Molasses in ebb & flow?

legallyflying said:

True that Rico. The only plants that really uptake sugars from the soil that I know are sugar beets and grapefruit. Sooo is the sugar hydro stuff bunk then?

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Well it depends what else is in the 'sweeteners' or whatever carb product is being used. I really like Sweet from Botanicare for the added magnesium and sulfur. Some products combine 'carbs' and humic/fulvic acids so it's not the 'carbs' that are making a difference in hydro, it's the natural chelates. These products may have a dual purpose in dirt but that is another discussion. Someone touched on it earlier, but hydroponic nutes are readily available to the plant already. Molasses feeds the microbes in the soil so the microbes can work harmoniously with the root zone and minerals intended for the plant. In hydro, that process is not needed so there is no benefit to molasses in hydro. If people want better nute uptake, look into sea kelp and fulvic/humic acid products. I gotta laugh at discussions like this though, it just seems like we're all 'chomping at the bit' to throw yet another product in our res. I'm guilty of this as well .

Doesn't seem like your too guilty to me. I'm still trying to locate my 18 year old notes from my plant physiology class. I haven't found the time yet but I have been looking at the ingredients and concentrations of all the commercial ferts and additives I have in the garage (I own a wetland restoration company) as these are WAY cheaper than "MJ nutes" and allot of them have the same components. I will say that kelp is the BOMB!! The only fertilizer that one of the nurseries I buy from uses is foliar kelp applications. Nursery soil is sterilized so they just have an ATV with a big tank of kelp solution on the back and they drive down the rows and spray.

I'll have to look into Sweet some more. I had this same discussion with my hydro store owner and I asked him to rank the nutrient on a marketing/quality bullshit meter. In addition to AN nutes, he also pointed out BC sweet? He did however heartily recommend the botanicare line and that is what I'm using. To quote him "I started with botanicare, and over the years, have used every product line on the market just to understand what I'm selling, and ultimately BC gave the best results regardless of price". I'm not trying to be a nute snob nor proclaim that I know all the answers, just thought I would mention it as I seem to do a little more research.

mistaphuck said:

you dilute the molasses so much it wont hurt your pumps bro! you only use like a teaspoon or two per gallon. it helps to mix it in a container first then pour it into your res.

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Hmm, good to know, but it seems that diluting molasses would make it less than effective.

But I'm not a big fan of molasses anyway, so I'm a bit biased.