Nutrient Tweaks
There are various commercial “terpene enhancers” out there, although many of them are just sugar blends you can reproduce yourself. Take a good look at what’s inside and do your research before opting for one of these products!
One product that goes beyond the usual blend of sugars is Terpenez by Solis Tek. It’s a blend of “natural precursors coupled with organic, bio-identical, plant derived terpenes”. So it basically feeds terpenes to the plant, along with some undisclosed compounds that apparently boost natural terpene production. We’re not sure, but we would certainly like to give it a try!
On the other hand, there are various individual hacks you can use to tweak particular nutrients and maximize your terpenes. One possibility is increasing sulfur levels during flowering. Sulfur compounds can be very stinky and are a big contributor to the smell of garlic. But it’s not actually clear if sulfur has much (if any) connection to terpenes themselves. Molasses contains some sulfur, so if there is a connection it may partly explain why molasses can boost terpene production.
Another possible nutrient tweak is increasing calcium – another nutrient contained in blackstrap molasses, which is convenient! One study shows that calcium is highly associated with terpene production in chrysanthemum plants. Calcium is very important to the complex processes that manage pest defense in many plants. As we know, terpenes have a fundamental role in pest defense!
