Have you heard of cannabis growers using molasses to grow bigger buds? Using molasses or other sugars is a popular cannabis growing technique due to the low cost and ease of use. As a matter of fact, farmers use molasses to help many different crops grow better.

The plant specific benefits of using molasses to grow cannabis include increased carbon dioxide for plant consumption, prevention of salt buildup and nutrient lockout, reduction of insects, and ultimately 10% to 20% bigger cannabis buds.

I’ve been using molasses in my grows for a while, and I can tell you the results are noticeable compared to the grows where I didn’t use it.

What Does Molasses Do For Cannabis Plants?

Feeds soil microbes:

Molasses helps your cannabis plants grow bigger buds by enriching the soil and improving the growing environment. The soil breaks the sugar down to carbohydrates which feed beneficial microbes in the soil.

The soil microbes then produce CO2 that’s used by your plants to grow larger. This is how I use molasses with my plants.

We know plants grow better when there’s a rich colony of beneficial bacteria, known as rhizobacteria, in the soil.

One study conducted at Colorado State University found that Mammoth P (a soil bacteria additive) led to larger, more robust [cannabis] plants that yielded 16.5% more product.

Back to molasses, it’s the food for those beneficial soil bacteria that I just described. So I recommend using molasses in combination with rhizobacteria or living soil. Luckily, all rhizobacteria doesn’t cost as much as Mammoth P.

Where To Buy The Right Type Of Molasses

You can buy molasses and rhizobacteria for next to nothing. Many growers also like Real Growers Recharge as an alternative rhizobacteria for cannabis growth.

If you’re growing in a non-soil medium, you can still use molasses but you’ll definitely need the rhizobacteria as it won’t be naturally present in non-soil growing mediums.

Only Use Unsulphured Molasses On Cannabis Plants

The whole purpose of molasses is to feed your soil microbes, meaning it’s critically important that you only use unsulphured molasses. Sulphur dioxide, the ingredient in “sulphured” molasses, kills off microbes, and therefore you wouldn’t want it in your soil.

Molasses As Organic Insecticide For Cannabis Plants:

You can also use molasses as an organic insecticide. Many insects can’t process sugar, and die when they ingest it. The mixture that I’ll describe how to make below, can be watered into the soil or sprayed on the leaves.

Warning: Don’t run your grow light while plant leaves are wet, this can cause your plants to get burned.

Provides A Source Of Micronutrients:

The sulfur and iron present in the molasses are beneficial to plant growth. Both sulfur and iron aid in the production of chlorophyll. Iron also helps with the proper functioning of enzymes.

Improves Soil Structure:

Molasses will help the soils water holding capacity. While this can be good, you won’t want too much water buildup in the soil which is why it’s important to only use the recommended 1 to 4 tablespoons of molasses per gallon of water.

Reduces risk of salt buildup A.K.A. nutrient lockout:

Using chemical nutrients can result in salt accumulation in your soil. If that goes unchecked, the soil pH can get thrown off and your cannabis plant can experience nutrient lockup.

Does Molasses Make Cannabis Buds Taste Sweeter?

The molasses itself never gets absorbed into the cannabis plant, it only acts as a booster to the soil as I described earlier. For this reason, it’s hard to logically conclude that the sweetness from the molasses actually makes cannabis buds taste sweeter.

While I never really noticed a taste difference, we know peoples taste vary widely, so its possible some growers may think it affects taste. After all, that’s how this rumor started. I’m only saying there’s no hard evidence for it yet.

A grower in an old thread about molasses on GrassCity said this about their experience:

Ever since I found out about molasses and tried it I have no regrets! I am on my second grow with bagseed and I have to say that it made a HUGE difference! I too was skeptical about it at first, but after experimenting with it in my second grow I am convinced that molasses is the way to go. Much bigger buds, alot sweeter/fruitier Smell and tastes delicious. And it’s true, Very sticky sticky and the buds become very heavy. Just stating my personal opinion and experience!

Only one way to find out – give it a try and see for yourself!

What Stage of Cannabis Plant Growth Do You Use Molasses?

You can feed molasses infused water to your cannabis plants during any phase of plant growth, but it’s most beneficial during the flowering phase.

If you’re growing with soil microbes, you should use molasses during all phases of plant growth to feed the microbes. If you’re not using soil microbes, molasses won’t benefit the cannabis plant during the vegetative phase, so you should only use it during the flowering phase.

Keep reading below to find out how much molasses to use during the each phase of plant growth.

