Flushing & Dark Prior to Harvest

[onship]

My plants are getting close to harvesting. I am a little confused by some of the harvesting suggestions I've read. I am looking for the basic steps to take just prior to harvesting.

I have a hydro grow, should I use just water for a week prior to harvest?

Also, should I keep the plant in darkness for a few days before the harvest?

 

[intensive]

yea give them plain water for a week, then chop em... the dark period isnt really necessary

 

[Uncultivated]

yea give them plain water for a week, then chop em... the dark period isnt really necessary

Not trying to confuse you more, but I'd do exactly the opposite of this. I'm leaning toward the viewpoint that flushing, especially in hydro, is a waste of time. I just stop adding nutrients for the last week or so and let my PPM drop a bit, not go to pure water. I've read that going to pure water is bad in hydro due to reverse osmosis in the roots or some such nonsense, but I'm not 100% on that.

Dark period, IMO, is worthwhile.

Of course, this guy has a lot more posts than me. I'm pretty much a newb... I guess the thing to do here is read some other threads and see what people who seem to know what they're doing have to say on the subject... and see how many times it's been argued in the past.

 

[dajosh42069]

In hydro, just stop feeding nutes for the last week or so, and yes, 72 hours of complete darkness makes the plant use every last bit of stored energy it can toward bud production. The 72 hours of dark method is still unproven, however it has been shown that in SOME strains, it can increase the THC percentage by a number of points (percentage points). And some will show no difference at all. The primary thing to remember is that since we don't really know which it works on and which it doesn't, it's best to go ahead and try it anyway, unless it's a major hassle to do so.

I recommend the last 72 hours of darkness for your grow, and no nutes on the last week. I don't grow hydro, but the flushing and darkness concepts are universal.
The thing you have to understand about flushing, is that the jury is still out on it. Some people SWEAR BY IT, and tell you if you don't flush, your taste will suffer, and you'll be smoking chemicals (nutes) if you don't. While others say that the flush is meaningless. Other say that when you flush, your not washing the nutes out and making the plant as pure as possible, your actually releasing any nutrients locked in the soil and/or other mediums, allowing the plant to take in everything left in the soil (or other medium). Yet others believe that the flush is completely unneeded, refuse to bother with it, citing that their buds taste great and they notice no difference.
So it's really a personal preference, if you have the time and effort you wanna put in, go for it, if you don't, then don't. It should come out about the same IMO, but, your certainly welcome to do as you please.

Good luck!

 

[Niko Bellick]

You ever had schwagg? Schwagg is what it is for many reasons but some reasons are improper flushing, drying and curing. I have heard that if you grow with organic nutes then flush is not needed. I personally flush each and every time.

 

[Bird Gymnastics]

It really is opinionated. Just like dajosh said, some people have done it both ways and saw little to no difference when others have seen HUGE differences in flushing and/or letting your girls sit in the dark for 3 days. Anyways here is a link to better justify what you want to do. This just breaks down what flushing actually does to the plants naturally.
https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/409622-truth-about-flushing.html

^^^ Hope this helps ^^^

 

[Tricks]

The 72 hours of dark method is still unproven, however it has been shown that in SOME strains, it can increase the THC percentage by a number of points (percentage points). And some will show no difference at all. The primary thing to remember is that since we don't really know which it works on and which it doesn't, it's best to go ahead and try it anyway, unless it's a major hassle to do so.

This is old news on RIU. Here`s a quote.

"The Stichting Institute of Medical marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmacies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboratories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency.SIMM’s growers separated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darkness for 72 hours before cutting and drying. Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen an increase of THC of up to 30%, while CBD and CBN remained the same."

It works, just like flushing at the end works. It washes your soil or other medium clean. Forcing the plant to use up what it stored for reserve. Less chlorophyl = tastier bud.

 

[bowlfullofbliss]

I do a 7 day flush myself like the others have said. I take it a step further and change out my res (55 gal) after the first 2 days, then again in another 3 days. This way the last few days are pure water with very little EC left. I also as many have said do a 72 hr dark period, and I harvest them without turning on the big lights. JMO.