Molasses

Benefits of improved carbs and sweet

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babygro said:

Dried sugar in the buds? What a load of bollocks.

This is the problem with Molasses - very few people actually understand what it does or why it's used. I don't use it myself as I don't feel the need to, but I can understand why others might want to. However, dried sugar in dried buds? Where does he get that from? Plants don't 'uptake' the sugars from Molasses, the only way a plant can make sugar is via photosynthesis, not by uptaking them directly.

The sugars and carbs in Molasses feeds the soil micro herd, which in turn multiply and colonise other parts of the soil thus increasing the chelating affect of the soil microbes. Greater colonisation of the micro herd = more chelation of organic nutrients = greater nutrient intake. Molasses also contains plenty of trace elements and minor minerals which the plant can uptake after conversion from the micro herd.

What I can never understand is why people using chemical based nutrient fertilisers also use Molasses. Chemical nutrients are already in a plant assimilation form, and therefore do not need conversion by the micro herd. You're only getting half the benefit of molasses if you're using chemical based nutrients.

I'm sick to death and back again of this Molasses discussion.

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Apparently it's something that a lot of people still debate, for whatever reason. Just for fun though, here is what the one person opposed to molasses because no real scientific study exists proving its benefit was saying regarding sugar burning:

It is interesting stuff. Whether it's terribly useful or not remains to be seen, though.

I might buy in to adding sweetness if you were not smoking the cannabis, rather eating or chewing the stuff. Ever inhaled burning sugar smoke? Don't try it. Harsh as hell. You'll cough up your remaining lung.

Sugar is a carbohydrate, as is cellulose, the main building block of most plants. Hash is cannabis resin, separated from the cellulose plant material. Hash is much smoother to smoke than resin when it's still attached to bud material. Seems that one of the secrets to smooth smoking is increasing the resin:cellulose plant material ratio, if not eliminating the cellulose altogether. Plus, if you have more resin on your plant by weight, you'll smoke less to get a buzz.

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He previously had pointed out that he had met Jorge Cervantes and discussed a collaboration then shows a signed copy of a book to prove he met Jorge.


Another poster answers with:

Good Stuff.. I use it as a natural chelate-food for the soil as mentioned, and for it's k value in my organic teas.. Organic growing is where a carbohydrate/sugar source becomes so important. The microherd feeds off the sugars/carbs in the molasses. The teas is where mollasses excells IMO providing food for the microherd to eat while reproducing in the teas for 24-48 hours before feeding to the plants the teas... The added npk values k mostly in my opinon is the bonus.

It also has the ability to sweeten the product, NO DOUBT IN MY MIND. Didn't have to search for scientific data or anything like that to prove it to me either, I tried it at a variety of dosages and came to my own conclusions that it infact can and does have some bearing on the finished products flavoring when used... If i waited for scientific proof or others to do the work for me i'd be waiting for a long long time for many things. I tried it at a variety of dosages and came to my conclusion.... It can be taken to far exactly as been said.. who wants all the buds to taste like caramel? That is exactly what YOU'LL get if you use TO MUCH mollasses right up to harvest as I have during my experiments. Prooving to ME anyway (that was my goal) to some degree the plant has the ability to use carbohydrates/sugars and can recieve them enough to impede on flavor directly from the soil/solution..

In my experiance anything over 1tblsp per gallon impeded on the flavor to much for my liking. 1-tsp if watered in, or 1-tbsp in teas per gallon will give you all the benefits mollases holds, and lightly sweeten the finished product without impedeing on the natural flavors of the herb. The only product I noticed a distinct flavor change with was straight up blackstrap mollases used above the reccomended dosages.. The sweet product, or sweat leaf has never given me the flavor change to that degree if used as directed IME.. Possibly becasue those are also designed for use in hydroponic systems where the roots have direct accesss to the solution- thus not as concentrated as straight up thick mollasses would be at 1-3tsp per gallon (I grow in soil)

Take it for what it's worth. Take it with a grain of salt... But try it. See for yourself. Don't wait for others-in fact scientists who get paid 200,000+k a project to do the work for ya. I'm sure they got better things to do then try mollases on cannibis plants

If houseplants and turfgrasses wasn't enough, keep waiting for those marijunana-mollases studies to come out.. The only scientists I hear about working with mj are those purchased by our government to work against us, and those purchased by large fertilizer firms such as advanced nutrients, who mind you are all developing some type of carbohydrate source in their line ups these days. It's the growers who are gonna make the advances in marijuana cultivation, not any scientists.. the scientists come into play after a grower says HEY CHECK THIS OUT..

Edit: Suspect.... You'll probably get a boat load more info taking this over to a site with a larger organic growing population such as IC. But I'm sure even with the back and forth bickering and chest thumping here, you got what ya needed... Good luck!!

I got a book signed by The best cook in the WORLD Emeril Lagosi does that make me a great chef? or just another idiot who waiting on line for an hour at the book signing? We discussed him working on one of my hot dogs carts. he liked the idea of my international goumet hot dog carts and the slogan "Nothing BUTT The Pigs ASS!!!" Got another from Mandala Mike in the big book of buds3, never met the guy in person. He just liked my growing-photography

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LMAO. That was funny to me.

Interestingly your views on molasses are shared here.

VirginHarvester said:

Interestingly your views on molasses are shared here.

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Hiya VH

Thanks for posting those, they were interesting. As expected, the second person seems to know what he's talking about and it's nice to see someone outside of these forums agreeing with me, because it doesn't happen too often here !

