Do I need to Flush?

irocu88

irocu88

Well-Known Member
Sorry for bringing up this topic again.....But I did. I am using the FF line of nutes ( big bloom, TB, grow big,cha ching,open sesame and beastie bloom) with happy frog soil. I am at the end of week 4 and the schedule calls for flushing. I am having zero issues thus far and all looks great. In my last few grows it seems that I start to have problems a few weeks into flower, most of which I think have been from me stopping nutes way too soon before harvest. I have been following their feeding schedule so far and have had great results and I don't want to screw it up by being lazy and skipping steps.

It seems most people say flushing is a waste of time..... However, I have read FF nutes are EDTA based, so with that said should I flush and if so, How much water do I need to flush with? I already have my sledgehammer, I just don't want to waste my time with unnecessary steps.

Thank you all.
 
irocu88 said:
Sorry for bringing up this topic again.....But I did. I am using the FF line of nutes ( big bloom, TB, grow big,cha ching,open sesame and beastie bloom) with happy frog soil. I am at the end of week 4 and the schedule calls for flushing. I am having zero issues thus far and all looks great. In my last few grows it seems that I start to have problems a few weeks into flower, most of which I think have been from me stopping nutes way too soon before harvest. I have been following their feeding schedule so far and have had great results and I don't want to screw it up by being lazy and skipping steps.

It seems most people say flushing is a waste of time..... However, I have read FF nutes are EDTA based, so with that said should I flush and if so, How much water do I need to flush with? I already have my sledgehammer, I just don't want to waste my time with unnecessary steps.

Thank you all.
Click to expand...
I think that they are telling you to flush to remove salts buildup around roots.
Its a preventative measure to prevent issues arising. Especially in that soil if they recommend it you should definitely do it. You'll run into a problem if you don't. Run 3x the volume of the pot with ph,d water, as best up can.
Then let her dry out before feeding again. Then try to stick to the schedule as best you can.
No need to starve your babies at end of life with water. Feed up to finish as per schedule.
 
My plan was to take a 5 gal bucket, drill holes in the bottom, set the plants in the bucket and flush through. The bucket was an idea I had to ensure the water flushes through the soil and not run out the sides of the cloth pot....Does this sound feasible? or am I making this much harder than it needs to be. I had originally planned to flush 2 gals of solution and one straight water per plant.
 
irocu88 said:
Thanks bill...

So if I have 5 gal pots...15 gal per plant?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately yes. Its better to do it now then in a couple weeks when you run into a deficiency.
 
irocu88 said:
My plan was to take a 5 gal bucket, drill holes in the bottom, set the plants in the bucket and flush through. The bucket was an idea I had to ensure the water flushes through the soil and not run out the sides of the cloth pot....Does this sound feasible? or am I making this much harder than it needs to be. I had originally planned to flush 2 gals of solution and one straight water per plant.
Click to expand...
The idea basically is to wash off roots as best you can. Some people put them in a laundry tub or something to catch water. What ever way works for you. I have a shop vac I use to empty my catch basin.
 
1ne eye said:
Lots of different views on this. I myself have flushed, and then i haven't, i find really no differents, just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
What are you growing in. Im in coco and water to runoff daily,there fore i don't get a buildup. I don't get issues generally, but have had to flush in past. Usually though I feed every day right up to harvest.
 
irocu88 said:
Sorry for bringing up this topic again.....But I did. I am using the FF line of nutes ( big bloom, TB, grow big,cha ching,open sesame and beastie bloom) with happy frog soil. I am at the end of week 4 and the schedule calls for flushing. I am having zero issues thus far and all looks great. In my last few grows it seems that I start to have problems a few weeks into flower, most of which I think have been from me stopping nutes way too soon before harvest. I have been following their feeding schedule so far and have had great results and I don't want to screw it up by being lazy and skipping steps.

It seems most people say flushing is a waste of time..... However, I have read FF nutes are EDTA based, so with that said should I flush and if so, How much water do I need to flush with? I already have my sledgehammer, I just don't want to waste my time with unnecessary steps.

Thank you all.
Click to expand...
Glad you did! Fox Farms labs knows that their nutes produce a large amount of salt buildup (EDTA) in the soil as their nutes are used. If you fail to flush regularly in a fox farm grow, you will ... not you might.... you will get salt lockout later in the grow. Do NOT follow the popular advice on the internet not to flush... your grow will likely fail as a result. MOST people who know what they are doing know that a proper 3x flush of your soil has a purpose... it is definitely NOT a waste of time. It is not necessary to use sledgehammer, but it does help so you don't have to use as much water.
 
If you flush longer than 1 week (if you flush) it will hurt your plant) - let me find rhe study (a current one) about flushing that indicated that one is really starving their plants for a two week + and stated one can feed during the "flush"
 
Ok flush done.....I flushed 10 gal sledgehammer solution and 5 gal straight ph'd water per plant... what a PITA that was. just so you know, the 5 gal bucket idea...sucks, don't do it. made a hell of a mess though. lol I also added a little soil to fill the gaps and such. Do I start feeding again at the next watering interval after dry out or now?

1ne eye said:
Straight Hydro, using Mega Crop
Click to expand...

