Molasses in rockwool?

Can I use a molasses substitute for my drip system in rockwool? I would think molasses would be to thick for my system, and maybe there is a thinner substitute. Thanks.

strictly seedleSs said:

Can I use a molasses substitute for my drip system in rockwool? I would think molasses would be to thick for my system, and maybe there is a thinner substitute. Thanks.

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i would've have thought molasses + drip = bad, let alone molasses + drip + rockwool

Molasses has a tendency to gunk up pumps. I just wanted to know how much per gallon of water would be acceptable, or if there is a better substitute.

Molasses should never be used in a hydroponic system. Plants can not use sugars as a nutrient. While there's a limited scientifically-based case for use of molasses in soil to feed certain microbes which break down organic matter into elemental nutrients that plants CAN use, along with suppressing nematodes in outdoor grows, there should be only ONE organism in a hydroponic op- cannabis plants.

Molasses in a hydro op is a recipe for disaster. Please don't do it.

thanks Al. Do you have any experience with Purple Maxx, or Snow White?

Magic sauces are usually of questionable benefit. Unless the maker tells you what's in them to give you a general idea of the function of the particular magic sauce, you should give them a miss. Fortunately, a lot of the sauce makers will tell you up front that their sauce contains sugars. Makes them the easiest to avoid.

Magic sauce additives rarely do anything other than increase the yield from your wallet to the hydro shop's till. If you want to try out some magic sauce, it's important to do side-by-side comparisons. Run two crops in independent watering systems in the same room preferably under the same light. Only then can you make a valid judgment as to whether the sauce is worth more than the water & sugar it's (probably) made of.

Be very careful with P & K based 'bloom boosters' such as Canna PK-13-14. Easy to cook plants with those. However, if you're bound and determined to use some sort of additives, PK types are about all that's worth considering.

You really don't need anything more in your op than nutes, pHDown (an pHUp occasionally) and H2O2. Good DNA and strictly controlled grow room conditions are more important by far than any bottled goo from the hydro shop. If all is well, you should be getting great results on only flowering nutes.

right on Al. i appreciate your input alot, thanks.

strictly seedleSs said:

right on Al. i appreciate your input alot, thanks.

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no wucking furries, mate.

Gotta tell ya, in my 15 years of advising growers, I have found that the number of magic sauces on any given grower's shelf is inversely proportional to the grower's experience and success rate! Far too many new growers haven't gotten past the 'more is better' mindset. When things don't go well, too many growers rush off to a hydro shop to get a cure-all potion.

90% of the time the problem is much simpler, normally related to basics that have been overlooked, such as getting room conditions (temp, RH, ventilation rate, etc) and watering rate right. Noobs persistently overfertilise, overwater and don't set up a room's ventilation and temp control properly.

Plants are not V8 engines, where ramming more fuel and air into the thing universally gives better results. Plants are very different. There's a bell curve to it. There's 'not enough,' 'just right' and 'dead.'

Your good critical thinking skills will serve you well in the grow op. When reviewing a shelf full of magic sauces, remember that unless the sauce maker gives you a sound scientific basis for their sauce, inclusive of telling you what the main active ingredient is, you can bet that the main ingredient is profit- for the sauce sellers.

Grower anecdotes are almost always unreliable. Growers WANT these things to work and normally overestimate the value and performance of magic sauces. The placebo effect of magic sauces is unusually powerful in this arena.

Moreover, the joker behind the counter at a hydro shop is NOT normally a reliable source of information. His/her job is to sell stuff. If they really knew what was going on, do you think they'd be tending the counter at a hydro shop? Of course not! They'd be running a productive grow op and earning many times the minimum wage they get at the hydro shop, with much less time investment.

Get your room conditions right- first. Make sure the watering rate suits the medium you're using. Once those are in place, your op will yield well consistently.

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