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MOLASSES...Types & Sugar Content (fyi)
- Thread starter I.M. Boggled
- Start date
Latitude18 said:
I read that once too. Some grower from another forum told me to flush with mollasses. He said it makes the bud taste sweeter and better. I might have to try it.
G
Guest
Hi folks,--GREAT read IMB, you remind me of me, except you have better writting skills...lol.
The good stuff.
I bought this 5 gal. jug for $13 at the local feed store. It will last the average gardener all season. I use 20 gal a season. 1/4 cup of molasses to 5 gal. of water. It can be a bit thick on cold days so just dilute the 1/4c with a gallon of hot water and then add that to 4 more gal. of cold. It takes 12- 5 gal. buckets a week to drench my pumpkin patch....by seasons end it will be more.
Someone mentioned ants. I cant say I've seen an explosion in ants in my garden but I have a healthy mantis population.
Seed
The good stuff.
I bought this 5 gal. jug for $13 at the local feed store. It will last the average gardener all season. I use 20 gal a season. 1/4 cup of molasses to 5 gal. of water. It can be a bit thick on cold days so just dilute the 1/4c with a gallon of hot water and then add that to 4 more gal. of cold. It takes 12- 5 gal. buckets a week to drench my pumpkin patch....by seasons end it will be more.
Someone mentioned ants. I cant say I've seen an explosion in ants in my garden but I have a healthy mantis population.
Seed
Verite- you are right, and I think you will find that what I wrote does not contradict your understanding.
The most common chelating agent is EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) ,which incorporates or chelates Mg, Cal, Zinc, Iron, Cpper, etc. It keeps the minerals disolved in the solution in a form which plants can absord. without it the minerals would react with one another and with other molecules and form non-soluble precipitates. Apparently compounds within molasses can perform similar functions.
The part about how taste is affected is what I dont understand. I mean sugars are large complex molecules which are not available to the root system. They are broken down and used as food by soil microbes. As the microbes die they release the nutrients within their cells and the roots are able to utilise these. Some microbes can pass on nutrients in other more direct ways as well. If the roots cant actually take up the sugar directly, the increase of sweetness and flavour in the finished buds must be due to some indirect mechanisms.
As far as how much molasses to use, I dont think you need much at all. I personally wouldnt recommend going as high as 1/4 cup per 5 gal. Especially if mixing it in as part of a nutrient solution. The sugars will not change your EC, but the disolved molecules will have a strong effect on the osmotic pressure, meaning if you use too much, your plants may have trouble absorbing water and nutrients due to the diffusion gradient being too high.
Has anyone looked at Malt Extract? It is high in B group vitamins, amino acids, sugars, and contains other more complex carbohydrates as well. Its probably even better stuff to than Molasses to use.
Right now I am experimenting with a mixture of 2part Molasses, 2part Malt Extract, 1 part Honey. I mixed about 40 ml of molasses, 40 ml Malt Extract, and 20 ml Honey in a jar and added about 600 ml of hot water to dissolve it. This makes a dark sweet smelling liquid. Its still very potent. Of this I used about 5 ml per litre of nutrient solution. This will give still a very high concentration. I dont think you need to go much higher than that. Just my opinion. This was fed directly to the roots. I decreased my nutrient solution concentration a little as well.
The most common chelating agent is EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) ,which incorporates or chelates Mg, Cal, Zinc, Iron, Cpper, etc. It keeps the minerals disolved in the solution in a form which plants can absord. without it the minerals would react with one another and with other molecules and form non-soluble precipitates. Apparently compounds within molasses can perform similar functions.
The part about how taste is affected is what I dont understand. I mean sugars are large complex molecules which are not available to the root system. They are broken down and used as food by soil microbes. As the microbes die they release the nutrients within their cells and the roots are able to utilise these. Some microbes can pass on nutrients in other more direct ways as well. If the roots cant actually take up the sugar directly, the increase of sweetness and flavour in the finished buds must be due to some indirect mechanisms.