Regarding the flavour changes he noted, I can't comment on it because as I said, I've never used Molasses and probably won't. What I do know, is that the plant is not getting it's flavour change by uptaking those sugars and carbs directly - it's probably coming from either the soil microbes who do feed on the sugars and carbs and/or the mineral/minor and trace elements that Molasses contains.

I'll post a post that in my opinion, is probably the best on Molasses. It's long, but well worth reading.

Molasses is Sweet Organic Goodness
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sweet Organic Goodness - Magical Molasses


There are a number of different nutrient and fertilizer companies selling a variety of additives billed as carbohydrate
booster products for plants. Usually retailing for tens of dollars per gallon if not tens of dollars per liter, these
products usually claim to work as a carbohydrate source for plants. A variety of benefits are supposed to be unlocked by the
use of these products, including the relief of plant stresses and increases in the rate of nutrient uptake. On the surface
it sounds real good, and while these kinds of products almost always base their claims in enough science to sound good,
reality doesn’t always live up to the hype.

The 3LB are pretty well known for our distrust of nutrient companies like Advanced Nutrients who produce large lines of
products (usually with large accompanying price tags) claiming to be a series of “magic bullets” - unlocking the keys to
growing success for new and experienced growers alike. One member of the three_little_birds grower’s and breeder’s
collective decided to sample one of these products a while back, intending to give the product a fair trial and then report
on the results to the community at Cannabis World.

Imagine, if you will, Tweetie bird flying off to the local hydroponics store, purchasing a bottle of the wonder product -
“Super Plant Carb!” (not it’s real name) - and then dragging it back to the bird’s nest. With a sense of expectation our
lil’ bird opens the lid, hoping to take a peek and a whiff of this new (and expensive) goodie for our wonderful plants. She
is greeted with a familiar sweet smell that it takes a moment to place. Then the realization hits her. . .

Molasses! The “Super Plant Carb!” smells just like Blackstrap Molasses. At the thought that she’s just paid something like
$15 for a liter of molasses, our Tweetie bird scowls. Surely she tells herself there must be more to this product than just
molasses. So she dips a wing into the sweet juice ever so slightly, and brings it up to have a taste.

Much the same way a sneaky Sylvester cat is exposed by a little yellow bird saying - “I thought I saw a puddy tat . . . I
did I did see a puddy tat . . . and he’s standing right there!” - our Tweetie bird had discovered the essence of this
product. It was indeed nothing more than Blackstrap Molasses, a quick taste had conformed for our Tweetie bird that she had
wasted her time and effort lugging home a very expensive bottle of plant food additive. Molasses is something we already use
for gardening at the Bird’s Nest. In fact sweeteners like molasses have long been a part of the arsenal of common products
used by organic gardeners to bring greater health to their soils and plants.

So please listen to the little yellow bird when she chirps, because our Tweetie bird knows her stuff. The fertilizer
companies are like the bumbling Sylvester in many ways, but rather than picturing themselves stuffed with a little bird,
they see themselves growing fat with huge profits from the wallets of unsuspecting consumers. Let us assure you it’s not the
vision of yellow feathers floating in front of their stuffed mouths that led these executives in their attempt to “pounce”
on the plant growing public.

And the repackaging of molasses as plant food or plant additive is not just limited to the companies selling their products
in hydroponic stores. Folks shopping at places like Wal-Mart are just as likely to be taken in by this tactic. In this
particular case the offending party is Schultz® Garden Safe All Purpose Liquid Plant Food 3-1-5. This is a relatively
inexpensive product that seems appealing to a variety of organic gardeners. Here’s Shultz own description of their product.

“Garden Safe Liquid Plant Foods are made from plants in a patented technology that provides plants with essential nutrients
for beautiful flowers and foliage and no offensive smell. Plus they improve soils by enhancing natural microbial activity.
Great for all vegetables, herbs, flowers, trees, shrubs and houseplants including roses, tomatoes, fruits, and lawns.
Derived from completely natural ingredients, Garden Safe All Purpose Liquid Plant Food feeds plants and invigorates soil
microbial activity. Made from sugar beet roots! No offensive manure or fish odors.”

That sure sounds good, and the three_little_birds will even go as far as to say we agree 100% with all the claims made in
that little blurb of ad copy. But here’s the problem, Shultz isn’t exactly telling the public that the bottle of
“fertilizer” they are buying is nothing more than a waste product derived from the production of sugar. In fact, Schultz®
Garden Safe 3-1-5 Liquid Plant Food is really and truly nothing more than a form molasses derived from sugar beet processing
that is usually used as an animal feed sweetener. If you don’t believe a band of birds, go ahead and look for yourself at
the fine print on a Garden Safe bottle where it says - “Contains 3.0% Water Soluble Nitrogen, 1.0% Available Phosphate, 5.0%
Soluble Potash - derived from molasses.”

The only problem we see, is that animal feed additives shouldn’t be retailing for $7.95 a quart, and that’s the price Shultz
is charging for it’s Garden Safe product. While we don’t find that quite as offensive as Advanced Nutrients selling their
“CarboLoad” product for $14.00 a liter, we still know that it’s terribly overpriced for sugar processing wastes. So, just as
our band of birds gave the scoop on poop in our Guano Guide, we’re now about to give folks the sweet truth about molasses.

