Final Flush: Myth Or Fact?

[MrFortwenty]

Iv learnt by not flushing when using synthetic nutes leaves a disgusting taste and bud that doesnt burn.

Unfortunately there's many of us that'll disagree. EVERYTHING comes down to doing a proper cure, that's where flavor, taste and smooth smoke comes from.

 

[InTheShed]

Iv learnt by not flushing when using synthetic nutes leaves a disgusting taste and bud that doesnt burn.

You've learned something that isn't true though. So that makes it fact? I've used synthetic nutes for two year on many different strains, auto and photo. They were all dried and cured correctly and none of them got tested before they were at least a month into cure. Everyone who smokes my weed says it's the smoothest around and they taste nothing but bud.

 

[InTheShed]

Total stoner science. But beware, you're going to get some in here that say science doesn't matter and their own "experiments" show otherwise lol

Irrigation Management Strategies for Medical Cannabis in Controlled Environments

The effects of flushing were also investigated to determine whether it had the intended effect of reducing nutrient concentrations within the dried bud. Through the use of psychrometers, water status (cWP) thresholds were correlated with humidity (cVPD) thresholds and reduced irrigation frequency resulting in water use reductions up to 45.7% which had negligible impacts on yield and cannabinoid profile. Flushing was found to be ineffective in removing any significant amount of nutrient from the bud.

Section 6.2

The practice of flushing is a current common industry practice but there is no evidence in published literature of its effectiveness in reducing nutrient concentrations within the bud or even whether or not this is a desirable result. After testing the nutrient concentrations from each treatment from three separate experiments, there were no significant differences in nutrient levels between any treatments within each experiment. This result showed that the intended purpose of flushing to reduce nutrient concentrations within the bud has no effect. These data show that for the last two weeks of the flower cycle for cannabis, it was possible to use no fertilizer water for irrigation with no significant impact on yield while saving input costs on fertilizer.

You know where you ought to repost that intact? Here:

A critical look at preharvest flushing

Pre harvest flushing is a controversial topic. Flushing is supposed to improve taste of the final bud by either giving only pure water, clearing solutions or extensive flushing for the last 7-14 days of flowering. While many growers claim a positive effect, others deny any positive influence or...

www.420magazine.com

They could use another dose of science in that thread. It's getting overrun with magic!

 

[MrFortwenty]

You've learned something that isn't true though. So that makes it fact? I've used synthetic nutes for two year on many different strains, auto and photo. They were all dried and cured correctly and none of them got tested before they were at least a month into cure. Everyone who smokes my weed says it's the smoothest around and they taste nothing but bud.

His "science" seems to trump all

 

[Conradino23]

On the taste of bud... well it’s totally subjective. Some have better olfactory sense and some worse. Some can’t tell any difference and some can feel subtleties... and this doesn’t fall under science, so discussion about which bud tastes better is pointless IMO.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Going by what works for me and what i was taught, i would never go back on not flushing, each to there own .

 

[MrFortwenty]

On the taste of bud... well it’s totally subjective. Some have better olfactory sense and some worse. Some can’t tell any difference and some can feel subtleties... and this doesn’t fall under science, so discussion about which bud tastes better is pointless IMO.

It's been proven by SCIENCE harvest flushing for the reason people flush is wrong. So if you think one persons olfactory can pick up "nutes" in a bud vs a scientific experiment using tools that can actually MEASURE these values is somewhat...interesting.

It is, and always was, about the cure.

 

[Conradino23]

Hmmm there’s actually a simple explanation why so called flushing convinces a lot of people... so you’re running just water for the last two weeks or so, which is exactly what it is - WATERING, cause you’re not flushing anything. Well if you stop for a while with your 20-50-80 fertilisers then your plant definitely starts growing better, so you get a better produce. And now let’s imagine what would happen if you cut these fertilisers by half

 

[Conradino23]

It's been proven by SCIENCE harvest flushing for the reason people flush is wrong. So if you think one persons olfactory can pick up "nutes" in a bud vs a scientific experiment using tools that can actually MEASURE these values is somewhat...interesting.

It is, and always was, about the cure.

Nope I’m not doing that. You missed my point. Flushing is bullshit and I don’t doubt it, especially that I never flushed in my life and never had a harsh smoke... but you can’t compare different abilities to smell things, you have a nose trained or not or you don’t.

 

[MrFortwenty]

Nope I’m not doing that. You missed my point. Flushing is bullshit and I don’t doubt it, especially that I never flushed in my life and never had a harsh smoke... but you can’t compare different abilities to smell things, you have a nose trained or not or you don’t.

Gotcha, this is true. But it's those that disregard the science because they swear they can "taste" the difference, so they say you have to flush. I've had someone here previously tell me she can taste the magnesium if she doesn't flush. lol

 

[Drivejunky95]

Space tastes like raspberries and smells like rum.

Variances in taste are probably unique to each particular plant.

Get one bad smoke and label them all as needing a flush doesnt seem right.

Sounds like the cure is the end game.

 

[Conradino23]

And that’s why this discussion is not going away any time soon. You believe or feel it’s better for you, so you do it and nothing’s wrong with that. After all we live in a free world. And then obviously watering can’t hurt, so there’s that

But on the other hand if you try to validate your belief with science that doesn’t exist, then you’re overstepping imo and you’re entering the world of magic

 

[bluter]

hmmm

know someone who did a side by side. flush, non-flush. wasn't planned to be that way tho, just circumstance. hp promix soil grow. the flushed turned out better. marginally. but that was just our experience.

the non flushed was not harsh. taste was not bad at all. as far as flavor we could not say there is a difference. he has his cure down good. it made hard black ash tho and would not burn. we call it safety weed lol.

the other stuff made white ash and burnt fine. absolutely everything else seemed the the same.

i flush as that's what i was taught before internet. have also heard if you get the soil temp down at the end of flower it will also affect taste and burn positively. that's kind of a bc outdoor grow myth. always figgered it would just halt all the plant processes. would be interesting to know if that really has an effect as well.

