone… sorry for hurrying up…
Ds

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Salutations,

Although the matter of feminized seeds seemed most controversial in itself i once considered producing my own “AutoFem” seeds. Too bad “The Borg” (spider mites) had become a serious threat to my cultivation space, ideally on a windowsill…

At the time all i wished for was to enjoy healthy cannabis plants again, male or female: i only needed a senerity-promoting hobby while i was quite aware the parasites would re-emerge if i failed to address such issue 1st. Consequently i was prepared and ready to conduct a side-by-side experiment using 2 Cannatonic females in hope to explore/evaluate different concentration levels of colloidal silver, hopefully also as a miticide once I’d have identified concentration thresholds, one to kill the eggs without affecting the flowers, the other doing both. As i recall on-line literature appeared to suggest 1 ~ 3 ppm CS sprays to protect the plants while i’d have to aim for 25 ~ 30 ppm in order to produce all-females seeds.

M’well, at least i had the basic material required besides those 2 plants:

Notice how each coin has been drilled to facilitate support?.. That’s only the begining.

Unfortunately i can never forget how “social media” adversity just killed my enthousiasm for such ambitious project (especially for a newbie…) when discussing popular “simple” CS Generator designs, mixed with anthropomorphic “sex-reversal” jokes, over “bananas” for example… Etc., etc.

The initial difficulty was dirty CS generation with unregulated electolysis current response, similar to this:

Obviously the task called for constant low-current (1.6 mA) from a “high-voltage” source, featured with polarity reversal and associated period/frequency control for starters, because that would limit whiskers deposition. The matter of current density per donor surface was set but then there still was a need to determine a suitable distance between electrodes, water volume and maybe more…

So, eventually The Borg did come back to work as expected, just when my 2 plants were getting into flowering. The whole experiment could finally begin after months of patient preparation, but my desire for such challenge was gone. Because of the bannana jokes, etc.

Turning blue was no immediate concern because i was going to wash the spray after spidermite eggs would be dead, presumably in a matter of minutes. Which raised another question, how long does it take for CS Sprays to get absorbed by folliage?.. Yet, in my mind a plant dedicated to producing seeds didn’t also have to be suitable for human consumption anyway, but nobody could listen and stay calm so i cancelled the show.

Which is why i always approached these sort of topics with great caution thereafter: right after religion & politics there’s the fear of hermaphrodite bananas using Colloïdal Silver, etc.

So… You’ve been warned: have your helmet ready!

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

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if you used those coins to make the cs something is wrong. the coins should have discolored more. what was your voltage, how far apart were the coins and how long did you leave it?

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i gotta admit i just bought sterling silver (92.5%) wire because i’m not ingesting the colloidal silver, and even that was kinda pricey !

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I think at least 98-100% pure silver is needed to make the solution from what I recall

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Silver Thiosulfade… way easier to make, less expensive.

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Salutations everyone,

M’yeah, it seems the colours were wrong indeed. Which is nothing more than a pictural issue…

Neither was i going to, i shall point out, but then i must also admit the other application meant for humans fueled such intense debates it did make me curious enough to read more than i needed to.

The coins were acquired from Canada Post and each is marked “Fine Silver 9999”, as we can see, so i gather that’s 99.99 % ultra-fine silver, actually. In addition lets also insist that i was going to use distilled water exclusively, of course…

Perhaps, but that wouldn’t have been a convenient/practical option where i lived, in the far remote country-side… In the middle of mountains with little else than a Walmart and a Canadian Tire where to do some shoping. Finding those coins right where i lived was a blessing, while i still got to figure out where i’d have found Silver Thiosulfade anyway, hence i wanted readers in a same situation to have an alternative.

This goes back to some long time ago but i somewhat remember it was meant to produce particles small enough for the water to stay relatively clear, instead of turning yellow (or worse…): i just didn’t want to contaminate the experiment before it began!..

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

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Just buy silver nitrate and sodium thiosulfade off Amazon and mix in the proper proportions.

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Hi again,

Despite the risk of sounding redundant i can only reply that my exact motivations why to select Colloïdal Silver were previously stated, including some 5 years ago actually…

The target voltage was 48 Volts and it appears those who attempt to sell ready-made CS Generators for 700 ~ 800 dollars (US!) also concur, for example:

The reason i wanted the highest practical voltage possible was because of these unknown variables exactly, because i was about to launch an exploration phase and i figured i’d need all the extra margin i could get - which never happened since i finally “cancelled the show”, as i put it above…

But just in case future readers might get curious here’s some dedicated thread which left me some favourable impression:

[ http://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/reversing-polarity-for-electrolysis-project.119652/ ]
Reversing polarity for electrolysis project

There’s a lot more details than i’m not prepared to discuss here as i’d be flooding the place and i didn’t intend to do that. Yet i appreciated those comments and questions, thank you all.

Good day, have fun!!

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You can do it with 27 volts

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yes i’m using three 9v batteries connected like this, i think you could even use 1 or 2 of them only

                      ____
                     |    |
                     |    | 
                     |    |
                      -  +
                  -   +  -  +
                 |     ||    |
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Hi there Viva_Mexico,

I feel i may know what you’re refering to exactly:

[ http://www.google.ca/search?q=“Colloidal+Silver”+“A+simple+homemade+remedy”+“Patrick+J.+Kelly”&tbm=isch ]


Google Images: “Colloidal Silver” “A simple homemade remedy” “Patrick J. Kelly”

That’s one scenatio i was intending to evaluate, because it’s cheap and relatively easy/convenient to replicate.

