i know it's a controversial subject!!

now i was just reading a thread and it said that there is no point or science behind flushing plants, but i was always told that if you flush a plant the week before it makes the plant use up the nutrients and it will taste better if you don't flush the plant it will practically be ruined.

what one should i go with?

how many people on here flush plants and how many don't ?

I do but not as long or as many times as alot of guys suggest. If your using synthetic nutrients then you might want to flush to get any of the syn stuff out. I'm doing a 98% organic grow( using Calmag) and I just water them like normal the last week with normal filtered water and my stuff has come out great. No weird tastes like I have tasted before.

Flushing IMO is not necessary, I've tried it and couldn't tell a difference. I did notice it may be easy for first time grower or just someone who doesn't have much experience may try and flush when more nutes would pack on more weight. So many different opinions on what a flush is, what I did was just watered my plants normally with some run off with plain water last couple of weeks.

The flushing process seems to be too much work. In my opinion. Just start watering with plain water the last two weeks.

It's been a while since I've grown, but before I stopped I was no longer flushing. They seemed to pack on more weight when I didn't flush and I couldn't tell a difference in taste/smoke. Curing is more important.

friedguy said:

It's been a while since I've grown, but before I stopped I was no longer flushing. They seemed to pack on more weight when I didn't flush and I couldn't tell a difference in taste/smoke. Curing is more important.

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I will agree sir. Mother nature doesn't flush so why should we.

MasterMiller said:

I do but not as long or as many times as alot of guys suggest. If your using synthetic nutrients then you might want to flush to get any of the syn stuff out. I'm doing a 98% organic grow( using Calmag) and I just water them like normal the last week with normal filtered water and my stuff has come out great. No weird tastes like I have tasted before.

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I wanted to clarify after I wrote this. I guess technically I'm really only watering with just plain water. Flushing is when you take a bunch of water an flood the media a bunch of times. That's the waste of time I was talking about.

MasterMiller said:

The flushing process seems to be too much work. In my opinion. Just start watering with plain water the last two weeks.

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That's exactly what a final flush is. Its not the same as when you are flushing excess nutes from the soil. It's just giving plain water for the final weeks.

nfhiggs said:

That's exactly what a final flush is. Its not the same as when you are flushing excess nutes from the soil. It's just giving plain water for the final weeks.

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Sweet. Thanks for the reassurance. There might be a Lil confusion for new guys as to what is what. This post is great info. Thanks guys.

MasterMiller said:

Sweet. Thanks for the reassurance. There might be a Lil confusion for new guys as to what is what. This post is great info. Thanks guys.

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Yeah, it would help if folks had came up with a different name for the process to differentiate it from a soil flush.

"Flushing" depends on what method you're using. In soil/coco, it's running a bunch of pH balanced water (preferably RO) through the medium. In hydro/aero, it's using only plain pH balanced water with no nutes. The idea is that the plant will use up the nutes in it's leaves/roots since there is nothing in the medium. That is supposed to mellow the smoke and bring out the tastes. I notice no difference. As I said earlier, focus on curing.

friedguy said:

"Flushing" depends on what method you're using. In soil/coco, it's running a bunch of pH balanced water (preferably RO) through the medium. In hydro/aero, it's using only plain pH balanced water with no nutes. The idea is that the plant will use up the nutes in it's leaves/roots since there is nothing in the medium. That is supposed to mellow the smoke and bring out the tastes. I notice no difference. As I said earlier, focus on curing.

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I tend to agree - I'm skeptical of the whole flushing thing.

With all the buds being tested you would think we could find a scientific test proving or disproving this by the amount of nutrients in the bud flush/not flushed. I'm skeptical because I cant find a site telling me to flush that's not trying to sell me something. On the other hand there are allot of great growers that say to flush. Same reason I love and hate this community... lots of great people doing great things and very helpful but all have a different truth.

If flushing really works... Seems the people selling the chemicals would publish proof that it works seriously... And how many of you master growers have access to get your buds tested.... Why don't you and settle this. Inquiring minds want to know

It might be necessary w/ synthetic but hydro or soil + organic goes all the way to finish for me w/ no off flavors and better bulk.

MasterMiller said:

The flushing process seems to be too much work. In my opinion. Just start watering with plain water the last two weeks.

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No, you would be starving your plants when they are trying to bulk up , ripen up and finish. Why would you remove fuel from an athelete when they are doing everything possible to win in the home stretch? This is one of many reasons flushing is B.s

Once the plant has used nutrients to make cells and structure , you simply cannot flush that away. But what you do accomplish by pouring water through your container" flush" is starving the shit out of your plants when they need all those trace minerals and nutrition to build turpene profiles, thc, bulk ect...

Flushing is for toilets.

nfhiggs said:

Yeah, it would help if folks had came up with a different name for the process to differentiate it from a soil flush.

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There already is terminology. Leaching is the term for washing out the excess salts out of the pot at one watering.

If you add fertilizer you may need to leach your pots occasionally.

Flushing is not an agricultural industry term as far as I know. Greenhouses tend to cut feed for the last week as the plants don't need it and it saves money.

I like to taper feed strength towards the end of ripening to ensure the plant has enough nutrients to build big buds until it is finished. But not too much is the key.

Flushing is a joke, Just some stoner myth that nutrient companies created "products" to capitalize on. You could smoke a joint of some of my cannabis and you would never know it was ran with nutrients right up till the point of chopping. Where is the logic in taking the energy producing nutrients away from a plant in the two weeks it needs it the most?? All it does is hurt your yield, a proper dry and cure are what makes or breaks the taste and burn of a plant

Flushing is a stoner term, not a horticultural one.

"Flushing" will not remove chemicals from the plant.

As MichiganMedGrower stated leaching is a horticultural term and is used to remove excess salt build up. (mainly used in soil grows).