BILLY MAYS HERE!!!
*cough* Sorry 'bout that... capslock got stuck. Too bad I caught it or everything I typed would automatically be the truth - you know how it goes, bigger, bolder type = 100% God's own truth.
Anyway.
Using AN in soil is pretty simple. I prefer hydroponics but to each their own, right? Start out with a super-light application rate, like 1/4th to maybe 1/3rd what they recommend on the bottle. Alternate one feeding with nutes to one with just plain water. Only feed or water when the soil is nearly dry. Get in the habit of lifting each pot when you check, then stick your finger down into the dirt. When it's dry a little more than an inch down, water. You'll learn the weight of the pot before long and you can just go by that. When they get light, you water, and you're not always poking your fingers in them (but I still do that from time to time with my tomatoes outside because it's still the best way to know.)
Molasses: You're in dirt so molasses is fine. Never ever use it in hydroponics... it's a huge mess.
The guys who tell you that you're an idiot for buying something: ignore them. You can build your own car if you want to spend the time and effort doing it. Most of us don't. I do most of my own auto repairs, but I still take it to the mechanic for stuff that's just too much of a hassle, too important to get right, or just not what I'm in the mood for.
Time is money. Money is time. Money is just time we carry around in our wallets. We get money doing things other people would rather give us money for than do themselves. We give money to people for things we'd rather give money for than do ourselves. That's all it is.
For my time, my money, I'd rather have a pro mechanic fix the brakes on my car because everyone makes mistakes, but the guy that does the job 10 times a day is less likely to make a mistake, and if he does he's responsible for the problem it causes rather than me. So I'd rather spend my money to have it done than spend my time to do it myself.
Same goes with my girls. I'll happily put the time in to pamper them and grow them as fat and dank as I can. But I bought my RO filter rather than building my own. I buy my nutes. I could probably build a ballast if I wanted to, but I don't want to.
Don't listen to anyone telling you how to spend your money, or your time. You've got a limited amount of both in your life and it's totally up to you to judge what is and isn't a good way to spend it. We don't take any of either of them with us when we go.