Molasses is a syrupy, thick juice created by the processing of either sugar beets or the sugar cane plant. Depending on the
definition used, Sweet Sorghum also qualifies as a molasses, although technically it’s a thickened syrup more akin to Maple
Syrup than to molasses. The grade and type of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or beet and the method of
extraction. The different molasses’ have names like: first molasses, second molasses, unsulphured molasses, sulphured
molasses, and blackstrap molasses. For gardeners the sweet syrup can work as a carbohydrate source to feed and stimulate
microorganisms. And, because molasses (average NPK 1-0-5) contains potash, sulfur, and many trace minerals, it can serve as
a nutritious soil amendment. Molasses is also an excellent chelating agent.

Several grades and types of molasses are produced by sugar cane processing. First the plants are harvested and stripped of
their leaves, and then the sugar cane is usually crushed or mashed to extract it’s sugary juice. Sugar manufacturing begins
by boiling cane juice until it reaches the proper consistency, it is then processed to extract sugar. This first boiling and
processing produces what is called first molasses, this has the highest sugar content of the molasses because relatively
little sugar has been extracted from the juice. Green (unripe) sugar cane that has been treated with sulphur fumes during
sugar extraction produces sulphured molasses. The juice of sun-ripened cane which has been clarified and concentrated
produces unsulphured molasses. Another boiling and sugar extraction produces second molasses which has a slight bitter tinge
to its taste.

Further rounds of processing and boiling yield dark colored blackstrap molasses, which is the most nutritionally valuable of
the various types of molasses. It is commonly used as a sweetner in the manufacture of cattle and other animal feeds, and is
even sold as a human health supplement. Any kind of molasses will work to provide benefit for soil and growing plants, but
blackstrap molasses is the best choice because it contains the greatest concentration of sulfur, iron and micronutrients
from the original cane material. Dry molasses is something different still. It’s not exactly just dried molasses either,
it’s molasses sprayed on grain residue which acts as a “carrier”.

Molasses production is a bit different when it comes to the sugar beet. You might say “bird’s know beets” because one of our
flock grew up near Canada’s “sugar beet capitol” in Alberta. Their family worked side by side with migrant workers tending
the beet fields. The work consisted of weeding and thinning by hand, culling the thinner and weaker plants to leave behind
the best beets. After the growing season and several hard frosts - which increase the sugar content - the beets are
harvested by machines, piled on trucks and delivered to their destination.

At harvest time, a huge pile of beets will begin to build up outside of the sugar factory that will eventually dwarf the
factory itself in size. Gradually throughout the winter the pile will diminish as the whole beets are ground into a mash and
then cooked. The cooking serves to reduce and clarify the beet mash, releasing huge columns of stinky (but harmless) beet
steam into the air. Sometimes, if the air is cold enough, the steam will fall to the ground around the factory as snow!

As we’ve already learned, in the of sugar cane the consecutive rounds of sugar manufacturing produce first molasses and
second molasses. With the humble sugar beet, the intermediate syrups get names like high green and low green, it’s only the
syrup left after the final stage of sugar extraction that is called molasses. After final processing, the leftover sugar
beet mash is dried then combined with the thick black colored molasses to serve as fodder for cattle. Sugar beet molasses is
also used to sweeten feed for horses, sheep, chickens, etc.

Sugar beet molasses is only considered useful as an animal feed additive because it has fairly high concentrations of many
salts including calcium, potassium, oxalate, and chloride. Despite the fact that it’s not suitable for human consumption and
some consider it to be an industrial waste or industrial by-product, molasses produced from sugar beets makes a wonderful
plant fertilizer. While humans may reject beet molasses due to the various “extras” the sugar beet brings to the table, to
our plant’s it’s a different story. Sugar beet molasses is usually fairly chemical free as well, at least in our experience.
Although farmers generally fertilize their fields in the spring using the various arrays of available fertilizers, weed
chemicals (herbicides) are not used for this crop due to the beet plant’s relatively delicate nature.

There is at least one other type of “molasses” we are aware of, and that would be sorghum molasses. It’s made from a plant
known as sweet sorghum or sorghum cane in treatments somewhat similar to sugar beets and/or sugar cane processing. If our
understanding is correct, sorghum molasses is more correctly called a thickened syrup rather than a by-product of sugar
production. So in our eyes sorghum molasses is probably more like Maple Syrup than a true molasses.

In the distant past sorghum syrup was a common locally produced sweetener in many areas, but today it is fairly rare
speciality product that could get fairly pricey compared to Molasses. Because sorghum molasses is the final product of sweet
sorghum processing, and blackstrap and sugar beet molasses are simply waste by-products of sugar manufacturing, it’s pretty
easy to understand the difference in expense between the products. The word from the birds is - there isn’t any apparent
advantage to justify the extra expense of using sorghum molasses as a substitute for blackstrap or sugar beet molasses in
the garden. So if you find sorghum molasses, instead of using it in your garden, you’ll probably want to use it as an
alternate sweetener on some biscuits.

That’s a quick bird’s eye look at the differences between the various types and grades of molasses and how they are
produced. Now it’s time to get a peek at the why’s and how’s of using molasses in gardening.


Why Molasses?

The reason nutrient manufacturer’s have “discovered” molasses is the simple fact that it’s a great source of carbohydrates
to stimulate the growth of beneficial microorganisms. “Carbohydrate” is really just a fancy word for sugar, and molasses is
the best sugar for horticultural use. Folks who have read some of our prior essays know that we are big fans of promoting
and nourishing soil life, and that we attribute a good portion of our growing success to the attention we pay to building a
thriving “micro-herd” to work in concert with plant roots to digest and assimilate nutrients. We really do buy into the old
organic gardening adage - “Feed the soil not the plant.”

