Help With Sweeteners

[Disco Duck]

With my third grow ending, and being out of almost all nute products, I've spent a lot of time deciding what to use (and buy) this time around. I've wound up essentially going with the "beginning" of the GH schedule I've been using, while replacing most of the "end" of their schedule. It's just work out that way. Anyway, I have it all worked out now, except for the sweetener. I don't like the artificial taste of GH's FloraNectar.

So my initial instinct after looking into the other sweetener's is Botaicare's Sweet Raw, since it provides all the sugars with apparently not giving any artificial taste. But in all my reading I don't people talking about actually using Botanicare's Sweet products... everyone seems to use Bud Candy or their own molasses conconction.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for a good sweetener to use that doesn't impart an artificial taste like FloraNectar does? I'm torn between Sweet Raw and Bud Candy but open to things I haven't heard of. This is the last decision I need to make to know what to buy. I am going to be using...

GH 3-Part
GH Diamond Nectar
GH Floralicious Grow
GH Floralicious Bloom
GH Florablend
*** Unknown Sweetener ***
AN Hammerhead
MOAB

Botanicare CalMag Plus
Pro-Tekt Silica
H&G DripClean
DM Zone Gold

Evergreen 60-6 (pre-emptive root aphid destruction)

Just need to figure out which sweetener to use, kind-of leaning toward trying Botanicare Sweet Raw just because it seems to be exactly what I want... but everyone seems to use Bud Candy, is Bud Candy just so good there is no reason to use anything else?

 

[altitudefarmer]

I won't knock Bud Candy, except I'm not fond of Advanced. Overpriced.
I have discovered Humboldt Honey, and it has replaced raw molasses in some of my grows. Check it out- lots of good stuff in there.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

feedlot 18 bucks 5 gal for molasses , dextrose and maltose are cheap. Why pay so much for someone to bottle it for you. JK

 

[mrbong73]

^^^what he said.
Agave nectar is another option readily available.

 

[DMTx6]

Does bat gauno help at all with flavor ?

 

[Disco Duck]

Does bat gauno help at all with flavor ?

Sounds very dirty:-)

Part of choosing replacements for some of GH's lineup is keeping my nice, new, clean "Kool Aid" solution intact.

No more Subculture (man, that cost a lot, anyone in CO want to by new Sub B & M really cheap? Have a huge bag of dry KoolBloom, too. Only a few tsps of each used...), or GH CalMag, or anything else that makes the water "dirty". I've learned to like having something that looks like Kool Aid in the res:-)

Botanicare's CalMag is so nice, GH's is like filled with black dust or something...

Which reminds me... Does anyone know if Botanicare Sweet Raw or Bud Candy are "dirty"? That would make it an easy choice... going to look into that Humbolt Honey, too.

 

[Disco Duck]

After looking into it for a few more hours I decided on Botanicare Sweet Raw, and Botanicare Silica Blast.

So I will have a franken-mix of GH, Botanicare, H&G, AN, and DM stuff that together I think is going to be awesome compared to just the GH line that I started with. And it will make a nice, clean Kool Aid.

 

[desertsquirrel]

basically just GH...



What is your media?

Why do you want a "sweetener" ?

 

[Disco Duck]

basically just GH...



What is your media?

Why do you want a "sweetener" ?

I use a Rainforest which is RDWC with an aeroponic mist above the waterline. The plants are in rockwool, surrounded by Hydroton in 6" pots. I only grow them to be 20-24" tall.

Most people seem to at least use mollases, I assumed it's something you want to have. I am still new to growing. My first 3 grows I have been using GH's lineup, but have learned I don't like some parts of it (like their flavored FloraNectar sweetener that gives an artificial taste). I am out of pretty much everything and just started the flush of my current grow tonight.

Since I have to re-buy everything anyway, I am modifying the GH schedule (the only feeding schedule I know) by replacing the products I haven't been happy with so far. It started with discovering that Botanicare CalMag is a lot better than GH CalMag (GH is dirty). Then I decided to try the Hammerhead/MOAB combo everyone raves about, since few have anything good to say about KoolBloom and my buds are a little "fluffy". Then I started comparing all of GH's lineup to other company's products to see if I wanted to try something else.

