As someone who’s been growing his own plants, I can say that one of the most beneficial nutrients I gave my crops is sugar. I know it might sound weird; after all, sugar is deemed unhealthy for people. However, the same can’t be said for plants.
For them, sugar can act as a valuable source of nutrients and energy, thereby boosting the overall quantity and quality of your harvest. In this article, we’re going to answer the question: how often should I use molasses on my plants?
When Should I Add Molasses to My Plants?
When plants start to mature and bloom, they will need more carbohydrates than they can produce. While molasses can be beneficial for plants throughout their entire life cycle, it is best if you add it during your plants’ transition from their vegetative to the blooming stage. The reason is that it is during these stages that their sugar need is at their highest.
With the extra carbohydrates found in molasses, you can give your plants a major boost and help them produce more flowers than usual.
However, before you even grab your bottle of molasses and start pouring it on your plants, here are a few things you should know first.
What is Molasses?
Molasses is basically the by-product of sugar beets or sugar cane and is extracted from the said crops to collect a highly viscous liquid. Despite being a by-product, it is actually rich in essential vitamins and minerals. This explains why molasses can be used to provide plants with the nutrients they need as well.
Using Molasses for Gardening
Using molasses for growing plants is actually something that has been put into practice for quite some time already. Since it contains a lot of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, and lots of micronutrients, you can use them to provide your plants with a quick source of energy. Apart from that, it can also encourage the growth of microorganisms to help your plants grow.
The key minerals which make molasses healthy for people can be beneficial for plants as well. For instance, calcium and potassium play an important role during a plant’s budding and flowering stages. What makes it even better is the fact that molasses can act as a natural “chelating” agent, thereby binding nutrients so they can be absorbed by the plants.
When molasses are combined with organic fertilizers, you can create food that is used by the healthy microbes found in the
Benefits of Using Molasses on Plants
Earlier, we talked about molasses being beneficial for plants. However, how exactly is it good for them? To learn more about it, here are the benefits of molasses on plants worth noting:
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It comes with a high carbohydrate content
Due to molasses being a by-product of the sugar refining process, it is packed with carbohydrates which serve as an instant food source for healthy microbes in the
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It contains trace minerals
Another important benefit of molasses is that it contains a good amount of trace minerals which are essential for your plant’s growth. These trace minerals come in the form of calcium, iron, potassium, and sulfur which are all helpful in keeping your plants healthy.
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It can act as a chelating agent
As mentioned earlier, molasses can act as a chelating agent. This is important since some nutrients are “locked” in the
As a result, molasses will “unlock” those nutrients, making them easy to absorb for the plants.
How to Apply It to Your Plants
Now that you’ve known when you should apply molasses to your plants, the next step is to apply it. Before you do so, do keep in mind that adding molasses into your plant’s feeding cycle is most effective when you combine it with an organic fertilizer. This is because adding molasses will help make all of the fertilizer’s nutrients readily absorbable by your plants.
If you prefer a more DIY approach, you can use blackstrap molasses, particularly the unsulfured type. Once you have it, add it to your fertilizer at around 1/4 cup per gallon. Although you might have heard of some people mentioning that you should spray the solution directly on your plants, the problem is that the residue can end up attracting pests to your grow room.
You can get the most benefits of molasses in your nutrient solution if you use a
Once your plants are nearing the end of their growing cycle (particularly two to three weeks prior), stop giving them molasses and fertilizers. Instead, you should give them water to “flush” out all those unused nutrients.
If there are still leftover molasses, you can combine it with water at one cup per gallon and then pour it into your compost pile. This way, it can stimulate healthy microbes in there too.
How Often Should I Use Molasses on My Plants?
The reason you’re likely reading this article is to find out how often you should use molasses on your plants. It’s best to use a small amount on individual plants every two weeks or so. While you may be tempted to apply more often, it’s important not to do so. This is because it can even cause damage to your plants, such as causing an imbalance in the pH of the
Should You Use Molasses for Tomatoes?
Molasses can be used for many reasons, including to help your tomatoes. As well as aiding the tomatoes in growth and energy, molasses have also been known to make your tomatoes taste even sweeter too! However, it all comes down to the gardener as to whether they think molasses are suited to their tomato plants.
If you add molasses to your tomatoes, it’s important to add the molasses to water first. This creates a diluted mixture so that you don’t overwhelm your tomato plants. Once diluted, you can either choose to spray or pour it onto your plants. Use once every two weeks in the mornings, for best results.
Should I Use Unsulfured Molasses for Plants?
