Flushing - What are YOUR thoughts?

Hey guys, I just flushed my plant, but before I flushed, I did some research and got a lot of different opinions on when, how, and even if you should flush. I've already chosen a method for my flush, but I'm curious as to what are your techniques when it comes to flushing? So here we go...

How DO YOU flush your grow medium?

1) What grow medium are you using?
2) Do you flush? And Why/Why not?
3) How many weeks before harvest do you flush?
4) How many times do you flush?
5) Where do you get your water from (tap, rain water, etc etc), and do you add anything to your water? (Molasses, sugar, etc. etc.)
6) And finally, what (if any) change do you notice to your plant/final product when you flush?


So please, tell me your opinions when it comes to flushing.

I guess I'll be the first to answer my own question.

It's my first time growing, I am using soil. I flushed at 2 week prior to harvest, and then I'm going to flush again 1 week before harvest. I just used straight tap water, let it sit for an hour to reach room temperature, and will continue watering with straight water. And finally, I might just be crazy, but I swear the plant smelled way more after I flushed it....

So that's how I will proceed with flushing. What about you?

I'm a soil/organic grower under 600 watt HID + supplemental lighting.

I've flushed and I've not flushed and I've seen no real difference in the taste or burn of the finished product.

If there is is any truth to flushing removing impurities, they are also broken down along with the chlorophyll by a good curing.

I know that's not a popular view to hold, but that is what my years of experience have shown me.

...if your growing in soil, I believe it would be more appropiate to leach....meaning, water only for the last 2-3 weeks...some even go longer.
...in hydro, you'll want to give your babies atleast a week to flush out all of the chemicals. Flush = change res w/ RO water, possibly even add sweet.

If there is is any truth to flushing removing impurities, they are also broken down along with the chlorophyll by a good curing.

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So how long would you leave your buds to cure for if you didn't flush?

biffchicken said:

So how long would you leave your buds to cure for if you didn't flush?

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The normal 2 - 4 weeks, depending on the strain you are growing.

I've flushed 2x so far, soil grown in a 5 gal bucket outside. I don't have a time set on when I should do it just every few weeks...she loves it and always grows a bit more than she normally does. I have a few old 5 ltr wine bottles I fill with tap watter and set in the sun untill I need them for for a regular wattering for all my plants. I use 3 of the 5 ltr bottles to flush the plant. I just slowly pour them all in taking a quick break if it starts to overflow. That's about it. I just do it when I think she needs it

I don't have a time set on when I should do it just every few weeks...she loves it and always grows a bit more than she normally does.

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I think I'll try this my next grow. You say you notice it grow more when you do it? Is there a reason that the plant grows more when you flush it, as opposed to normal watering?

biffchicken said:

Hey guys, I just flushed my plant, but before I flushed, I did some research and got a lot of different opinions on when, how, and even if you should flush. I've already chosen a method for my flush, but I'm curious as to what are your techniques when it comes to flushing? So here we go...

How DO YOU flush your grow medium?

1) What grow medium are you using?
2) Do you flush? And Why/Why not?
3) How many weeks before harvest do you flush?
4) How many times do you flush?
5) Where do you get your water from (tap, rain water, etc etc), and do you add anything to your water? (Molasses, sugar, etc. etc.)
6) And finally, what (if any) change do you notice to your plant/final product when you flush?


So please, tell me your opinions when it comes to flushing.

Click to expand...

1. Soil , fox farm happy frog or fox farm ocean forest mixed with 25% pearlite.
2. Yes, I do flush why depends on when im doing it. If its about a week from harvest I'll flush the soil and give only molasses and water till the end. I also flush because fertilizers tend to leave salts and other shit like that that builds up over time.
3. I answered this one already, lol, but about a week for a pre-harvest flushing.
4. about 3 times in the plants life, 2 to flush out salts and then the one at the end.
5. Ph'd filtered tap water, i usually give a bit of mollasses when im almost done with the flushing so it doesnt just get flushed out right away.

as for how i do it i run 3 times as much water as you have soil through it(ie a 1 gallon pot=3 gallon flush.)

I dont flush. I have grown the same strain and flushed 4 plants and didnt flush 4 and there was zero difference except the growth on the flushed plants did not continue at the rate the others were. Flushing is a waste of time.

I flush every 2 to 3 weeks..( But only 1 for 1 )

You can over do it....flush the nutes right out. Signs are slow growth, yellowing of leaves etc.