Nah, I like soil. lol
 
irocu88 said:
Ok flush done.....I flushed 10 gal sledgehammer solution and 5 gal straight ph'd water per plant... what a PITA that was. just so you know, the 5 gal bucket idea...sucks, don't do it. made a hell of a mess though. lol I also added a little soil to fill the gaps and such. Do I start feeding again at the next watering interval after dry out or now?



Nah, I like soil. lol
Click to expand...
Good information - once it was said to use/flush 3x's the size of your container over a two week period. So for a 5 gallon bucket you will have to flush 15 gallons of water during flush -- way to much water (many years ago this was the "rule")
 
Emilya said:
Glad you did! Fox Farms labs knows that their nutes produce a large amount of salt buildup (EDTA) in the soil as their nutes are used. If you fail to flush regularly in a fox farm grow, you will ... not you might.... you will get salt lockout later in the grow. Do NOT follow the popular advice on the internet not to flush... your grow will likely fail as a result. MOST people who know what they are doing know that a proper 3x flush of your soil has a purpose... it is definitely NOT a waste of time. It is not necessary to use sledgehammer, but it does help so you don't have to use as much water.
Click to expand...

I have noticed one thing....The green color of my girls and the size of the stems are amazing this grow, much better that any of the 3 prior grows this early...I attribute this to your watering technique...it can't all be the new bulb.....

And I thank you all.......I love my girls like kids, the only ones I have.
 
safeman said:
If you flush longer than 1 week (if you flush) it will hurt your plant) - let me find rhe study (a current one) about flushing that indicated that one is really starving their plants for a two week + and stated one can feed during the "flush"
Click to expand...
Sorry @safeman, but I am going to use your words to make another point or two.

Flushing means cleaning the soil... and it always meant to run 3x the container size in fresh water through the soil, in one sitting. Flushing does not mean feeding only water, whether it is one day or 2 weeks. That act is known as forced starvation or just regular watering... it is not flushing. Giving only water at the end has been proven by modern grow methods to be less than desirable for our plants to be able to finish out strong, so the whole idea of water only at the end has been debunked. The current "best" information is to feed your plants normally, right up to the end.

Second... it is not possible to give too much water in one session. You could dump 1000 gallons of water into a 5 gallon container and let it all drain trough the soil. At the end, you will end up with extremely clean soil, and no more water stored in the soil than if you had watered to runoff. The soil is not magical, and it can not hold any more water than it was designed to do. A proper 3x flush is no more than a good watering as far as the plants are concerned, and the plant will use up the water just as it always did, in just about the same amount of time. There are those that tell you that flushing the soil and leaving nothing for the plant is harmful... it is not... it can be no more harmful than watering with water only.

Also, to our OP, the pH adjusted water at the end was not necessary. The only reason we pH our water is so that nutes are placed into the specific range where they become mobile and available to the plant. If we are not using nutes that are locked up in their EDTA bonds so they are stable in the bottle, there is NO NEED TO ADJUST PH. We only pH adjust for the nutes... not the plant or the roots or the soil... they don't care. Since you just flushed all the nutes out of the soil, there is no need to pH that last bit.... there are no longer any nutes to activate. After this good watering, simply fall right back into the pattern of feed/water/feed/water, and then pick a plain watering day for your next flush and transition to feeding from the chart, pH adjusting at each step as necessary.
 
Emilya said:
Sorry @safeman, but I am going to use your words to make another point or two.

Flushing means cleaning the soil... and it always meant to run 3x the container size in fresh water through the soil, in one sitting. Flushing does not mean feeding only water, whether it is one day or 2 weeks. That act is known as forced starvation or just regular watering... it is not flushing. Giving only water at the end has been proven by modern grow methods to be less than desirable for our plants to be able to finish out strong, so the whole idea of water only at the end has been debunked. The current "best" information is to feed your plants normally, right up to the end.

Second... it is not possible to give too much water in one session. You could dump 1000 gallons of water into a 5 gallon container and let it all drain trough the soil. At the end, you will end up with extremely clean soil, and no more water stored in the soil than if you had watered to runoff. The soil is not magical, and it can not hold any more water than it was designed to do. A proper 3x flush is no more than a good watering as far as the plants are concerned, and the plant will use up the water just as it always did, in just about the same amount of time. There are those that tell you that flushing the soil and leaving nothing for the plant is harmful... it is not... it can be no more harmful than watering with water only.

Also, to our OP, the pH adjusted water at the end was not necessary. The only reason we pH our water is so that nutes are placed into the specific range where they become mobile and available to the plant. If we are not using nutes that are locked up in their EDTA bonds so they are stable in the bottle, there is NO NEED TO ADJUST PH. We only pH adjust for the nutes... not the plant or the roots or the soil... they don't care. Since you just flushed all the nutes out of the soil, there is no need to pH that last bit.... there are no longer any nutes to activate. After this good watering, simply fall right back into the pattern of feed/water/feed/water, and then pick a plain watering day for your next flush and transition to feeding from the chart, pH adjusting at each step as necessary.
Click to expand...
How true !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! great information to be honest been growing now for 20+ and have NEVER worried about PH and have even won some bud contest, to add basiclly one is stressing the plant also just liike the "DarkTimes" before harvest but using dark time thru grow can reduce grow time by 1 week - meaning- lets say in transition stage a 24 hr dark time will reduce grow time. believe me or not it does work
 

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