Brown sugar insted of Molasses?

[AngryMexican]

So freaking tired getting root rot, last time I got was on my self made DWC setup, ended up switching to coco, now a year later, bought a fancy hydro setup I thought to give hydro another try, ended up with root rot AGAIN, tried to run sterile rez constantly adding Bleach, ended up with root rot even faster than last time!!!
So I bumped up @[URL='https://www.rollitup.org/members/heisenberg.229726/']Heisenberg [/URL]recipe of tea, and I think it is just what I was looking for a whole year. After all my fails with h2o2, bleach and stuff, I finally found the real solution! BUT guess what they dont sell molasses in the area I live . What can I use instead of molasses? Thanks guys!!!

 

[Bernie420]

First off you want un-sulphered molasses and I don't know where you live but its a common bakery product and you really want to use the molasses in late flower from what my understanding is of when to use it. Something about the microbes changing the nitrates to nitrites or something I cant remember but just so you know if you want to research it some more. I myself use it in veg but at a real low dose 10ml per gal just to feed my microbes real fast like. This last time I think I messed up and used to much as my plants are kind of jacked up right now from the molasses or my ph was off (which it was).

anyways

I recommend that you use microbes at a low dose all the time if you have/get root rot and once its gone the microbes will keep the rot away.

h2o2 can burn fine root hairs if not used correctly.

a lot of times root rot is caused by high water temps in the hydro systems or the system is just dirty enough to support the bad microbes you don't want that can cause root rot.

Also running a tea/organic in hydro feeds the bad microbes really well if the water gets warm and things go south real quick with the organics components so I dont really recommend a tea in hydro unless its right before a water change, like a day before. Don't ever run a fish product in hydro cuz that's just a bad scene mucks up everything in case you didn't know.

NO don't use brown sugar!

 

[hotrodharley]

Bernie said it - it's a baking ingredient. Look in baking supplies at any grocery store.

 

[WeedFreak78]

Don't use brown sugar, it's just white sugar with a little molasses. Also read the labels and get the highest mineral content molasses. There's 3 main brands here and they differ greatly in mineral levels. The one I bought has 3 times the calcium and magnesium of the lowest content one.

 

[AngryMexican]

Bernie said it - it's a baking ingredient. Look in baking supplies at any grocery store.

Don't use brown sugar, it's just white sugar with a little molasses. Also read the labels and get the highest mineral content molasses. There's 3 main brands here and they differ greatly in mineral levels. The one I bought has 3 times the calcium and magnesium of the lowest content one.

I live in far north in europe, only molasses I found is 300 miles away in capital city . Could I possibly use the suga rush by cyco nutrients (bud candy AN analogy), I think it is suppose to have "suga" in it, that could feed thouse bennies? =D

 

[Dr. Who]

Fuck the expensive "gardening" molasses......You have little carbs there. The cost is stupid.

Who the hell can actually get "sulfured" molasses... Sulfured molasses is made from green sugarcane that is treated with sulfur gas as it's processed.. Don't know what exactly it's used for but, it tastes very, very bitter and nasty...NOT used for cooking anything.

You want high carb molasses for gardening? Restaurant supply business's....

I live in far north in europe, only molasses I found is 300 miles away in capital city . Could I possibly use the suga rush by cyco nutrients (bud candy AN analogy), I think it is suppose to have "suga" in it, that could feed thouse bennies? =D

You can go ahead and use brown sugar.

I use DARK BROWN sugar for adding small amounts of carbs to some supplements.. 1.5 tsp per gallon

Use Dark Brown sugar at half the amount you would of molasses for your use.

Molasses has been a big no, no for hydro since hydro started.... I don't understand why you would put it in.....really!

Your whole res system MUST be UNDER 70 deg F! If not, bet that's why you get root rot!

 

[Chris Edward]

So freaking tired getting root rot, last time I got was on my self made DWC setup, ended up switching to coco, now a year later, bought a fancy hydro setup I thought to give hydro another try, ended up with root rot AGAIN, tried to run sterile rez constantly adding Bleach, ended up with root rot even faster than last time!!!
So I bumped up @Heisenberg recipe of tea, and I think it is just what I was looking for a whole year. After all my fails with h2o2, bleach and stuff, I finally found the real solution! BUT guess what they dont sell molasses in the area I live . What can I use instead of molasses? Thanks guys!!!

@Angry Mexican,

First, I would address the “root rot” issue…
If that’s what it is…
Something is causing this to come back despite the H2O2 and Bleach…
If bleach is speeding it up, then are you sure it’s root rot and not something else?
If anything the bleach should stop the root rot’s growth, allowing new roots to grow.

