AN Advanced Nutrients new product Bud Candy (combo of Sweet Leaf and Carbo Load)

[snowkitty]

Seen some buzz on the forums about Bud Candy, a new product from Advanced Nutrients. It was shipping from ebay earlier in the spring of 2009 and now it is available in a number of stores. I am growing with AN using their full line-up and would like to hear people’s experiences with this product.

The company website has no info about the product (no entry in the advancepedia) other than a super-dazzling label and a description that rambles about cotton candy at the county fair for your plants.

IMAGINE BACK IN YOUR PAST WHEN YOU WERE A KID AT THE COUNTY FAIR EATING COTTON CANDY. IT WAS PURE DELIGHT THAT MELTED IN YOUR MOUTH LEAVING YOUR FINGERS STICKY AND GOOEY! THAT SWEET DELICIOUS TASTE AND THOSE SMELLS IT DROVE YOU CRAZY! NOT ONLY DID IT SMELL AND TASTE DELICIOUS YOU GOT AN IMMEDIATE BOLT OF ENERGY FROM ALL THAT SUGAR THAT RUSHED THROUGH YOUR VEINS! NOW ITS TIME TO BRING ALL OF THAT SAME GOOD AND SWEET STUFF HOME TO YOUR PLANTS!

It is a deliciously crystally label but what the hell does a carnival have to do with my garden. Forum members and hydro shop employees have provided the info that this is a combination of Sweet Leaf and CarboLoad. As AN writes in the advancepedia entry for Sweet Leaf, “The flavor and aroma enhancing sugars used in Sweet Leaf are not the same as the performance enhancing carbohydrates used in Carbo Load, so growers can safely use both products for the best of both words in carbohydrate and flavor supplementation.”

Here are the cost, ingredients, and instructions for Bud Candy:

N-P-K
0-0-1

Bud Candy Application Rate
2 mL / Liter during weeks 1 to 6 of flower

Additional Application Instructions from a hydro retailer (not on label or AN website)
May be used as a carbohydrate stimulant to feed beneficials during vegetative stage at 1/2 strength.

Bud Candy Ingredients
Soluble Potash (K2O), Potassium Sulfate, 72 trace elements, Organic acids, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Polyphenolic Compounds, Esters, Raw Cane Juice, Sweet Brown Molasses
CARBOHYDRATES: Xylose, Maltose, Glucose, Galactose, Aribinose
EXTRACTS: Cranberry Extract, Grape Extract, Malt Extract, Fermented Yeast Extract
VITAMINS: B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, B-6, B-7, B-12
AMINO ACIDS: L-Alanine, L-Arganine, L-Asparagine, L-Aspartic Acid, L-Cysteine, L-Cystine, L-Glutamic Acid, L-Glutamine, L-Glycine, L-Histidine, L-Isoleucine, L-Leucine, L-Lysine, L-Methionine, L-Threonine, L-Phenylalanine, L-Proline, L-Serine, L-Tryosine, L-Tryptophan, L-Valine

Bud Candy MSRP
$29.90 / 1 Liter
$76.20 / 4 Liter
$169.98 / 10 Liter
...which means that Bud Candy costs $0.52 per fluid ounce.

I do not see Sweet Leaf listed on the AN retail site (although it is still in the advancepedia). The MSRP listed above is very close to that of Sweet Leaf, which was sold in the same size bottles.

1 - Does anyone know if this product replaces Sweet Leaf? That is, does AN plan to keep making Sweet Leaf? EDIT: Just noticed it is listed as discontinued--while supplies last at my favorite online store.

2 - Carbo Load directions say, "To ensure total solubility when using CarboLoad powder, premix the required amount in a small separate volume of water, then add this to your reservoir." Bud Candy has no similar warning but is that a precaution we should take when mixing?

3 - Tell me your experiences using Bud Candy! Be safe. :animal0048:

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I do not understand how people would want to use something that makes it all taste the same. Why grow exotic herb, I mean others must have complete crap to need to use sweet leaf. I can use sandlewood oil,cranberry and grape juice just not in my herb.
The maltose(malted barley malasses) xylose(xylitol)arabinose(hard to source but really good) throw in some dextrose(home brew stores) and you have a nice simple and complex sugars mix.
I think there are better things to spend your money on. Suerte JK

 

[Time]

When I was a member of AN forums I tried Sweet Leaf when it was first released. As J/K mentioned it did make all of my strains taste the same and there was left over black ash chunks in my bowl... Nasty stuff.

I'd say the taste was more like tootie-fruity flavored toothpaste for children then Cotton Candy.