Molasses is a good, quick source of energy for the various forms of microbes and soil life in a compost pile or good living
soil. As we said earlier, molasses is a carbon source that feeds the beneficial microbes that create greater natural soil
fertility. But, if giving a sugar boost was the only goal, there would be lot’s of alternatives. We could even go with the
old Milly Blunt story of using Coke on plants as a child, after all Coke would be a great source of sugar to feed microbes
and it also contains phosphoric acid to provide phosphorus for strengthening roots and encouraging blooming. In our eyes
though, the primary thing that makes molasses the best sugar for agricultural use is it’s trace minerals.

In addition to sugars, molasses contains significant amounts of potash, sulfur, and a variety of micronutrients. Because
molasses is derived from plants, and because the manufacturing processes that create it remove mostly sugars, the majority
of the mineral nutrients that were contained in the original sugar cane or sugar beet are still present in molasses. This is
a critical factor because a balanced supply of mineral nutrients is essential for those “beneficial beasties” to survive and
thrive. That’s one of the secrets we’ve discovered to really successful organic gardening, the micronutrients found in
organic amendments like molasses, kelp, and alfalfa were all derived from other plant sources and are quickly and easily
available to our soil and plants. This is especially important for the soil “micro-herd” of critters who depend on tiny
amounts of those trace minerals as catalysts to make the enzymes that create biochemical transformations. That last sentence
was our fancy way of saying - it’s actually the critters in “live soil” that break down organic fertilizers and “feed” it to
our plants.

One final benefit molasses can provide to your garden is it’s ability to work as a chelating agent. That’s a scientific way
of saying that molasses is one of those “magical” substances that can convert some chemical nutrients into a form that’s
easily available for critters and plants. Chelated minerals can be absorbed directly and remain available and stable in the
soil. Rather than spend a lot of time and effort explaining the relationships between chelates and micronutrients, we are
going to quote one of our favorite sources for explaining soil for scientific laymen.

“Micronutrients occur, in cells as well as in soil, as part of large, complex organic molecules in chelated form. The word
chelate (pronounced “KEE-late”) comes from the Greek word for “claw,” which indicates how a single nutrient ion is held in
the center of the larger molecule. The finely balanced interactions between micronutrients are complex and not fully
understood. We do know that balance is crucial; any micronutrient, when present in excessive amounts, will become a poison,
and certain poisonous elements, such as chlorine are also essential micronutrients. For this reason natural, organic sources
of micronutrients are the best means of supplying them to the soil; they are present in balanced quantities and not liable
to be over applied through error or ignorance. When used in naturally chelated form, excess micronutrients will be locked up
and prevented from disrupting soil balance.” Excerpted from “The Soul of Soil” by Grace Gershuny and Joe Smillie

That’s not advertising hype either, no product being sold there. That’s just the words of a pair of authors who have spent
their lives studying, building, and nurturing soils.

Molasses’ ability to act as a chelate explains it’s presence in organic stimulant products like Earth Juice Catalyst.
Chelates are known for their ability to unlock the potential of fertilizers, and some smart biological farmers we know are
using chelating agents (like Humic Acid) to allow them to make dramatic cuts in normal levels of fertilizer application.

One way to observe this reaction at work would be to mix up a solution of one part molasses to nine parts water and then
soak an object which is coated with iron rust (like a simple nail for instance) in that solution for two weeks. The
chelating action of the molasses will remove the mineral elements of the rust and hold them in that “claw shaped” molecule
that Grace and Joe just described.

As we’ve commented on elsewhere, it’s not always possible to find good information about the fertilizer benefits of some
products that aren’t necessarily produced as plant food. But we’ve also found that by taking a careful look at nutritional
information provided for products like molasses that can be consumed by humans, we can get a pretty decent look at the
nutrition we can expect a plant to get as well.

There are many brand’s of molasses available, so please do not look at our use of a particular brand as an endorsement, our
choice of Brer Rabbit molasses as an example is simply due to our familiarity with the product, one of our Grandmother’s
preferred this brand.

Brer Rabbit Blackstrap Molasses Nutritional Information and Nutrition Facts: Serving Size: 1Tbsp. (21g). Servings per
Container: About 24. Amount Per Serving: Calories - 60; Percentage Daily Values; Fat - 0g, 0%; Sodium - 65mg. 3%; Potassium
- 800 mg. 23%; Total Carbohydrates - 13g, 4%; Sugars - 12g, Protein - 1g, Calcium - 2%; Iron 10%; Magnesium 15%; Not a
significant source of calories from fat, sat. fat, cholesterol, fiber, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C.

The How’s of Molasses

Undoubtedly some folks are to the point where they are ready for our flock to “cut to the chase.” All the background about
molasses making and the various kinds of molasses is good, and knowing how molasses works as a fertilizer is great too, but
by now many of you may be thinking - isn’t it about time to learn how to actually use this wonder product?! So this section
of the “Molasses Manual” is for our birdie buds who are ready, waiting, and wanting to get going with bringing the sticky
goodness of molasses into their garden.

Molasses is a fairly versatile product, it can serve as a plant food as well as a an additive to improve a fertilizer mix or
tea. Dry molasses can be used as an ingredient in a fertilizer mix, and liquid molasses can be used alone or as a component
in both sprays and soil drenches. Your personal preferences and growing style will help to decide how to best use this
natural sweetener for it’s greatest effect in your garden.