I realized that the beginning of GH's lineup seems very solid (3-Part, Diamond Nectar, Floralicious, FloraBlend). So I am sticking with that as the foundation since it's what I know and seems solid. I've also dumped GH's "root health" products, which suck, in favor of just DM Zone Gold which works awesome and is a whole lot easier. I'm going to run H&G DripClean and Botanicare Silica Blast this time too, I haven't been using silica and I like the idea of DripClean in the res at all times (sometimes it seems like my plants "get stuck" and salts building up may be the issue).

So I am down to just figuring out what to replace FloraNectar with because I don't like the taste it leaves. You can taste it and I'd rather just taste the weed. So I have kind of settled on Botanicare Sweet Raw, since it seems to be exactly what I am looking for. Do you have a suggestion for a sweetener, or anything else? I'm always looking for advice from people who actually know what they are doing.

I'm not to concerned with the price of nutes, my res only uses 10-12 gallons of water so I don't really go through a lot of nutes. More concerned with just growing good weed:-)

 

[600gph]

.....

 

[freegrow]

I use a Rainforest which is RDWC with an aeroponic mist above the waterline. The plants are in rockwool, surrounded by Hydroton in 6" pots. I only grow them to be 20-24" tall.

Most people seem to at least use mollases, I assumed it's something you want to have. I am still new to growing. My first 3 grows I have been using GH's lineup, but have learned I don't like some parts of it (like their flavored FloraNectar sweetener that gives an artificial taste). I am out of pretty much everything and just started the flush of my current grow tonight.

Since I have to re-buy everything anyway, I am modifying the GH schedule (the only feeding schedule I know) by replacing the products I haven't been happy with so far. It started with discovering that Botanicare CalMag is a lot better than GH CalMag (GH is dirty). Then I decided to try the Hammerhead/MOAB combo everyone raves about, since few have anything good to say about KoolBloom and my buds are a little "fluffy". Then I started comparing all of GH's lineup to other company's products to see if I wanted to try something else.

I realized that the beginning of GH's lineup seems very solid (3-Part, Diamond Nectar, Floralicious, FloraBlend). So I am sticking with that as the foundation since it's what I know and seems solid. I've also dumped GH's "root health" products, which suck, in favor of just DM Zone Gold which works awesome and is a whole lot easier. I'm going to run H&G DripClean and Botanicare Silica Blast this time too, I haven't been using silica and I like the idea of DripClean in the res at all times (sometimes it seems like my plants "get stuck" and salts building up may be the issue).

So I am down to just figuring out what to replace FloraNectar with because I don't like the taste it leaves. You can taste it and I'd rather just taste the weed. So I have kind of settled on Botanicare Sweet Raw, since it seems to be exactly what I am looking for. Do you have a suggestion for a sweetener, or anything else? I'm always looking for advice from people who actually know what they are doing.

I'm not to concerned with the price of nutes, my res only uses 10-12 gallons of water so I don't really go through a lot of nutes. More concerned with just growing good weed:-)

in dwc sweeteners are a mute point plants dont take in sugar they give it to bacteria when you add carbs its to feed microbes not the plant most hydro is all chemical nutes which kill off microbes but anyway carbs arnt for the plants its for the microbes+ fungus in soil or coco etc. hope htis helped (didnt want to burst your bubble........sorry:hi

 

[Disco Duck]

in dwc sweeteners are a mute point plants dont take in sugar they give it to bacteria when you add carbs its to feed microbes not the plant most hydro is all chemical nutes which kill off microbes but anyway carbs arnt for the plants its for the microbes+ fungus in soil or coco etc. hope htis helped (didnt want to burst your bubble........sorry:hi

FloraNectar is definately giving everything I grow the same artificial taste. It has to be affecting the plant, you can taste it.

I'd be thrilled if you were right, one less thing to buy, but you can taste the FloraNectar.

 

[Growster]

in dwc sweeteners are a mute point plants dont take in sugar they give it to bacteria when you add carbs its to feed microbes not the plant most hydro is all chemical nutes which kill off microbes but anyway carbs arnt for the plants its for the microbes+ fungus in soil or coco etc. hope htis helped (didnt want to burst your bubble........sorry:hi

I concur.

 

[sky high]

Diamond Nectar is 99.99999999999999% water.... so how it imparts taste would be beyond me.