BTW, are you using straight up Clorox (5.25% sodium hypochlorite) or are you using HTH (56.44% calcium hypochlorite)?
This may be part of your problem.

How long are you retaining your nutrient solution in your DWC and now the “fancy” setup?

Without seeing photos of the roots or having a few more details, it is hard to just say “that’s root rot.”
It’s like looking at yellowing leaves and saying it’s a nitrogen problem, when it could be so many other things.

This could be mold, another fungus (other than pythium), or bacteria.

Certainly adding sugar to the system is only going to feed what is already causing you problems, so I would say stay clear of this until you get the main issue at least under control, otherwise you will keep contaminating future grows.

To answer your question, you can use granulated (or caster) sugar, corn syrup, honey, golden syrup (invert sugar syrup), treacle, whatever sugary syrup you have available.
When it comes to the sugar and honey, I would make a thin syrup with the sugar and boil this for at least 45 minutes to kill anything in it. As far as the honey, I would thin it out and boil it as well, just to ensure there is no mold, or fungus tagging along.
The reason they say to use molasses is because it contains micronutrients.
Honey has micronutrients too, but boiling it for 45 minutes to kill fungus and mold will destroy a lot of these micros, so your cheapest bet is to just use plain granulated sugar.

If your fertilizer has micros, your plants will be fine if you don’t use molasses.

What do you mean by “fancy hydro setup”?

I only glanced over the whole Heisenberg tea thing for a moment and it looks like bullshit…
I keep complete non-circulating systems (Kratky) for clones and small plants nearing transition to grow out (sometimes for months on end) and I don’t have root rot issues.
I currently have a forest of little trees in the non circulating system and they have been in this system since October of last year and they are fine, though they need to be grown out soon…
I do change the contents of the reservoirs often as the plants get older this is because they use the nutrients faster.

Back to the Heisenberg tea thing… You never want to add both mycorrhizae and trichoderma (Botainicare ZHO) at the same time otherwise the mycorrhizae will out compete the trichoderma, but this is for soil, so it’s worthless to hydro…
Both only establish themselves temporarily in hydro so you have keep adding them every few months.
Plus mycorrhizae isn’t going to do anything for your root rot issue, only the trichoderma will.
The major drawback to these products is that they typically have short shelf lives (3-4 months).
Though you can get a palletized trichoderma that if refrigerated will last 12 months.

I recently read a study about research into a few species of freshwater mycorrhizae that seem promising. Once these get established, then this would be the route to take because then you can actually have an established culture.

I am not sure about an aquatic trichoderma….
Hopefully they will find some soon…

As far as the Ancient Forest EWC, wow that is some expensive worm shit at $32 a half cubic foot.
If I were you, I would check craigslist for someone in your area selling red wiggler worms, then I would buy a pound of them, set up a small composter (a couple of Rubbermaid totes) and feed the worms your kitchen scraps. Then you will have more worm shit than you can shake a stick at…
In my area (which is not a huge area), red wigglers are going for $20 a pound off Craigslist.

Here’s a crazy idea, during all of this have you been using the same pump?
Does this pump have a one-way valve on it?
Is the pump elevated above the system and not sitting on the floor?
The reason I ask is because the pump may have backwashed some of the nutrient solution into it’s diaphragm and every time it pumps it is just pumping spores of mold into your system.
Changing the pump could solve all your problems…

I hope some of what I wrote was helpful.

 

[Dr. Who]

Now that was a good post! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[ounevinsmoke]

@Angry Mexican,


I only glanced over the whole Heisenberg tea thing for a moment and it looks like bullshit…

Back to the Heisenberg tea thing… You never want to add both mycorrhizae and trichoderma (Botainicare ZHO) at the same time otherwise the mycorrhizae will out compete the trichoderma, but this is for soil, so it’s worthless to hydro…
Both only establish themselves temporarily in hydro so you have keep adding them every few months.
Plus mycorrhizae isn’t going to do anything for your root rot issue, only the trichoderma will.
The major drawback to these products is that they typically have short shelf lives (3-4 months).
Though you can get a palletized trichoderma that if refrigerated will last 12 months.

