For soil molasses is awesome.

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

Well I think everything will be ok.... I just got done cleaning the entire tank, hoses, roots, etc.... And it was nasty!! But I was able to clean everything good, and I was able to wash the roots out and they look good too... So now I just have plain water at 6.0 ph... I trimmed off all the dry or dead leaves, and lower branches.. And only one branch has yellow leaves... the rest actually look good... And there are a lot of them!

I have to go out of town for 10 days, but I have someone to keep an eye on them and to add water.. I think if they keep going then they should be ready when I get back... They are actually really nice right now.... I just got done having a taste from some I cut a few days ago, and it is good!! I'm in week 9 of flowering... It is taking a bit longer then expected, but the plants are about 7' tall...

So we will count this as a newbie mistake, and move on... I will post an update when I get back... Here are a few pics of them now..

Thank you all for your help...

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My Grow Journal

Im only saying if my plants die from this molassas should I just throw the 4week old buds away? should I take the plants and make hash?

I just checked them and tried to pull out the dead roots and rinse but there is still dead roots mixed in there its very hard cuz they are tall and all installed on top of the lid of the res. now the bottom leaves are starting to wilt. the plants are almost 6 feet tall too. such a shame. cleaned her out real good tonight and re-applied the Hygrozyme.

the roots better kick into gear soon or I guess Ill be the first guy to tell you what smokin 4 week old buds is like


anything else I can do?

babygrow please say it aint so

Also.. in short.. molassas adds significant weight to your buds after they've cured. Dealers who grown their supply add molassas to add weight for selling prices.

Pray you rescue your plants cos 4 week old bud aint gonna get you too high if at all, sorry. It'll give you a buzz, but the depth and duration of the 'stone' will be missing due to the under-developed THC.

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Mandala Seeds Kalichakra and Satori Grow
Holefillers 0.6gram per watt 64w Micro Grow

I dont believe that I would let my plants die. No matter how sick they look, I believe you can still save them. So dont give up on them panda just be careful from now on, those plants wont give up on you, so dont give up on them : )

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NEW GROW JOURNAL! Started 5/5/08
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...haze-ak47.html

If your buds look anywhere close to these little 4 week old buds then yes (depending on strain) i would get you high.

I took a lower underdeveloped, sucking up juice from the healthier buds, nug off my plant, oven dried and smoked the next day, and oh my god I can't wait till harvest day cause I got F'ed up, but it was an energetic, need to do something high.

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YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!

nice man,

yea mine look very similar so thats good to know.

I checked them today. they still alive but they are slowy wilting. i would say on a scale of one to ten (ten being death) I would says as of tonight they are about a 2 to 3

I foiler fed them water tonight, and I soaked them real good twice for a few hours. i use a small hose and realy drenched them.

will this help them take in water while the roots regenerate?


cuz if it will keep them alive I will to do it every hour on the hour till they get well

Its defcon 4 over here as far as im concerned. kinda treat them like 5 foot cuttings

water the little buggers till they grow some new roots

anyway Im smoking some of thier dead very distint relitives right now. Ironic isnt it?