Can molasses be used instead of cal/mag?

C

cheese111

New Member
Hi guys, just starting my 1st grow and I am wondering if you can use molasses/treacle instead of cal/mag? I am on a very low budget and there are no grow shops near me. Molasses seems to contain high amounts of calcium and magnesium, therefore if used with tomato feed for nutes would this be ok? My medium is going to consist of multi purpose compost with a good helping of perlite. I am going to try to grow moby dick from sensai seeds. Any feedback on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
 
I wouldn't sub Molassess for Cal/Mg. I wouldn't recommend using Molassess at all actually, Cannabis is sooo sensitive in its flowering stage that its enviroment really shapes the final product meaning if you use harsh tasting and smelling items it will have adverse effects on the outcome most the time. In the case of Molasses this is true, it really ruins the flavor and sometimes aroma as well.
Instead, for Cal/Mg use crushed up egg shells and sprinkle on the top layer of your soil. Egg shells are very high in calcium as well as magnesium, it will do the trick.
 
If you ever have any more questions or concerns feel free to give me a shout or PM me. :peace:

And welcome to :420: BTW, your in the best place for Cannabis awarness and facts.
 
there might be enough in your tap water if you check the ppm , compost and perlite might be a lower ph too its not soil , so you might want to check if you need to lower the ph watering and feeding to 5.8 ( id look it up see reviews on that 2 way mix )
building a soil can work out pretty cheap , you end up with a load of left over stock once you buy the first lot , the first price is the highest getting the ingredients , then you have it for other grows
 
kraw420 said:
I wouldn't sub Molassess for Cal/Mg. I wouldn't recommend using Molassess at all actually, Cannabis is sooo sensitive in its flowering stage that its enviroment really shapes the final product meaning if you use harsh tasting and smelling items it will have adverse effects on the outcome most the time. In the case of Molasses this is true, it really ruins the flavor and sometimes aroma as well.
Instead, for Cal/Mg use crushed up egg shells and sprinkle on the top layer of your soil. Egg shells are very high in calcium as well as magnesium, it will do the trick.
Click to expand...


crushed egg shells take longer than the grow to break down to the point the plant would use it.

there is a process you can use to break the shells down to a feed for the plant. requires frying the dry egg shells and a few other things. i think @Emilya has a tutorial.

molasses is used to feed microbes in the soil, which then feed the plant, it does not feed the plant directly. the microbes break down other elements to make them available to the plant. it does not work well in media other than soil based. the cal mag in molasses is negligible until broken down, but will work in soil. humans process it faster than plants. you need unsulphured black strap molasses. the stuff with sulphur is no good.
 
bluter said:
crushed egg shells take longer than the grow to break down to the point the plant would use it.

there is a process you can use to break the shells down to a feed for the plant. requires frying the dry egg shells and a few other things. i think @Emilya has a tutorial.

molasses is used to feed microbes in the soil, which then feed the plant, it does not feed the plant directly. the microbes break down other elements to make them available to the plant. it does not work well in media other than soil based. the cal mag in molasses is negligible until broken down, but will work in soil. humans process it faster than plants. you need unsulphured black strap molasses. the stuff with sulphur is no good.
Click to expand...

Emmie's DIY CalMagPhos+ From Eggshells

This is an awesome product to use during the changeover period from growing to flowering/fruiting on all of your plants. For most of us, by using molasses we are able to get the magnesium that our plants need, but for our calcium needs, most of us have to fall back on a commercial product, and...
www.420magazine.com

Actually, my recipe uses a lot of molasses in the end, to stop the fermentation and feed the microbes that are in there, and to add a good bit of magnesium to the mix. The eggshells provide the Ca and the P, the molasses provides Mg and a bit of Iron , Potassium and Sulfur. The Apple Cider Vinegar that I recommend using for the fermentation also brings in a bunch of good vitamins, amino acids and such... and it's use really completes the package into a very useful supplement for our gardens.

Crushed eggshells take about 4 months to break down into these base components by just adding them to the soil. All an active grow will be able to get out of crushed eggshells is a bit of Calcium that is water soluble... the rest stays locked inside the eggshell pieces until it breaks down.
 
Emilya said:

Emmie's DIY CalMagPhos+ From Eggshells

This is an awesome product to use during the changeover period from growing to flowering/fruiting on all of your plants. For most of us, by using molasses we are able to get the magnesium that our plants need, but for our calcium needs, most of us have to fall back on a commercial product, and...
www.420magazine.com

Actually, my recipe uses a lot of molasses in the end, to stop the fermentation and feed the microbes that are in there, and to add a good bit of magnesium to the mix. The eggshells provide the Ca and the P, the molasses provides Mg and a bit of Iron , Potassium and Sulfur. The Apple Cider Vinegar that I recommend using for the fermentation also brings in a bunch of good vitamins, amino acids and such... and it's use really completes the package into a very useful supplement for our gardens.

