Could someone explain... 1. Chemically, how does molasses increases bud size/density/quality? 2. What sort of dosages should be fed to a given plant? 3. At what point in the life cycle should one add molasses to MJ? 4. How do you mix/apply molasses? Thanks, M
1. Chemically, no idea. jcj77d says it's like carbohydrates for plants, which makes sense. It's basically pure glucose (or fructose or lactose, I can't remember the difference), which plants use in photosynthesis, if I'm not mistaken. 2. Dosages vary between growers. I use a teaspoon per gallon of water, but I've heard numbers up to a tablespoon per gallon. Start small and work your way up, I guess, like you would any other nutrient. 3. Molasses helps with bud production and quality. Use it during flowering, when you use your flowering nutrients. 4. Just add it like you would any nutrient. I mix the teaspoon with a gallon of water, and then water my plants with it. Just remember to use unsulphured molasses. Otherwise, you run the risk of nute burn (because of the extra sulphur being added).
not sure biologically...but it contains high amount of K(potassium) ...during the flowering stage they use extra amounts of K....thus improving bud quality and size.....
No, that is not right. molasses contains lots of Sucrose C6H12O6.. Virtually no K. Sorry, entirely wrong.
CROSBYS' 100%natural MOLASSES.....nutritioal facts...... calories 60 fat 0 sodium 1% POTASSIUM 5% CARBOHYDRATES 5%sugar calcium 2% iron 6% Vit B 2% magnesium 4% copper 2% NOTICE that potassium and carbs are virually the SAME.... I dont doubt that the mj plants love the sugar in molasses too..... just wanted to prove that you, CATHERIS are totally wrong with your assumption that there is VIRTUALLY no K(potassium) in mollasses....
http://www.realbeer.com/spencer/FAQ/sugar.html The reference given states that molasses contains 50 to 90% sugar (sucrose) depending on grade - which is not surprising as it is derived totally from sugar cane. I do not know what this stuff of yours is that contains only 5% sugar, but it is NOT molasses. I think we all know that molasses is a dark, very thick, sticky liquid that contains LOADS of sugar.
I agree with Cantharis. Molasses is almost purely sugar. And just because your data says that it has 5% potassium and 5% carbs, doesn't mean that it has equal amounts of both or the SAME. That is a percentage of the daily requirement for an average human eating about 2,000 calories a day. Potassium would be in milligrams. Carbs would be in grams. The difference would likely be a a few orders of magnitude. Last time I checked humans and MJ are completely different species. But thanks you guys... It is always good to have a good healthy argument... I am still interested in how biologically sucrose increases bud size. -M
I have been doing some googling and reading some conflicting and confusing accounts of what K and other constituents molasses may contain, so for me the jury now is still out on this. Bit of humble pie coming up ??? However, my ladies get adequate NPK from normal organic fert sources. But a lot of growers do report better size and taste of bud that is given molasses, so I will try it next year.
So if molasses isn't technically a nutrient could it be used during the flushing stage. Almost like Sweatleaf or Carboload?
This is an interesting topic... While I have been growing for many years and thought I knew a lot; I'll admit I know nothing about how molasses helps bud production and I would like to know because I have heard other growers talking about it for years. I am a keep it simple type grower. I grow organically in a soiless mixture and add nutrients as I see fit. The worm castings and bat guano nurrish my plants and when they appear hungry I have liquid nutrients I can add... I'll tell you newer growers this, the more shit you add to your mix the better chance you'll have shitty tasting buds. If you keep it simple and minimize the amount of feeding you do (coupled with good drainage), it is easier to flush all the shit out and have a nice tasting crop. My 2 cents. Peace
would using sugar juice (we grow sugar cane) mixed with water help, instead of adding molasses, which is ironically very difficult to find here.
Crosby's OVER 125 YEARS OF QUALITY Fancy MOLASSES 100% Natural No Preservatives 675 G ---------- Nutrition Facts Serving size 1 tbsp (20 g) Calories 60 Fat 0 g 0% Cholesterol 0 mg Sodium 10 mg 1% potassium 170 mg 5% Carbohydrate 15g 5% (fiber 0 g) (Sugers 12 g) Protein 0.2 g Vitamin A 0 % Vitamin C 0 % Calcium 2 % Iron 6 % Riboflavin 0 % Vitamin b6 2 % Magnesium 4 % Copper 2 % Crosby's might be a Canadian brand but it is molasses if you go to www.molasses.ca its them... and im sure if you do a search on here you will find an article about molasses and growing with it i have read it about 4 times since coming to the city and just picked up this stuff to try it out from what the three birds say it should make the plants happy Better yet here is the link read it all http://the3lb.com/2008/02/18/3lbs-molasses-manual-introduction/