What is Molasses
Molasses is a by-product of making sugar and comes in the form of a thick, sticky syrup. Sugar cane juice is extracted and heated to form sugar crystals in a syrup. The sugar is removed from the liquid by product which is molasses. By repeating this process, the end product is darker and richer. Repeat it 3 times and the final by product is blackstrap molasses.
Why Use It?
Used in agriculture for years, it’s rich in calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium. It also contains some trace elements usable by your plants like sulphur (the right kind).
Micro organisms in the soil are constantly eating organic matter turning it into nutrients. Your plants are swopping carbohydrates or sugars for these nutrients with the microorganisms in the root zone. When you add sugars to the soil in the form of molasses, you’re enabling your plants to retain their own sugars. This in turn will enhance the terpenes of your harvest, resulting in sweeter smelling and tasting flower.
Why Unsulphured Molasses?
There are different kinds of molasses and not all are suitable for your plants. Freshly cut sugar cane is often sprayed with a preservative to be processed later. The most common preservative is sulphur dioxide. This preservative has strong anti fungal and anti bacterial properties and adding it to your living soil will result in a loss of bio activity. Most cultivators choose the blackstrap unsulphured kind.
How To Use It
Usually applied during flower, it’s suitable for all stages of growth. Application rates can vary from 1-5ml per liter and up to 10-15ml per liter according to some manufacturers.
Apply once a week in the final stages of flowering to increase terpene production.
Unless watering is once a week, do not apply with every watering. As starting with any new additive for your plants, begin with the lowest dosage for your first application. Also be aware that the sugars of molasses have the potential to attract some pests too.
Mix 1L molasses, 5L water and 150-300ml of a microbial product for a compost activator.
You can purchase Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses here
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