We will try and address the use of dry molasses first, although we will openly admit this is an area where we have little
actual experience with gardening use. We’ve certainly mixed dry molasses into animal feed before, so we’re not totally
unfamiliar with it’s use. Folks may remember from our earlier description of the various kinds of molasses that dry molasses
is actually a ground grain waste “carrier” which has been coated with molasses. This gives dry molasses a semi-granular
texture that can be mixed into a feed mix (for animals) or a soil mix (for our favorite herbs). Dry molasses has a
consistency that was described by one bird as similar to mouse droppings or rat turds, (folks had to know we’d fit a manure
reference in here somehow).

The best use we can envision for dry molasses in the herb garden is to include it in some sort of modified “super-soil”
recipe, like Vic High originally popularized for the cannabis community. As we admitted, the use of dry molasses in soil
mixes isn’t something we have personal experience with, at least not yet. We are planning some experiments to see how a bit
of dry molasses will work in a soil mix. We believe that moderate use should help stimulate micro-organisms and also help in
chelating micronutrients and holding them available for our herbs. The plan is to begin testing with one cup of dried
molasses added per 10 gallons of soil mix and then let our observations guide the efforts from there.

Another option for molasses use in the garden is it’s use alone as a fertilizer. The Schultz Garden Safe Liquid Plant Food
is a perfect example of the direct application of molasses as a plant food. Garden Safe products are available from a
variety of sources, including Wal-Mart. Although we consider them overpriced for a sugar beet by-product, Garden Safe
products are fairly cost effective, especially compared to fertilizers obtained from a hydroponics or garden store, and they
can serve as a good introduction to molasses for the urban herb gardener.

Here are the basic instructions a gardener would find on the side of a bottle of this sugar beet by-product - Mix Garden
Safe Liquid All Purpose Plant Food in water. Water plants thoroughly with solution once every 7-14 days in spring and
summer, every 14-30 days in fall and winter. Indoors, use 1/2 teaspoon per quart (1 teaspoon per gallon); outdoors, 1
teaspoon per quart (4 teaspoons per gallon). 32 fluid ounces (946ml). Contains 3.0% Water Soluble Nitrogen, 1.0% Available
Phosphate, 5.0% Soluble Potash derived from molasses.

In our own experience with Garden Safe Liquid fertilizers, we’ve used a pretty close equivalent to the outdoor rate on
indoor herbs with some good success. Our best application rate for Garden Safe 3-1-5 ended up being around 1 Tablespoon per
gallon ( 1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons). Used alone it’s really not a favorite for continuos use, since we don’t see Garden
Safe 3-1-5 as a balanced fertilizer. It doesn’t have enough phosphorous to sustain good root growth and flower formation in
the long term. It’s best use would probably be in an outdoor soil grow where there are potential pest issues. Animal
by-products like blood meal and bone meal are notorious for attracting varmints, so Garden Safe sugar beet molasses
fertilizers could provide an excellent “plant based” source of Nitrogen and Potassium for a soil that’s already been heavily
amended with a good slow release source of phosphorous, our choice would be soft rock phosphate.

Blackstrap molasses could also be used in a similar fashion, as a stand alone liquid fertilizer for the biological farmer
who needs to avoid potential varmint problems caused by animal based products. But, we really believe there is a better
overall use for molasses in the organic farmer’s arsenal of fertilizers. Our suggestion for the best available use, would be
to make use of the various molasses products as a part making organic teas for watering and foliar feeding.

Since many of the folks reading this are familiar with our Guano Guide, it will come as no surprise to our audience that
molasses is a product we find very useful as an ingredient in Guano and Manure teas. Most bat and seabird guanos are fairly
close to being complete fertilizers, with the main exception being that they are usually short in Potassium. Molasses is
turns out is a great source of that necessary Potassium. As we learned earlier, molasses also acts as a chelating agent and
will help to make micronutrients in the Guano more easily available for our favorite herbs.

A good example of a guano tea recipe at the Bird’s Nest is really as simple as the following: 1 Gallon of water 1 TBSP of
guano (for a flowering mix we’d use Jamaican or Indonesian Bat Guano - for a more general use fertilizer we would choose
Peruvian Seabird Guano.) 1 tsp blackstrap or sugar beet molasses We mix the ingredients directly into the water and allow
the tea mix to brew for 24 hours. It’s best to use an aquarium pump to aerate the tea, but an occasional shaking can suffice
if necessary and still produce a quality tea. We will give you one hint from hard personal experience, make sure if you use
the shake method that you hold the lid on securely, nobody appreciate having a crap milkshake spread over the room.

Some folks prefer to use a lady’s nylon or stocking to hold the guano and keep it from making things messy, but we figure
the organic matter the manure can contribute to the soil is a good thing. Using this method we feel like we are getting the
benefits of a manure tea and a guano top-dressing all together in the same application. If you prefer to use the stocking
method, feel free to feed the”tea bag”leftovers to your worm or compost bin, even after a good brewing there’s lots of
organic goodness left in that crap!

We also use molasses to sweeten and enrich Alfalfa meal teas. Our standard recipe for this use is: 4 gallons of water 1 cup
of fine ground alfalfa meal 1 TBSP blackstrap or sugar beet molasses After a 24 hour brew, this 100% plant-based fertilizer
is ready for application. Alfalfa is a great organic plant food, with many benefits above and beyond just the N–P-K it can
contribute to a soil mix or tea. We do plan to cover Alfalfa and it’s many uses in greater detail soon in yet another
thread. We prefer to mix our alfalfa meal directly into the tea, but many gardeners use the stocking”tea bag”method with
great effectiveness, both work well, it’s really just a matter of personal preference.