You have not done enough research to criticize the recipe. Its actually not his recipe but a restructured recipe from one he found on another marijuana forum that is more specific for the common strain of bacteria that attacks roots in DWC/Hydro/bubbleponics. I don't even like Heisenberg but I would never discredit the research he had done to get that information or question its validity as to the effectiveness as it has worked for hundreds if not thousand on this site and others. Please educate yourself more be for you give out advice. The things you stated about the bacteria and fungi are true but are also discussed in the forum in detail as to why you should use both and the timing of distributing your tea. If you your self have never dealt with what we call the slime you can not give advice on how to control it.

 

[WeedFreak78]

Added sugars aren't needed in a hydro system, the roots exude all the starches the benes need. I've read when you add excess sugars it can actually cause the benes population to leave the root mass for the easier to consume sugars in the nute solution. That's counterintuitive to running benes.

Any time I had root issues, it was mainly due to root zone temps. I'd nuke it with a bleach solution for a couple hours then mix a new soup with a double dose of Botanicares hydroguard. I'd also ice my res to control temps. I just froze a PH'd, appx. 0.5 EC solution in blocks and added them as needed. In dwc I made a point of pouring some of the nutes through the net pot and roots to get the benes established in the hydroton and non submerge roots which, I believe, helped keep the system populated at water changes. At one point I had a bucket that I had a culture of hydroguard going in which I used as a system boost if I saw issues, which seemed to work well.

There are 3 main contributing factors to having root issues - temperature, oxygen and decaying organic mass IE:dead roots, floating leaves, dirt, even excess nutrients. It's a balancing act running biologically active hydro. If you can control temps, the other 2 aren't as critical but still need to be controlled. Controlling the organic mass of the system is the next issue. If you're running benes, you want just enough organic material in the system to support the population but only provide the level of nutrients that can be used up by the plants as it's converted. To much organic material just provides food for an uncontrolled bacterial bloom. Heavy pruning of plants in hydro can cause root rot as now unneeded root mass dies off, which is when I've noticed many people have issues, after a big defoliation.

If you can't control temps, go full sterile and run synthetic nutes. That's the best advice I can give.

 

[Chris Edward]

You have not done enough research to criticize the recipe. Its actually not his recipe but a restructured recipe from one he found on another marijuana forum that is more specific for the common strain of bacteria that attacks roots in DWC/Hydro/bubbleponics. I don't even like Heisenberg but I would never discredit the research he had done to get that information or question its validity as to the effectiveness as it has worked for hundreds if not thousand on this site and others. Please educate yourself more be for you give out advice. The things you stated about the bacteria and fungi are true but are also discussed in the forum in detail as to why you should use both and the timing of distributing your tea. If you your self have never dealt with what we call the slime you can not give advice on how to control it.

@ounevinsmoke
I am sure it's a great preventative, but it is a lousy cure.

Perhaps I chose the wrong words, I should have been clearer about it not being a good choice for those who already have root rot in their systems.

You don't have to believe me, just google "agar nutrient."
The Heisenberg recipe is very similar to the typical agar nutrient that is used all over the world to grow, wait for it.....bacteria, fungi, and mold....
It is also very similar to the PDA (potato, dextrose, agar) nutrient used to grow mushrooms (fungi).
Molasses is about 50% glucose (which is another name for dextrose) and 50% fructose.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose
So by adding it to an already established fungi colony all you are doing is feeding that colony.
Plus, if you are adding molasses because of the micro-nutrients, then your fertilizer is severely lacking and you need to re-think that choice.
That's like being worried about drinking distilled water because it doesn't have "minerals" in it.
If you are getting your calcium and/or magnesium from water, then your diet needs a re-think...

How exactly is what I am saying not from an educated source?

Again, as a preventative, I am sure this recipe is awesome, but once you have root rot, it's only going to make it worse.

As the saying goes "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

 

[Chris Edward]

I was having terrible root rot issues in the summer.
Where I live, it gets crazy hot in the summer.
But then I started using potassium silicate (Agsil-16H) and since, I have only had one root slime issue and that was when some clones were small and I left the nutrient solution too long before changing it out.
I run Kratky non-circulating clone starting systems.

Potassium silicate is cheap and has an indefinite shelf life.
The only drawback is that it is very alkaline so you have to add pH down to bring the water back into range.

The process is as follows:
01. AgSil-16H
02. pH Down
03. Add fertilizer as the bucket(s) is (are) filling

I then let the fertilizer sit with a water pump directed toward the surface for a few hours just to oxygenate the nutrients before giving it to the plants.

Simple and done!

 

[Chris Edward]

@ounevinsmoke
I am sure it's a great preventative, but it is a lousy cure.

Perhaps I chose the wrong words, I should have been clearer about it not being a good choice for those who already have root rot in their systems.

