To flush or not to flush?

[VanishingToaster]

i reckon i'm bout two weeks away from harvest and i know that nows the time to start flushing if i'm going to.

i've already harvested a couple of disappointing autos and didn't flush. the taste was seriously intense and what little there was, was really nice. got a couple of decent yielders coming up now and again i'm inclined not to flush

seen a fair few older threads on the subject and was wondering if flushing had been dispelled as an urban myth yet or if i'll slowly be poisoning myself lol

 

[rocpilefsj]

I used to flush for a good two weeks before harvest religiously. Then I started doing a little bit of research and there are a ton of people who don't at all. I now feed almost right up until chop, last watering is straight water. My buds do not taste like chemical, they taste great. My weed doens't "crackle" or have problems staying lit. I have never had a problem since switching my method, other than having to dry longer because my buds are bigger. I have not done a side by side comparison...

 

[VanishingToaster]

i've been told by a few different people that crackly weed contains spider mites.....

it just seems wrong to flush, i wouldn't flush tomatos or cucumbers, why try to blanche out the nutrients just as its ripening? surely the root system converts everything into biomass long before it reaches the buds....

i was gonna do a side by side flush/non flush with my failed autos but i went for a different experiment and chose to do the 3 days of darkness before harvest, and that definitely made a difference, noticeable extra stickiness to the buds heaps more crystals on the surrounding leaves, a better smoke all round.

i'd like to get a UV bulb for the final week, ever used one?

 

[rocpilefsj]

i've been told by a few different people that crackly weed contains spider mites.....

it just seems wrong to flush, i wouldn't flush tomatos or cucumbers, why try to blanche out the nutrients just as its ripening? surely the root system converts everything into biomass long before it reaches the buds....

i was gonna do a side by side flush/non flush with my failed autos but i went for a different experiment and chose to do the 3 days of darkness before harvest, and that definitely made a difference, noticeable extra stickiness to the buds heaps more crystals on the surrounding leaves, a better smoke all round.

i'd like to get a UV bulb for the final week, ever used one?

No I have never used a UV bulb, if you do keep us posted.

 

[SirLancelot]

Flush one and not the other and see what happens. I bet you'll find it doesn't matter!

 

[VanishingToaster]

scared of not getting the full potential if i flush one, just got my attitude freebies left now, wanna get the best out of each one. so i aint gonna be flushing. thanks for helping me to put that to bed

 

[danneede]

if you grow ebb n flow style, about 2 weeks before harvest just stop adding nutes when you refill your res. your ppm will drop slowly until you harvest. IMO its not smart to just all the sudden completely stop feeding, at the same time you dont want them all pumped up when you harvest. kind of a happy medium.

 

[CaliBurner]

scared of not getting the full potential if i flush one, just got my attitude freebies left now, wanna get the best out of each one. so i aint gonna be flushing. thanks for helping me to put that to bed

Why would u not want to flush? It doesnt take any of the potentcy away from the plant! I was reading that u want to flush at least the very last week and i found this product by humboldt nutrients called royal flush! A quality crop needs an effective flush to reach its full potential. Flushing removes heavy elements and salts, allowing for more aromatic and flavorful fruits and flowers. Humboldt Nutrients Royal Flush supercharges the flushing process, binding together undesirable salts and heavy minerals. Royal Flush then strips these larger particles out of your plant, leaving behind sugars and strong flavors. Your plant is composed of water, sugars and salts. If you flush out the salts and dry out the water, you're left with delicious and aromatic sugars, and sugars rule the natural world. It only 9 buckd for a 16 oz bottle that will surely last u a few grow seasons!

 

[dirtysnowball]

flushing removes the salt from the soil... then the plant eats the stored nutes in the lower leaves first... i say its worth it, cuz it reduces a lot of unnecessary chemicals in your pot. if your trying to sell to a reputable club in my area they want the weed tested. and if you dont flush the fertilizer it will definitely stay in the buds lol and the club will see that on the tests. and no one will buy it. the same goes for farmers, i know a few and there are rules to growing food for the general public, rule #1 its gotta be healthy for you. ingesting fertilizer is not good but there hasnt been an epidemic from this. if are farmers did leave all that npk in there though you could bet there would be some hell to pay. environmentalist would rioting in the streets lolz

 

[Dayzt]

I believe it has a lot to do with your nutes, how much were used and what type... if you used organic nutes then flushing is less important than if you used heavy nutes. Your plants def dont' need any nutrients in the last week before chop - give them a chance to use up what's in the plant and give them an extended dark period at the end to help this process. Then chop in the dark, as your lights will immediately draw up anything from below that's left.

 

[BlazedMonkey]

^^^ As you can see it is far from "dispelled". Some people flush because they say it helps from their experience. Others will say theres no reason to flushing and it can take away from your potential.

I would say if you were "pushing" your plants by giving them lots of lots of nutes you might want to flush however if you just gave them a normal amount you might not need to.
I would agree with others flush one and not the other and post your results personal experience is much better

 

[tip top toker]

I've flushed and not flushed and after their cure they're all the same to me.

 

[BlazedMonkey]

I've flushed and not flushed and after their cure they're all the same to me.

Thanks for the info

Have you ever had harsh buds? Or oness that crackled/sparked?

Recently in my home town dank went dry and i had two different batches both looked great however one sparked and crackled like a sparkler on the 4th. The other looked great however the smell was so/so and it tasted very harsh.

What causes this?

 

[tip top toker]

My buds are always harsh when first smoked after drying, given a few weeks of curing and they become normal and smooth if that's the world of choice these days. Only time i've had crackling bud was because it was seeded or had hair in it.

 

[VanishingToaster]

i'm tellin you, that crackling is spider mites or other tiny bugs going pop. take apart the next crackly stuff u get and have a real close look. you'll see em

 

[VanishingToaster]

hmmm still not convinced, i'm almost 100% sure that there are no heavy metals or salts being stored in the buds on my plants and that they are if anywhere in the soil and a touch of molassess should counter the salt without the need to flush, hell that sugar might even jump start the microbacterial life in the soil thats so good for your plant..... still not seeing the need to nearly drown a plant for 2 weeks

 

[CaliBurner]

hmmm still not convinced, i'm almost 100% sure that there are no heavy metals or salts being stored in the buds on my plants and that they are if anywhere in the soil and a touch of molassess should counter the salt without the need to flush, hell that sugar might even jump start the microbacterial life in the soil thats so good for your plant..... still not seeing the need to nearly drown a plant for 2 weeks

you dont drown the plant.u just give the plant straight water for the last two weeks on the same watering schedule u already had, but it all watever u wanna do!

 

[Fuckbudz]

If you dont flush you bud could taste like fertilizer .....

 

[VanishingToaster]

you dont drown the plant.u just give the plant straight water for the last two weeks on the same watering schedule u already had, but it all watever u wanna do!

ah.... plz dont mistake my thinking aloud for a closed mind....just waffling my thoughts. thanks for clearing up that too....coulda been nasty lol

 

[SirLancelot]

It's funny people who say to flush have never not flushed before, so really they have no idea what their talking about.