• So ? Am I wasting my time every time I water I put an air stone in the water and mix and let it bubble for an hour tonight is one part honey one part molasses and one part coconut powder I have done it from the start adding air am I wasteing time or not

      • as long as you don’t use dwc/rdwc yes. the bubbles won’t do anything a good stir can’t do

        • burnme420 (edited)

          Here is what I have seen and heard, just my two cents.

          The air stone is good in hydroponics, but adding oxygen will exhaust out as it gets to the surface area of the roots. I have experience in hydro lettuce as my point of reference. I have no issue, and would recommend the air stone if you are running hydro. I have also heard of adding hydrogen peroxide to the water to add oxygen and kill organics. As well, you can speed up dechlorination in tap water by breaking up the surface area, and combining it to oxygen.

          I personally wouldn’t do the honey or molasses, but I will explain rationally why. I have seen the molasses and honey thing with tomato’s as well, but I have never seen a difference, and I believe there have been many controlled studies that show both molecular content and anecdotal taste testing that showed no discernable difference, and in some cases actually saw a reduction in yield.

          Now I don’t know about cannabis, period, but youtube has a few growers saying add it, and don’t, and every other thing. HERE IS MY THOUGHT ON WHY I WOULDN’T:
          1. There is no path for sugar uptake in vegetables or flowers. They do create sugar, but if they create it, it would make more sense to get the building blocks and make your own (which is photosynthesis, or leach it, think maybe bromeliads or sun dew). If they could just steal sugars from somewhere else, there would be more life that takes that vector, but you really don’t see that plants, but you do in fungus, bacteria, and virus.
          2. It is said to promote good microbes, which okay, maybe, IF you put the good microbes there first. But there seems to be a disconnect where if you put the food out, the good guys will come, but that isn’t true at all. In fact, when you put the food out, you made a place where all, including bad, which there are many more of, to have a place to live. Or worse, what if what colonizes the root zone is just neutral, but takes up the space where the good could live. You then have to push out that colony to take it over, which means you need a baddie.

          3. They say honey is sterile, and even antibiotic, but that is only up to the point you get it wet. As soon as the sugar dissolves in a solution ( you watering your plant ), it becomes a food source for many things.

          Sorry for the TLDR.

          • @burnme420 all good I use living soil 10 gals feed recharge first 3 weeks then stash blend I use it as microbe food same way recharge dose

            • @burnme420 The sugars feed the soil microbes.

              • @GuppyGirl Yes, and every other thing that lives and eats sugars. Why not just send down what they really want, which are those ph’d nuets? I get the practice, I just don’t agree in the theory.

                • @burnme420 Well, as an experienced mead brewer, there IS such a thing as priming your microbes, and building up a healthy colony BEFORE application to help them do their job better. The end result for humans is a better taste. I wonder what it might or might not be for the plants?

            • Nothing special, just rapid rooters with clonex in a heavy duty dome. Once they root out the plug they go into 3.5″ square pots with seedling mix and I then I harden them off to what ever the grow conditions they will be moving to. If I am doing a lot I just stick to soil in 2.5″ squares and over shoot my numbers by 10-20%, depending on strain and how well it clones. I used to use a bubble cloner but did not think the couple days faster roots was the increased work.

              • I thought honey was anti infective, anti microbial, and anti fungal.

                • @ddubya04 It is, as long as it’s honey, but once you break down in water, it’s just sugar water, mostly fructose, then glucose.

                • Can’t ignore the trace elements and micronutrients in unsulphured blackstrap molasses. If the microbiology of your medium is on point they can process these and make them available to the root system. However fungus gnats love it just as much.