You don't have to believe me, just google "agar nutrient."
The Heisenberg recipe is very similar to the typical agar nutrient that is used all over the world to grow, wait for it.....bacteria, fungi, and mold....
It is also very similar to the PDA (potato, dextrose, agar) nutrient used to grow mushrooms (fungi).
Molasses is about 50% glucose (which is another name for dextrose) and 50% fructose.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose
So by adding it to an already established fungi colony all you are doing is feeding that colony.
Plus, if you are adding molasses because of the micro-nutrients, then your fertilizer is severely lacking and you need to re-think that choice.
That's like being worried about drinking distilled water because it doesn't have "minerals" in it.
If you are getting your calcium and/or magnesium from water, then your diet needs a re-think...

How exactly is what I am saying not from an educated source?

Again, as a preventative, I am sure this recipe is awesome, but once you have root rot, it's only going to make it worse.

As the saying goes "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Geez, I just re-read my last two posts and I sound like an arrogant prick!!!
Please know that's not how I intended it to come out...
I tend to be "matter of fact" through text and it comes off snobby and prickish and it is something I hate about myself.

Just so you know.

 

[Dr. Who]

You have not done enough research to criticize the recipe. Its actually not his recipe but a restructured recipe from one he found on another marijuana forum that is more specific for the common strain of bacteria that attacks roots in DWC/Hydro/bubbleponics. I don't even like Heisenberg but I would never discredit the research he had done to get that information or question its validity as to the effectiveness as it has worked for hundreds if not thousand on this site and others. Please educate yourself more be for you give out advice. The things you stated about the bacteria and fungi are true but are also discussed in the forum in detail as to why you should use both and the timing of distributing your tea. If you your self have never dealt with what we call the slime you can not give advice on how to control it.

I think he has. Maybe not the way you think but, he has real world schooling on this subject.

@Chris Edward
@WeedFreak78

These guys are giving the best information on the subject......Carbs in hydro? Not the best idea......

Molasses in hydro? Even worse.
Molasses is not sterile (depending on the facility it's packaged and processed in). It will have things in it you can not predict. They can grow. The best hard ciders I make. Come from using only the pressed apple cider and not adding a yeast. The yeast is naturally occurring on the apples and in the air. See my point?
In soil the issue is rather moot, as the "living" part of the soil. Naturally counter acts much of the bad by simply overwhelming it.
Bad things can happen but, it's going to be from overuse....I do not agree with molasses use in soil either.....

 

[Chris Edward]

I think he has. Maybe not the way you think but, he has real world schooling on this subject.

@Chris Edward
@WeedFreak78

These guys are giving the best information on the subject......Carbs in hydro? Not the best idea......

Molasses in hydro? Even worse.
Molasses is not sterile (depending on the facility it's packaged and processed in). It will have things in it you can not predict. They can grow. The best hard ciders I make. Come from using only the pressed apple cider and not adding a yeast. The yeast is naturally occurring on the apples and in the air. See my point?
In soil the issue is rather moot, as the "living" part of the soil. Naturally counter acts much of the bad by simply overwhelming it.
Bad things can happen but, it's going to be from overuse....I do not agree with molasses use in soil either.....

@Dr. Who
Good point about yeast on fruit and in the air...
A really easy sourdough starter called a "biga" uses crushed grapes mixed with flour and water (nothing else) to form a pre-ferment. The yeast comes from the grape skins as well as from the air, and the yeast is fed by the sugar in the grapes.
It makes a nice "lightly sour" sourdough bread.
I used to keep a starter going for a while, but now I don't eat much bread, so I made a couple of last loaves and then chucked the rest of the starter.

I have always wanted to make cider.
There are about 8 or so crab apple trees next to my bank and every year they produce the nicest looking little apples, which just rot and fall off the tree because no one picks them.
So one of these days I would like to gather them and make cider, but I have so many other projects going at any given time that I always seem to miss picking them before they start falling from the trees and then the mow and blow guys pull all the apples and probably compost them because they are so bitter.

There's this great wood worker on YouTube, Matthias Wandel, who made up his own apple grinder and press.

He has some really interesting videos. The ingenuity of this guy is amazing!

 

[coreywebster]

Geez, I just re-read my last two posts and I sound like an arrogant prick!!!
Please know that's not how I intended it to come out...
I tend to be "matter of fact" through text and it comes off snobby and prickish and it is something I hate about myself.

Just so you know.

