Honey for Cannabis Plants: Rooting Clones, Feeding Soil and Trapping Pests

Growers use honey on cannabis in four main ways: as a natural rooting agent for clones, as a diluted soil drench to feed soil microbes, as a light foliar spray and as bait in pest traps. Its sugars mostly feed the beneficial bacteria and fungi around the roots, and its antimicrobial properties help keep fresh cuttings clean. It's a cheap, organic add-on, not a replacement for proper nutrients.

Does honey help you grow cannabis?

If you're into growing weed naturally and organically, you'll be happy to hear that one of the most common things in your kitchen can be a handy boost for your plants. Honey can help cannabis plants in a few ways: supplying sugars, encouraging root growth and feeding the microorganisms in the soil.

Honey comes from certain species of bees that collect nectar from flowers and store it in their hives. It's vital to the bees' survival and a treat for us, but it also contains nutrients and bioactive compounds that can benefit cannabis plants.

Honey vs. molasses: what's the difference?

It's worth spelling out the difference between honey and molasses, another sugar-rich product used in farming. They're both natural sweeteners, but they differ in:

• Origin: Honey is made by bees, while molasses is a thick byproduct of refining sugarcane juice.
• Flavor: Honey tastes sweet and floral, while molasses has a strong, slightly bitter flavor.
• Consistency: Honey can range from runny to solid, while molasses is always thick and syrupy.
• Color: Honey comes in a wide range of colors, from pale gold to cloudy yellow, while molasses is dark brown.

Despite these differences, both honey and molasses are rich in sugars and minerals, which makes them useful allies for healthier plants and soil.

Benefits of honey for cannabis plants

Here are some of the main upsides of using honey in a cannabis grow:

1. Honey is a source of sugars: Cannabis plants make their own sugars through photosynthesis, but adding honey to the growing medium puts extra sugars into the rhizosphere, the zone around the roots, where they mostly fuel the microbial life that supports the plant.

2. Honey contains small amounts of macronutrients: Honey has traces of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, the three key macronutrients cannabis needs for protein synthesis, water transport and enzyme activation. The amounts are tiny, though, so think of it as a bonus, not a fertilizer program.

3. Honey feeds soil microorganisms: Healthy soil is home to a diverse crew of organisms, including fungi, bacteria, protozoa and nematodes, that keep nutrients cycling. Plants release sugars through their roots to feed these microbes, which in turn benefit the cannabis plant. Adding honey to the growing medium can help boost the population of beneficial microorganisms.

4. Honey has antimicrobial compounds: Besides feeding beneficial microbes, honey also contains antimicrobial compounds that can help keep pathogens in check.

How to use honey in your cannabis grow

Now that you know what honey can potentially do for your plants, here are some effective ways to use it:

1. Honey as a rooting hormone for cannabis clones

Honey can work as a natural, sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic rooting hormones. That's thanks to its antimicrobial power and enzyme content, which can encourage root development. To use honey as a rooting agent, follow these steps:

• Take a cutting from a healthy mother plant with sterilized scissors or a pruning knife.
• Strip the leaves from the lower part of the cutting, leaving just a couple at the top.
• Dip the cut end of the clone in organic honey.
• Plant the cutting in a small container with vermiculite and put it somewhere warm and bright.
• Transplant the clone into soil once it's grown a strong root system.

2. Honey as a cannabis fertilizer

Honey contains a mix of macro- and micronutrients that plants use to grow. To use it as a soil drench, follow these steps:

• Mix one tablespoon of organic honey into 1.5 liters (about 1.5 quarts) of boiled water.
• Stir well to make sure the honey fully dissolves.
• Let the mix cool down.
• Pour it into a watering can and apply it directly to the growing medium.

3. Honey as a foliar spray

Foliar sprays take advantage of stomata, the tiny pores on cannabis leaves, to deliver nutrients straight to the plant without going through the roots. They can also influence the phyllosphere, the community of microorganisms living on the leaves. To make your own honey foliar spray, follow these steps:

• Add two teaspoons of honey to 4.5 liters (about 1.2 gallons) of lukewarm water.
• Mix until the honey fully dissolves.
• Pour the mix into a spray bottle.
• Mist the leaves, paying special attention to any that show signs of deficiency.
• Repeat every two weeks.

Honey traps help control pests

Honey can also help with pest control in your grow. Sink a few small jars with a bit of honey into the soil and watch them catch slugs and fungus gnats over the next few days.

How to measure the sugar content of cannabis plants

The sugar content of your cannabis plants is an important sign of their health and vigor. Sugars play a key role in plant cells and can affect yield, pest resistance and overall plant health. You can't measure sugar content directly, but you can use degrees Brix as a rough stand-in. Brix measures the amount of dissolved solids in a plant sample, sugars included.

To get a Brix reading, you need a Brix refractometer, a small handheld tube that looks a bit like a spyglass and measures how light bends as it passes through a sample. To prep your sample, take a few cannabis leaves and crush them in a bowl to squeeze out the juice. Put enough juice on the refractometer's sample plate to cover it and record the reading. Keep in mind that Brix can shift with the time of day and the weather, so always measure at the same time and in similar conditions.

Healthy cannabis plants usually score between 12 and 20 degrees Brix, according to growers who track it. Plants at the high end of that range tend to yield bigger harvests and resist pests and disease better. To raise your plants' Brix, consider adding honey to your grow and see how they respond.

Honey can be a worthwhile addition to your grow strategy, offering some nutritional perks and supporting healthy plant development. Whether as a rooting agent, a soil drench, a foliar spray or a pest trap, honey can make a difference in the health and performance of your cannabis plants. Give these options a try and see how honey can help you grow weed more effectively and naturally.