 

[MrFortwenty]

hmmm

know someone who did a side by side. flush, non-flush. wasn't planned to be that way tho, just circumstance. hp promix soil grow. the flushed turned out better. marginally. but that was just our experience.

the non flushed was not harsh. taste was not bad at all. as far as flavor we could not say there is a difference. he has his cure down good. it made hard black ash tho and would not burn. we call it safety weed lol.

the other stuff made white ash and burnt fine. absolutely everything else seemed the the same.

i flush as that's what i was taught before internet. have also heard if you get the soil temp down at the end of flower it will also affect taste and burn positively. that's kind of a bc outdoor grow myth. always figgered it would just halt all the plant processes. would be interesting to know if that really has an effect as well.

The color of burning ash is also one of the ongoing stoner myths. And the test your friend performed is not what I would call a reliable scientific test in the least.

 

[InTheShed]

I flushed because that was what I was taught on the internet. Then I discovered science and I stopped. All my weed burns lovely. All of my plants are fed until the end.

 

[bluter]

The color of burning ash is also one of the ongoing stoner myths. And the test your friend performed is not what I would call a reliable scientific test in the least.

no it is definitely not a scientific study.


everyone i know hates the legal dispensary weed. they all feel it is rushed, not flushed correct, or cured proper. it pretty much all smokes a touch harsh and black. knowing that demand is currently above supply, that would very much seem to make sense. the criticism of dispensary weed is near universal in that regard.

i can over pay for that black ash crap anytime, but why would i ??

 

[Conradino23]

And this is mostly, cause amateurs grow it.... which for the sake of argument means people with little to no botanical knowledge. You can't grow good weed based on fertilisers and definitely not on those that have NPK through the roof. But this industry is in its infancy, so a lot of things will change yet. In my grows fertilisers are rarely used and the strongest stuff - however slow release - I bring to the table is 4-5-1. I use two spoons of it per plant in flowering and that's about it.

 

[Captain Cannabis]

I want to throw a question out here about flushing, but it's not about chemical runoff.

Will flushing with ice cold water bring out more "colors" in certain strains?

 

[TorturedSoul]

You're not "flushing" as in running a ton of water through the plant like you would for a toxicity issue. You're just watering with no nutes. Read the study lol

The OP was specifically asking about "flushing," and even used the term in the thread title.

Someone once told me that I should feed my plants what they need - no less and certainly no more. I suppose that, for some, the thought of trying to magically rinse nutrients out of their plants is an easier concept to understand than actually learning to read their plants, knowing exactly what is in their plant nutrients/supplements (and in what ratios), having at least a general working knowledge of what cannabis plants require, on average, at different stages in its life, and allowing one's plants to show the gardener what their specific needs are...

But I cannot imagine that it would be better than doing so. Unless... Hmm. Do we get extra points for being lazy and trying to take short cuts instead of paying proper attention throughout the entire grow, lol?

Flushing ... I have read many times that cannabis is GOOD for the environment, because its roots can pull all kinds of nasty stuff out of the ground. In the '90s, a team of scientists demonstrated that cannabis was able to accumulate heavy metals from soil in contaminated fields near Chernobyl. In 2001, a team of German researchers confirmed the Chernobyl results by showing that hemp was able to extract lead, cadmium and nickel from a plot of land contaminated with sewage sludge. Et cetera.

If you let stuff get into your cannabis plants, a little flush isn't going to remove it. Now this is unfortunate when one is forced to plant one's cannabis garden behind a failed nuclear reactor, lol - but we're here talking about cannabis plants grown in containers, filled with soil (or some other medium) that we chose, and that are being fed nutrients that we chose, mixed in ratios that we chose, in concentrations that we chose. If you end up with something in your cannabis that YOU don't want... remember who put it there. Next time, read your plants.

Which kind of causes discussions such as this one to get automatically translated in my brain to: "Hey, I want to be lazy, not learn anything about my plants or nutrients or... anything, really. I can be like that all the way from when I plant my seeds almost to harvest day - and then quickly and easily fix it, right?"

Here's a question for you "flushers" out there to think about: How the <BLEEP> do you "flush" plants that are grown in the ground, which may have extensive root systems and be accessing their own nutrients, as and when they need them, lofl?

I think we might be guilty of the same sort of mental issue (for lack of a better term) when the time comes to dry and cure our bud. Dry, then cure. Wait... What? How 'bout I just dry it really, really, really slowly like they did back in the day? Hey, it's dry - and, oh look, it's cured. But if we don't know what we're doing, don't pay proper attention, or even just have a little bad luck... we get moldy bud. So we dry, then cure.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Some guys were claiming that the plunt flushes herself or something like that or that she consumes the leftovers... here I always come with a question, why does she even have leftovers? WTF does it even mean? So the logic is to pump her to an OD and then bring her back? How crazy is that?

Do those same people still hang their plants to dry upside-down, so that the THC can drain down into the buds?

I do believe the jury is still out on the one about planting directly over the carcass of a freshly-hanged thief, though. But at least that one ends with a dead thief, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt .