Molasses

its a table spoon per gallon, i know people who use 2 tablespoons... you could probably use even more :x

and you can add it with your regular nutes if you want

 

I would be very cautious about using mollasses outdoors. It will attract bears, raccoons and similar creatures who will dig out your plants looking for a tasty treat. The same goes for fish oil ferts, blood and bone meal, etc.

 

I'd say just go with 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. I wouldn't be too worried about it attracting deer, bears, raccoons, or any other wild critters. The solution will be so diluted that the only thing it might attract is insects. Also you can use plain white table sugar at 4 tablespoons per gallon of water this will give you some good bud swell. Sugar basically does the same thing as molasses. I have been wondering which on works better, so I think I am going to try both this year. I got the sugar idea from an article done by Jorge Cervantes himself.

 

Can´t remember the last time I saw a bear walking down my street !!

I will give it a try next year, but am more concerned about it attracting insect pests.

 

I just can't understand how the constituent properties of molasses could be of benefit for mj. I can defintely see how molasses could attract pests as mentioned above. Where I live in northern N.J. we most assuredly have bears and it is not unusual to see them. I have raccoons, skunks & deer strolling through my property on a nightly basis.

 

All the people in this thread saying that they cannot understand how mollasses could be of any value should try searching the forums (or google etc.). Skepticism is fine, and fair, but if it actually is good, wouldn't you want to know?

My understanding of this (gleaned mostly from these forums over the years):

- The sugars feed freindly/usefull soil microbes. This is much more obviously usefull with organic grows where these anerobic and then aerobic bacteria are needed to break down the amonia and nitrite in compost material (into useful nitrate) but these bacteria are benefitial even when compost is not used. Promotes "living soil" - like how they say yoghurt is good for our digestive tracts.

- Molasses contains a considerable concentration of minerals and nutrients (potash, and sulfur especially but also significant source of potassium, iron, magnesium, and calcium). It is made from the boiled/condenced plant matter after all (whether beet or cane). The majority of the nutrients contained in the source matter are supposed to remain - only water and some simple sugars are boiled off.

- It is a good chelating agent (A chemical used to bind ions to form a ring structure. Chelating agents stabilize or prevent the precipitation of minerals and nutrients. Precipitation, in the context of chemistry, is the formation of insoluble material in a fluid - solid particles floating in water vs dissolved in solution). All this means is that mollasses enables the roots to absorb the nutrients already present in the soil by stabilising them into forms that are more easily accessible by the plant. The benefits of molasses are not so much that it is nutritious for the plant in and of itself (it is, to a degree) but that it is a such a catalyst for other benefits. As such, it works best as a component of a comprehensive soil nurishment program (e.g. mix in with a copmpost tea or used alone at the end of flowering to enable the nutrients remaining from previous fertilisations to be absorbed).

- it is a fact that molasses is an ingredient (sometimes the main one) in many mass market organic stimulant products and growing addatives.

- some say the sugars/carbohydrates themselves are good for the plant, I know of no science to back this up (though I am not a botanist so that means little). For this reason I would think that regular (or even brown) sugar, as some folks have suggested as a molasses substitute, would not be as effective (due to not having the same benefits as regards chelation and micronutrients). I have no evidence of this since I have not tried/compared. I have used mollasses (outdoors) during the second half of flowering through to after flushing with positive results (as compared to previous years) - this is hardly scientific evidence as it was differant strains/conditions as well. I had no problems with attraction of deer, rabbits or (surface) bugs ( may have been some extra activity under the ground, but I aleready had fire ants so hard to tell). Fire ants, FYI, while a pain to have in your grow area because they will get into your shoes and up your pant legs and bite you - appear to be good for growing. They don't seem to harm the plant, but do aerate the soil with their tunneling. The ravine I used to grow in before moving was full of them and my grows there were always vigorous and strong despite the anthills in between plants. The ants were present befiore I ever used molasses.

 

just a suggestion, take your tablespoon full and pour it in a small cup with a little hot water and mix around it will turn into a liquid resulting in a lot less shaking, just a suggestion

 

i start to use it at first sign of bud last year i did half with and half without and you could see a real difference in size of the buds and especially a big difference in resin production, the ones that got it also tasted better.

 

OK, I will try it with my next grow. I take it you continued to give the usual NPK ferts.

 

from what ive found on the internet organic unsulphured blackstrap molasses is the best!I went into the pantry to see what kind we have and it is Grandma's...(Grandma's is a brand of Mollasses).But thats the brand ive always eaten ever since i can remember in hot biscuits with a hole poked down into it and poured it down in there lol..Anyway, it has sodium in it isnt that a bad thing?

 

Well then you must not be aware of what the constituents of molasses are. First and foremost, it's an excellent source of potassium. That in itself is of tremendous benefit to MJ. Just for everyone's info, blackstrap molasses like Brer Rabbit has like 2 to 3 times the amount of potassium as brands like Grandma's, which (correct me if i'm wrong) I don't think is blackstrap. I posted this elsewhere @ GC I believe, but here is an exhaustive write-up on the horticultural use of molasses:http://the3lb.com/2008/02/18/3lbs-molasses-manual-introduction/

I just started using the stuff myself. Old Pork mentioned that he used it and after hearing about the stuff for years I guess his recommendation was the final straw. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I've been using about a TB per gallon with each watering between feedings. I can tell you that the results were almost immediate. Buds started fattening right away. Maybe it was just time for them to take off, but the timing seemed more than coincidence.

 

Growers often seem to ignore K, and seem to recommend ferts that are high in P only for flowering. For flowering and budding, K is required every bit as much as P.

I wonder if this stuff is just giving K in the necessary quantities for good flowering - in which case it would have no effect for me, as my girls get plenty of K anyway.

 

Very true. I think if you read the three little birds link above your wondering days will be over--at least in this regard.

 

Thanks dankohzee, very interesting.

 

this season I've used worm castings and fish emulsion as my sole source of fertilizer, and I'm pleased with the results. This is my first year growing mj after a long layoff. As an experienced organic vegetable gardener, fish emulsion has proved it's worth to me. I plan on seven plants (of the same variety) next season and will apply molasses on three and see what my results are. After all I want to take advantage of any organic beneficial resources.