have any of you messed with beneficial bacteria? my local grow shop is pushing this linked bacteria hard. they say use as directed and add 2 tablespoons of molasses to each gallon to provide food for the bacteria. any thoughts? will adding sugars to the soil cause nute lockout or other probs??? plant-success
What are you using for a growing medium?
That has alot to do with beneficial bacteria and how well it will work for you… 
fox farm ocean forest till it rooted a 5 gal pot, then into a 20 gal pot of a pro-mix and a small amount of happy frog soil conditioner
I do it instinctively and it seems to work well not saying I know for sure
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do you use molasses also??
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Then you will be fine with that plan…
Now the question is what kind of bacteria are they trying to sell you…?
But yes the molasses does feed the bacteria as they said…
There are many types of beneficial bacteria out there and some cost more then others… I would recommend (orca) and I have heard alot of good things about mammoth p… but I don’t use mammoth p… I’m strictly hydro now but have grown in soil for the last 7 1/2 years…
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I would also recommend (high brix) molasses which is plant specific and you can get a gallon for about 20 bucks online…
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I linked the bacteria above. but here it is again 
and its pretty expensive (plant-success-soluble)
Great white is good… but it’s in powder form , so that’s why I don’t use it… I would recommend the orca… I use it and I love it… nothing but beautiful white roots with a bunch of good fuzzy bacteria…
Never used any of the other stuff… but I can tell you for sure that the other stuff don’t have nearly as many different types of bacteria as the Orca does…
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Not every time I use molasses max 5 times per grow
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@oldpro yes beneficial bacteria are important. I would recommend getting some bacteria in a bag, because they help with nutritional uptake. I intend to purchase some, not that one, but a different brand. I’ve already purchased some kelp, and humic acid separately that product already has it mixed in. I personally like to control each individual product that’s added so, the pre mix isn’t for me. I’m certain it’s a great product that would work and be helpful.
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@oldpro I use bacteria in my grows and also use molasses to feed the bacteria. I grow organically so it helps my plants take up more of the nutrients I use.
I use photosynthesis plus and have also used Great White.
Mammoth P is also supposed to be very good, especially when in bloom as it helps the plant take up more phosphorus and potassium. Mammoth P is pretty expensive but you don’t need a lot of it so it lasts a while.
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I posted this hypothetically, but I actually did the very program ive posted here this year. I’m just not sure how much it helped. and I’m flushing out some nute lock and wondered if this contributed to it. but here are the results thus far on 4 indoor plants
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Photosynthesis plus has a shelf life of 1 year after opened. Does mammoth p?
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I’m not positive @Fever but I was told by the local grow shop that mammoth p also has a shelf life of 1 year.
I told them that it stinks since you don’t need a lot of it and I would most likely not use it all In one year and they said it would still be good after a year if stored properly.
They also said about the photosynthesis plus that it can have a longer shelf life of stored properly and they specifically said of it still stinks it’s still good.
The photosynthesis plus I used this year was 2 years old and still seemed to work well.
why would I ever want to pay for Mammoth P lol
Do a side by side comparison I reckon and see if it does anything. Never seen any real proof of anyone doing a side by side but I mainly grow with coco/perlite and use hydro nutes.
With soil BB helps with nutrient delivery to the roots and plants but it usually have a lot of BB in it already from what I know with soil growers is that they brew teas for all the BB they require and pour it all in,
Anyways good looking grow you got going so far they look good!
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