I can piss more fulvic than is in that rip-off product.

third concurrance. Sweetners aren't to sweeten bud they are to feed organism in the soil.

 

[freegrow]

check this out

http://www.biobased.us/tech1.html

I use to think the same thing sometimes....... like with a placebo our brain tells us its this way when it really isnt .....not to say that you dont know what your talking about if you google osmoses or some sientific papers on the matter you will see
plants make all the sucrose they need ( this is not to say plants wont take in sugar they will but they have to be sick to do so brix levels are to low in plant in order for plant to take in sucrose......check it out for yourself happy grow

this alos will help
http://www.mrgrow.com/content/physio.htm

 

[Shady Acres]

"More concerned with just growing good weed:-)"


than i highly suggest not using nutrients with heavy metals, urea, and other shit in there as the GH does

 

[kolah]

rookie question here.

why do folks want to alter the natural taste of a weed strain by doctoring it up with sweeteners? If I bought some weed I'd like to know what was used....hopefully not aspartame, piss or some other crappass artficial stuff and harsh chems.

I do not even understand why folks use molasses. Does it really make such a difference? and is it done just for "taste?" And could it also mask over other shit product nutrients which would enable a grower to avoid flushing?

 

[freegrow]

rookie question here.

I do not even understand why folks use molasses. Does it really make such a difference? and is it done just for "taste?" And could it also mask over other shit product nutrients which would enable a grower to avoid flushing?

the molasses is for the microbes and its a good p ,mag source for plants and the microbes feed on the sugar and "do it "and make more little bacteria who eat more sugar and make more lit.....well you get it lol

just because a plant has an compound in it it does not mean they eat it its kind of a soil and coco thing that the un knowing think they need in hydro just read up on plant science its all their

we have blood inside us but we ...."well most of us" dont eat it lol
we eat the things to make it our blood is made in our bone marrow we
"most of us" make all the blood we need in a healthy non-injured body

 

[Disco Duck]

Well, that's good news then. I have just been wasting money on some of these addatives then. If you look earlier in the thread I listed what I had planned on using next grow. I am out of almost everything and need to re-buy it all anyway, so I am trying to come up with a better formula. I am pretty new at this, and would appreciate help in coming up with a better nute schedule than just using GH.

So...

I don't need any sweetener at all. No Bud Candy, or FloraNector, etc.

If Diamond Nector isn't very good, what if anything should I use in it's place?

So, starting over from scratch, if I remove all the addatives from my list I wind up with...

GH 3-Part
AN Hammerhead
MOAB
Botanicare CalMag+
DM Zone Gold
Evergreen 60-6 (for pre-emptive root aphid destruction)

Should I use Aquaflakes instead of GH 3-part? I've heard a lot of good things but like the control you have with 3-part.

Should I use Silica, like Bot's Silica Blast? Are there any addatives that I should be using, or just base nutes, bud boosters, and whatever it takes to have healthy roots (still working on that, thinking of adding H202 this time).

I'd like to use as few products as possible, and grow the best weed I can. I know there is endless debate on nute schedules, but I am a newb who just needs an effective one, not a mythical "best" one. I've been working on this for weeks but I don't really know what all these addatives do. I've just been basing it on GH's schedule I've been using and the parts of it that don't seem to be working well.

Oh, with my system I don't want anything "dirty" in the res. Like GH's CalMag is "dirty", like there is black dust in it or something. The Rainforest likes "Kool Aid", sludge is bad.

 

[freegrow]

seen this

have you seen this ?

http://lucasformula.com/

works its what I use
the micro has enough cal/mag it I never had a deff. (well the start of one ) gave her some epsom salt at 1/2tsp per gallon and gone
I use
but im in coco not hydro
gh micro
gh bloom
florilishious grow +bloom +plus
liquid kool bloom
and kool bloom
silica blast
superthrive for stress in trans plant
tee hee now dont laugh or get mad
molasses but have microbes in coco it does not change taste
but I did a test last grow and kept a control (no molasses)
and compaired the rhizosphere "roots" the control had a much smaller root ball

but yes silica is a must
what kind of system are you running?
any kind of hydro need cool res temps 68 degrees
if your having brown roots its probly res temp h202 will help if you fix the res temp