To anyone who knows me and trust my judgment: Avoid Sweet Leaf and think twice before spending money on Bud Candy.

 

[snowkitty]

JK and Time, thanks for the feedback. I trust your experience as members of the AN forums when they existed...that was before my time. I own the Sweet Leaf so I will definitely run it side-by-side with a control group when I have two rooms going so I can see if there is a difference and decide on the taste...

I'd say the taste was more like tootie-fruity flavored toothpaste for children then Cotton Candy.

Okay, I guess you just answered the question of "what the hell does a carnival have to do with my garden?" I don't know if I want anything that tastes like EITHER fruit toothpaste or cotton candy.

 

[lonewolf99]

Just get a jar of molasses and save your money.

 

[ReelBusy1]

Just get a jar of molasses and save your money.

I'm on my first run with molasses and I've got buds at 3 weeks that look like the last runs week 5.
The molasses is the new addition...and some recent Cal-Mag for nute balance.

 

[Gatorade]

Glad I found this thread. I was about to try out some sweet leaf sample I got. I'll use molasses instead.

 

[TheMadHatter]

So are they discontinuing carbo load or why would they combine them?

 

[greenthumb]

just to get some more money out of us AN are rip off merchants and i dont even look at there products anymore nevermind the bullshit that they come out with on there labels!

 

[Donk Frog]

sweet leaf sux...it is one of the few AN products I don't like......not to keen on carbo load, I use a combo of "SWEET" and naturally dark sugers

 

[lonewolf99]

just to get some more money out of us AN are rip off merchants and i dont even look at there products anymore nevermind the bullshit that they come out with on there labels!

Correct, they are bullshitting rip-off merchants. never fails to amaze me that folks will shell out so much cash on their crap when you can buy things that work every bit as well for a fraction of the price.

Carboload, tried it once, doesn't work as good as molasses, it works, but molasses is better and a tiny fraction of the price.

 

[Dalonewolf]

This is an article from Maximum Yield, I know it has a lot of advertising, though mixed in are some good articles. I do not have to tell veteran growers to be wary and suspicious about a person or company trying to inform, and sell to you at the same time. I believe that the following article is much more informative than AN's sales pitch.


PEOPLE FEED THEIR PLANTS SUGARS all the time without knowing it and not always understanding why. You give your sweetheart a bouquet of roses for Valentine’s Day and before they are put into the vase, sugar is added to the water to extend their bloom. Some “old school” gardeners will add molasses to their nutrient solution during the flowering period. Actually, just by adding fulvic acid, and humic acid, to your nutrient mix you are giving your plants the building blocks for sugars.


Photosynthesis comes from the Greek word “photo,” meaning light, and “synthesis,” meaning to put together.

Most growers do not even know that there is a meter, called a Brix meter, that is used to measure the level of sugars in the leaves of plants. It is generally understood that the higher the level of sugars within a plant’s tissue, the healthier the plant is and the better the yield will be.
Knowing this, the question should not be, “Why add a carbohydrate
supplement to my nutrient solution?” but simply, “Why haven’t I added one already?”

To understand why you should give your plants one of the sugary supplements on the market, you should become a litte more familiar with the way plants produce and use sugars.
Almost all plants use sugars as their main source of fuel. They transport these sugars along with water and other elements throughout their systems, either for food or to create amino acids for biosynthesis to fuel cellular respiration. Maple trees are a great example of how plants use sugars. Their sugary sap is famous at breakfast tables worldwide, but that sap is really the food the maple tree has begun to store to survive the winter to come.


Most plants are photoautotrophs, which means that they synthesize
their own food directly from inorganic compounds using
photons, the energy from light. They do this using a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis comes from the Greek word “photo,” meaning light, and “synthesis,” meaning to put together. The inorganic compounds are carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), and the energy source is sunlight. The end products include glucose, a simple sugar, and oxygen (O2).

>WHY USE SUGARY SUPPLEMENTS?

The actual equation looks like this:
Then, through a process called carbon fixation, ATP (adenosine triphosphate),AND? a high-energy molecule CO2 (carbon dioxide)
are used to create sugars. Some sugars produced, such as glucose, are simple sugars or monosaccharides. They are easily broken down by the plant and are generally used for energy. Other sugars produced, such as cellulose, are complex sugars or polysaccharides. Polysaccharides consist of a chain of two or more sugars and are usually used for lipid and amino acid biosynthesis. Polysaccharides are also used as a fuel in cellular respiration. Cellulose specifically is used as the building material for all green plants. It is the main component of all green plant cell walls.