As far as how much molasses to use, I dont think you need much at all. I personally wouldnt recommend going as high as 1/4 cup per 5 gal. Especially if mixing it in as part of a nutrient solution. The sugars will not change your EC, but the disolved molecules will have a strong effect on the osmotic pressure, meaning if you use too much, your plants may have trouble absorbing water and nutrients due to the diffusion gradient being too high.
Has anyone looked at Malt Extract? It is high in B group vitamins, amino acids, sugars, and contains other more complex carbohydrates as well. Its probably even better stuff to than Molasses to use.
Right now I am experimenting with a mixture of 2part Molasses, 2part Malt Extract, 1 part Honey. I mixed about 40 ml of molasses, 40 ml Malt Extract, and 20 ml Honey in a jar and added about 600 ml of hot water to dissolve it. This makes a dark sweet smelling liquid. Its still very potent. Of this I used about 5 ml per litre of nutrient solution. This will give still a very high concentration. I dont think you need to go much higher than that. Just my opinion. This was fed directly to the roots. I decreased my nutrient solution concentration a little as well.
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G
Guest
1/4c per 5 gal. is little more than a tablespoon per gallon. This is the recommended doseage that is listed in many gardening and college extension sites.
G
Guest
I also use 1/4c of seaweed. 1/4 fish per 5 gal. bucket. Remember, when feeding the soil you are feeding a layer at least 12" deep. It takes alot when using it outdoors. I also use a lighter mix of the same above for weekly foliar feedings. I keep dumping these buckets of mix on my entire patch until it is completely soaked. Each patch is at min. 400 sq. ft. And I gotta tell ya, I have 1 arm longer than the other from toting all those buckets! lol
These are pumpkin applications, not too sure if I would recommend it to noobs or just hobby gardeners.
Seed
These are pumpkin applications, not too sure if I would recommend it to noobs or just hobby gardeners.
Seed
Latitude18
Member
cool...
cool...
You saved me alot of searching posting those amounts .... thanks
I search'd my history for a long while yesterday, trying to find that recipe. Didn't want to post that post and then leave it without any real facts, as I did. But , couldn't find any real factual info to support it, since OG FAQ's is no longer avail. in full.
thanks again,
Willie
cool...
You saved me alot of searching posting those amounts .... thanks
I search'd my history for a long while yesterday, trying to find that recipe. Didn't want to post that post and then leave it without any real facts, as I did. But , couldn't find any real factual info to support it, since OG FAQ's is no longer avail. in full.
thanks again,
Willie
Spreading Seed said:
well actually if thats the case then 1/4 cup per 5 gal is a little less then 1 tbl per gallon....volume measurements for fluid is roughly 1 fluid ounce is (2 tbls ) or 30 ml....2 fluid ounces is a 1/4 cup (4 tbls ) or 60 ml....so actually 1/4 cup would be a measure for only 4 gal instead of 5....so it isn't a little more it's actually a little less. so if it's 1 tbls per gallon and 1/4 c equals 4 tbls...you'd need to add another tbls over a 1/4 c for 5 gallons. everyone get it? we'll figure it out soon lol
G
Guest
Oops...lol...I meant to say a little less....good call Time to Unite.
Seed
Seed
G
Guest
And here is my next compost tea bucket....30 gallons at a time.
I will build a platform for it in the middle of my garden. It will look like a water tower when finished. That way I can gravity feed everything without havfting to tote buckets around, sloshing that crap on myself..
Seed
I will build a platform for it in the middle of my garden. It will look like a water tower when finished. That way I can gravity feed everything without havfting to tote buckets around, sloshing that crap on myself..
Seed
G
Guest
I think the carb are more for the microbes than the plant itself....altho molasses does have lots of minerals that are available to the plant....i read somewhere and i cant remember for the life of me where.......the nute breakdown is 1-1-5 on blackstrap.
still looking for answers,
Seed
still looking for answers,
Seed
Yeah, but the claim that molasses "sweetens" the smoke. Thats the part I am confused about-I think there is mis-information oin this. I am pretty confident that the molasses is not directly being absorbed and the plant-once smoked will taste sweeter. That is a hard concept for my tired stoned mind just can't get around.
Now feeding the microkiddies-that I understand.
minds_I
Now feeding the microkiddies-that I understand.
minds_I
