Organics

Not sure what exactly you mean by overdoing organics with organics. But as with anything in life, balance is key, and an organic soil needs a proper balance of components to grow healthy plants.

 

yes you can definitely have too much nutrients in a soil. we would call this soil "Hot" and depending on how hot it is it can lead to symptoms from minor nute burn up to complete death of plant depending on how much access there is.

Basic rule of thumb in organics is "Less is more".
Are you trying to figure out a soil mix recipe or feeding cycles etc?

 

In organic soil the limiting factor will be the ability of your soil to breakdown the additions to usable nutrition for the plant.
Dont forget you can increase uptake to the plant by doing regular foliar sprays with ingredients broken down into plant ready forms.
Happy growing

 

adding too much of anything can potentially harm the plants, including fish hydrolysate and crab meal.

 

short answer: probably not.
long answer: I guess it depends on which benefits you are looking for when adding molasses. I personally do not add any molasses (or other carb sources) or use it with my organic gardening and my belief is it is that it is not needed.

 

Using Honey vs Molasses would be extremely expensive. And they’re completely different. Molasses is very cheap, and it great for giving microbial teas a boost when doing a long brew. You don’t want to use it or any sugar product during veg as it can lock out Nitrates. It’s best for soil drench the last couple of weeks in flower.

I also use it to spray the plants when I release lady bugs to keep them in the room and on the plants, they start breeding immediately!!

 

I've always used mollasses your plant gets nothing from the mollasses so u can use during veg mollasses feeds your soil microbes and then the soil sorts the plant I use.it every week untill flush

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Your micro herd uses molasses, pouring sugar into soil can/will interrupt the relationship between the plant and the microbiology. Using excessive N & P can do the same thing. A plant spends 30-50% of all its light energy producing exudates to feed microbes in trade for nutrients.

 

CANE MOLASSES
Plants are autotrophic (self-feeders). In other words, plants make their own food through a process called photosynthesis, by which the plant manufactures its own sugars in the presence of full-spectrum light. Some of the sugars are used as carbon skeletons for building plant tissues, but some of the carbohydrates are “burned” to produce fast energy for vigorous growth, reproduction and cellular repair. Excess carbohydrates are stored for later use, or leaked to feed beneficial microorganisms in the root zone. In some cases, as much as 30-50% of the energy of photosynthesis is used to feed the soil-born microbes!
In soil, carbohydrates and other organic molecules feed the microorganisms, and microorganisms feed the plant. Although plants usually manufacture enough extra carbohydrates to feed a healthy population of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria, it is sometimes helpful to provide carbohydrate supplements. Supplementary sugars feed many of the microorganisms directly, allowing the plant to conserve some of its energy for increased productivity, quality and yield. Very little of the added carbohydrates are taken up directly by the plants, but both simple and complex carbohydrates are readily available to beneficial microorganisms. In return, the microorganisms produce growth hormones, amino acids, B-vitamins and other important biostimulants.
As more is discovered about the benefits of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), there is a new interest in making compost teas and other microbial inoculants. Water soluble carbohydrates such as micronized molasses cane sugar are an excellent carbon source when making compost teas. Molasses not only provides a good carbon source for rapid microbial growth, but it is also loaded with essential trace elements. As beneficial microorganisms feed on the sugars, they multiply and divide, and in the process they make enzymes and co-enzymes that stimulate the plant. Trace elements activate many of the enzymes that are produced.
Plant cells and microorganisms also produce organic acids called Krebs cycle intermediates. In addition to energizing plant cells, organic acids help the plant take up important trace elements such as iron, manganese, copper and zinc. For example, if there is an iron deficiency in the soil, plants will exude citric acid and other organic acids from its roots to help make the iron more soluble. Introducing small amounts of Krebs cycle intermediates directly to the hydroponic nutrient formula can improve the transport of mineral ions, while revving up the metabolism of the plant.
Although small molecular weight organic molecules can have a beneficial effect in hydroponics, adding complex sugars directly to a hydroponic nutrient solution can have a negative effect on plant growth. Most hydroponic nutrient formulas provide about 90% of the nitrogen to the plant in its nitrate form. So if a carbon source such as sugar is added to the reservoir, a competitive advantage will be given to microorganisms that feed on nitrates and make the nitrogen unavailable to the plant! Don’t add sugars to a hydroponic nutrient formula, especially during the vegetative stage when nitrogen needs are the highest.
During the later stages of fruiting and flowering, however, supplemental carbohydrates may have a beneficial effect. More than 80% of the nitrogen needs of the plant are met during the first half of the plant’s life. So if nitrate nitrogen is drawn down in the final stages of plant growth, any potential negative effects would be minimized and more of the plant’s energy could be used for fruit and flower production. Root zone microorganisms will also continue to stay active, feeding on excess nutrients, chelating them and making them more soluble. Therefore, sugars and other complex carbohydrates may be beneficial when flushing excess salts from the root zone."
Copyright 2013
Harley Smith


Freedom in Sustainable Gardening

 

Very informative, but if you look at the last paragraph, he concludes that using carbs is beneficial in late flower to facilitate flushing but there is not mention as to why/if carbs would be of use otherwise.

 

I’m still looking for more info but found this in my notes.

“...An indirect way in which fulvic acids help plants to withstand wilting is by increasing the amount of carbohydrates which results in the accumulation of soluble sugars in the cell. This increases the osmotic pressure on the cell walls and makes the plant better able to deal with drought stress." - Biostimulants

Off topic but interesting:
Kelp contains a carbohydrate mannitol chelate that makes its many minerals and trace elements easily available for use by plants
This helps a plant build its own immune system.

 

I think it inevitably comes down to cycling (composting) time...

I’m positive I could make myself a huge compost heap of pure kelp, alfalfa, Neem, chicken manure, etc etc -

By this time next year I could add some aeration, screen it and call it potting soil.

J

 

Your shells would need to be an extremely fine screened powder consistency to do you any good at all.

A very small piece of shell - say a quarter inch by a quarter inch would take years and years and years to break down. A tiny eighth inch piece would still take years to break down. I have no doubt that many of the shells on the beach and at the bottom of the ocean have probably been there for hundreds and hundreds of years. These things simply don’t break down unless the consistency is as fine as baby powder and it still requires microbial action of the soil to do so. Sitting on top of your soil? They’ll still be there in 20 years. Longer even.

VOE.

If you can make yourself a small steel mortar and pestle it is possible to make a fine powder but I’d still screen it.

For mulch go with decomposing organic matter - semi broken down deciduous leaves work great. I’d go with a few inches worth.

J