Morning/ evening everyone. I have read a lot about people that use synthetic nutes that flush their plant in order to have a smoother or better smoke yadda yadda.
I had always thought it sounded funny because the flowers have already taken in the nutrients and I heard a podcast yesterday with some big time grower mentioning exactly what I had thought.
So if you flush a week or two before harvest right, it only makes sense that all the nutrients are already inside 90% of your flower. Flushing it isn’t going to magically pull the nutrients out of your buds and /or trichomes that are already formed making it a better smoke.
My question is do you flush and if so why? ( I understand from the side of stressing it out to produce trichomes or whatever but the removing nutrients doesn’t make sense to me)
( I’m a newb obviously but just something I had thought of and heard someone more experienced same the same thing so that’s why I’m asking here)
You arent trying to remove nutes from the flower. You are letting the plant use stored nutes so theybdont carry over. Why people fixate on the idea that you remove something is crazy to me. Like DUH! Also, a plant uses nutes to make flowers. Once flower is made, nute is used.
The flush is about allowing plant to use all stored nutes so you dontt end up with them in your smoke. It starts a breakdown of chlorophyll before you ever put them into a jar. Its kinda like a pre curing.
There are many ideas behind what you speak about…and many are not fact based but based on experience and a memory clouded with smoking … so eventually somebody does a side by side and shows at least in that particular grow that what we thought made a difference in the end doesn’t. I have changed so many of my old school self taught ideas based on real side by side comparisons…so there you go …to flush or not to flush really depends on what you believe will make your grow better
Some company somewhere ran a blind taste test to see if flushing actually did anything.
The results are posted here somewhere or a google search will turn it up.
Testers could not tell at all. Chemical tests showed no differences either.
But some still do and that’s fine. I don’t feed during the last week or two simply because it doesn’t help anything and I might as well save the nutrients for the next grow. Why waste money.
Appreciate the responses and all of it makes sense. I was just curious because the way some made it sound like they were magically cleansing the flower of nutrients lol. Love this group because I get so much different people with different experiences to chime in thank you
This is why there is so much controversy over this subject. All I know is if I stop feeding nutes a week or two before harvest. My smoke is much much less harsh on the hit than if I didn’t. Tried both ways and the no nutes at the end works for me. Try your own experiments and see what works for you. If you do stop feeding be prepared to see some sick looking nutrient deprived plants. At the end of a grow it doesn’t matter what they look like IMO. As long as the buds are already developed. The leaves can look like whatever. Your going to cut it down anyway.
Thats what i call flushing is water only for some time. That is why i say i flush but not the traditional flush of completely washing out the soil. Plain water not even ph’d till run off for a week - week and a half sometimes 2 weeks.
I do not flush myself. In living soil now and why flush all the love from the soil. I also read the test results @Spiney_norman posted a while back. Scientific method. No noticeable difference in nute retention or dispersal. Percentages were negligable. The blind tests had no flush at top tastewise and harshness. Just my opinion. I still believe it is a choice and not required. Nice thread.
The truth is its bro science there has been studies done on this and there is no significant difference between flushing and not flushing my guess would be maybe there flushing there soils or coco to get rid of left over salts in there medium so they can reuse there medium again .And the same goes with when ur bud burns if its white or black ash its another bro science theory i know this will probably open a can of worms but i have watched so many videos and read so many scientific findings on this subject and it all points to bro science .So basically its a personal preference thing to flush or not to flush
Well. Bro science or not. Study’s or not.
I will continue to give water only for the last week to 10 days. I use salt based nutes btw.
I’ve got a plant bottled now that didn’t have enough water only at the end and I can’t smoke it.
Won’t burn right and the bro science black ash is there. Not to mention the hack and gag harshness to the smoke.
That blind taste test study referenced by @Spiney_norman was done by a nutrient company so take it with a grain of salt folks.
They stand to sell you 2 more weeks worth of nutes if you don’t flush / water only at the end.
That all said. Check it out yourself on a couple plants. One water only for 2 weeks. The other feed right up to harvest. See for yourself if there’s a difference in the outcome.
You know which side of the fence I’m on.
I have seen growers who actually use this technique to get ready for harvest. Watering with pH way out of range to lock out nutrients. I wonder if the best benefit of flushing is that the plant undergoes a reduction in chlorophyll. Most flushed plants will start to yellow from lack of nutrients and chlorophyll is a harsh component in smoking. Its one reason we cure to let it break down.
Thanks bro