Using molasses outdoors, in the ground.

[Swim]

When? How? How much? Is it worth it?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Mr_GreenGenes]

Youll have all kinds of critters invading that shit man...I wouldn't fuck with it outdoors. MGG

 

[Swim]

Ah, yeah, I wasn't even thinking *facepalm* The bugs are plentiful as it is.

 

[Swim]

I've actually never used it at all, is it that great?

 

[caregiverken]

I use it outdoors. Couple tablespoons in a 5 gal bucket of water for each plant..
It's not a strong enough mix to attract critters or bugs;)

Yes! It makes a difference!
Plants love molasses:)

 

[Swim]

Hmm, cool. I am wary of anything that attracts... Anything. I hate the fuckin squirrels. I'm not crazy about asking for more ants, but they don't really hurt do they?

 

[caregiverken]

Hmm, cool. I am wary of anything that attracts... Anything. I hate the fuckin squirrels. I'm not crazy about asking for more ants, but they don't really hurt do they?

Nope, ants won't hurt your plants..But Squirrels will!
I hate those little fuckers too. My cats love em though:D

 

[Swim]

Hehe, as it should be. I've never had a cat worth a damn in that department XD

 

[Seamaiden]

We have some neighbors who have this HUGE orange long-haired cat who we call The Squirrel Killer. He gets the local tree squirrels but good!

When? How? How much? Is it worth it?

Any input is appreciated.

Yup, all the time. Other sugars, too. Good starting rate is 1T/5gals, you can work up from there, but be careful because if you use too much, you can induce a huge bacterial bloom, which in turn could fix too much N, making N unavailable to your plant until those bacteria die off, which could then in turn cause an N+. If you go easy and consistent, you'll keep bacterial populations up without fixing too much N.

Conversely, at the end of the season if you wish to cause a nice fade, give a big boost of sugars (molasses if that's how you wanna roll), which will cause the bacterial bloom, which will fix N, which will make it unavailable to the plant until they die, which will cause a beautiful late flower fade on your girls and THEN YOU CHOP 'EM!

Youll have all kinds of critters invading that shit man...I wouldn't fuck with it outdoors. MGG

No, you won't. It's fine. I have literally taken 'liquid' malted barley extract and dumped a dollop at the base of my drip emitters and just left it like that. No ants, no critters (coming for that, they come for water, though), no damage. In fact, some pretty fantastic results that got me a lot of compliments at that year's following harvest party.

 

[caregiverken]

Sea; Does the malted barley extract have sugars in it?

 

[Mr_GreenGenes]

We have some neighbors who have this HUGE orange long-haired cat who we call The Squirrel Killer. He gets the local tree squirrels but good!

Yup, all the time. Other sugars, too. Good starting rate is 1T/5gals, you can work up from there, but be careful because if you use too much, you can induce a huge bacterial bloom, which in turn could fix too much N, making N unavailable to your plant until those bacteria die off, which could then in turn cause an N+. If you go easy and consistent, you'll keep bacterial populations up without fixing too much N.

Conversely, at the end of the season if you wish to cause a nice fade, give a big boost of sugars (molasses if that's how you wanna roll), which will cause the bacterial bloom, which will fix N, which will make it unavailable to the plant until they die, which will cause a beautiful late flower fade on your girls and THEN YOU CHOP 'EM!

No, you won't. It's fine. I have literally taken 'liquid' malted barley extract and dumped a dollop at the base of my drip emitters and just left it like that. No ants, no critters (coming for that, they come for water, though), no damage. In fact, some pretty fantastic results that got me a lot of compliments at that year's following harvest party.

I think a lot of this is gonna depend on your area and style of outdoor growing. Im guessing since you're using drip emitters that you're growing outdoors in containers? When I think of outdoor growing I think of my own outdoor experiences which were always in the middle of nowhere planted directly into the ground. I've tried molasses outdoors in a guerilla grow setting and between the ants and the varmints diggin em up I learned to forego the molasses and anything that smells like fish lol.

Sea Im curious. I've always used Black Strap indoors from mid veg til 3 weeks before harvest. The reason I cut it 3 weeks before harvest is it has high levels of Mag and Mag makes for a much blacker/harsher smoke than N does IMO. What are your thoughts? Thanks. MGG

 

[Swim]

I can't imagine a couple tablespoons per 5 gal would be TOO enticing for anything that would be digging around.. I don't know though. Maybe I'll just hold off on it for now and use a little bit more towards the end.

