How to Use Molasses Growing Cannabis Plants
If you are looking for a great organic cannabis fertilizer and supplement to use on your cannabis plant then molasses is a great option for you. Molasses is mostly made of sugar cane and beets. It is used for many different cooking recipes and you can find it at the local supermarket for only a few dollars. It is loaded with natural vitamins and minerals that can be used with water to fertilize your cannabis plants.
Why Use Molasses when growing Cannabis Plants
Molasses contain many important water soluble nutrients that are easily used by your plants. It is used in many flowering supplements that you can buy that are much more expensive, however regular molasses works just fine when feeding directly to your cannabis plants. It can be used by mixing with water, adding to teas. Being water soluble means that you can add water and it will dissolve in the water.
What Type of Molasses Should you Use for Cannabis?
There are two many types of molasses on the market today, you can easily find both of them at the supermarket. However one is far better to use with cannabis growing. The two types of sulfured, and unsulfured. The difference being that one has sulfur, which is used as a preservative in the molasses. This works against bacteria that you are working to create and help thrive in your soils. For this reason you will want to avoid using sulfured molasses as a cannabis fertilizer.
As the name suggests unsulfured molasses has no sulfur in it. This is the type that you will want to use for cannabis. Normally it will say on the packaging if the molasses is sulfured or unsulphured. A favorite of many cannabis growers is Black Strap Molasses. It is much thicker and darker than regular molasses.
How to Mix Molasses with Water?
You can get molasses in two different forms, dry and liquid. It is much easier to mix liquid form of molasses with warm water, it will dissolve much easier doing it this way. The powders form can also be mixed well with your water. It can lump down in the bottom of your container so it is a good idea to mix it up very well before using.
What Nutrients are in Molasses
- Calcium: A very important nutrient for cannabis when growing in vegativate stage or flowering stage of cannabis growth.
- Iron: This is an essential micronutrient for plant growth. It is found in abundance in molasses.
- Magnesium: Another very important nutrient that is needed for healthy cannabis plant growth, deficiencies with magnesium can lead to serious health issues for plants.
- Potassium: While molasses is not a huge source of potassium it does have some that can be used and especially valuable to flowering cannabis that can alway use an extra boost.
How to Add Molasses Cannabis
When using Black Strap Molasses, you can mix it in with water with about 2 to 3 tablespoons per gallon of water. It will dissolve in the water, and you will have to mix it in well. It will turn the water a tan color. Once it is mixed in well growers can use it right away, it can be poured over the plants soil, and watered in well. Because it is water soluble the nutrients will be available immediately to your plants. It can also be used for hydroponic growing, and will be an extra nutrient source for your plants as well.
When using it in soil as opposed to hydroponics, the sugar will also feed the fungi and bacteria living in your soils. It will work somewhat differently with salt fertilizers as there are not bacteria or fungi to feed like in organic soils. It will still be a good nutrient source for your plants.
It can be used every two weeks as part of your feeding schedule.
Foliar Feeding Molasses to Cannabis
Growers can also use molasses as a great foliar feed for their plants. You can mix in the molasses at a much lower rate when using it as a foliar feed. The plant’s leaves will once again absorb the nutrients from the molasses. If using molasses as a foliar feed it is advisable to use a straight water solution in between each application, this will help to further dissolve the molasses for the plants to absorb, and will also remove any stickiness from the plants.
The Importance of Molasses in Cannabis Growth
There are some great nutrients found in Black Strap molasses that are very beneficial for growing cannabis. Once mixed with water it can be a great fertilizer, with nutrients that include magnesium, copper, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium and B vitamins. All these organic nutrients are very important and can be used by cannabis plants to help grow healthy plants.
Another and often overlooked benefit to using molasses for your cannabis is pest resistance. When adding it to your soil, it is lethal to many cannabis pests that will live and thrive in your soil. Even better, it can help to strengthen your plants and make the leaves and buds more resistant to chewing pests.
Can Molasses Make Your Plant Smell and Taste Better?
There really is not proof that using molasses while flowering cannabis can do anything to make your plants smell or taste better. Some growers swear by this, however there is nothing in cannabis that would have an effect on this, other than the extra nutrient that would be added during the cannabis flowering period.
Can you Use Molasses with Other Bloom Boosters?
You can if you would like, however many bloom boosters are themselves made with molasses so you may want to check the bottle to see what is in the booster. If there is already sugar and nutrient content in the bloom booster then there isn’t really a reason to use any molasses as well as it may just be overkill.
Using Molasses for Cannabis in Flush
There is really no need to use molasses when flushing cannabis plants. If you are growing organic cannabis there is no real reason to flush cannabis anyway. Organic based nutrients do not build up in the soil, and there is no access to nutrients that need to be flushed or removed from the cannabis plant. If you are flushing growing with salt based nutrients, there is once again no real reason to use it. However it will not hear anything if you do this practice.
Using Molasses in Organic Teas
One thing that molasses is really awesome for is creating organic teas. The purpose of organic teas is to create a bacteria and fungi rich tea that can be used to feed your plants in the microlife. It is a great additive for this purpose, you can add it and it will feed your plants and create more microlife in the soil for the plants. We highly recommend using it in your plant based teas that you create. You can use it for one tablespoon per gallon of organic cannabis teas.
Final Thoughts
While we always say to use what works for you, we think that cannabis can be a great, cheap nutrient source for growing cannabis. It is important to make sure you are using the correct type, as using the wrong type can kill and do the opposite of what the grower had intended. As always if you see any issues when starting to use molasses stop using it right away and assess what the plant is doing before trying to use it again. This will take away the variable when trying to see what is causing your plant issue.
Typically growers can use this without any issue, and it will work well for a nice little nutrient boost for your cannabis garden.