Crushed eggshells take about 4 months to break down into these base components by just adding them to the soil. All an active grow will be able to get out of crushed eggshells is a bit of Calcium that is water soluble... the rest stays locked inside the eggshell pieces until it breaks down.
Click to expand...

thanks em.

my mom fries the shells and uses a little normal vinegar for the house plants. your recipe is much more complete. my mom doesn't make anything now that she has piles of run off mc nutes. she culled or gave away most of the houseplants this summer to start over. the place was looking like a mutual of omaha jungle doc. :p
 
Emilya said:

Emmie's DIY CalMagPhos+ From Eggshells

This is an awesome product to use during the changeover period from growing to flowering/fruiting on all of your plants. For most of us, by using molasses we are able to get the magnesium that our plants need, but for our calcium needs, most of us have to fall back on a commercial product, and...
www.420magazine.com

Actually, my recipe uses a lot of molasses in the end, to stop the fermentation and feed the microbes that are in there, and to add a good bit of magnesium to the mix. The eggshells provide the Ca and the P, the molasses provides Mg and a bit of Iron , Potassium and Sulfur. The Apple Cider Vinegar that I recommend using for the fermentation also brings in a bunch of good vitamins, amino acids and such... and it's use really completes the package into a very useful supplement for our gardens.

Crushed eggshells take about 4 months to break down into these base components by just adding them to the soil. All an active grow will be able to get out of crushed eggshells is a bit of Calcium that is water soluble... the rest stays locked inside the eggshell pieces until it breaks down.
Click to expand...

ive run in to a few old school growers that swear by molasses thanks For this explanation! :thanks:
 
bluter said:
crushed egg shells take longer than the grow to break down to the point the plant would use it.

there is a process you can use to break the shells down to a feed for the plant. requires frying the dry egg shells and a few other things. i think @Emilya has a tutorial.

molasses is used to feed microbes in the soil, which then feed the plant, it does not feed the plant directly. the microbes break down other elements to make them available to the plant. it does not work well in media other than soil based. the cal mag in molasses is negligible until broken down, but will work in soil. humans process it faster than plants. you need unsulphured black strap molasses. the stuff with sulphur is no good.
Click to expand...
I sure am glad you said that because I've been using unsulfurated black strap molasses for a long time and Yes it's mainly for feeding the microbes So they can break down the actual food for the plant but it does have 30 mg of calcium 0.07 mg of iron and 10 mg of magnesium and 30 mg of calcium and potash 200 milligrams of that.. I've never heard anything but good things about Black strap molasses except for today when I came here and read where somebody said it destroys a flavor of your smoke I've never had that happen so I don't know what they're talking about or where they got that info? Although I did read somewhere that cal/mag is Chemically based, and unnatural substance ?but now I have to reconfirm that after I leave here .
so don't quote me on that please I haven't tried it myself but burn eggshells I hear is very good for calcium I didn't know there is magnesium in them as well I also don't know what the breakdown time is on those eggshells burning them is a secret I understand to release That's something else I'm going to have to check on magnesium in eggshells?, I use food grade if I can get it Epsom salt because I use RO water which filters out all the magnesium and coco core mixed with Happy frog soil but I add extra bat guano and worm castings soil but Coco core does not release magnesium or calcium easily so you have to put extra and when you have your pH below a six point five your plant can't even absorb due to lockout the magnesium or calcium no matter how much you give it won't be absorbed up by your plants.. Thank you peeps have a nice day ..
((hopefully I got all the typos))
Enjoy what you can and forget about the rest 😎👍
 
Just a quick explanation... the burned eggshells in my recipe provides calcium and a bit of phosphorus, and then to stabilize the mixture a good amount of blackstrap molasses is added, adding the magnesium and other trace elements.
 
cheese111 said:
Hi guys, just starting my 1st grow and I am wondering if you can use molasses/treacle instead of cal/mag? I am on a very low budget and there are no grow shops near me. Molasses seems to contain high amounts of calcium and magnesium, therefore if used with tomato feed for nutes would this be ok? My medium is going to consist of multi purpose compost with a good helping of perlite. I am going to try to grow moby dick from sensai seeds. Any feedback on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
If youre strapped for cash, look knto living soil. No calmag needed. No bottled nutes. But yes, unsulfered molasses will give your plants some calcium/magnesium. A better soirce if youre gonna run nitrients, would be epsom salts, for tour magnesium. Molasses, feeds the microbes, not the plant directly. So for the advkce of it being bad....ignore that. Just a "bloop" mixed into warm water has its benefits. For serious though, living organics will save you money.
 
kraw420 said:
I wouldn't sub Molassess for Cal/Mg. I wouldn't recommend using Molassess at all actually, Cannabis is sooo sensitive in its flowering stage that its enviroment really shapes the final product meaning if you use harsh tasting and smelling items it will have adverse effects on the outcome most the time. In the case of Molasses this is true, it really ruins the flavor and sometimes aroma as well.
Instead, for Cal/Mg use crushed up egg shells and sprinkle on the top layer of your soil. Egg shells are very high in calcium as well as magnesium, it will do the trick.
Click to expand...
 
I'm really curious on where you're getting your information on black strap unsulfurated molasses I know this is from 2014 you might not have the same opinion anymore but still I have never read anything about what you're saying when it comes to sulfurated blackstrap molasses actually quite the opposite.. And I have never had my buds flavors for aromas changed by it or destroyed by it .. on a YouTube site called 420 scene there's a video called
(((the truth about blackstrap molasses) he explains it pretty good actually
 

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