Molasses ~ When & Why ?

[Wedge Antilles]

I just tried it today ~ Added it straight from the bottle(1tps per Gal.) & shook the hell out of it, dissolved just fine!Wasn't sticky or messy at all .

W69.....Keep me updated, let me know it you notice any big changes....I'm at about day 15 of 12/12 on a 70/75 day strain, so I have a couple of weeks to deciede to use it or not......Good luck with it....Keep it green!!....Wedgy

 

[Wildlifer69]

All I can find around my part of the world is "Grandma's" unsulfered~

I hope Grandma has her shit together.....

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Let me give you an old phukers take on the molasses thing.

Molasses is a great chelating agent, and can be beneficial during all stages of plant growth.
Molasses is a great way to provide your plants with sugars, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
But only if using BLACKSTRAP type molasses.
Using the other grades of molasses is a waste of time IMO. Sure, they provide some beneficials, but nothing on the scale that blackstrap does.

Molasses is one of the best natural providers of calcium and magnesium, and is a great alternative to the high priced hydro store amendments. But again, ONLY BLACKSTRAP type molasses. Any other grade does NOT have magnesium at all.

gladysvjubb,
I know that you have been on a campaign for molasses for quite a while now, but I have to make an observation.
The Grandmas molases that you tout is NOT blackstrap, and is really not what we should be using. It has zero mag, and low levels of anything else. Blackstrap blows it away by the numbers.
Why use mild molasses when blackstrap is made by the same company and on the same shelf? The full flavor molasses is a step above what you are showing us, and it is also inferior to the blackstrap.

In comparison...
Blackstrap numbers are:
Sodium 25mg
Potassium 240mg
Calcium 20%
Magnesium 25%
Iron 25%

You can buy molasses online:
http://www.bgfoods.com/brand_brerrabbit.asp

 

[Rood Spook]

Let me give you an old phukers take on the molasses thing.

Molasses is a great chelating agent, and can be beneficial during all stages of plant growth.
Molasses is a great way to provide your plants with sugars, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
But only if using BLACKSTRAP type molasses.
Using the other grades of molasses is a waste of time IMO. Sure, they provide some beneficials, but nothing on the scale that blackstrap does.

Molasses is one of the best natural providers of calcium and magnesium, and is a great alternative to the high priced hydro store amendments. But again, ONLY BLACKSTRAP type molasses. Any other grade does NOT have magnesium at all.

gladysvjubb,
I know that you have been on a campaign for molasses for quite a while now, but I have to make an observation.
The Grandmas molases that you tout is NOT blackstrap, and is really not what we should be using. It has zero mag, and low levels of anything else. Blackstrap blows it away by the numbers.
Why use mild molasses when blackstrap is made by the same company and on the same shelf? The full flavor molasses is a step above what you are showing us, and it is also inferior to the blackstrap.

In comparison...
Blackstrap numbers are:
Sodium 25mg
Potassium 240mg
Calcium 20%
Magnesium 25%
Iron 25%

You can buy molasses online:
http://www.bgfoods.com/brand_brerrabbit.asp

Thats an Absolute FACT!!It has to be Blackstrap,Brer Rabbits one and I think Grandma makes a blackstrap too.Good call HD

 

[Wildlifer69]

Sooo what if you doubled up on the dose of "Grandmas" ,say 2tps or 1Tbs?

 

[P-NUT]

What about the molasses they sell in feed stores? Is that blackstrap?

 

[Wildlifer69]

W69.....Keep me updated, let me know it you notice any big changes....I'm at about day 15 of 12/12 on a 70/75 day strain, so I have a couple of weeks to deciede to use it or not......Good luck with it....Keep it green!!....Wedgy

I'll keep you posted! I'm always willing to Experiment...Ya never know till you try !

"Good Luck On Your Grow"

 

[Rood Spook]

I know what yer using wont hurt your plants,but for the same money,blackstrap delivers twice the goodness desired.3lb's always said use grandmas but I believe blackstrap to be the one.

 

[Wildlifer69]

Can you "Over" do it with the Molasses ?