Yes. It is important to use unsulfured molasses for your plants. If it’s not labeled whether the molasses are sulfur or unsulfured, they are likely unsulfured. This simply means that it’s concentrated and pure sugarcane. However, if they’re sulfured, it means that sulfur dioxide has been added. Unsulfured molasses are then added to your plant directly or can be added to compost tea or liquid fertilizers.
Should You Use Organic Molasses for Plants?
You may be curious as to whether you should use organic molasses for your plants. And it’s encouraged to use organic blackstrap molasses. We’ve already established that unsulfured molasses are the best choice, and when molasses are unsulfured, they can be classed as organic. This is because they’re free from any chemicals or additives.
Does Molasses Fatten Up Buds?
You may be curious as to whether molasses can fatten up your buds. The answer is: absolutely! Much like a human eating sugary foods to help put weight on – the same could be said for your plant buds. Another reason is that it contains potassium. Potassium is known to encourage fast and healthy growth. If you’re looking for fat buds, molasses is the miracle ingredient you’re looking for!
How to Apply Molasses
Applying molasses to your plants is super easy to do. Before you begin, you should dilute your molasses, rather than directly adding it to your plants. For every gallon of water, add around one cup of molasses. Mix well and then add to a sprayer or pour onto your
Whichever method you use, you should not apply it to your plants more than once every two weeks or so. Remember, using molasses too often to feed your plants can cause damage and cause a pH imbalance in the
Conclusion: How Often Should I Use Molasses on My Plants?
Apart from giving plants a major boost, molasses is also capable of warding off pests, thereby making your garden pest-free. Based on experience, I was able to enjoy healthy plants by adding molasses to my fertilizer solution.
If you haven’t tried doing it yet, then now is the time to do so. I personally use the organic blackstrap molasses from Plantation, and so far, the results were impressive.
How about you? Have you tried applying molasses to your plants? If so, what were the results so far? Please leave a comment below. As always, thanks for reading!
FAQs
How do you apply molasses to plants?
ou use molasses as a mulch, spread it around your plants. The amount you put on the plants will depend on how much of a mulch you want. If you are using more than an inch or so, then you can spread it on top of the soil or mix it into the top inch or so of soil.
When should I start planting molasses?
Molasses is a great way to provide nutrition for your plants and is an excellent source of potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron. I started using molasses around five years ago and planted it right after I finished my first season of growing.
It worked well and I started using molasses for everything I grow. Now I'm on to my second season of growing and I'm thinking about planting molasses in my garden next year. Molasses contains a high amount of sugar so it's best used in combination with other nutrients. I've found that it can be very effective when used as a foliar spray. It can also be used as a soil drench. I've found that molasses is very effective when used in combination with kelp, fish emulsion or blood meal.
What plants benefit from molasses?
Plants that benefit from molasses include both those that have a preference for the sugar in molasses and others that grow better with it. The best known and most commonly used of these is sugar beet. Molasses is also used to feed pigs, chickens, horses and cattle. It is also used as a fuel for heating and cooking and for making soap.
Molasses is made by pressing or boiling the juice of sugar cane. It can be made from a mixture of sugar cane and sugar beet, but sugar cane is preferred because it has a higher sugar content than sugar beet.
How should I use molasses on my plants?
Molasses is a great plant food, and it has been used by gardeners for centuries. It’s been used as a feed for animals, as well as being an additive in the home for making bread and baked goods. It is rich in nutrients that are readily available to your plants, including calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, sulfur and iron.
The only downside is that molasses is sticky and can be hard to get out of your soil after application. You can apply it directly to your plants or mix it into a water-soluble fertilizer such as Fish emulsion or Liquid Fertilizer. You can also add molasses to your compost or use it as a mulch.
Does molasses lower pH?
Yes, it can. Molasses is a byproduct of the sugar industry. It’s a thick, dark brown syrup that contains about 40% sucrose. Sugar cane has been around for a long time and has been refined to make many products including molasses. Molasses is acidic, but it doesn’t seem to be as acidic as vinegar or citric acid.
Josephine is an enthusiastic gardener who loves to spend her spare time tending to her garden. She is passionate about growing her own food, and aspires to one day have her own vegetable garden. Josephine is also an animal lover and often takes in stray cats and dogs. She enjoys spending time with her pets in the garden, and is often seen playing with them or watering her plants. Josephine is an avid reader and enjoys learning about new gardening techniques and plants. She is always looking for ways to improve her garden and make it more beautiful. She is a great friend, always willing to lend a helping hand when needed. Josephine‘s passion for gardening and love of animals make her a wonderful addition to any garden.
