ask yourself this...
Are marijuana plants "leached" or "flushed" when grown outside?
i doubt it.. unless they are in pots, otherwise they have access to nutrients.
I never hear anyone saying indoor taste better than outdoor, do you?
I always flush my plants outdoors, you can tell a huge difference in taste and the way it burns when you dont flush. I dont grow in containers either, but the holes I dig are filled with all kinds of good atuff and if I dont flush em with plain ph'd water they dont use up their nutrient reserves which makes them much harder to cure and tends to give them a harsh cut grass/green leafy smell thats really hard to get rid of.
Im sure you guys know of Subcool, the breeder behind all of TGA Seeds genetics? IMO he's one of the best organic growers in the game and Im sure plenty of folks agree with me. His Super Soil recipe is known to grow some amazing herb without the need of ANY additional feeding! Subcool recommends flushing/leaching (I really dont think theres much difference at all!) when using his super soil mix and you dont get any more organic than that! Being the great grower/breeder he is Id say that should answer the "is flushing organic herb necessarry" question without a doubt.
Flushing or leaching is sometimes done in soil in the middle of a grow to remove any salt build up which will help prevent any nutrient lock out. Flushing done at the end of the bloom cycle is partially done for the same reason but the main goal is to cause the plant to use up all its nutrient reserves. Whether a plant is grown with chemical, synthetic, or organic nutes or even a combination of all 3 doesnt change the importance of the flush. As Cannabis grows it stores nutrients in its foliage to prepare itself for the possibility of a deficiency problem in the future. Thats why if you dont feed a plant for several days you wont see signs of deficiency right away. Where the nutrients were derived from doesnt change the fact that your plant has nutrients stored in the buds/foliage. When you feed your plant just ph'd water for a week or two you cause the plant to use up its nutrient reserves. This is what causes the "fade" in the color of the leaves that tells you the flushing is working. That fade is from a lack of clorophyl in the leaves and is essentially why flushed herb tastes better. Excess clorophyl in unflushed herb is what causes that grassy/leafy green taste and smell that prevents the preferred aromas you want from coming thru. Besides making your herb taste and smell better, I absolutely love all the different colors that come out with a good fade during the flush. My little Chocolope pheno's leaves fade to pink during flush, Ive seen purple, red, orange and light blue come out during fade too!
Something else to keep in mind that will ensure your herb has the maximum taste and aroma is not just the cure but the actual drying process itself. Ive found that you can flush properly and cure for months and still have that grassy smell if your herb is dryed to quickly! The most important thing Ive learned about drying is humidity. You want the room your drying in to have a relative humidity of around 50%, this humid enough to keep it from drying too fast, but dry enough to discourage mold and bud rot. Once the buds feel dry and the stems make a soft crunch sound when bent put em in garbage bags and tie em shut. After a few hours (2-12) your buds wont be crispy anymore! The moisture from the inside of the buds gets "sweated" out when sealed in the bags. Hang the buds again until crispy and put back in the garbage bags. You might have to repeat this process a few times but thats a good thing! This drys the herb from the inside out and helps all the left over clorophyll evaporate with the moisture (since clorophyll is water soluble). Once your buds stop sweating when put in the trash bags its time ta throw em in the jars for the cure! Make sure to open the jars every day or two to release any left over moisture and allow the buds to breathe. Once the buds are dryed to your preference you can keep em sealed in the jars. Youll know theyre perfectly dry when they still have a slightly sticky/squishy feel but after taken out the jar they crispen up within a minute or two.
WOW! I didnt intend to right a whole freakin flushing/drying tutorial but I just kept on typin! Oh well hope this will help some folks out. I wish I coulda found a post like this the first couple times I tried dryin herb. I wouldnt of ended up with frosty ass nugs that smelled like fresh cut grass!!!
