Sugar, moleasses, simple sugars to improve soil life.

[DirtMechanic]

I was actually curious so I looked it up. Sugar has no nitrogen. It is basically carbon and hydrogen or carbohydrate. But if it provides energy to the soil microbes, good or bad, they should multiply and then convert organic sources of fertilizer down faster, but wouldn't you have to add the organics to the soil? It isn't just going to appear on its own. I'm not really understanding how sugar itself is a fertilizer.

Its not, but it could be. Sugar is like you say carbohydrate food for wind borne, water borne, soil borne bacteria that are inherent to our environment. Sugar is bad for your teeth because of ...drumroll... bacteria. The bacteria literally become the organics you talk about adding. You would have to add a lot though. Sugar is not that dense a food source. Empty calories is how it has been described.

Bacteria can digest minerals in rocks (azomite!) with enzymes, or the enamel of teeth. When they die or a fungi eats them then the nutrients are released in a digested and plant available form. Also the bacteria and fungi themselves are biomass such as is found in fertilizers like the sewage fed Milorganite product. This is the safely cooked mass of bacteria culled from Milwaukee sewage sludge. Milo has to be eaten again by the local biodome so its a slow release if the temps are 50f or higher. Everything kinda stops in the cold. Think about how much sewage gets fed to produce a mass of bacteria that will fill a bag of Morganite. Then think in terms of sugar replacing the sewage..thats a lot of sugar!

Anyway when we are adding a couple ounces to a gallon and spraying it weekly its not a complete fertilizer idea. Its the bacteria supplied micronutrients and moisture the fungal web wicks up that help the garden. Its setting the stage for rapid decomposition of organic fertilizer. It is an active soil. Without dense fertilizer from some additional source your yields would be 25-50% of what they could be.

You will not need as much organic fertilizer at one time with live soil however- relative to soil sprayed with roundup or other dead soil where activity is so low. You have to increase the percentage of immediately available nutrients you apply for dead soil planting as well as available micros and so on. And those chemical fertilizers are not going to restart the biodome in a soil. Sugar can be a good start however.

Youtube "hyphae highway" and see bacteria and fungi doing their things.

 

[DirtMechanic]

It's too late this year, but next year I'm thinking I will run a test similar (8 weeks) to what I did this year with Sunn Hemp on depleted onion/potato space. Soil tests are the only way to see how much nitrogen (and other nutrients) is added, testing before and after.

Anyone want to make a bet...one way or the other...on the outcome?

Using nothing but sugar product in the above amounts. 10ml per l every week for 8 weeks

No gambling, I already work for myself and that is risky enough these days! I did want to pry some detail out of you about your testing methods. You seem to test for N yourself? How exactly?

 

[Meadowlark]

Oh no, people wouldn't believe my own tests...especially after Marck suggested I cheat .

No, I use a professional service...strictly professional. They post my results online...and I willingly give the results to anyone.

They are also the only outfit I'm familiar with that tests for nutrient density which is very important to me. On the 8-week test with Sunn Hemp on depleted soil, the nutrient density went from 64% to 94%.

I've never had a higher nutrient density score on any soil test...not even close.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Oh no, people wouldn't believe my own tests...especially after Marck suggested I cheat .

No, I use a professional service...strictly professional. They post my results online...and I willingly give the results to anyone.

They are also the only outfit I'm familiar with that tests for nutrient density which is very important to me. On the 8-week test with Sunn Hemp on depleted soil, the nutrient density went from 64% to 94%.

I've never had a higher nutrient density score on any soil test...not even close.

ok..are they a secret service? I was thinking of Logan Labs after this summer garden comes out.

 

[Meadowlark]

10 mL per liter every week until it softens and 2-3 weeks after it starts.

I can run a 5 foot rebar into the ground with one hand by the time the summer garden has gone away.

Over what area? How much area do you cover with 1 L?

Since you won't do it anytime soon, I'll test this myself in a clay location. Picking up the rebar today and have molasses on hand so will get started soon. I'll post pictures

 

[DirtMechanic]

Over what area? How much area do you cover with 1 L?