The alfalfa tea recipe we described can be used as a soil drench, and also as a foliar feed. And foliar feeding is the final
use of molasses we’d like to detail. Foliar feeding, for the unfamiliar, is simply the art of using fine mist sprays as a
way to get nutrients directly to the plant through the minute pores a plant”breathes”through. It is by far the quickest and
most effective way to correct nutrient deficiencies, and can be an important part of any gardener’s toolbox.

Molasses is a great ingredient in foliar feeding recipes because of it’s ability to chelate nutrients and bring them to the
“table” in a form that can be directly absorbed and used by the plant. This really improves the effectiveness of foliar
feeds when using them as a plant tonic. In fact it improves them enough that we usually can dilute our teas or mix them more
“lean” - with less fertilizer - than we might use without the added molasses.

Of course it is possible to use molasses as a foliar feed alone, without any added guano or alfalfa. It’s primary use would
be to treat plants who are deficient in Potassium, although molasses also provides significant boosts in other essential
minerals such as Sulfur, Iron and Magnesium. Organic farming guides suggest application rates of between one pint and one
quart per acre depending on the target plant. For growing a fast growing annual plant like cannabis, we’d suggest a recipe
of 1 teaspoon molasses per gallon of water.

In all honesty, we’d probably suggest a foliar feeding with kelp concentrate as a better solution for an apparent Potassium
shortage. Kelp is one of our favorite foliar feeds because it is a complete source of micronutrients in addition to being a
great source of Potassium. Kelp has a variety of other characteristics that we love, and we plan that it will be the topic
of it’s own detailed thread at a future date. But, for growers that cannot find kelp, or who might have problems with the
potential odors a kelp foliar feeding can create, molasses can provide an excellent alternative treatment for Potassium
deficient plants at an affordable price.

That looks at most of the beneficial uses of Molasses for the modern organic or biological farmer. Just when you think
that’s all there could be from our beaks on the topic of molasses, that molasses and it’s sweet sticky goodness surely have
been covered in their entirety, the birds chirp in to say, there is one more specialized use for molasses in the garden.
Magical molasses can also help in the control of Fire Ants, and perhaps some other garden pests.



Molasses For Organic Pest Control

One final benefit of molasses is it’s ability to be used in the control of a couple of common pests encountered in
gardening. The most commonly known use of molasses is it’s ability to help control Fire Ants, but we’ve also found an
internet reference to the ability of molasses to control white cabbage moths in the UK, so molasses could be an effective
pest deterrent in more ways that we are aware. As we said before, there are several references we’ve run across refering to
the ability of molasses to control Fire Ants. Since we’re not intimately familiar with this particular use of molasses, and
rather than simply re-write and re-word another’s work, we thought we’d defer to the experts. So for this section of the
current version of the Molasses Manual, we will simply post a reference article we found that covers topic in better detail
than we currently can ourselves. Molasses Makes Fire Ants Move Out By Pat Ploegsma, reprinted from Native Plant Society of
Texas News Summer 1999 Have you ever started planting in your raised beds and found fire ant highrises? Are you tired of
being covered with welts after gardening? Put down that blowtorch and check out these excellent organic and non-toxic
solutions. Malcolm Beck1, organic farmer extraordinaire and owner of Garden-Ville Inc., did some experiments that showed
that molasses is a good addition to organic fertilizer (more on fertilizer in the next issue). When using molasses in the
fertilizer spray for his fruit trees he noticed that the fire ants moved out from under the trees. “I got an opportunity to
see if molasses really moved fire ants. In my vineyard, I had a 500 foot row of root stock vines cut back to a stump that
needed grafting. The fire ants had made themselves at home along that row. The mounds averaged three feet apart. There was
no way a person could work there without being eaten alive! I dissolved 4 tablespoons of molasses in each gallon of water
and sprayed along the drip pipe. By the next day the fire ants had moved four feet in each direction. We were able to graft
the vines without a single ant bothering us.” This gave him the idea for developing an organic fire ant killer that is 30%
orange oil and 70% liquid compost made from manure and molasses. The orange oil softens and dissolves the ant’s exoskeleton,
making them susceptible to attack by the microbes in the compost, while the molasses feeds the microbes and also smothers
the ants. After the insects are dead, everything becomes energy-rich soil conditioner and will not harm any plant it
touches. It can be used on any insect including mosquitoes and their larvae. Break a small hole in the crust in the center
of the mound then quickly!!! pour the solution into the hole to flood the mound and then drench the ants on top. Large
mounds may need a second application. Available at Garden-Ville Square in Stafford, it has a pleasant lemonade smell.
According to Mark Bowen2, local landscaper and Houston habitat gardening expert, fire ants thrive on disturbed land and
sunny grassy areas. “Organic matter provides a good habitat for fire ant predators such as beneficial nematodes, fungi, etc.
Other conditions favoring fire ant predators include shading the ground with plantings, good soil construction practices and
use of plants taller than turfgrasses.” He recommends pouring boiling soapy water over shallow mounds or using AscendTM.
“Ascend is a fire ant bait which contains a fungal by-product called avermectin and a corn and soybean-based grit bait to
attract fire ants. Ascend works slowly enough to get the queen or queens and it controls ants by sterilizing and/or killing
them outright.” Malcolm Beck also did some experiments with Diatomaceous Earth - DE - (skeletal remains of algae which is
ground into an abrasive dust) which confirmed that DE also kills fire ants. He mixes 4 oz. of DE into the top of the mound
with lethal results. According to Beck, DE only works during dry weather on dry ant mounds. Pet food kept outdoors will stay
ant free if placed on top of a tray with several inches of DE

As we had also mentioned earlier, while researching the uses of molasses in gardening, we also came across a reference to
it’s use in the control of white cabbage moths. Here’s what we found on that particular topic.

