blackstrap molasses

Ace Yonder

Well-Known Member
hey ace ya dont need to folar feed at all unless ur killing mites etc. roots is where the shit happens 1st, bigger the root, bigger the fruit and that's a fact,
Yes, but plants absorb things through their leaves as well, and I have found personally that adding a sugar foliar feed increases the speed of root development, I hypothesize it is because it supplies the plant an excess of the limiting reagent for new growth which early on can be an easily usable source of sugar. Also, the plant's DON'T really absorb sugar through the roots, in the soil sugar feeds beneficial microbes much more than the plant itself. Regardless of whether I am right about the plant directly using the sugar for root development, sugar has other benefits as a foliar, hence it's inclusion in my spray. My foliar is designed to help induce SAR (Systemic Acquired Resistance) and is 2/3rds water,1/3rd coffee, Aspirin (Aspirin is especially useful in inducing SAR, and caffeine in low doses synergistically increases the efficacy of Aspirin.), Soap, and Blackstrap Molasses, (Plus milk and/or Neem Oil if I'm having pest problems). Here are some articles about some of the things and why I include them
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/18167/Chapter 6.pdf?sequence=3 (Sugar)
https://sanctuarygardener.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/aspirin-in-the-garden/ (Aspirin)
http://www.cannabis.info/USA/library/4724-how-coffee-grounds-can-improve-your-garden/ (Coffee)
 

Ace Yonder

Well-Known Member
funny that a leading organic soil Dr. recommends NO MOLASSES in her tea

Compost Tea Basic Recipe
A basic tea recipe would be as follows, with the understanding that if larger or smaller quantities of water are used, change the amounts of additives relative to the amount of water.

a. 25 gallons of water, aerated to remove chlorine, add two teaspoons of a humic acid solution (preferably humic acid extracted from your own compost).

b. 1 to 2 tablespoons of humic acid diluted in 2 cups of water BEFORE adding to the compost tea water OR 1 to 2 tablespoons of fish hydrolysate (pre-diluted to neutralize the acid preservative according to the label on the container).

c. 1/2 cup of kelp mixed in 5 cups of water BEFORE addition to the compost tea

d. 5 pounds of good aerobic (good smelling, like deep forest soil) compost with excellent bacteria, fungi, protozoa in the compost. Using a microscope, assess the compost: Using a 1:5 dilution of compost, 400X total magnification, there should be a MINIMUM of thousands of bacteria in each field of view, 1 strand of fungal hyphae in each 5 fields, 1 flagellate or amoebae in each 5 to 10 fields of view and 1 beneficiall nematode per drop.

Additional foods if needed to improve fungi: 1 cup steel cut oats, or bran flour, or shrimp shells (no protein on the shells!) put in the compost bag with the compost

Replace humic acids with the same amount of fish hydrolysate if the plants need a nitrogen boost

NO MOLASSES!!!!!!!!

Compost Extract
1. Place the compost (please test so you know the compost contains the organisms needed as indicated above) in the compost bag (0.5 to 1 pound per 5 gallons of water)

2. Briskly massage the bag for 30 seconds to a minute

3. Check the tea to make sure it has the organisms needed.

4. If not enough organisms, then extract another 0.5 to 1 pound, repeat if necessary until organisms reach minimum or desired levels.

5. Apply.

6. If the compost you are using has good sets of organisms in it, perform the procedure above.

7. But if you do not know if your compost is good or not, then add foods (humic acid or fish hydrolysate, or steel ground oats, or bran or.....whatever fungal food desired) to the compost 3 to 7 days before extracting (good air flow around the compost, don't let it get stinky).

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/Compost_Tea_Recipe.html
And yet she doesn't say why, or offer any supporting evidence to say it's bad. She just says not to use it in that recipe. Really doesn't change anything IMO
Also, for the record, Elaine Ingham isn't exactly a unimpeachable source of info, she seems to me to be just another huckster trying to sell a nonexistent product. $200 for a lecture by a "Scientist" who was forced to resign over her continued defense of unsupportable assertions? No thank you.
 
