Molasses Foliar Feed

Originally Posted by funstarfish

that being said, and noting my limited hands on experience, it seems molasses is better suited to use in soil as it feeds your micros, but it has its uses in small amounts in foliar feeding. don't discount it. do some research on chelating agents.

Hiya funstarfish

You're a bit confused here mate.

Chelating agents are micro organisms (or any other element that does the same thing) that convert composted organic matter into useable nutrient mineral forms for plant intake in soil mediums. Molasses does not include any chelating agents, nor do plant leaves contain any and therefore the plant has no way of converting the organic matter into useable plant nutrients for absorbtion by the leaves in a foliar spray.

What Molasses does include is a high level of carbohydrates and sugars (and small quantities of all trace mineral macro and micro)elements which acts as a 'feed' to the soil micro-herd formed of those micro-organisms, microbes and beneficial fungi that multiply and colonise larger areas of the plant and soil rootzone. This enables a larger colony of these organisms to break down larger quantities of organic matter into plant usuable mineral nutrients in a shorter amount of time. This effectively speeds up the plants intake of those mineral nutrients as they're being broken down faster.

Molasses shouldn't really be used as a foliar feed as it has very little beneficial affect.

Originally Posted by Mark.

whats the bes tthing 2 use 4 foliar feed was goin 2 buy fish mix , also could any use tell me how its used

hiya Mark

Fish Mix is a good foliar feed, but why are you using one? Do you have some minor def's you want to sort out?

hey, sorry to pipe in like this except that 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.
Peace

Originally Posted by babygro

Molasses does not include any chelating agents, nor do plant leaves contain any and therefore the plant has no way of converting the organic matter into useable plant nutrients for absorbtion by the leaves in a foliar spray.

Originally Posted by videoman40

Molasses is also an excellent chelating agent.

Yes it is.

But the word 'chelation' when used in a soil context refers to the soil microbes and micro-organisms which produce organic substances known as 'chelates', that have the ability to decompose minerals and rocks by the removal of metallic cations.

So to gain the benefit from Molasses it has to be used in soil where it feeds the micro-herd.

The fact that Molasses is a 'chelation agent' in itself is completely irrelevant if you're going to be spraying it onto leaves where there are no substances to break down nor any microbes or micro-organisms to do the breaking down. Molasses doesn't break itself down!

You've confused the term 'chelation agent' with the term 'chelation' they come from the same source but mean two entirely different things when used in the context of growing with soil.

Don't feel bad though, it's an easy mistake to make.

aha i didnt think i would cause any form of debate.
basically it seems to boil down to:

[a] dont use molasses as foliar feed
[b] use it toward flowering watering at about 1 teaspoon: 1 Gallon of water
[c] everyone seems to disagree. by the sounds of it though, using molasses wont harm your plant but instead could provide plenty of K, increase macro and micro orgamisms, sulfur and trace minerals as well as making your buds sweeter.

Ive been using it in my indoor soil grow for a week or so now and im not experiencing anything other than nice growth. flower time soon!

Underneath the leaves there are tiny pores that allow the plant to breath in co2, these can get clogged quite easily so using something that can create a reversable bond with metals might not do too well for these pores.

i starved them from mg got some epson salt an its seemed 2 stop the prob, but some the leafs r damaged like brown dry spots

Originally Posted by Mark.

i starved them from mg got some epson salt an its seemed 2 stop the prob, but some the leafs r damaged like brown dry spots

what kind of heat are the plants sitting in, if you mist them in high heat then the water will evaporate on the leaves and cause "burn"

Either that or you put too much salts in