I do the same thing often. I sound like I have a stick up my arse.
I wouldn't worry too much though Chris. Your good intention usually shines through

 

[Chris Edward]

I do the same thing often. I sound like I have a stick up my arse.
I wouldn't worry too much though Chris. Your good intention usually shines through

@coreywebster
Thank you!
I am trying to be helpful.
We should all be happy growers!

 

[suicide zombie]

@Angry Mexican,

First, I would address the “root rot” issue…
If that’s what it is…
Something is causing this to come back despite the H2O2 and Bleach…
If bleach is speeding it up, then are you sure it’s root rot and not something else?
If anything the bleach should stop the root rot’s growth, allowing new roots to grow.

BTW, are you using straight up Clorox (5.25% sodium hypochlorite) or are you using HTH (56.44% calcium hypochlorite)?
This may be part of your problem.

How long are you retaining your nutrient solution in your DWC and now the “fancy” setup?

Without seeing photos of the roots or having a few more details, it is hard to just say “that’s root rot.”
It’s like looking at yellowing leaves and saying it’s a nitrogen problem, when it could be so many other things.

This could be mold, another fungus (other than pythium), or bacteria.

Certainly adding sugar to the system is only going to feed what is already causing you problems, so I would say stay clear of this until you get the main issue at least under control, otherwise you will keep contaminating future grows.

To answer your question, you can use granulated (or caster) sugar, corn syrup, honey, golden syrup (invert sugar syrup), treacle, whatever sugary syrup you have available.
When it comes to the sugar and honey, I would make a thin syrup with the sugar and boil this for at least 45 minutes to kill anything in it. As far as the honey, I would thin it out and boil it as well, just to ensure there is no mold, or fungus tagging along.
The reason they say to use molasses is because it contains micronutrients.
Honey has micronutrients too, but boiling it for 45 minutes to kill fungus and mold will destroy a lot of these micros, so your cheapest bet is to just use plain granulated sugar.

If your fertilizer has micros, your plants will be fine if you don’t use molasses.

What do you mean by “fancy hydro setup”?

I only glanced over the whole Heisenberg tea thing for a moment and it looks like bullshit…
I keep complete non-circulating systems (Kratky) for clones and small plants nearing transition to grow out (sometimes for months on end) and I don’t have root rot issues.
I currently have a forest of little trees in the non circulating system and they have been in this system since October of last year and they are fine, though they need to be grown out soon…
I do change the contents of the reservoirs often as the plants get older this is because they use the nutrients faster.

Back to the Heisenberg tea thing… You never want to add both mycorrhizae and trichoderma (Botainicare ZHO) at the same time otherwise the mycorrhizae will out compete the trichoderma, but this is for soil, so it’s worthless to hydro…
Both only establish themselves temporarily in hydro so you have keep adding them every few months.
Plus mycorrhizae isn’t going to do anything for your root rot issue, only the trichoderma will.
The major drawback to these products is that they typically have short shelf lives (3-4 months).
Though you can get a palletized trichoderma that if refrigerated will last 12 months.

I recently read a study about research into a few species of freshwater mycorrhizae that seem promising. Once these get established, then this would be the route to take because then you can actually have an established culture.

I am not sure about an aquatic trichoderma….
Hopefully they will find some soon…

As far as the Ancient Forest EWC, wow that is some expensive worm shit at $32 a half cubic foot.
If I were you, I would check craigslist for someone in your area selling red wiggler worms, then I would buy a pound of them, set up a small composter (a couple of Rubbermaid totes) and feed the worms your kitchen scraps. Then you will have more worm shit than you can shake a stick at…
In my area (which is not a huge area), red wigglers are going for $20 a pound off Craigslist.

Here’s a crazy idea, during all of this have you been using the same pump?
Does this pump have a one-way valve on it?
Is the pump elevated above the system and not sitting on the floor?
The reason I ask is because the pump may have backwashed some of the nutrient solution into it’s diaphragm and every time it pumps it is just pumping spores of mold into your system.
Changing the pump could solve all your problems…

I hope some of what I wrote was helpful.

I have good amount of knowledge in honey. honey is sterile period the botulism kills everything out including itself which is why it makes a good emergency wound dressing. boiling it kills anything good in anything. I never boiled a thing and never had in issue I use molasses and honey what ever I have more of. I noticed that it helps with certain aspects I believe. Sugar is there to feed your microbes to help carry nutes easier.