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shonuff_305

Well-Known Member
I think that people mess up suggested dose because so many people confuse unsulfured and blackstrap (Blackstrap is ALSO unsulfured, but unsulfured isn't always also blackstrap), and they THINK they are using blackstrap molasses when they are actually using regular table molasses like Grandma's, where real blackstrap molasses has about 7 times the nutrient density. For instance, regular unsulfured molasses (Grandma's, Brer Rabbit, etc.) has 110mg/tbs Potassium, while real Blackstrap Molasses (Plantation, Wholesome Sweeteners) has 730mg/tbs Potassium. Blackstrap molasses also has MUCh higher levels of trace minerals, and is much more effective as a chelating agent. So lots of people are using the shitty table molasses, and having to use WAY more to get the effect, and then reccomending much too high of a dose for those who are using the real stuff. It's like they think they are drinking Smirnoff Vodka, but actually are drinking Smirnoff Ice, and then are telling other people "You need to drink like 5 bottles of Smirnoff Vodka to get even a little drunk" not realizing that the stuff they are drinking only has 5% Alcohol instead of the real Vodka's 40%.
So you use blackstrap molasses and milk once every two weeks in place of of watering cycle.
 
I think that people mess up suggested dose because so many people confuse unsulfured and blackstrap (Blackstrap is ALSO unsulfured, but unsulfured isn't always also blackstrap), and they THINK they are using blackstrap molasses when they are actually using regular table molasses like Grandma's, where real blackstrap molasses has about 7 times the nutrient density. For instance, regular unsulfured molasses (Grandma's, Brer Rabbit, etc.) has 110mg/tbs Potassium, while real Blackstrap Molasses (Plantation, Wholesome Sweeteners) has 730mg/tbs Potassium. Blackstrap molasses also has MUCh higher levels of trace minerals, and is much more effective as a chelating agent. So lots of people are using the shitty table molasses, and having to use WAY more to get the effect, and then reccomending much too high of a dose for those who are using the real stuff. It's like they think they are drinking Smirnoff Vodka, but actually are drinking Smirnoff Ice, and then are telling other people "You need to drink like 5 bottles of Smirnoff Vodka to get even a little drunk" not realizing that the stuff they are drinking only has 5% Alcohol instead of the real Vodka's 40%.
I dig the Brer Rabbit reference
 

Bodyne

Well-Known Member
Grandmas will work, with a recipe found on this site, mixed with epsom salts. I ran out of Blackstrap and used grannys, all I had, plants did fine, was using megacrop, that might have helped too. But its still cheaper and tasted better than using sweet.
1 tbs molasses

6 tbs epsom salt

1tsp per gallon every watering, have done up to 2 tsp.
 

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
Grandmas will work, with a recipe found on this site, mixed with epsom salts. I ran out of Blackstrap and used grannys, all I had, plants did fine, was using megacrop, that might have helped too. But its still cheaper and tasted better than using sweet.
1 tbs molasses

6 tbs epsom salt

1tsp per gallon every watering, have done up to 2 tsp.

You measure Epsom use by weight.....A PROPER mix of what your trying to do, would be 8 TBS of Epsom.. Some say 9 but, I have had better results from 8 for years......That much, much closer match's the composition of "Sweet"....Ingr. by volume.....

Here, it's better to skip the molasses as it can ferment or actually mold in the storage jug....Light getting through could/would begin algae growth..

A better carb source that's STERILE is DARK BROWN SUGAR (1.5 tsp).......No mold's or contaminates in that.... At some point, you will have an issue using molasses - not that you can't mind you but, that the DB suger works better that way...

BYW,, I use 10 ml per gallon of feed mix......Your Mg hog strains will never have a Mg problem in bloom that way - BONUS value...


Try it.....
 

DangerDavez

Well-Known Member
I used to use it and it seemed to work quite well during the last few weeks of flower. Recommended it to my friends dad who's a first time grower and he got close to 9 oz off 2 plants and the quality is great. He was very happy with it anyways.

I'd give it a shot. Won't hurt.
 
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