Is there such a thing as Molasses Burn ?

 

[bakelite]

Sooo what if you doubled up on the dose of "Grandmas" ,say 2tps or 1Tbs?

Wildlifer, you'd need approximately 5X the amount of regular molasses to equal the minerals found in blackstrap.

 

[B.C.]

Wildlifer, you'd need approximately 5X the amount of regular molasses to equal the minerals found in blackstrap.

or one bowl of Total! lol! J/K Great info. BC

 

[cocktail frank]

make sure its unsulfered.

 

[hempcultivator]

I use Brer Rabbit Molasses (Full Flavor) it has a little more Potassium than the Blackstrap.

Potassium 290 mg
Calcium 10%
Magnesium 20%
Iron 15%

 

[Sammet]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but on a molecular level, Molasses acts as a chelating agent, binding essential nutrients and making them more accessable to the plant.

Basically Molasses makes your nutrients more efficient as more get into the plant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelate
(for anyone who might be interested in reading more about why Molasses binds nutrient ions)

 

[Wildlifer69]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but on a molecular level, Molasses acts as a chelating agent, binding essential nutrients and making them more accessable to the plant.

Basically Molasses makes your nutrients more efficient as more get into the plant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelate
(for anyone who might be interested in reading more about why Molasses binds nutrient ions)

Good Info ~Thanks Sammet.

But can you over do it ? And what would the symptoms of a Carb Over Dose look like ?

 

[Wildlifer69]

Thanks Jiggy ~

 

[Linenoise]

I see the point about the blackstrap. I use grandma's molasses @ 1 tbs per gallon. I had always wondered why some people would say 1 tsp per gallon and others 1 tbs per gallon. I suppose I now know why. Some people are using the blackstap and others grandma's.

I suspect either way is about the same, the main difference being that those of us using grandma's @ 1 tbs/gallon have to use more of the stuff which, in turn, means we have to buy more of the stuff, thereby costing us more money - albeit the difference is probably a couple bucks a year (assuming that blackstrap costs the same as the grandma's).

Anyhow, I have always been told the primary purpose of the molasses is for the soil, not the plant. As such, I would presume that molasses in a hydro setup is far less beneficial than soil users.

 

[hubcap]

Good Info ~Thanks Sammet.

But can you over do it ? And what would the symptoms of a Carb Over Dose look like ?

"carb overdose" i like that.
used grannies, even used plain ol brown sugar dissolved in warm water then cooled then added to water/feed regime.
works fine.

ive overdone these methods before and two kinda crappy things happen....
(but nothing life threatening to the plant.......*exhale*.......)

1. )the soil sort of 'bonds' if you will. in a nutshell, once the soil dries a bit, it becomes quite hard. 1 tbsp works, and, you know the saying, if it aint broke.
the sugars apparently, once dried, make the soil even harder.

2. )also caused the leaves to become 'abnormally shiny' if you will. verrry silky sheen look to them. didnt seem to harm/stun the plant in any growth aspects though.

but like stated.....

make sure the sugar (in whatever form) you use is free of sulphur
and you dont go over board.

a little, truly does do alot of work.

no need to tweak 1tbsp/gal
it works well.
im sure others will add their lil nuggets of wisdom as well.

good thread.

 

[Sammet]

If you use too much Molasses you can attract pests/insects too.

 

[Guest]

I used Molasses for the first time last year & I swear they grew 4 inches overnight. I used the cheaper horse feed 5 litre type. I dont think sulphur would hurt them,its an essential micronutrient. Farmers now fertilise with a Ammonium Nitrate + Sulphur topdressing on cereals. Sulphur deficiency is commonplace here since we stopped using coal fired power stations. If you drive through the countryside in a sugar beet growing area, you will see concrete pads where the sugarbeet were stored & loaded on the side of the road. Next to these are heaps of soil where a cleaning machine was used on the loader. It scrubs the beet. Check to see how incredibly lush & green the vegetation is on these heaps. They are stinky & FULL of sugar. Plants love sugars.