Molasses is a natural product. It's not made by "corporations!" The Molasses I buy (not for my plants but for food) I have to get at the hippie health food store.
You can give your plant nutes that are perfectly safe and healthy for your mom's garden, like worm castings and bat guano. I put worm castings on all my flowering plants (not just the pot but everything in my garden) and they're taking off like crazy. You can just sprinkle both on top of the soil and water.