 

[caregiverken]

cool man.

Ok now swim..Tell me, who is that girl in your avatar and is she eating a bud?

 

[buddahslave]

Dilute the molasses in hot water and it will penetrate deep into the soil leaving very little residue on the surface. Put tangle foot at the base of the tree and that will capture any unwanted bugs. Buy a shot gun for those pesky squirrels:cigar:

 

[Swim]

Good idea with the hot water, that hadn't even occurred to me. I guess it should be thoroughly dissolved that way.

Haha, she is a girl... That I don't have permission from to use the picture... She's pretending to eat it.. Hot girl on girl action.

 

[Seamaiden]

Sea; Does the malted barley extract have sugars in it?

Yes, that's what the yeastie-beasties eat. But, it also has enzymes particular to barley. ;)
Remember the MBE I'm using is leftover from Dave's brewing (another source of food/nutrients). Consider Patanjali's Seed Sprout Tea v2.0, using organic barley. I'm finishing reading an article about sprouting fodder for all sorts of animals, and the preferred seed for sprouting is...? Barley. Why? Because it's so packed with energy and nutrition.

This is but one of the reasons why I tell people they don't have to stay married to molasses. But on that note, I do have a few pounds of molasses powder, smells wonderful.

I think a lot of this is gonna depend on your area and style of outdoor growing. Im guessing since you're using drip emitters that you're growing outdoors in containers? When I think of outdoor growing I think of my own outdoor experiences which were always in the middle of nowhere planted directly into the ground. I've tried molasses outdoors in a guerilla grow setting and between the ants and the varmints diggin em up I learned to forego the molasses and anything that smells like fish lol.

Sea Im curious. I've always used Black Strap indoors from mid veg til 3 weeks before harvest. The reason I cut it 3 weeks before harvest is it has high levels of Mag and Mag makes for a much blacker/harsher smoke than N does IMO. What are your thoughts? Thanks. MGG

Yes, I do grow in raised beds and Smart Pots, there's no way I could grow guerilla with my knees and back. Tried directly in-ground and got pretty dismal growth, but didn't get ants or anything like that. What I have a bigger problem with are things like raccoons, and stuff like the fish and bone meal definitely attracts them. I killed my whole veggie garden a few months ago by top-dressing the starts I had in my greenhouse with bone meal, never once thinking about the fact that it's open, so raccoons can get it. They destroyed *everything*, so this year our veggie garden consists of 6 squash plants, 6 eggplants, 4 melons, and 3 tomatoes. So, anything that smells like animal parts except poo are terrible for raccoons, IME. I think I'm still kinda pissed about it.

I use molasses or whatever sugar I'm using at the moment up through harvest, I just reduce the amounts. UNLESS I'm looking to generate a late flower fade, that is.

 

[ttystikk]

Dilute the molasses in hot water and it will penetrate deep into the soil leaving very little residue on the surface. Put tangle foot at the base of the tree and that will capture any unwanted bugs. Buy a shot gun for those pesky squirrels:cigar:

Getting up and heat some alfalfa in the same water. Add either Cal-Mag or calcium nitrate to give some calcium for the triacontanol in your alfalfa tea to grab onto. Add your molasses to this mix- and stand back!

I suggest pellet guns for squirrels. Less noise and less chance of blowing holes in your plants- or anyone standing behind them.

 

[Seamaiden]

CaNO3 for the triacontanol to hold onto..? Are you saying that it can be extracted *if* one uses particular chemistry? Please esplain.

 

[ttystikk]

CaNO3 for the triacontanol to hold onto..? Are you saying that it can be extracted *if* one uses particular chemistry? Please esplain.

Calcium-25 is a commercially available product that gave me the idea. Apparently, triacontanol bins itself to calcium, and in fact this may be how it gets to the budding site where it can act to accelerate growth. I add calcium nitrate (soluble calcium) to my alfalfa mix and it seems to do the trick.

 

[Seamaiden]

Well, I just happen to have some Calcium-25 that I picked up earlier this year because I couldn't source the BioLink that I was using previously.