Hydroponic gardeners who wish to reap the benefits of molasses during the flowering stage should use products designed for hydroponic systems, hand-feed their plants, or be foliar-fed.
Molasses is a great source of potassium during the flowering stage. However, using it on your deposit can be difficult.
First, it will feed the bad bacteria that cause root rot and mucus.
Second, if it is not highly diluted, it can clog the pumps and drippers.
As a result, if you want to get all the benefits of using molasses without the headaches, I recommend using a product designed for hydroponic systems.
Two products that I have personally used are Liquid Carbo Load by Advanced Nutrients and Sweet by Botanicare. You can pour them directly into your reservoir without worrying about slime or clogging your system. In addition, these products are much more than molasses. They contain beneficial trace elements and are more refined than molasses, which makes the absorption of nutrients by your plants more efficient.
Another option is to use pure molasses diluted with water, but instead of putting it directly into your tank, hand feed the mixture to your plants. Your plants will get all the benefits of molasses, but you won’t have to worry about slime or a clogged system. The best option is Blackstrap molasses (unsulfurized).
Also, you can mix molasses with water and put it in a spray bottle for foliar feeding. However, combining molasses with other ingredients in a foliar feed recipe is great because of its ability to chelate nutrients for direct absorption and use by the plant.
Although molasses contains high levels of potassium, if you are trying to make up for a deficiency, a better option is seaweed.
On a side note, if you are foliar feeding your plants, be sure to turn off the HID lights during feeding. If you don’t, you run the risk of a drop of water acting like a magnifying glass and causing your plants to burn.
People have known for years that molasses and other sugars are great for plants. The fact that you are growing hydroponically instead of soil does not have to be lost. Buy sugar-containing products made for hydroponic systems, or consider hand watering or foliar feeding pure molasses.
