Nutes last 2 weeks?

Onceuponapuff

Active Member
Heyy,
Week 7. Soil grow, chemical fertilizer.
When I first started off with every grow I tried various different flushing techniques. They all proved to be not worth the hassle. And so with every passing harvest I flushed less and less, until I stopped flushing altogether. The bud still tasted amazing, smoked white, didn't sparkle and did not burn my throat. It's all in the dry/cure, and the way you grow.

Sure, I won't argue that flushing improves the quality even further than what you get without it - but in my opinion it's unnecessary stress for the plant, that reduces the quantity of the product.
That's not a big deal if you're growing a few plants for quality. But I do not have the time(literally, I couldn't keep up if I flushed) nor do I want to prevent my plants from receiving nutrients the most important weeks of their lives.
Here's a good read on that:
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/how-grow-marijuana/71685-critical-look-preharvest-flushing.html

Anyway, I used to stop feeding my plants last 2 weeks before harvest. But this time around I had a fresh idea - why? Why stop... why not feed til the very end to get the most out of them?

And so my quest started, roaming the webz for days, reading all I could about pre-harvest feeding/flushing/etc. I found nothing. Not a single valid reason to stop feeding my plants the last weeks of their maturation.
It seems to just be a thing people do. Any reason behind it? Like does it delay maturation, or...?
And pleaaaase spare me that "Bcuz nub ur buds will taste like chemical shit, n burn black n sparkle n rape your throat!" BULLSHIT. Same crap I have heard/read endless times about flushing, I don't flush - and my buds still taste, smell, and smoke x10 better than any other shit around.
 

mo841

Well-Known Member
wouldnt 95% of the bud have fertilizer in it even if you did flush it for two weeks. flushing never really made sense to me. it is not like the plant is storing the raw fertilizer in the buds, its converting the nutrients into what itneeds to grow. just as the tomatos i grow in the summer dont taste like ferts, they taste great actually
 

Milovan

Well-Known Member
In Humboldt a lot of growers "pump" their plants full
of neuts the last two weeks for maximum growth and
this is what I do and my smoke turns out
smooth as ice every time.
So smooth you can't feel any smoke at all going down
your throat when inhaling and just
as smooth on the exhale.
Rips your lungs out from expansion though!
 

Blue brother

Well-Known Member
This is an interesting thread I read when making the decision for myself, when I expand I'm gonna do a side by side test so I know for sure but seeing as I'm only doing a small amount for my personal smoke then I've decided to air on the side of flushing. But the dude who taught me swears against it and I trust his judgement and I've smoked his weed and its dank and right up with there with some of the best I've ever smoked.


https://www.icmag.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=1432&topicid=9
 

Onceuponapuff

Active Member
Exactly mo841 - even if you cut out the nutes and flush out the soil, the buds still continue growing and so they use up the nutrients stored within the foliage - same synthetic nutrients you've been feeding the plant it's entire life, flushing really doesn't make sense in that perspective.
What bothers me the most, is why would anyone deprive their plants of food and force them to cannibalize themselves the most important weeks of their lives, when the buds pack on the most weight? It's ridiculous. We are growing for buds after all...

Considering the fact, that your whole plant is made up from the same building blocks you've been feeding it it's entire life, and that nutes stay in their original form only within the plant root zone - depriving it from food makes no sense to me whatsoever. That's why I started this thread - to look for reason.
Even if there are side effect to growing with synthetic nutrients - the damage at this point is already irreversible.
 

Onceuponapuff

Active Member
In Humboldt a lot of growers "pump" their plants full
of neuts the last two weeks for maximum growth and
this is what I do and my smoke turns out
smooth as ice every time.
So smooth you can't feel any smoke at all going down
your throat when inhaling and just
as smooth on the exhale.
Rips your lungs out from expansion though!
Interesting. This definitely got my attention and I'm thinking about trying it out.
However, I am a little concerned about pumping them full of nutes last weeks for only one reason, a few years ago I've read that overfeeding the plants last weeks of their maturation can stress them and cause them to hermie.
Does this seem reasonable to you?
 

