Mushroom compost, and adding sugar in flower

[SweetIslandFunk]

Howdy,
I recently picked up the growers bible and its saying that mushroom compost is a great growing med that produces primo results. So naturally I want to give it a run. My question is how well does it absorb and drain and what else what do you all recommend for this, should use it whole or mix it with soil and perlite, etc..

Also, the bible is saying that adding sugar in the last 6 weeks yielded 20% more, what are your thoughts on this?
have you used it? on what kind of schedule? and how much? what kind of sugar?!?

Thanks

 

[SRHninja]

IDK i have heard crazy things from watering a plant with sugard water, to injecting watered down white corn syrup in the stem with a hypodermic needle...

NOW sounds stupid but if you think "Botany" all the plant is doing is Producing, storing and Using Sugars.. if you add sugar & it takes it in then the plant skips the producing of the sugar part and jus stores it or breaks it down?

None of this is fact this is just the only way i see sugar being involved or useful.. something to think about

 

[SweetIslandFunk]

I am no botanist but if the plant is already producing sugars and concentrated sugars are readily available could it be possible that the plant takes in the sugar, lets say you put molasses in the soil, then the plant has a higher need for sugars so it produces more though out life? perhaps causing it to be a heavy eater, and just a overall larger plant?

 

[SRHninja]

You know from what i believe to have read lol! (im never 100%) Trichomes are jus sugars when they break down the THC become psychoactive... so by making sugard more readily available could it also increase the resin or trichome production??? we need a expert in here who knows a thing or two.

(i first heard about injecting watered down corn syrup in a vege garden forum Made tomatoes more luscious and sweeter in taste... and increasing the aroma of the tomato itself...

 

[chrometrichs]

There is a reason pretty much every hydroponic nutrient line has a synthetic carbohydrate additive. There is a wealth of information on the farm regarding sugar and carbohydrates, I won't pretend to have absorbed enough to be able to regurgitate it, but I highly recommend you read up on the topic. This site has way more information than the growers bible, I wouldn't cling too hard to anything you read in that book.

When choosing a medium you need to ask yourself what kind of system do I want to run, which is usually answered by how much money you want to invest and how much experience you have growing plants. Obviously hydroponics systems will be much harder to run and more expensive to set up than a soil garden. The are many factors to consider when choosing the medium for either; cost, disposal, reusability, forgivability are a few. I recommend reading some of the diaries here to give yourself the best possible insight to what will work for you, in your space, with your budget.

 

[Herbiraptor]

check out the site for some good soil recipes and using molasses ( a form of sugar) during flowering

 

[Chemotype]

There is good info in the medical grow bible but, there is a lot of questionable info too. I am a plant science major and after a little research, here is what I found.

Moist Soil
The main effect of sugar water is that the soil around the plant stays moist. This is because osmosis is unbalanced by the presence of sugar.
Microorganism Growth
Another effect is that sugar being present in the soil may stimulate the production of microorganisms around the roots of the plant. This can be beneficial to the plant, but often is not because the microorganisms will no longer rely on the plant roots for sugar and will lose the symbiotic relationship to the plant.
Food
Plants generate sugar through photosynthesis by absorbing water, carbon dioxide and light. If the plant is absorbing sugar along with water, it may negatively affect the plant's ability to keep making its own food causing yellowing of the plant and stunted growth.
Variation
Different plants react differently to sugar. A very small amount of sugar can sometimes be beneficial, but there is very little evidence to support this.
Care
To keep your plants safe and healthy, the best advice is to give them plenty of water and light, as well as a high-nutrient diet including all 17 essential nutrients and rich, well draining soil.

Mushroom compost is an iffy area. Research it and see what you think.

 

[Donk Frog]

I use ethier dark unrefined suger or black strap mollassas in every grow really depends on the medium, dirt, soilless, hydro
And yes adding suger can add to yeild, since I started adding this to my garden I did notice a marked differance

 

[SweetIslandFunk]

I use ethier dark unrefined suger or black strap mollassas in every grow really depends on the medium, dirt, soilless, hydro
And yes adding suger can add to yeild, since I started adding this to my garden I did notice a marked differance

what method did you use for adding it?
refined or in the soil?
how much? how often? if i just added for flower
thanks

 

[greenthumbbumb]

First off mushroom compost is very dense and heavy, no drainage, its like a bad of blakc kow or any other compost.
Sugar is ok but Molasses is great, it feeds microorganisms so if your in organic soil you should feed with it every other watering about 1tbs per gallon. I believe you want the extra sugars/carbs so the plant has access to them had doesn't have to use up its own.

 

[sunsimulator]

Mushroom compost ,, is something you amend the soil with , worm shit is also. Not to be used as a medium .

