Hi Gordon, I'm shaking my head. What a glutton for punishment! Of course if your helpers do all the grunt work .... It's really sweet of you to do this.
I read Charleen's and your comments on the Recipe. So I went searching for answers. This is what I found:
Corn Syrup is mostly dextrose. Of the 3 types of molasses, blackstrap molasses is best for agricultural use. But according to docgipe in this post: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/954269/ what we get off the grocery store shelf has had a lot taken out of it. Raw blackstrap molasses is the stuff to use. I found the original reference to the chemical composition of raw molasses he uses.
Quoting:Blackstrap Molasses is often used in horticulture as a flower blooming and fruiting enhancer, particularly in organic hydroponics.
If molasses is used mainly as a flower booster in the case of Brugs (It does provide some micro-nutrients.), you could probably substitute any bloom booster or leave it out altogether since at first you want to provide a steady source of nitrogen.
Other interesting links:
http://www.mtnlaurel.com/Recipes/molasse.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-blackstrap-molasses.htm
http://www.suga-lik.com/molasses/composition.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_syrup
I wonder if those who use the Recipe have tried it against a control group of Brugs fed in a more conventional way with a complete liquid fertilizer, but more often, such as every time they are watered. I think it has more to do with the regularity or frequency of feeding. The Recipe can get expensive especially if you have a lot of plants.