How Much Molasses To Use For Growing Cannabis:

How Much Molasses Should You Use During The Vegetative (Veg) Phase Of Cannabis Growth?

If you’re growing with soil microbes, you should use one tablespoon of unsulphured blackstrap molasses per gallon of water. The molasses will keep the rhizobacteria happy, which will keep your cannabis plant happy. Soil rich in potassium, which is the most prominent macronutrient in molasses, will help increase a cannabis plant’s resistance to pathogens.

How Much Molasses Should You Use During The Flowering Phase Of Cannabis Growth?

During the flowering phase both the cannabis plant and the soil microbes will make use of molasses. You can use one to two tablespoons of unsulphured blackstrap molasses per gallon of water during the flowering phase.

I use 2 tablespoons of molasses during flowering, but I’ve read of other growers using anywhere between 1 and 4 tablespoons per gallon of water.

Among the different amounts I’ve heard of people using, everyone reported good results. Since molasses is organic and not as rich as chemical nutrients, you can be a lot more flexible with the dosing without risking damage to your cannabis plants. So don’t stress over whether to add one or two tablespoons per gallon of water.

If you use liters of water instead of gallons, the conversion rate would be approximately 1/4 tablespoon of molasses per liter of water. If you can’t measure in small quantities, make a liter and pour what you need into a spray bottle or cup of water.

Does Molasses Change Nutrient NPK or Soil pH Levels?

The NPK value of molasses is roughly 1-0-5, and it may vary slightly between different molasses brands. So ultimately it will affect the NPK levels in your nutrients and the pH of your soil.

Molasses might contribute to potassium levels of your soil or nutrient mix. It won’t be too much during the vegetative phase because most veg stage nutrients are low in potassium.

If you’re using molasses in the flowering phase, you don’t need to worry much, as cannabis plants use extra potassium contained in molasses during the flowering phase to contribute to larger heavier buds. Anywhere from one to four tablespoons of molasses per gallon of water would be appropriate during the flowering phase.

With that said, you should always regularly monitor your soil pH because molasses can change your soil’s pH.

Can You Mix Molasses With Other Cannabis Nutrients?

Yes, you can mix molasses with other nutrients. To make sure you don’t overfeed your cannabis plants, I would stay closer to the 1 tablespoon per gallon dosage level if you’re using other nutrients. You can be more flexible with the dosage if you’re using molasses and nothing else.

While I’m speaking of other nutrients, if you’re interested in supplemental organic nutrients for your plants, you can check out my article of the best nutrients for cannabis!

How Often Do You Feed Molasses to Cannabis Plants?

You can feed molasses during every watering at a dose of one to two tablespoons per gallon of water. I recommend keeping an eye on your soil pH as it can affect the pH.

When Do You Stop Feeding Molasses to Cannabis Plants?

When do you stop using molasses to grow cannabis? You can stop using it a 2-3 weeks before harvest.

Can I Use Dry Molasses in My Cannabis Grow?

Absolutely. Just make sure it’s unsulphured. I see a lot of dry molasses that contains sulphur being sold for horticultural use, but again you don’t want the sulphur dioxide because it’ll kill off your soil microbes. You want the unsuphured version only.

Dry molasses is pellets or some other growing medium that’s coated in molasses and added to soil for the same benefits as liquid molasses.

Vitastrap (pictured above) is one brand of dry molasses that’s unsulphured and ready to add to your soil. The Vitastrap dry molasses costs a bit more than blackstrap molasses, but it actually contains a higher amount of total carbohydrates than blackstrap, so decide if that’s worth the extra cost for you.

What Other Type Of Sugars Do Growers Use To Grow Cannabis?

Cannabis growers have been known to experiment with substitutes for molasses – other sugars that break down in the soil and perform a similar job. Although I’ve never tried them, I’ve heard of growers using sugars such as corn syrup, agave syrup, or honey as nutrients for growing cannabis.

I want to be clear that molasses is the best option of all the organic sweet nutrients you can use to grow cannabis. That’s because compared to the other type of sugars people use, molasses has the most micronutrients.

So you’re welcome to try other sugar types, but remember that your cannabis plants won’t be absorbing these sugars. The whole function is for the soil to break them down into carbs that feed your soil microbes. Using honey or agave syrup won’t make your buds taste like honey or sweet agave, unfortunately.

Good luck with your grow! Want more home growing tips? Learn how to calculate grow light coverage. Read more about cannabis nutrients here. Click here to read my easy steps to maximizing your cannabis yields!

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