Sugars ,,, this means carbohydrates , can be in form of almost any sugar, But mainly we use a molasses.

plants make their own ,, lactose, and glucose , and a few other sugars , And it is very important in how we use these carbs with our plants .

if your growing in a " dirt "type like real soil,, peat moss,
i would go with the peat moss, pro mix is great sunshine mix is also , then i would " bottle feed" the plants ,, their only gonna get what u give them ,, you are in full control of it's food source. there are great 1 part nutrients on the market , I use Floranova grow and bloom , with additives , i add in ,, liquid karma, cal mag , sweet or sweet leaf ( carbs ) sensizyme, i add these additives at different amount at different times,
But for the most part , it can be a complete food,
If your room is good and u have few 1000 watts blasting off ,, u may need additives to help with the growth rate , But if u got a small room it can be a complete source. Additives are great to use under any type of room, But most time there for growers that BLAST room with HIGH POWER ,, and the plants grow like vines ,, they eat up any and everything in their way, And additives help out with this type of grow .
Alway remember LESS IS MORE!

 

[SweetIslandFunk]

First off mushroom compost is very dense and heavy, no drainage, its like a bad of blakc kow or any other compost.
Sugar is ok but Molasses is great, it feeds microorganisms so if your in organic soil you should feed with it every other watering about 1tbs per gallon. I believe you want the extra sugars/carbs so the plant has access to them had doesn't have to use up its own.

I havent gotten any molasses yet but i tried mixing a tablespoon in with a dilute mixture for one of my clones, poster child, i have three and used the sugar on one and i believe i am seeing results, the roots in the one with sugar are expanding in their little cup like no other, the sugar also seems to effect the soil as well, it absorbs quicker then the other clones, and the plant seems to be a heavier eater then the others. If these results continue i will put all of the others under this feed as well. ill keep you posted

 

[SRHninja]

I did a home experiment when i was 17 with Alvera plant that was burning severly bad at the tips.. i took corn syrup and diluted it with water enough to fill a hypodermic needle..

So i shot the plant up all over, the Alvera only had two "leafs" coming from the ground and like i said the tips were burning or rotting.. they were drying, browning and curling falling off... scabby i guess..

well i shot the Alvera up to the point the leaf tissue bubbled from being full of corn syrup and water..

Over the next 3 days 3 new leafs popped up to the size of the other two! and the other two fully recovered and had grown! i could see changes over night...

I got this information when i was 15 (im in my mid 20's) off of overgrow (i been apart of cultivation boards in the background for some time now) and they were shooting up the stem of bud plants and getting results.. i just tried it on a house plant as a experiment and sure enough......

 

[mrpurplestuff]

well i use sugars in my organics, all types but mostly molasses as the first half at one tbs per gal and another tbs of secret sugars that i blend tailored to veg/flower/flush

 

[Dubwobble]

The overall health of a plant can be determined by doing a Brix level reading.
Brix level is the measure of sugar in a plants tissues.

The best sugar to use is sucanat, available cheap at health food stores. I've used 1 tbl. per gallon.

Blackstrap molasses works well too, but needs to be mixed really well with the water (mix it up in a cup of warm warm water first before addding it to the tank).

Products like Sweet and Pineapple Rush work well too, they are a mixture of many types of sugars (along with some other stuff like magnesium and sulfur).

All sugars seem to make the tastes and smells more intense, as well as helping make the buds stickier and hold together better when dried (as opposed to breaking apart into smaller pieces).

*Be careful when adding sugars if you have pets or ant problems. Pets may want to drink the water and ants may be attracted to the soil.

 

[SweetIslandFunk]

Ive got a plant im about to flush before harvest. Im going to add some sugar to the flush water as an experiment before a full naked flush.

Ive got a mystery strain that im growing right now.
well i know the name but the rest is a mystery. what is a good way to tell if its time to flush before harvest. Im looking at the trichomes and if they have the full round head on top is it safe to start the flush or should it be sooner?
thanks.

 

[dican01]

i used to use sweet by botanicare, and then i started using sucanat a couple of years ago. sucanat is organic dehydrated cane juice. you can use any sugar. the darker the better. i have heard of using kool aid with good results. seems that plants like sugar as much as we do. plants are taking in the sugars are carbohydrates. lots of products are sold by many different companys that are pretty much just sugar water.
you can buy sucanat at most health food stores. i use 1 heaping tsp to 1 TBSP of sucanat per gallon of water. you must dissolve the sugar in a little bit of hot water first. i have had great results and use it with every grow. i use it in the vegetative and flowering phase, all the way up to two weeks before harvest.
sucanat tastes much better than molasses also. have you tasted molasses? yuck. i am going to try using grade b maple syrup in the future.