Onceuponapuff

Active Member
This is an interesting thread I read when making the decision for myself, when I expand I'm gonna do a side by side test so I know for sure but seeing as I'm only doing a small amount for my personal smoke then I've decided to air on the side of flushing. But the dude who taught me swears against it and I trust his judgement and I've smoked his weed and its dank and right up with there with some of the best I've ever smoked.


https://www.icmag.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=1432&topicid=9
Thanks for the link! Well, if I were in your position I would side with flushing the plants as well. It does reduce the overall Nitrogen level within the plant and that I've read a few times speeds up the drying and curing process. And I do not argue the fact that it makes bud smoother, makes sense in some ways.

However, with the amount of plants and work I have - it's impossible for me to flush. There's absolutely no way I could do it, not enough time in the day for it(and I only have half the day after all). Also, there's just too much of other, much more important things to do, as well as personal life(ok... lies, I don't have any during the harvest weeks, barely sleep).
Flushing definitely reduces the overall weight gained, and in your position with a few plants a few grams here and there is not such a big thing - but when it comes to 10, 20, 30 or even 50 etc. plants - do the math... those few grams here and there add up to quite something.

I started off with 6 plants - I flushed the shit out of them for 2 weeks. 3 times the volume of the pot. Worst mistake everrr... they looked miserable and it broke my heart.
If I were you, I'd give them that amount of water the last 5 days. Maybe 7 days, but not more.
Surely try and experiment every grow, you'll find what suits you best.

Perfection in growing leads to fanaticism, it's destructive. If I am in any position to give you advice, it would be simple - don't overdo it. Do as little damage as possible - and this is the most important when handling your buds(manicuring etc.).
It's your baby - don't drop it on the head... :D
 

Blue brother

Well-Known Member
Yeah mate I understand it's an input vs output thing. It's got to be or else it wouldn't be worth it.

I won't bother with any longer than 6 days and I might even continue to use pk13/14, up the ph and just drop the base nutes out.

Haha tell me about it my buddy keeps telling me off for squeezing Young colas and fondling the plants. I actually snapped my first seedling although it did turn out to have the gnarliest stem and now has 4 large colas sitting ontop of it.
Thanks for the advice.
 

Milovan

Well-Known Member
why would anyone deprive their plants of food and force them to cannibalize themselves the most important weeks of their lives,nutes stay in their original form only within the plant root zone - depriving it from food makes no sense to me whatsoever. QUOTE]

Plants in the wild don't run out of food
the last few weeks of their life.
 

Milovan

Well-Known Member
Interesting. This definitely got my attention and I'm thinking about trying it out.
However, I am a little concerned about pumping them full of nutes last weeks for only one reason, a few years ago I've read that overfeeding the plants last weeks of their maturation can stress them and cause them to hermie.
Does this seem reasonable to you?
.
By pumping they feed everyday instead of every other day last week or two so it seems
now, which kind of neuts plays a roll in over feeding or not overfeeding when used daily last week or so?
If needed, adjustments to correct the level of N-P or K can be made with any neut line i'm sure.

Possible to hermie if the plants are
grown by seed and not by clone.





.
 

axeman916

Well-Known Member
hey OUaP, i used to flush my plants because my friend swore by it. earlier this year i had a grow going and came time to flush, i was super tired and didn't want to deal with flushing 16 plants so i just lined them up and started with the first. watering till it ran out the bottom and moved to the next, by the time i hit the last one i was done. usually id go over them 3 times each but i was burnt out (on some meds my doc gave me for my back) any way i said fuck it and put em back in the tent. and figured id do it after they dry a bit..... nope still too fucking lazy, i ended up watering again, long story short my girl and my friends girl hit the smoke and are like wow this is great, smooth and taste great....(i don't smoke) and I'm sitting there like damn i hardly flushed... the following grow i didn't even attempt flushing i just fed all the way up to harvest.(same strains) they rip that and wholah!!! "omg this is so grapey and fruity, so smooth how many times did u flush?" I'm like i didn't and they just looked at me all stupid... i laughed my ass off. the current grow is at week 8 and I'm still feeding..
 

homebrew420

Well-Known Member
You are asking a question that can't really be answered given the number of factors to involved. In short feed to the end with caution. The idea that a flush is necessary is a false one. The real issue is whether or not The plant is still actively growing and if the proper nutrient ratios are available. IF these 2 factors are a yes than feed to the end. If you have loaded the plant with phosphorous then more nitrogen/potassium will likely be needed to help utilize.
I have witnessed pants fed an enormous amout of food right to the end without poor results.

Good luck
 
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