Through the examination of the process of photosynthesis, we learn just how important the sugars produced through this process are. The sugars and starches are vital to the plant. They are essential for cellular preparation, to maintain the plants metabolism
and vigor. The sugars are even the building blocks that keep the very cells of the plant together. Now it is understood that plants have a great big “sweet tooth” and are specialists at making the sugars they need.
So why then should we be feeding them more on top of all this? Simply put, flowering plants are burning these carbs trying to make large fruit or vegetables, or big beautiful blooms, faster than a marathon runner trying to win a race. Not to mention that the process of photosynthesis, which produces the sugars, itself takes a lot of energy. By adding one of the organic carbohydrate supplements to your nutrient solution the carbohydrates that have been allocated to the flowering process will be replenished more easily. This will save your plant the energy it would need to create those sugars itself, and your plant can focus more of its energy on the flowering process.

The name “glucose” comes from the Greek word “glykys,” which means sweet, with the suffix “ose,” which denotes that it is a carbohydrate.

Also, many beneficial bacteria and fungi (aka carbon-fixing bacterial fungi) will live on the sugars and will break down the sugars for the plant. This, again, allows the plant to use energy usually spent breaking down sugars for other processes. The more beneficial bacteria and fungi, the easier nutrients are absorbed by the roots. All this leads to improved flowering and overall health of the plants.


When choosing the supplement for your plants remember the old saying, “You are what you eat.” The same goes for your plants. Look for something organic because organic sugars will improve flavor and smell better than anything that inorganic.
There are also some sugars that are more important to your plants than others. Xylose and arabinose are two of those sugars. Both are sugars naturally produced by plants. They are also monosaccharides,
which means they are simple sugars and, therefore, used more easily by the plant.

Glucose should be the main ingredient of the product because it is the main product of photosynthesis. Glucose is a monosaccharide that is used for energy and for starting cellular respiration in the plant. The name “glucose” comes from the Greek word “glykys,” which means sweet, with the suffix “ose,” which denotes that it is a carbohydrate. Glucose is critical in the production of proteins

and in lipid metabolism. Glucose is also used as a precursor for the synthesis of several important substances, such as starch and cellulose. Starch is a way in which plants store energy and cellulose makes up most of the structural parts of plants.
Fructose is also a monosaccharide and is a main component of most tree fruit, berries, and melons. It is the sweetest naturally occurring sugar and is twice as sweet as the disaccharide sucrose, which consists of glucose and fructose bonded together.
The disaccharide maltose is also an important sugar because enzymes break it down into two glucose molecules.


All of the above sugars are produced naturally by plants. By adding
a supplement containing these simple and complex sugars to a well-balanced nutrient, a plant will increase the levels of sugars in the leaves and throughout the plant. This will let the plant use its energy more efficiently, allowing more energy to be focused on producing large fruit and bigger blooms. These sugars will also improve the taste of the end product while giving fuel to beneficial bacteria and fungi.

Using sugar supplements with carbon-based fulvic acid and humic acid bring great benefits to your plants with no downside. Knowing this and how the plants produce and use these sugars makes using them simply great growing technique.

This article was written by Matt LeBannister for Maximum Yield
The article was in the November/December issue of Maximum yield



As i say beware of slick sales pitches, weigh your options and consider what your getting for your money and what you can get instead.

 

[snowkitty]

Thanks for all the great responses, guys. Exactly the kind of discussion I was hoping to have.

As for Sweet Leaf, I am nixing it from my nutrient schedule. I had to go through my smoke-filled little brain to figure it out, but I was using it based on advice from a friend and he'd mentioned that he'd just started using it on advice from his friend. Not really a good way to make a decision but that was before I started reading forums on my own.

Anyway, I used Sweet Leaf on all my harvests so far and we definitely did not like the taste on one of our crops...so sad...but maybe this is why we haven't loved the taste of anything we've produced so far.

I am now going to try to learn a little bit more about sugars and molasses and whatnot. Thank you for the article Dalonewolf. I agree that it is MUCH better than what AN tries to do with the snazzy half of their marketing bucks. They have the science side too but it is always buried in their website.

Donk Frog, what is this product SWEET and what combination of sugars are people using when they make their own mix?

 

[iamgrowerman]

I actually know the answer to some of this because I was trying to find out everything I could about their new product line they're coming out with. I heard about it a couple months ago - the one that you supposedly don't have to check pH or ppm on.

That'll be cool if it works as advertised.

Anyway, Bud Candy is definitely the combination of Sweet Leaf and Carboload. I guess all the people complaining about Advanced Nutrients product line being too complicated convinced them to make some changes. They're combining a bunch of their stuff it seems.

