As a grower, you’ve likely read about maximizing yield size by supplementing your crop’s feeding regimen with carbohydrates. You’ve probably also seen on the shelves of your local hydro store various carbohydrate supplements for plants. And you may have even heard seasoned growers talk about the benefits of the simple carbs found in molasses.
But what’s the real truth about carbohydrate supplementation for plants? Is there any actual benefit to using such supplements, and if so, what are the best carbs for your crop?
In this article, we’ll dive deep into those questions and more. But first, let’s understand exactly what carbohydrates are and the roles they play in plant growth.
Plant Carbohydrates 101
Put simply, carbohydrates are compounds made of oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. However, carbs can take on many different forms, including as cellulose, starches and sugars — which can be further broken down into monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, depending on the number of sugar units contained within the molecule.
The Function Of Carbohydrates In Plants
Carbohydrates are essential to organic life and play several significant roles within plants.
Firstly, carbohydrates in the form of glucose serve as a primary source of energy, fueling various plant functions, including growth. Secondly, the carbohydrate cellulose serves as the main structural component of cell walls within plants. That’s right — carbs are heavily utilized in the construction of your plant roots, shoots, stems, leaves and blooms.
In fact, glucose is the primary and most abundant product of photosynthesis, providing crops the energy as well as the building blocks they need to survive and grow.
The Benefits Of Carbohydrate Supplements For Plants
At this point, you may be asking yourself, “If my plants produce glucose naturally through photosynthesis, then why would I bother feeding them supplemental carbs?” It’s a valid question, so let’s break it down.
You see, during the vegetative stage, your plants are not just synthesizing glucose through the process of photosynthesis, they’re also manufacturing and storing carbohydrate reserves for later use once production slows down in the flowering stage.
When ripening sets in — during which time your flowers and blooms make their biggest weight gains — carbohydrate manufacturing comes almost to a complete halt and your crops must rely solely on their carb reserves to power flower production.
Ultimately, your plants will produce enough carbohydrates on their own to survive, provided all the other basic requirements for life are met. But it’s not enough to merely survive; you want your crops to thrive, and to push the biggest, heaviest yields they’re genetically capable of. Adding a quality carbohydrate supplement to your plant feeding regimen can help you achieve that.
But how? Here are a few key ways that adding carbs to your crop will help your plants:
- Providing your crops supplemental carbs frees up energy for other vital processes. Put simply, it takes energy to make energy, so by providing extra carbohydrates, your crops expend less energy on manufacturing carbs, and can direct more energy toward synthesizing amino acids and other important metabolites.
- Supplemental carbohydrates keep your plants’ carb reserves topped off — particularly during ripening, when they need it the most. Remember, your plants’ carbohydrate reserves can store enough to survive, but if you want them to push the biggest yields possible, you want to ensure those reserves are always full.
- Extra carbohydrates help feed beneficial microbes in your root zone so they can carry out their vital functions of breaking down dead debris and keeping your roots clean and bright.
How To Apply A Carbohydrate Supplement
When it comes to feeding plants, there are two generally accepted methods: Foliar application and root system application. But when applying a carbohydrate supplement, root system delivery is definitely preferable.
Spraying supplemental carbohydrates onto your plants’ leaves can be risky. Sugars are a form of carbohydrate, and sugars are sticky, which means you run the risk of gumming up your leaves’ stomata, the pores found in plant tissue through which they exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. Additionally, sticky leaves may be more attractive to harmful insects and pests.
Clearly, root system delivery is ideal for carbohydrate supplementation in your high-value crops.
Molasses As A Carb Supplement
So, what about molasses? If you’ve been in the grow game long enough, you’ve probably heard about using molasses as a supplement, which contains simple forms of carbohydrates like fructose and sucrose.
The truth is that molasses can be a valuable supplement — if you’re growing in soil. However, for hydroponic growers, molasses simply is not the best choice for a couple of reasons.
First of all, gooey molasses can easily clog up your system’s lines, as well as cause residue buildup in your reservoir, grow medium and even the roots themselves. Residue buildup in your root system is especially dangerous, as it can lead to such complications as root rot.
Secondly, molasses — and other forms of over-the-counter sugar — are wildly inconsistent when it comes to quality and composition. And when it comes to your valuable crops, you need to ensure you’re providing high-quality, reliable, consistent supplementation.
Advanced Nutrients Bud Candy: The Carbohydrate Supplement Specifically Designed For The Crops You Grow
Now that we understand the function of carbohydrates in plants and the benefits of carb supplementation, let’s talk about the carbohydrate supplement that’s designed specifically for the special crops you grow: Advanced Nutrients Bud Candy.
You see, it’s not enough to feed your crops just any ol’ carb supplement. In order to get the biggest benefit, you need to use a supplement that is tailored to the exact needs of the high-value plants you grow, which is exactly what Bud Candy is.
So, what makes Bud Candy a first-class carbohydrate supplement?
- Bud Candy boasts a variety of high-quality carbohydrate sources: Carbs come in a variety of forms — from simple sugars like monosaccharides, to complex compounds like cellulose. These carbohydrates are utilized in different ways, so any carb supplement you use needs to contain the right varieties for maximum effectiveness. Advanced Nutrients Bud Candy contains five high-grade sources of carbohydrates, each of which play a specific role in the crops you grow.
- Bud Candy utilizes a highly efficient root-system delivery: This is preferable over foliar delivery for carbohydrate supplementation. What’s more, oxygen substantially increases the rate of carbohydrate absorption within healthy plant roots, which means Bud Candy is perfect for oxygen-rich grow environments, whether in soil or a hydroponic system.
- Bud Candy represents decades of research, development and real-world testing: Like all Advanced Nutrients products, Bud Candy has been meticulously developed over decades of R & D, led by a team of 25+ Ph.D. botanists, organic chemists and microbiologists. Moreover, this formulation has been rigorously tested on the same type of high-value plants that you grow, resulting in a top-notch carbohydrate profile that’s proven to work.
How To Use Bud Candy
Knowing that carbohydrate production ceases almost completely once ripening sets in, Bud Candy is best used during weeks one through six of the bloom phase. This is the time when your plants are really pushing flower and bloom growth — and when those high-quality supplemental carbs will best be put to use.
Get The Big, Tasty, Aromatic Yields You Crave With Advanced Nutrients Bud Candy
Along with providing your plants the fuel needed to push big, bulky blooms, Bud Candy brings out the best of your crop’s natural aroma and flavor profiles — resulting in sweet, sugary flowers that taste as good as they smell.
The bottom line? If you want to provide your valuable crops high quality, effective, proven forms of supplemental carbohydrates and push your yields to their genetic potential, then Bud Candy is the carb supplement for you.
Simply head to your nearest Advanced Nutrients authorized retailer to pick up a bottle — we guarantee you’ll see the difference in your next harvest, or your money back.
And if you’re an organic grower, then you must check out OG Organics™ Bud Candy™.