Another option would be to double the water during watering or nuting ( get back half of what you poured in ) and if nuting divide water in 2...first pour clean water..second pour the nutes...this will minorly flush the plant and remove salts from the roots and allow them to get back to sucking up nutes.

It basically depends on strain tolerance,type of soil, amount of nutes you use and size of flush...

The big flushes ( 2 or 3 to 1 ) I save for final flushing...

I will not tolerate harshness from my smoke...

bigv1976 said:

I dont flush. I have grown the same strain and flushed 4 plants and didnt flush 4 and there was zero difference except the growth on the flushed plants did not continue at the rate the others were. Flushing is a waste of time.

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So you didn't notice any difference at all? Did you notice any popping or fizzling when you smoked your final product? Any harshness? And also was it noticeably more ganja than the other unflushed plants

I always have to say this when one of these threads comes up

I flush everytime I water, cause I make it rain

I feed to the end and that popping fizzling thing is from a bad/improper cure, flushing has nothing to do with the end product (though others will say different)

and if folks did thier research they would know that a proper cure requires N to properly ferment

if you over-fertilize then you should flush, otherwise its pointless.

nordowell said:

if you over-fertilize then you should flush, otherwise its pointless.

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why would you say that?

ive flushed for 1 week at 2-1 at finish and not flushed same strain same conditions same tase,burn,smell,appereance

HELP-this might be my problem
so i'm workin with tables, we were gonna do a 3 week flush. we're about halfway through and some of the strains look like shit, droopy, yellowing. is it b/c i flushed too much?! should i throw some nutes in it for a couple days and flush again?? find my thread"droopy plants, HELP!"and there is a pic.

Currently i've been flushing any soil/soiless crops in a bubbler.

Basicly.

1. cut at bottom of stalk
2. place in ph'd water ( 5gal bucket, Airpump/stone,)
3. submerge about 2inchs
4. replace water every day
5. 3-4 days i have a nice tasting, flushed product.

And its bullshit whatever these people are saying that flushing isn't doing anything. Science has a funny way of proving all these so called "growers" wrong. Rather if it diddnt change taste/apperance there is traces left that YOU are smoking. Just my 2 cents.

-d3kz

d3k said:

Currently i've been flushing any soil/soiless crops in a bubbler.

Basicly.

1. cut at bottom of stalk
2. place in ph'd water ( 5gal bucket, Airpump/stone,)
3. submerge about 2inchs
4. replace water every day
5. 3-4 days i have a nice tasting, flushed product.

And its bullshit whatever these people are saying that flushing isn't doing anything. Science has a funny way of proving all these so called "growers" wrong. Rather if it diddnt change taste/apperance there is traces left that YOU are smoking. Just my 2 cents.

-d3kz

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rather than giving us 2 cents how about a link to your so called science???

if your talking about big time noticeable difference between flushed and not flushed? to the undeveloped pallet there isnt a huge divide. however, I have heard complaints about a subtle "harshness" in the back of the throat combined with subtle "strange"taste or complaints of a soar throat generally, or headaches. I've even heard a complaint from a guy that said he felt sharp pains in his forearms after smoking "chem-laced" medicine. whatever lol! Personally (earlier in life), i would deliberately not flush(because i felt it was pointless) , and would easily fool those who claimed to absolutely know/taste the difference between flushed and un-flushed buds. I would have these super-critics complementing my "flavors" and telling me how they could taste the plant so much better with out the extra chem. me the whole time knowing i fed nute up until the day i cut. lol what a bunch of arseholes!=)let me add that i had no problem smoking those same nugs myself- all day, every day! since those days i have come to appreciate what i see as a "COMPLETE" process for fine medication, and unfortunately for me, that now implies a proper flush, but the flush has less to do with getting rid of "chemicals" than it does with gently coaxing the plant into it's ripe old age, accepting it's mortality, and giving that push to do the things it always wanted to(like grow huge nugs!). My ladies are like "oh shit, foods running low, time to eat the reserves for energy to reach the promised land", i feel, if that isn't triggered they take their sweet ass time to get there and most people dont wait that long(but thats a whole other can of worms there). bottom line; you can absolutely get away with not flushing- but it's kind of like a tree falling in the woods with no one around; does it make a sound? i say hell yea. do the flush you got no worries.. dont do the flush and you worry you did something wrong.. do the math eh?