is feeding microbes a must?

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
currently first run using microbes and i was wondering if you have to feed them or will the plants do that all on their own and if so how long will this relation last to keep a thriving colony?

so far i've used voodoo juice twice to try and innoculate the medium but i don't feed any forms of carbs/sugars that i know of. i am reading the plant produces some food for them but i want my colony to be thriving as my grow progresses.

i am looking to be adding voodoo juice every 2 weeks otherwise
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Some form of simple sugars is required if you want to establish a healthy colony.

The guys at AN told me to use bennies for the first 2 weeks of veg and flower, use them with carboload or some form of simple sugars. After 2 weeks you have a good colony established and only need to keep the simple sugars coming to maintain it. I personally give them a few days of bennies about halfway into flowering just as a booster.
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
Some form of simple sugars is required if you want to establish a healthy colony.

The guys at AN told me to use bennies for the first 2 weeks of veg and flower, use them with carboload or some form of simple sugars. After 2 weeks you have a good colony established and only need to keep the simple sugars coming to maintain it. I personally give them a few days of bennies about halfway into flowering just as a booster.
thanks for the info guys yea we don't have carboload here or any carb supplement that i know of i am going to feed them tomorrow some molasses. how much exactly should i be feeding and how often? i am currently using 1gal of water every 3 days for all 3 plants. i will be using unsulphered molasses of course. they do have a molasses that i seen in the bottle but idk if it contains anything else or is just straight up molasses like in the grocery stores.
 

waxman420

Well-Known Member
Grocery store olasses won't work but bulk barn has it cheap have ta google amount. I think 1/2 tsp per gal
 

NaturalFarmer

Well-Known Member
I think there is a lot of misinformation in regards to microbes in the cannabis community. Yes microbes need food to survive just like everything. What makes up microbes and what ratio? Carbon, nitrogen, phos and a lesser extent sulfur in a particular ratio. This is measured by SOM(soil organic matter) which is afterall just dead microbes on top of dead microbes. You will see this written as C:N: P:SIf you get a healthy soil there is absolutely no need for adding sugars which only cause a quick burst and eventually a quick die off of a particular microbes that need those sugars. Increasing soil carbon is a must to get a healthy soil.
 
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Lethidox

Well-Known Member
Grocery store olasses won't work but bulk barn has it cheap have ta google amount. I think 1/2 tsp per gal
lol i lied we don't have molasses anymore guess someone used the entire bottle. i don't know if the stores here carry black strap but yea i heard that one works good. i'll go check out that molasses in a bottle i think it is Hi-Brix by earth juice. gotta run to the store tomorrow anyways buy some ties to LST
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
lol i lied we don't have molasses anymore guess someone used the entire bottle. i don't know if the stores here carry black strap but yea i heard that one works good. i'll go check out that molasses in a bottle i think it is Hi-Brix by earth juice. gotta run to the store tomorrow anyways buy some ties to LST
There isn't a 'need' to feed the microbes in your soil. The plant takes care of them for the most part for most of the plant's life. At the 'near-end' of the grow, you can introduce some sugars, like blackstrap molasses (unsulphered). Reason being, that like all flowering plants, once fruit (blossoms) are set and ripening, the plants like to hang on to more sugars so they can fill the blossom with it. At that point, since the plant is being greedy with its sugars, you can then add a teaspoon of molasses to the gallon of water for the last 2-3 waterings. Otherwise, this whole 'must feed bennies, or add bennies, is highly overrated and misunderstood! Most of the mixes we buy from stores come with organic matter in it, that in itself will allow the reproduction and colonization of microbes. There are more microbes in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth!
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
I thought you kind of alluded to it. Either way though its a common misconception with cannabis growers that molasses be used for that.
No, i just meant that the plant is what feeds the microbes with the sugars it produces, but near the end of flowering, the plants will hang on to those sugars and not send them back down to the root zone as much, so that's when it can help to give some sugars back to the microbes via molasses. I can safely say though, i have not noticed any difference in 2 years of using it. Whether i do or don't, plants come out the same lol.
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
yea i was reading one article about the plant producing sugars and what not but it just confused the shit out of me so i wasn't sure. plus i tend to see a lot of growers adding molasses to feed the microbes. i mean so far the plants are doing great for my 3rd run so far the best grow i got and want to keep it that way and make the next grow even better. i'll try holding off on the molasses for now and just using it during flowering and see what happens.
 

NaturalFarmer

Well-Known Member
I thought organic matter in the soil feeds the microbes and microbes feed the plant then people smoke the plant? :-)
#TangledWeb
Microbes and fungi break down nutrients into usable form for the plant by shitting them out over and over along with their dead buddies. This eventually becomes stable Soil Organic Matter.
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
yea i was reading one article about the plant producing sugars and what not but it just confused the shit out of me so i wasn't sure. plus i tend to see a lot of growers adding molasses to feed the microbes. i mean so far the plants are doing great for my 3rd run so far the best grow i got and want to keep it that way and make the next grow even better. i'll try holding off on the molasses for now and just using it during flowering and see what happens.
Becareful as you start using it, especially if combining it with your regular feeds. Molasses can be quite high in potassium and iron, so start easy and use only say every 10-14 days, very small amount.
I thought organic matter in the soil feeds the microbes and microbes feed the plant then people smoke the plant? :-)
#TangledWeb
Organic matter also feeds them, or they will eat the plant's nutrients if need be. There are more dormant microbes than active ones in a given medium, as most go dormant due to starvation, it's the way nature works:)
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
Becareful as you start using it, especially if combining it with your regular feeds. Molasses can be quite high in potassium and iron, so start easy and use only say every 10-14 days, very small amount.

Organic matter also feeds them, or they will eat the plant's nutrients if need be. There are more dormant microbes than active ones in a given medium, as most go dormant due to starvation, it's the way nature works:)
well if the plants feed the microbes i think i will be okay to not feed molasses. my benny's are supposed to expire this year so im trying to use it up before they expire plus i only grow 3 plants at a time maybe i will try not feeding this grow molasses and try the next grow and see what happens.
 

Cx2H

Well-Known Member
well if the plants feed the microbes i think i will be okay to not feed molasses. my benny's are supposed to expire this year so im trying to use it up before they expire plus i only grow 3 plants at a time maybe i will try not feeding this grow molasses and try the next grow and see what happens.
Btw it doesn't have to be black strap, you can DiY sweet raw with dark brown sugar and magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts). All available locally unless you are out in the sticks. The recipe is up there in the search. Search for dark brown sugar if interested. I made a gallon and it worked good for me.
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
Btw it doesn't have to be black strap, you can DiY sweet raw with dark brown sugar and magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts). All available locally unless you are out in the sticks. The recipe is up there in the search. Search for dark brown sugar if interested. I made a gallon and it worked good for me.
nice i think it's best for me to just stick with molasses though since my dad uses it in his smoothies that way i dont have it sitting around for years on end. im using it on my current flowering plants but honestly idk if i even see any difference at all. i added the bacteria late as well though so kinda hard to really judge on that grow plus i fucked it up badly. probably best to run this one without any molasses then the next one with and see what happens.
 
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