How does molassas work?
- Thread starter Fwish
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Gastanker
Well-Known Member
I've heard crazy weird stories about molasses but here is the basics -
First off you want black strap molasses - this is NOT the stuff sold in supermarkets as blackstrap (although it will work to a lesser degree). True black strap molasses is gross, you would never want to just eat it. Its what is left over when making sugar and store quality molasses and generally has much much much less sugars as they've all been stripped out and much much more of the good stuff - what makes it bitter. True blackstrap can be found at ag and feed stores for really cheap. My 5 gallon bucket cost me $20 which comes to like $0.50 a pound.
Ok, now what it does - Molasses has many micros, vitamins, metals and other trace elements that your plant can absorb. More importantly these micros and vitamins help encourage healthy beneficials in the soil - the same bacteria and fungi that mineralize your organic amendments making them available to your plants. Secondly, the sugars that are left in the blackstrap are a readily available form of carbon for which the beneficials eat. Bennies, although they turn N,P,K material into ionized forms, mostly eat available carbon - for every gram of nitrogen they need they must also have 30-50 grams of carbon...
So in essence molasses does fairly little for the plant itself but does wonders for your soil which in turn will help your plant. I recommend feeding your soil molasses all through the grow - the notion that it's only beneficial at the ends is a bit silly in my opinion, and the stories of plants directly absorbing sugar to make the plant sweet is a bit crazy... Ever burn sugar? It's gross - I don't know why anyone would want extra sugar in their buds.
Scholarly evidence to the above:
"The influence of effective microorganisms (EM), a commercially available microbial inoculant containing yeasts, fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes, was evaluated in field trials of commercially produced, irrigated vegetable crops on “organic” farms in Canterbury, New Zealand during 1994–1995, and in a laboratory incubation. EM plus molasses were both applied, at 10 L ha[SUP]□ 1[/SUP] in 10,000 L ha[SUP]□ 1[/SUP] water, three times to the onions, twice to the peas and seven times to the sweetcorn. EM plus molasses increased the onion yield by 29% and the proportion of highest grade onions by 76%. EM plus molasses also increased pea yields by 31% and sweetcorn cob weights by 23%. A four week incubation at 30°C of loamy sand and 1% w/w pasture litter had treatments including a control, glucose, and EM plus glucose, and captured respired carbon (C) using NaOH traps. By the end of the incubation the glucose treatment had respired 38% more C than the control. The EM treatment respired an additional 8% more C than the glucose treatment. Using EM stimulated C mineralization in the laboratory incubation, but a corresponding increase in mineralization of organic nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur was not measured." Taylor & Francis Online :: Influence of
Better summed up here -
http://www.infrc.or.jp/english/KNF_D...a/C1-5-015.pdf
Of course if you are using already available chemical nutes molasses and beneficials will have little effect. If your soil is sterile molasses will also do very little.
First off you want black strap molasses - this is NOT the stuff sold in supermarkets as blackstrap (although it will work to a lesser degree). True black strap molasses is gross, you would never want to just eat it. Its what is left over when making sugar and store quality molasses and generally has much much much less sugars as they've all been stripped out and much much more of the good stuff - what makes it bitter. True blackstrap can be found at ag and feed stores for really cheap. My 5 gallon bucket cost me $20 which comes to like $0.50 a pound.
Ok, now what it does - Molasses has many micros, vitamins, metals and other trace elements that your plant can absorb. More importantly these micros and vitamins help encourage healthy beneficials in the soil - the same bacteria and fungi that mineralize your organic amendments making them available to your plants. Secondly, the sugars that are left in the blackstrap are a readily available form of carbon for which the beneficials eat. Bennies, although they turn N,P,K material into ionized forms, mostly eat available carbon - for every gram of nitrogen they need they must also have 30-50 grams of carbon...
So in essence molasses does fairly little for the plant itself but does wonders for your soil which in turn will help your plant. I recommend feeding your soil molasses all through the grow - the notion that it's only beneficial at the ends is a bit silly in my opinion, and the stories of plants directly absorbing sugar to make the plant sweet is a bit crazy... Ever burn sugar? It's gross - I don't know why anyone would want extra sugar in their buds.
Scholarly evidence to the above:
"The influence of effective microorganisms (EM), a commercially available microbial inoculant containing yeasts, fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes, was evaluated in field trials of commercially produced, irrigated vegetable crops on “organic” farms in Canterbury, New Zealand during 1994–1995, and in a laboratory incubation. EM plus molasses were both applied, at 10 L ha[SUP]□ 1[/SUP] in 10,000 L ha[SUP]□ 1[/SUP] water, three times to the onions, twice to the peas and seven times to the sweetcorn. EM plus molasses increased the onion yield by 29% and the proportion of highest grade onions by 76%. EM plus molasses also increased pea yields by 31% and sweetcorn cob weights by 23%. A four week incubation at 30°C of loamy sand and 1% w/w pasture litter had treatments including a control, glucose, and EM plus glucose, and captured respired carbon (C) using NaOH traps. By the end of the incubation the glucose treatment had respired 38% more C than the control. The EM treatment respired an additional 8% more C than the glucose treatment. Using EM stimulated C mineralization in the laboratory incubation, but a corresponding increase in mineralization of organic nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur was not measured." Taylor & Francis Online :: Influence of
Better summed up here -
http://www.infrc.or.jp/english/KNF_D...a/C1-5-015.pdf
Of course if you are using already available chemical nutes molasses and beneficials will have little effect. If your soil is sterile molasses will also do very little.
racerboy71
bud bootlegger
it's said that using molasses will feed the micro life in the soil, which in turn will help break down nutrients and make them more readily available for the plant to use..
and it's the unsulphered molasses that you want to use, something like grandma's or a few others.. just look on the label, and if it says unsulphered, that's the one to use..
and must people tend to use it in flower.. simply one tbs per gallon of water only in the waterings, not the feeds, from the flip of the lights itll harvest.
and it's the unsulphered molasses that you want to use, something like grandma's or a few others.. just look on the label, and if it says unsulphered, that's the one to use..
and must people tend to use it in flower.. simply one tbs per gallon of water only in the waterings, not the feeds, from the flip of the lights itll harvest.
i really believe that its the sugars you want the plant to have.i use it in flowering it creates massive trichome production.very sticky buds.the plants use sugar to create cbd which changes to thc in the curing process. i use 2 tbls per gallon water every feeding.but i could be wrong