The diode ain’t a perfect choice though, considering it’s failing to compensate for temperature variations as i recall. Battery operation makes it safe but i’ve yet got to see its real-life regulation response… This many years later one would think it’s been thouroughly fixed. M’well, that’s no big issue if all that matters is “sex reversal” and bananas, i guess. The thing is that i wanted to test the 1 ~ 3 ppm concentration for its potential miticide effect as well, hopefully without interfering with the ethylene hormone cycle as i was expecting to get male flowers on the other plant: it still takes 1 male flower and 1 female flower for an autofem seed-producing fertilization… In other words the whole context required careful planning including the DIY CS Generator, because quite frankly at 700 ~ 800 $ US it’s some grotesque farce - which doesn’t imply the concept ain’t correct and apropriate nonetheless.

This was assuming long term involvement on my side, that’s why i wanted to deal with that matter and be done with it, too bad my plans had to change.

But yes, i do tend to believe 27 Volts should work - if/when “seeding” fresh distilled water with a previous batch, euh…

:wink:

Then here’s an approach which could be adapted for 18 or 27 Volts operation without much effort; it was finally removed from its hosting page though, probably after it started having commercial success (…), or maybe not. Can’t say for sure:

Oh, i almost opened this old Pandora box again: e.g. now that’s 2 options instead of 1…

Ouf!! :innocent:

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

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CS for making a male from a female.

all you need is
2 .999 silver coins or one cut in half
2 pieces of wire
3 9volt batterys
1 small plastic tupperware
distilled water

connect the batteries like legal canada says, than connect one wire to coin and - and the other coin to wire and +. with the rectangular tupperware filled with distilled water, cut a slit in the lid and place one coin at each end. insert the coins, and let it go for like a day.

Or buy ready to use STS A+B for cheap, then enjoy the easy and effiscient way to reverse near anything ^^
I’ve never saw a single fem unit using CS for commercial purpose, and i speak about guys that live from theyr production.

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You are over thinking it, not necessarily a bad thing. Switching the polarity is a good idea if you plan to make a lot, I definitely see one wire with corrosion. Two pieces of wire and a cheap 6volt-300ma power supply is all you need to reverse a plant. Here is my fancy generator. I had a female plug for the DC charger, this allows me to play with voltage and current if I want. I twisted the wire to create more surface area. Then I soldered the wire to the terminals, covered with heat shrink, and mounted it to the lid.

I ran it over night with distilled water and ended up with plenty of CS.

The next step is to spray the plant daily until you see male flowers forming. With my auto flowers, I started spraying at three weeks and it took three weeks to see flowers.

Another three or four weeks and I have pollen falling as these flowers mature and open up. If you do decide to make auto fems with CS, wait until you see the male flowers before starting your plants you want to pollinate. Spraying CS also stops growth, so autos sprayed with CS get delayed.

I got the stuff for STS, but haven’t tried it yet, so I won’t comment on that.

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Salutations ReikoX,

Not a bad thing, period. It only depends on a person’s own resources i suppose.

Actually just try to keep in mind that the Colloïdal Silver solution WAS meant to penetrate spidermite eggs FAST on one side of my experiment and hence this called for much smaller particles than whatever is obtained using uncontrolled electrolysis. The easy “simpler” though brutal method breaks down fine silver into relatively big chunks mixed with all sorts of compounds/salts (silver hydroxide, silver carbonate, silver sulfide…), eventually collecting as a self-contaminated sluge typically related to argyria (for those who were careless enough to consume it themselves).

From my standpoint there really was no good purpose in ignoring a method which i wanted to explore with improved replicability equally on my menu: in other words a fair amount of discipline seemed necessary.

Never forget about 6 months were required simply to grow a pair of ready-to-test cannatonic subjects, not knowing with certainty if the spidermites would effectively return. Considering those specific circumstances i still find the additional precautions were totally appropriate, on the contrary: i didn’t expect (or count on) a 2nd chance.

My project needed to be planned ahead of predictible trouble, otherwise it would have been synonymous to sabotage justifying the bad reputation of CS consumption by humans, among other pitfalls! … Repeating the same mistakes again and again despite better indications freely available wasn’t appealing at all.

:bomb:

Then of course there are more basic projects limited to seed production, hoping there won’t be an excess of unstable individuals among future leaflets…

Better be safe than sorry! It was that last option i intended to promote myself but i do understand the drive to take a few short cuts if/when the goal is seed production ONLY. Most people dealing with large-scale cultivation ain’t much concerned for side-effects contaminating their work as long as a seed is a seed is a seed. Right?..

M’well, this explains that, maybe it’s one hint why clones are so popular compared to producing autofem seeds (until clone vitality drops)!.. While some other people turn blue.

In any case remember it was a hobby.

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

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Salutations ReikoX,

Assuming the picture was from your own collection i wish to use this rare opportunity to ask a simple question: in presence of CS didn’t it seem like the plant was protected from nuisible parasites such as spidermites and more?

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

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Egzoset, I have had no issues with any bugs on the CS sprayed plants. Not even fungus gnats. I did see one flyer in there after the CS plants were removed. I am certain that your idea to use low ppm CS as a miticide would work, especially in veg. The plant I sprayed has reverted back to being female and is now producing pistils and seed instead of male flowers. It did however severely stunt the plant and, as it is an auto, extend the flowering time dramatically.

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Hi again ReikoX,

Thank you, this detail satisfies my curiosity.

Thanks again for the bonus information!

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

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@Bloomspect6 you want to use colloidal silver before flowering begins, and pollinate 4-6 weeks before the plant harvests although you could always let it grow past due to let seeds mature

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