“I came across this home remedy from the UK for white cabbage moths.

Mix a tablespoon of molasses in 1 litre of warm water and let cool.. spray every week or every 2 weeks as required for white
cabbage moth..they hate it..and I think it would be good soil conditioner as well if any drops on your soil.. It works for
me...but gotta do it before white butterfly lays eggs...otherwise you might have to use the 2 finger method and squash grubs
for your garden birds.. "nutNhoney" wrote in message news:[email protected]... > To the kind soul who
posted the tip for spraying members of the cabbage > family with a molasses solution, thank you so much. Today, I noticed a
> white moth hovering around my brussel sprouts. I quickly made up a > solution of molasses and rushed back to the garden to
spray. The moth > did not land! It seemed to be repelled by the molasses. I sprayed the > broccoli too for good measure. I
think I will spray again for the next > few days. If it keeps the cabbage caterpillars off, I will be so happy. > Thanks
again!”

So there you have it, not necessarily straight from our mouths, but simply one more potential use we’ve discovered for
molasses, with at least one testimonial for it’s effectiveness. As we said before, the use of molasses as an foliar spray,
in addition to it’s potential use as a pest deterrent, would also serve to provide some essential nutrients directly to our
plants, and would especially serve as an effective boost of Potassium for plants diagnosed with a deficiency in K. Healthy
plants are more resistant to the threat of pests or disease, so molasses really is a multi-purpose organic pest deterrent.

Last Bird's Eye Look At Molasses

You’ve heard a lot now about the sweet sticky goodness of Molasses in the garden, but have we mentioned yet that some folks
even view Molasses as a health food?

One of the 3LB’s had a grandmother who would take a swig of molasses twice every day as a part of her health regimen. We
don’t add that as a random fact, but mention it because there’s an interesting little story attached . . .

Grandma was driving down the road one day, oblivious to her surroundings, when she was struck with the remembrance that her
morning molasses had been forgotten. Most folks wouldn’t have had a solution for this problem at hand, but we have to tell
you that this is a lady who traveled with a small bottle of molasses in her purse!

So Grandma grabbed the brown bottle of molasses from her purse, and proceeded to uncap it and take a gulp as she drove
somewhat uncertainly down the road. Chance would have it, that as she performed this somewhat delicate action, she was
observed by an officer of the law weaving down the road. Officer LEO observed Grammy directly as she lifted the small brown
bottle to her lips. Of course in that day, beer didn’t come in an aluminum can, but instead was distributed in little brow
bottles that looked quite similar to the molasses bottle Grandma had just swigged. We don’t need to tell you where the law
enforcement officer’s mind went.

Putting two and two together to equal an apparent and immediate danger to the community in an act of wanton disregard for
the law, Officer LEO flipped his vehicle around in a 180 turn, flipped on his lights, and began to pursue Grandma. This was
a lady we never were quite comfortable letting children ride with, but it was also a day and age before there were many laws
allowing intervention to remove the license of an elderly person no longer competent to drive.

So, we will just say it was a little while before Grandma noticed the red flashing lights in her rear view mirror. After all
she’d been busy putting her molasses away in her purse and watching the road ahead of her, not looking back behind. It
probably didn’t help that Grandmother’s first instinct was also to believe that the flashing lights behind her were really
meant for someone else.

It certainly didn’t occur to Grandma that all of her actions worked to confirm in Officer LEO’s mind that he was dealing
with an intoxicated old crone with an apparent total disregard for the not only the law, but also other’s safety. And we
probably don’t need to tell you that he wasn’t feeling particularly kind or generous when Grammy finally did pull to the
road’s shoulder. As the officer finally approached her car, prepared for trouble from some kind of inebriated old crone,
Grandmother came hobbling from her own vehicle a bit unsteadily due to her advanced arthritis.

Fortunately we can report that the final ending was happy, without too much unnecessary drama. After verbally demanding the
officer’s intent, and then producing the offending brown bottle for the officer’s inspection, grammy was supposedly heard to
say, “Good lands officer, do you really think a woman of my standing in the community would EVER imbibe an alcoholic
beverage while driving? Well I NEVER! . . . And didn’t your mother ever tell you that molasses is good for you?”

Well folks, there you have it, the “Molasses Manual” by the three_little_birds. If your Mother’s or Grandmother’s didn’t
tell you about the sticky goodness of molasses, you’ve heard all about it now from the three_little_birds. Like our Guano
Guide was designed to be a fairly comprehensive look at manures, we hope this look at soil sweeteners gives folks a thorough
look at the uses of molasses in their garden. Hopefully now everyone knows the how’s and why’s of the uses of this sweetener
for the soil.

