Hey RIU,
Im growing a few plants in soil and Ive come to the conclusion that I have over-fertilized them and now I need to do a heavy flush.
My question is can I use tap water for this and will the chlorine, pH, and dissolved solids cause more of a problem than it'll fix.
Any good info with experience is greatly appreciated and will recieve a +REP.
Thanks in advance.
OK, heres the deal with flushing in soil. Alot of people will tell you not even to PH balance the first 2/3 of the water you are going to need to flush with because it will just run right through and come right out.
I personally pH balance all of the water going through my pots because i'm a nazi and do not want to leave my soils' pH all whacked out. To be completely honest, i do not know that it matters one way or another.
The only reason chlorine could be a problem is if you are growing organic. Chlorine will kill anything alive in the soil, including your beneficials. If you have the time, then allow the water to sit out and the chlorine will evaporate.
The disolved solids will most certainly not be a problem.
Look, just prepare plain water with a ph of 6.5. Pour 3x your container size (ie 3 gallon pot/9 gallons water), and let them drain thoroughly.
I am assuming you have holes in the bottom of your containers? I know this is a stupid question but i had a friend who tried to flush his grow bags.. only problem was he had the ones without holes.. LOL.. needless to say he did not achieve the desired outcome.
P.S., doing this in a bathtub would be the ideal place, there WILL be ALOT of water that needs to drain.
ALSO, remember that the purpose of flushing was to flush the excess nutrients out of the medium. If done correctly, you will have completely flushed the nutrients out of your medium, leaving only the stored nutrients in the leaves, which will soon be used up and need replenishment. You may want to lightly fertilize your plants immediately after flushing them, or if not, definetly on your next watering.
I hope this helps. If you respond back with more specifics and some pics maybe i can be of more assistance. PEACE AND GOOD LUCK.