Pure honey in your water?

Noobie. Kinda

Well-Known Member
Recently i stopped with the nutrients, goin into the 9th week of flowering, i top-dressed with bone meal and now have just been watering every other day with RO (reverse osmosis) water and a dash of Calmag in each batch... ppl are saying to add pure honey into the mix, is that really necessary? what is the idea behind the honey? if i was to add honey to my RO water, should i stop with the Calmag or just mix it all together?
 

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
it feeds the micro's in your soil and they feed your plant ....... nothing to do with taste really ......
cane sugar is cheaper .....
black strap molasses is the most common ........
and use it in moderation as anything sweet attracts bugs/pests
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
As tek said, the value of providing sugar/carbs appears to be to the microbes in the soil. For example, if your medium has myco it gets its sugar from a symbiotic relationship with the plant where the plant translocates carbs from leaves/stems to the fungal partner through its roots. The plant benefits from myco's higher absorptive capacity for water and mineral nutrients.[1] Ergo, supplementing carbs leads to a greater benefit than the plant could "cultivate" by itself.

Honey is an interesting concept. In naturopathy it's considered an antibiotic. In growing we often hear the word "bacteria" qualified as "beneficial" (aerobic vs. anaerobic). I suspect people into natural remedies would prefer honey over molasses.

I think the usefulness of sugar depends on whether you grew with a mind toward promoting a soil biology. If you feed synthetic nutrients in 100% soiless, it's probably pointless. The more soil in the medium and/or organic nutrients/material supplied during the grow, the more biology and possible benefit to sugar.

@churchhaze mentioned last night sugar creates a hypertonic condition in the soil, drawing water from the plant.[2] So, don't get the idea more is better.


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza#Sugar-water.2Fmineral_exchange
[2] http://rollitup.org/t/what-supliments-to-use-with-general-hydroponics-floranova-bloom-thanks.844877/page-3#post-10903893
 
Last edited:

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
As tek said, the value of providing sugar/carbs appears to be to the microbes in the soil. For example, if your medium has myco it gets its sugar from a symbiotic relationship with the plant where the plant translocates carbs from leaves/stems to the fungal partner through its roots. The plant benefits from myco's higher absorptive capacity for water and mineral nutrients.[1] Ergo, supplementing carbs leads to a greater benefit than the plant could "cultivate" by itself.

Honey is an interesting concept. In naturopathy it's considered an antibiotic. In growing we often hear the word "bacteria" qualified as "beneficial" (aerobic vs. anaerobic). I suspect people into natural remedies would prefer honey over molasses.

I think the usefulness of sugar depends on whether you grew with a mind toward promoting a soil biology. If you feed synthetic nutrients in 100% soiless, it's probably pointless. The more soil in the medium and/or organic nutrients/material supplied during the grow, the more biology and possible benefit to sugar.

@churchhaze mentioned last night sugar creates a hypertonic condition in the soil, drawing water water from the plant.[2] So, don't get the idea more is better.


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza#Sugar-water.2Fmineral_exchange
[2] http://rollitup.org/t/what-supliments-to-use-with-general-hydroponics-floranova-bloom-thanks.844877/page-3#post-10903893
honey worked great .. but so did many other things i tried .....
honey is just so dam expensive when compared to other options ........
like $10 for a mason jar of local honey around these parts :D
 

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
honey worked great .. but so did many other things i tried .....
honey is just so dam expensive when compared to other options ........
like $10 for a mason jar of local honey around these parts :D
Yup, just went up here to! The bees are all dying so less honey!
 

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
The whole point of the curing period is to have the plant burn off its remaining sugars and starches.

People who want their pot to taste like sugar don't get it! Go burn some sugar or honey and tell me about your experience. Try burning some flour.

Adding sugar isn't going to improve the terpene profile even if it somehow finds its way up to the buds.
 

Lo Budget

Well-Known Member
I'd still use a bit of calmag with your RO water. Whatever honey might or might not bring to the table isn't going to happen in the short time you have imo. Myself, I wouldn't add it.
 

Bricksquad2625

Well-Known Member
The only way I know how to change taste is adding Essential Oils a few hours before chop and I bet thats not very effective
 

Ace Yonder

Well-Known Member
The whole point of the curing period is to have the plant burn off its remaining sugars and starches.

People who want their pot to taste like sugar don't get it! Go burn some sugar or honey and tell me about your experience. Try burning some flour.

Adding sugar isn't going to improve the terpene profile even if it somehow finds its way up to the buds.
Shisha, (hookah tobacco), is tobacco mixed with sweeteners, often times honey. It imparts a sweet taste on the tongue when smoked, and is a tradition with a very long history. Blunts and cigars are often times sealed with honey for the same reason.
 
Top