It looks like the last thing to add is the where’s. If you are of the theory that your local hydro shop owner isn’t rich
enough yet, then please by all means go and purchase an expensive carbo load product, but don’t complain that the
three_little_birds didn’t warn you that it’s likely little more than Blackstrap Molasses. Hey, spending it there keeps the
money recirculating in the economy and is preferable to burying it in a hole in the backyard. However, if you are a grower
who wishes to be a little more frugal, there are certainly cheaper alternatives.

We’ve been known to recommend the complete group of Earth Juice fertilizers as a convenient and effective line of liquid
organic fertilizers for home herb gardeners. We’ve grown using all thier products including: Bloom, Grow, Meta-K,
Microblast, and Catalyst (Xatalyst in Canada! ) Many other’s here at CW also report great success and satisfaction with
their products. Well, if folks look at the ingredients in Catalyst, one of the first things they will see is molasses. There
are some other goodies in there like kelp, oat bran, wheat malt, and yeast, but we’re thinking that molasses is the main
magic in EJ Catalyst.

Another choice for obtaining your garden’s molasses is Grandma’s source. It’s pretty likely you can find molasses on the
shelf of your local grocery store. For folks living in an urban area this may very well be the best and most economical
choice for molasses procurement. But if the folk reading this live anywhere near a rural area, then the best and cheapest
source of all will be an farm supply or old fashioned animal feed shop. Your plants don’t care if your molasses comes out of
a bottle designed for the kitchen cupboard, or a big plastic jug designed for the feedlot, but your pocketbook will feel the
difference. Blackstrap molasses for farm animals is the best overall value for your garden, and it is the molasses option we
most strongly endorse for your garden.

Although we do our best to post accurate and complete information, we also know that our collective intelligence on a topic
far outstrips our individual knowledge and experience, and therefore the collective knowledge and experience of the entire
community here still. We also know there are always questions we haven’t anticipated. So we welcome your questions, we
encourage comments, and we sincerely hope for useful additions. We even welcome criticism, as long as it’s constructive.
__________________ P r o f o u n d

Nice article I saw rosy checks post this too. I believe Over Grow had this info up. Is that where it came from? Thought you were above copying and pasting?

International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - Molasses in Hydro?

babygro sucks said:

LOL...LOL...yeah right, that's all babygro does is copy and paste, I'm starting think he/she is just some retard that has never grown a plant in it's life...ROFLMAO...just gets a kick out of C&P to look intelligent...LOL...you suck babygro...lick balls...

Click to expand...

Who gives a crap if he cuts and pastes good information about the subject? He already said he doesn't use molasses and he tells us this is not his information. Whoever you are, think of all the trouble you went through just to be in position to pounce on someone. Pretty sick huh?

I'll post a post that in my opinion, is probably the best on Molasses. It's long, but well worth reading.

Click to expand...

And BTW i seen who you are "mystery man". I know the truth. Kind of a punk way of attempting to disrespect someone.

SmokerE said:

And BTW i seen who you are "mystery man". I know the truth. Kind of a punk way of attempting to disrespect someone.

Click to expand...

good for you, , i guess i'm a punk,

babygro sucks said:

what are you crazy? LOL i guess you must like me to stand up for me..LOL..LOL....woooooooooot..

Click to expand...

no i think it is you that are crazy my friend, because i am you..

To me all Babygro said was that he doesn't use it because he doesn't feel he needs to, implying he might get carbs or the effect of carbs to his plant in another way. It's not like he doesn't understand the supposed benefits. Quite frankly, I bet a lot of good weed is grown without molasses or carbs. I'm going to try to use it because it might help the plant's flavor at a minimum. Sounds good to me.

VirginHarvester said:

To me all Babygro said was that he doesn't use it because he doesn't feel he needs to, implying he might get carbs or the effect of carbs to his plant in another way. It's not like he doesn't understand the supposed benefits. Quite frankly, I bet a lot of good weed is grown without molasses or carbs. I'm going to try to use it because it might help the plant's flavor at a minimum. Sounds good to me.

Click to expand...

you can grow excellent weed without added carbs...

So back to BabyGoo copying and posting. She chewed my butt saying I didn't present new info by doing that. She claimed to be new and informative. But she was caught copying and posting. No response yet huh babygoo.

This chick has followed me around this site and bitched (usually in private messages) about everything from copying and pasting to FAQ. I didn't see Babygoo volunteering to help with FAQ when I begged for volunteers. She didn't even submit one article. Nothing.

I would like to thank the many many people on this site that did. You have all received credit (your name next to your contribution).

So Baby how is the article coming that I asked you for months ago? You were so full of complaints I asked you to put that energy into something productive. Oh that's right still no article or even an answer to my message. How RUDE!!!!

I remember BabyGoo telling me that the info from OverGrow was old and outdated. That I was spreading old info and now she it doing it. So it's bad for me to but okay for her? I think she is hormonal.

mogie said:

I remember BabyGoo telling me that the info from OverGrow was old and outdated. That I was spreading old info and now she it doing it. So it's bad for me to but okay for her? I think she is hormonal.

Click to expand...

Well she IS the queen of copy and paste you know. alot of the time what she says is BS. ad most of the time alot of what she says contradicts something she has said previously. I mean come on if you're gonna copy and paste at least read it first!

LOL

I agree reading it first does help. If I find something interesting I will copy and paste but I try to say something like hey look what I found.

Notice Baby hasn't had to balls to respond.

I don't think she's on right now oh but wait we'll get our asses licked with some c&p magic HAH. I hate going into a debate against that guy for long periods of time because after awhile the shit she puts up just isn't worth reading anymore. It's just the same crap over and over.