 

[Chris Edward]

I have good amount of knowledge in honey. honey is sterile period the botulism kills everything out including itself which is why it makes a good emergency wound dressing. boiling it kills anything good in anything. I never boiled a thing and never had in issue I use molasses and honey what ever I have more of. I noticed that it helps with certain aspects I believe. Sugar is there to feed your microbes to help carry nutes easier.

I never said adding a small amount of some sort of sterile sugar to a healthy system would be a problem.
I merely said that adding sugar to a system that was already having a problem, will only create more problems.
And I also bashed the sacred Heisenberg tea, which just seems bent on getting people to buy stuff they don't need.
That's all.
I mean seriously, there is no point to adding mycorrhiza and trichoderma at the same time. The mycorrhiza will out compete the trichoderma every time and it's the trichoderma that is going to do the most damage to root rot.
Plus trichoderma costs more.

Also why do you need to buy a brand name of worm castings when you can very easily have your own vermiculture composter going, eating your left over leaves and food waste and making your essentially free worm castings.

As far as botulism in honey, it doesn't die in the honey...
It merely goes dormant in the honey...

Not to be nuisance but if you are buying your honey and molasses from the super market, both have gone through some sort of sterilization process otherwise they couldn't be legally sold.
Not is not naturally sterile, this is why folks will search out locally (50 mile radius locally, not somewhere on Earth locally) produced honey to use to help with allergies, because it contains pollen, bacteria, and mold, which in small amounts and in a substance like honey can be like having an inoculation (of sorts).
If you are producing the honey yourself or buying it from a farmers market that's different, but this is possibly opening up new issues, which I will explain in a moment.

Are you sure your honey is honey?
Unless you know for sure the honey is unfiltered (which will crystallize quickly), then it is more than likely filtered; this filtration is so fine that in some cases when tested the honey appears to be nothing more than fructose, glucose, and some water and nothing else, which looks suspiciously like an amber colored granulated sugar syrup, similar to golden syrup.

As someone who has kept bees, I know that a huge practice in beekeeping is to essentially rob all the honey from your bees and then in the winter feed them a 2:1 sugar:water syrup.
Because granulated white (caster) sugar is cheaper than letting the bees eat their own honey.
This is not some secret thing, it is publicly promoted on agricultural websites.
In the attachment is a PDF put out by the New South Wales government in Australia promoting the use of sugar syrup to feed bees.
Let that sink in a bit...


In closing, I don't mean to be a jerk, but unless you have hives and are making the honey yourself (not you but the bees), then you don't (none of us) know for certain what is in our food.

 

[suicide zombie]

So freaking tired getting root rot, last time I got was on my self made DWC setup, ended up switching to coco, now a year later, bought a fancy hydro setup I thought to give hydro another try, ended up with root rot AGAIN, tried to run sterile rez constantly adding Bleach, ended up with root rot even faster than last time!!!
So I bumped up @Heisenberg recipe of tea, and I think it is just what I was looking for a whole year. After all my fails with h2o2, bleach and stuff, I finally found the real solution! BUT guess what they dont sell molasses in the area I live . What can I use instead of molasses? Thanks guys!!!

bleach is an oxidizer however bleach also loses its effectiveness the moment air comes in contact it starts to degrade very fast however bleach kills all good stuff in anything and bad stuff. White sugar is bleached also . Go to your baking section and look for braggs unsulfered all organic molasses. It is super cheap and its been in every shopping/ grocery store I been in. I also use bleach to kill poison IVY, SUMAC and OAK and any other vegetation. It soaks into the plant and kills the roots. So I would stay clear of any chlorine based product. Been landscaping for 30+ years I'm telling ya never use bleach for plants, its used as a vegetation killer and it also strips soil of its good flora causing an array of plant health issues and can cause nute lockout by killing bacteria and messing your PH up very little goes a long way....sometimes bleach in very small doses can be beneficial but as much as I know that is for soil.. also dont think adding molasses to your soil or foliage spray till closer to budding anyways...Molasses is only to feed your good bacteria and microbes. It also helps add carbs to the soil which is food for microbes...that just helps them break down other nutes to get it into the roots. Most chemicals are to big of particulates to get absorbed into the roots anyway...it always helps I guess or couldnt hurt but. I use soil for all my plants shrubs and trees.It is more forgiving..at pools and water supply areas they use C/O 2 to adjust the PH of water just an FYI they dont use Bleach because bleach has no effect what they do use is a strength of chlorine you will not be able to buy and makes pool tabs look like bottled water...

I may not have a lot of experience growing those types of plants but I do have college education in geo science and also for Criminal Justice forensics. What I am best at is being husband and a father..