to flush or not to flush...that is the question.

Fox farms tiger bloom says safe all the way through harvest. But I still think I should flush. I grow in soil. Any input? I usually grow outdoors organiclly so indoor with nutes is new to me.

I also use foxfarm in my brew, I always flush a number of times throughout my grow process, it cleanses the soil of all salt buildups which happens due to nutrient overloads, which will burn your plants and eventually cause a nutrient lockout. This will keep your plant from eating the nutrients it needs. So my advice to you is to flush as soon as you can. flushing is only a bad thing if you are not using nutrients because you would not be able to re- apply the nutrients that you just flushed out. hope that helps buddy

I use Tiger Bloom and I've tried final flushing 2 weeks prior to harvest, one week prior to harvest, 3 days prior to harvest as well as no final flush at all. The people out there that say the final flushing before harvest doesn't have any effect on the finished product obviously dont use Tiger Bloom. When I do a two week flush the buds end up smoking very smooth, with a one week flush the buds were quite smooth too but they needed to cure longer before i was satisfied with smoking them, a 3 day flush isnt the way to go, it took a lot longer for the harshness to cure out of these buds. and the buds from the plants that i didnt flush were quite harsh for months, they smoke smooth for me now but they have been aging and curing since november. of course your gonna have the old guy cannabis guru dudes here on RIU come and tell you that final flushing is pointless and "ions this and molecules that" its all new grower romance. but I've experimented to find out for myself and I will definitely continue to flush my plants before harvest (as long as im using Tiger Bloom), in my experience one week is the ideal amount of time. but since its so cheap and easy to find im gonna go buy some of this jacks classic that everyone is praising and try that for next grow and do a no flush harvest and see how it turns out.

Ok cool. I do give water with no nutes through out the grow but was wondering about a final flush. The last two indoor grows I flushed the last week or so but the lable says no need. Didn't wanna not flush unless it was said to be ok. I've been feeding at what it says is a "heavy" feeding with sucanat added. I'm starting to feel like this isn't enough tho. Didn't wanna over do it so I just followed the label. Should I be adding more ff or maybe add something else to the mix?

im new to RIU and new to MMJ cultivation, but ive been a home gardener since i was a kid. so take this as you will. I have been growing a family garden on and off my whole life, and when i do, always has nice produce from it and more than i could use in most cases.

in the last 3 months of near Daily reading, everythings im absorbing, is telling me to flush.

I'm posting to this thread but not subscribing as I don't want to debate this. Your plant has nutritional needs at all points during it's life. Starving a plant at the end is an excellent way to short you and your patients on yield and quality. Pay attention to the needs of your plants and feed accordingly. Fyi, if your plants are turning yellow, you're doing something wrong.

I agree with this as well. I don't believe any of us work better going without nutrition, the plant sure isn't going to keep producing resin, it's going to shut down, and begin feeding on stored nutrients as long as it can to stay alive. I do believe in flushing out the medium about a week before I plan on chopping.

homebrewer said:

I'm posting to this thread but not subscribing as I don't want to debate this. Your plant has nutritional needs at all points during it's life. Starving a plant at the end is an excellent way to short you and your patients on yield and quality. Pay attention to the needs of your plants and feed accordingly. Fyi, if your plants are turning yellow, you're doing something wrong.

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homebrewer said:

I'm posting to this thread but not subscribing as I don't want to debate this. Your plant has nutritional needs at all points during it's life. Starving a plant at the end is an excellent way to short you and your patients on yield and quality. Pay attention to the needs of your plants and feed accordingly. Fyi, if your plants are turning yellow, you're doing something wrong.

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I think your missing the point here, the point of a final flush is not to get bigger yields or more resin, or the assumption that the plant no longer has nutritional needs. The reason why people like to do a final flush is because in a lot of instances it results in smoother cleaner burning buds. of course you'll yield slightly less if you decide to starve your plants for two weeks, but i think one week is the magic number as long your plant is strong and has all her nutritional needs met up to that point.

Nothings turning yellow they all look healthy in nice. Harvest is in 8 days. I think I will continue to feed 2 of em til harvest and flush the others and just see the difference. Thanks for the input. Do u think I'm feeding enough tho? Following ff "heavy" feeding with sucanat.

jimmy jones said:

Nothings turning yellow they all look healthy in nice. Harvest is in 8 days. I think I will continue to feed 2 of em til harvest and flush the others and just see the difference. Thanks for the input. Do u think I'm feeding enough tho? Following ff "heavy" feeding with sucanat.

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If they look healthy and nice like you said then I think you are feeding them enough.

In addition to those mentioned, another reason to flush at the end of flowering is to minimize new bud growth. This is more beneficial to certain strains than to others and those with running tips or similarly continuous flower production get the most of this effect from flushing. Any bud material that forms in the last week or so has only has about a week to mature, as opposed to most of the rest of the flowers, which have been ripening for many weeks. This immature bud will usually have a speedy, unenjoyable high. Flushing the soil clean gets rid of the nutrients that could have caused this last-minute bud growth. The plants "notice" that there is no more food and stop trying to grow new flowers. Instead, they put their remaining resources into completing the ripening of the existing buds in order to procreate before they starve.

You should aim to harvest right when the plants need to be watered. At that point, they're at their driest and have used up all of their remaining nutrients. Flushing should be performed as the last watering before harvest and then they have one watering cycle to use up whatever food, energy and other harsh-smoking stuff that they have left.

Like a tomato plant, I pinch off any new growth once my main colas and substantial secondaries have developed. If you allow new growth to go unchecked, your buds won't fully develop, just like tomatoes. So unless you like your tomatoes green and fried, pinch off any new growth or new buds that develop after the 3-4 week of flower. Your colas just may harden up and thanks you.

Mother's Finest said:

In addition to those mentioned, another reason to flush at the end of flowering is to minimize new bud growth. Any bud material that forms in the last week or so has only had about a week to mature, as opposed to most of the rest of the flowers, which have been ripening for many weeks. This immature bud will usually have a speedy, unenjoyable high. Flushing the soil clean gets rid of the nutrients that could have caused more bud growth. The plants "notice" that there is no more food and stop trying to grow new flowers. Instead, they put their remaining resources into completing the ripening of the existing buds in order to procreate before they starve.

You should aim to harvest right when the plants need to be watered. At that point, they're at their driest and have used up their remaining nutrients. Flushing should be performed as the last watering before harvest and then they have one watering cycle to use up whatever food, energy and other non-THC stuff that they have left.

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