STS fail, learn from my mess. :)

[Olderfart]

Well gro peeps, my first STS attempt was 5/5. Dead that is. All five. All identical if somewhat different timing of decline.

I suspect that the problem was that I applied the mist liberally to the entire plant. T'would appear that that might not have been such a good idea. It worked with CS, but not with STS.

These are the longest survivors, their two earlier dead sisters were binned before photos. The two on the right are dead and crispy, the one on the left dying but not crispy. All binned now.

I have a couple other solos that I will try reversing once they are old enough. Perhaps round two will work better...

 

[N/A-Greengo]

Bummer, so sorry to hear you lost out on the lot.

Personally...I start spraying at the first sign of sex being sure to lightly coat every node, and the tops and undersides of all leaves. Then I spray every other day up to six times. And I feel that it is important to do this just before lights out. Hope this helps my friend

 

[Corum59]

Well gro peeps, my first STS attempt was 5/5. Dead that is. All five. All identical if somewhat different timing of decline.

I suspect that the problem was that I applied the mist liberally to the entire plant. T'would appear that that might not have been such a good idea. It worked with CS, but not with STS.

These are the longest survivors, their two earlier dead sisters were binned before photos. The two on the right are dead and crispy, the one on the left dying but not crispy. All binned now.

View attachment 1652555

I have a couple other solos that I will try reversing once they are old enough. Perhaps round two will work better...

I have never used STS, and my test with CS just failed, however looking at your pic i couldnt help but notice that you have green algae on the top medium on all 3 pots, usually this would suggest long term overwatering, but then i wonder, is that a result of STS???

Are the roots soaked and the soil soggy and dead?
Or is it a result of STS on the top soil, which would be something I would try to remember if I ever give STS a go.

 

[Olderfart]

Bummer, so sorry to hear you lost out on the lot.

Personally...I start spraying at the first sign of sex being sure to lightly coat every node, and the tops and undersides of all leaves. Then I spray every other day up to six times. And I feel that it is important to do this just before lights out. Hope this helps my friend

That, my friend is exactly what I did. Next round, I will not be applying it to leaves, only nodes. Perhaps our mix was different. My STS was fresh, made as a single batch of 600 mls, no stock solutions.

 

[Olderfart]

I have never used STS, and my test with CS just failed, however looking at your pic i couldnt help but notice that you have green algae on the top medium on all 3 pots, usually this would suggest long term overwatering, but then i wonder, is that a result os STS???

Are the roots soaked and the soil soggy and dead?
Or is it a result of STS on the top soil, which would be something I would try to remember if I ever give STS a go.

The medium is coco, and it gets algae on it due to the necessity of frequent watering to runoff. I do not let coco dry out like some do with peat, it does not work well. Overwatering was definitely not the problem. When I do solos for bud, they get fertigated six times a day to runoff, the coco is constantly wet. Coco is pretty much a hydroponic medium, although some microflora no doubt develops as well.

I have had excellent results with CS, until last year when I had a complete fail on more than one strain, which is the only reason I went to STS this year. I will do some more fiddling with STS on some extra plants I have this round to see whether different application technique helps. If I figure anything out, I will post results. At this point, I suspect that overapplication to the entire plant was the problem, but it is possible that there was something toxic about the re-used coco. I rinsed and re-buffered it, but ya never know.

 

[wegrowatdawn]

Oh goodness now I’m stressed.

I was hoping to get into making STS and using it this year (have all the supplies but Ive been staring at it for over a year ).

What do you think you did wrong?

 

[Olderfart]

Oh goodness now I’m stressed.

I was hoping to get into making STS and using it this year (have all the supplies but Ive been staring at it for over a year ).

What do you think you did wrong?

Well, I am not entirely sure, but at this point I suspect that I simply overapplied. My advice for now is to apply sparingly to nodes only, the first application at the first sign of pistils, then two or at most three more applications spaced about three days apart. Since the initial fail where I killed every plant by applying to the whole plant, I have since killed another by applying to nodes only, again I think by overapplying. However, this plant had been badly stressed by a fertigation screwup on my part, so perhaps it was the combination of stress plus the STS that did it.

I have three more plants being reversed now, so far so good on those. I am now applying the STS liquid to nodes with a watercolor brush rather than spraying, but one of the plants seems fully reversed after four applications by spraying nodes only. My guess is that different strains have different tolerances, but for now I am convinced that STS is a hell of a lot more toxic than CS. Whatever you do, don't spray the leaves more than can be avoided, and you might want to try applying with a brush.

I suspect that the differences among growers with this stuff may partly be differing concentration of freshness of the STS liquid. Some peeps mix their own as stock, some buy it ready made, and sometimes the mixing or measuring gets screwed up. All I can say at this point is that I am confident in my starting materials, and I was seriously careful when preparing it (I threw out the first batch because I didn't like the slightly amber color of it). The mix I used was crystal water clear initially with no hint of amber color. It has a hint of amber in it now several weeks later, but that is likely because I left the black cover off my spray bottle for a day. Any light will amber STS liquid, and the amber color means less chemically active STS.

Shoot me another note in a couple weeks to remind me to let you know the final results of the reversals I have going, and feel free to hit me up with any other questions if I might be able to help. There are others here with way more experience with this stuff, so you might do a thread asking for advice from others. The problem is that different peeps have success with significantly different application techniques, and information about the STS liquid being applied is usually limited.

And, of course, I don't know anyone here that has killed as many plants as I have with this stuff, so take my advice , or not, accordingly.

 

[Bill.de.Cat]

I just started in on one of the thunderfvcks using the last of the STS test I did earlier in the year. Worked great then applying to the tops once every other morning for 4 or 6 times. Still nice and clear in the sprayer with ho silver darkening so it might work.

Edit: it was mixed April 27 in 23.

 

[Olderfart]

I just started in on one of the thunderfvcks using the last of the STS test I did earlier in the year. Worked great then applying to the tops once every other morning for 4 or 6 times. Still nice and clear in the sprayer with ho silver darkening so it might work.

Edit: it was mixed April 27 in 23.

Worth a try if you have an extra girl to put in on, but I would use fresh instead if that is an option. Is the stuff from your earlier test the final mix ready to apply, or a stock solution?

I have no idea how long the final mix is good for in the absence of ambering - maybe someone else here does. When you say you applied to tops only in your earlier successful test, do you mean the top of every cola, but not any of the lower nodes? Did you spray, or apply another way? Did you mix it yourself, or buy ready made. Sorry for all the questions, but after killing as many plants as I already have, I am in serious brain picking mode. Anything you can provide that pins down the details of exactly what worked for you might be helpful.

 

[Bill.de.Cat]

Worth a try if you have an extra girl to put in on, but I would use fresh instead if that is an option. Is the stuff from your earlier test the final mix ready to apply, or a stock solution?

I have no idea how long the final mix is good for in the absence of ambering - maybe someone else here does. When you say you applied to tops only in your earlier successful test, do you mean the top of every cola, but not any of the lower nodes? Did you spray, or apply another way? Did you mix it yourself, or buy ready made. Sorry for all the questions, but after killing as many plants as I already have, I am in serious brain picking mode. Anything you can provide that pins down the details of exactly what worked for you might be helpful.

The final mix in the sprayer. Still have the 2 jars of the stock about 1/2 full. Was told I'd know it was bad if the silver darkened up/ turned black and it should be OK for about a year in a dark cool place ( refrigerator ) so we'll see. Not like I'm hurting for seeds after the test and subsequent runs.