Since you won't do it anytime soon, I'll test this myself in a clay location. Picking up the rebar today and have molasses on hand so will get started soon. I'll post pictures

Make sure you record the soil temps. Growth shutdown begins with 55f and lower soil temps.

 

[Meadowlark]

Over what area? How much area do you cover with 1 L?

Since you won't do it anytime soon, I'll test this myself in a clay location. Picking up the rebar today and have molasses on hand so will get started soon. I'll post pictures

Repeat...Over what area? How much area does 1 l cover?

 

[DirtMechanic]

Repeat...Over what area? How much area does 1 l cover?

oh at least a 1% solution -spray until wet. 40mL is 1% of 4 liters. @Chuck and others say up to 2 0unces which is 60mL per gallon or 1.5% of 4 Liters. Just keep it moist and fed. Its easier to spray when its not raining, so you may want some powdered sugar for rain days to keep from overdoing the water if you have plants in that soil.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Repeat...Over what area? How much area does 1 l cover?

I am sure I read somewhere 'Drench the soil...' which is a bit more than 'spray until wet' or 'just keep it moist'. If you are going to stick a bar in for several feet then presumably the sugar must penetrate that far before it is all used up, and there needs to be water to carry it that far in. Something that surprised me when I was reading about watering elsewhere is how little the water moves sideways, but it would mean a good drenching could carry to a reasonable depth.
I am a bit puzzled by the way percentages, metric and imperial measures are mixed (Are American gallons the same as imperial?) . It would make life easier to stick to one, for example.
One litre per square meter
One pint per square foot
Of course if you are British it might be one Imperial gallon per square rod.

 

[Chuck]

The way I always use molasses is as a soil drench. I have a 2 gallon garden bucket into which I put 4 oz molasses and anything else I might need. This will be adequate for 4 tomato plants or about 8-10 square feet. I do this every time I fertilize, every 2 weeks.

 

[Meadowlark]

10 mL per liter every week until it softens and 2-3 weeks after it starts. .... I can run a 5 foot rebar into the ground with one hand by the time the summer garden has gone away.

oh at least a 1% solution -spray until wet. 40mL is 1% of 4 liters. @Chuck and others say up to 2 0unces which is 60mL per gallon or 1.5% of 4 Liters. Just keep it moist and fed. Its easier to spray when its not raining, so you may want some powdered sugar for rain days to keep from overdoing the water if you have plants in that soil.

Ok lets get this show going.

Two test plots 2 sq. ft each, one in clay which is what the claim was based on and the other in my garden soil which is 3 ft of sandy lome and clay thereafter.

Each test plot will be drenched once a week with a 1% solution of molasses for eight weeks. The penetration will be with one hand using #3 rebar 6 ft long and marked in orange paint every 1 foot.

The starting penetration for test plot 1 is zero.

Test Plot 2 starting penetration 6 inches.

Please post any suggested changes to test out the original claim.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Ok lets get this show going.

Two test plots 2 sq. ft each, one in clay which is what the claim was based on and the other in my garden soil which is 3 ft of sandy lome and clay thereafter.

Each test plot will be drenched once a week with a 1% solution of molasses for eight weeks. The penetration will be with one hand using #3 rebar 6 ft long and marked in orange paint every 1 foot.

The starting penetration for test plot 1 is zero.

View attachment 92345

Test Plot 2 starting penetration 6 inches.

View attachment 92346


Please post any suggested changes to test out the original claim.

Ok since the year that I did that the garden was planted by Easter and I was pulling roots and checking soil there in August (4 months) I would suggest your almost 2 month period could produce half of the required depth but you know its still warm so maybe more? Seems reasonable, linear, but reasonable.

 

[Meadowlark]

Oh, backing up already 

I'll run it until soil temps hit 50 deg... that should be some time in Nov.

Let's see what happens.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Oh, backing up already 

I'll run it until soil temps hit 50 deg... that should be some time in Nov.

Let's see what happens.

Haha -ok then...I would not want you to run an unscientific test!

 

[Meadowlark]

I am a scientist...retired. I certainly will run it just like you said...10 mL per liter solution every week drenching the test area