I haven't found much concrete information about what and when the changes are coming but like you said here you already can't really find Sweet Leaf anymore. They've got "Bud Factor X" that's replacing Bud Blood and maybe something else, and Rhino Skin sounds like it's going to combine Barricade and Scorpion Juice but I'm not really sure about that. That's just my guess.

I like AN so I don't get offended when they market their products. But it's definitely a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation for them. The better job they do as a business the more some people are going to hate them, and if they turn around and stop trying to do well that'll just bite them in the ass as well.

Some people you just can't win with no matter what you do. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not them, that'd suck.

 

[mauvefarmer]

BUD CANDY and CARBOload + extras mixed

I not sure why everyone bashes AN, But ive been using them for a while now and its double the size of my hydro crop. Budandy is a mix of carbo load and sweet leaf, but bud candy is'nt just for taste it gives the plant carbs (food for Beneficial bacteria and fungi) it aslo has alot of another vitamins and amino aicds that no other sweetener has. if you bought example sugardaddy and then bought and amino acid supplements and a vitamin B supplement it would be way more expensive then just to buy bud candy. AN pack all these into one awsome formula. y settle for half the goods when you can have them all?? i do admit that the bottle does like a lil flashy but its what inside that counts... right??

Aslo AN bases there nutes around cannabis, would you use tomato nutes when growing carrots or zuccini? if there is a nutrient out there made for cannabis why would you use a nutrients that for tomatoes or peppers. it does make sense. here's a link to show the non beleivers about AN.

it a new product thats going through test now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3absFPTdXuk

check it out maybe it might change a couple minds out there!

best of luck to all grows not hatin just wanna shed some light on the subject:)

Mauve

 

[darookie2000]

I got a free sample of bud candy and I'm using it now. We'll see how it goes. Rhino skin is a potassium silicate mix, I think it's just more concentrated it was 0-0-13.

 

[mauvefarmer]

BUD CANDY and CARBOload + extras mixed

I not sure why everyone bashes AN, But ive been using them for a while now and its double the size of my hydro crop. Budandy is a mix of carbo load and sweet leaf, but bud candy is'nt just for taste it gives the plant carbs (food for Beneficial bacteria and fungi) it aslo has alot of another vitamins and amino aicds that no other sweetener has. if you bought example sugardaddy and then bought and amino acid supplements and a vitamin B supplement it would be way more expensive then just to buy bud candy. AN pack all these into one awsome formula. y settle for half the goods when you can have them all?? i do admit that the bottle does like a lil flashy but its what inside that counts... right??

Aslo AN bases there nutes around cannabis, would you use tomato nutes when growing carrots or zuccini? if there is a nutrient out there made for cannabis why would you use a nutrients that for tomatoes or peppers. it does make sense. here's a link to show the non beleivers about AN.

it a new product thats going through test now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3absFPTdXuk

check it out maybe it might change a couple minds out there!

best of luck to all grows not hatin just wanna shed some light on the subject

Mauve

 

[djcronos]

I can actually comment on both carboload/sweet leaf and bud candy, as I've used the former and latter in different grow cycles. In fact, I just finished a small grow using Bud Candy. I liked the carboload and sweet leaf combination, and I too was told that the Bud Candy was its replacement.

First, I loved using both Carboload and Sweet Leaf in my grow, as I've also used Carbloload by itself, and the sweet leaf definitely makes it taste much much sweeter.

The Bud Candy makes it taste even MORE sweeter. In fact, it's very enjoyable, and I don't think I ever want to go without. The smell, the taste, even the aftertaste is great.

I can't comment too much on yield comparison using Carbload/Sweet Leaf vs. Bud Candy, as I had a few issues this cycle which make comparing it to earlier cycles almost impossible.

For $30 a litre, and using about half that litre each cycle, I think it's a fairly cheap investment and a priceless benefit, if you like sweets :)

hope this helps.

 

[bdawgburner]

I used to use sweet leaf and carbo load together at about $30 a bottle. Now I can buy one bottle for $30 and get both plus b vitamins and amino's. There will always be people who like and dislike every product out there for one reason or another. But look at results. I have seen more people pulling larger weights and nicer buds with advanced than any other line. I'm not saying that people dont get great results with other nute companys because some people do, but there is a learning curve to a lot of those nutes and advanced gives you a schedule that works. I'm using it now and my plants look wonderful. This is also my first run in hydro. The only complaint I have with them is how much there bene's cost.

 

[badness]

nice to see a little AN support!:party0022: