Molasses & Hydro? Bad idea??

[woodydude]

Ok, so I've read a bit of stuff about using Black Strap Molasses and the benefits it can have for growing. I found somewhere local I can buy some but they are wnating £15 ($22) for about a gallon (5l). Comparing this to anything in my local hydro store, it is very cheap, especially if it is anywhere near as good as suggested in this thread (http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5149)
All good so far, except, I grow with hydro.
I have just started switching over to an rdwc system, so there is a pump and the air stones to consider. I dont want to buy it then not be able to use it for clogging stuff up.

Does anyone who grows with hydro use this stuff?
Thanks
W

 

[niteshft]

I could be wrong but I'm going to throw this out there and see.
From what I can tell, the use of molassas and it's benefits on growing mj has been over stated by suppliers/producers of nutrients for increase in income.
I have always been under the impression that molasses was being added to the soil to benefit the microbs in the soil which in turn work on turning the soil into beneficial nutrients that the roots can take up. Roots cannot take the soil and turn it into nutrients itself and rely on the microbes in the soil to do it for them so healthy microbes make for healthy plants.
Since hydro contains all the nessassary nutrients I'm uncertain how beneficial adding molassas to the mix really is.

 

[BBFan]

:yeahthat: :goodposting:

I would agree with niteshft. While molasses contains some beneficial micronutrients that mj needs, there are better ways of delivering them than through the use of molasses. Though I'm a soil grower, I think this would be especially true in hydro.

But, IMO it is essential (molasses) in organic soil grows. Feed the soil! :farm:

 

[Roddy]

Am using molasses and like the results so far. Bought a gallon for $2.50 from the local feed mill...$.25/pound

 

[Thailord]

Never use Molasses in hydro, it almost always causes problems. Molasses is used for soil grows to excel microbe activity. Not only does it excel microbe activity, it also possesses many trace minerals and micronutrients often used up by the plants during the veg & preflower.

I very much doubt suppliers/producers of nutrient lines are over stating benefits when many make their own watered down versions of molasses. What would be the benefit of over stating molasses to increase the sales of their products when their products run $20+ per liter and a bottle of blackstrap molasses is like $3 and last for ever? Now alot of the negative info on molasses is put out there by these companies so they can better promote their products. Every nutrient line has a breakdown of what it consist of, all it takes is a little research and understanding clever word play to realize that alot of these companies making these additives are just producing a product similar to molasses. These additives IMHO ar enot worth the money when the proper molasses regime in a grow can produce the same, if not better results.

 

[fruity86]

Didnt ogkushman do it and only used it on its own the last week of flowering and he got over 1gpw im sure it was him if i remember right it was carboload and the ppm was 500 i remember the pic of the stem it looked like it was bubbleing juicey stuff lol

 

[woodydude]

Love the idea of one of my plants "bubbling juicy stuff" no matter what that stuff is, just sounds cool.

I have a friend who grows soil so I may persuade him to go shares with me on some and run it for the last week in my buckets. I know it has many benefits in soil and that it feeds the microbes that live in soil in the same way that many products selling for big bucks claim to benefit the bacteria in the root zone in soil or hydro.

Hopefully someone out there has tried it successfully as I really fancy giving it a go, just not confident enough on my own!

Thanks guys.
W

 

[Roddy]

Go for it, Woody...what do you have to lose?? Seriously though, is there any way to can run a single bucket to experiment?

 

[woodydude]

I could run a single bucket Roddy, I dont want to do anything with my current girls, I have had a real hard time with them, shall we say they have been a learning experience so I dont want to mess anything up there.
I run perpetual harvests, 4 groups of plants spaced 2 weeks apart so when my next batch is due to go into flower this weekend coming I will separate out a bucket and give it a try. Problem is, I wont be able to use the water pump doing it that way, so it will distort the results regarding yield and it is the pump I was concerned about.

It just came to me, I am going to be testing some new buckets I have made up in a couple of days and I am due a res change, so if I use the old nute solution for the test run, I can see how bad the BSM is and post some pics.

Good thinking Roddy, tx 4 that. WIll get back to this once I have run the test.

 

[Gixxerman420]

Might be wrong, but i'm thinking any sort of molasses or molasses blend would eventually gum your lines up... Might be suitable for a DWC bucket... What hydro system are you running, top feed, ebb & flow, DWC etc.?

 

[Roddy]

Not sure if this helps or not, but at my local feed mill, they also sell "dry" molasses...I am assuming this would be a powder form? If so, would this be an alternative?

 

[woodydude]

Thanks for the interest Gix, that was my concern, clogged lines, especially the pump and 4mm line for the drippers. I have switched nearly all my grow to RDWC buckets but each bucket has a 2l/h dripper on it dripping nute solution down through the netpot, fed from a controller bucket, which recirculates the solution rather than just pumping the solution directly into the base of the buckets as is normal in RDWC.

Roddy, BSM has been ordered now, just a 350ml jar for the time being to see if I can get it to work. Only £2 inc delivery so I thought it was worth trying. If I didnt try it, I will be constantly wanting to try it out. I am a real PITA once I get an idea in my head.

 

[Wetdog]

I'm in soil also, but from reading and talking, molasses in hydro is a bad idea. Mainly from the gumming up part, but IIRC it can also sour.

They do make sugars just for hydro use, but I don't know the names and of course, they are much more expensive.

Good idea trying it on a separate bucket. I just can't recall any positive results from molasses in hydro.

Wet

 

[StoneyBud]

I'm in soil also, but from reading and talking, molasses in hydro is a bad idea. Mainly from the gumming up part, but IIRC it can also sour.

They do make sugars just for hydro use, but I don't know the names and of course, they are much more expensive.

Good idea trying it on a separate bucket. I just can't recall any positive results from molasses in hydro.

Wet

I agree. Molasses works well as a SOIL additive to improve the microbic activity in SOIL, but I have heard or read of nothing that supports it's use in a hydroponic system.

I'll save my molasses for what it works best for:

 

[woodydude]

Munchies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gixxerman420]

Thanks for the interest Gix, that was my concern, clogged lines, especially the pump and 4mm line for the drippers. I have switched nearly all my grow to RDWC buckets but each bucket has a 2l/h dripper on it dripping nute solution down through the netpot, fed from a controller bucket, which recirculates the solution rather than just pumping the solution directly into the base of the buckets as is normal in RDWC.

Roddy, BSM has been ordered now, just a 350ml jar for the time being to see if I can get it to work. Only £2 inc delivery so I thought it was worth trying. If I didnt try it, I will be constantly wanting to try it out. I am a real PITA once I get an idea in my head.

Okay, what's RDWC? And also dry molasses was brought up... My thought is that it's probably dehydrated in which case once mixed, would present the same issues as regular molasses... Idk though!

 

[CasualGrower]

Never tried it myself.... But I think any benefit you could gain in Hydro from molassas you would also get the same benefit using any of the SWEET nutrients.....

Not sure I would throw a few dolops of that thick stuff in my system...Could try to dissolve a lil bit in a pot of warm water down good and add it to the mix..... I wouldn't... but if I did... that would be how I would do it.

Good luck if ya do it.

 

[StoneyBud]

My largest problem with using anything that could be interpreted as "food" to any type of insect is that I live in Florida.

Florida is currently being leased from the bugs. If they detect food availability inside your home, they WILL come in to see what smells so good.

I'm afraid that a big tub full of what they would consider sugar soup would just be an attractant to them.

I spray every square inch of my roof, outside walls and six feet out from the house, once a month, 12 months a year.

I STILL get bugs that make it in. True, I find them in their death-throes, feet towards the sky, but I'm not going to make a tub full of bug-sugar-soup that would attract them even more. :shocked:

 

[Thailord]

Might be wrong, but i'm thinking any sort of molasses or molasses blend would eventually gum your lines up... Might be suitable for a DWC bucket... What hydro system are you running, top feed, ebb & flow, DWC etc.?

I have also heard of it glogging up pumps and such as well. I would not use it b/c it is very heavy and even if mixed properly will still leave sticky residue.

 

[CasualGrower]

My largest problem with using anything that could be interpreted as "food" to any type of insect is that I live in Florida.

Florida is currently being leased from the bugs. If they detect food availability inside your home, they WILL come in to see what smells so good.

I'm afraid that a big tub full of what they would consider sugar soup would just be an attractant to them.

I spray every square inch of my roof, outside walls and six feet out from the house, once a month, 12 months a year.

I STILL get bugs that make it in. True, I find them in their death-throes, feet towards the sky, but I'm not going to make a tub full of bug-sugar-soup that would attract them even more. :shocked:

/agree... Pests could/would be a HUGE problem... If not sooner... but later.... they WILL find it....

But I am guessing you wont be sitting your plants in a molassass laden syrup mix.... maybe just a coule tablespoons for 5 gals of water....

This being said.... I would still look at some of the sweet additives.... I think Botanicare actually calls theirs SWEET... I think there is a "carboload" out there and a few others..... Look on the ingredient list... I am not ositive as I have not shopped around for a while, but I am beleiving I remember seeing Molassass as an additive to some of those...

I would stay away from the straight stuff...