Standard Nutrient Flushing Clearing Formula

[Smokin Moose]

If you are growing with chem ferts like GH flora or similar, you should clear the nutes during the last week of flowering. It will help the plant to use up its reserves stored away in its foliage, this lack of food will force the plant to translocate the extra nitogen and other elements stored in its tissues which will help the final smoke taste much better. No harsh chemical or "green" taste from the excess chlorophyll, nitrogen and other elements in the final smoke.

The best way to accomplish this clearing is to feed only water for about the last week (or LESS) of flowering.

If you have been growing the plant on organic nutrients then there is seldom a need to clear the plant since it has not taken up any foul tasting chemical nutrients. The extra N stored in the foliage will have been used up (translocated for budding fuel) as part of the natural process of final budding.

Note: These days there are several products on the "grow store" market which say they help the plants clear chemicals. Botanicare Clearex is one of these which users report great results using. My take is, if its not broke why fix it. Good old water does the trick.

 

[HeadMaster]

the only reason y u need to flush is if you over fertilize ur plants.

 

[regulator]

Ya no need to flush you can't tell the difference so dumb it's curing the weed that's most important

 

[Brett2theMax]

I always give them only water last week, no sugars no nothin just pure R/O water. I've continued to feed organically with teas and sugars(molasses and maple syrup) and there was a distinct difference in the smoke in as a negative. Flushing is a good idea for the reasons stated at the top. Also there are salts that build up on the root systems that should be flushed away if you are using chemical nutrients, this salt buildup is unavoidable using chemical feeds, it builds up over time.

I came in here hoping that it would shed some light on these new "flushing agents" I'm seeing. Are these products actually better then using just water? I've rarely had problems at the end of flower or with poor tasting bud so I'm kind of with you Med, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I am always looking for information though.

 

[medicine21]

Flushing agents are crap. Look up homebrewer on RIU. He does a test of Clearex side by side and concludes that plain pHed water does just fine.

I don't get this "need to flush if you use chemicals" argument. It's all broken down to "chemicals" anyway! That is what the plants consume - N, P, K, Ca, Mg, etc... Also, I saw another awesome thread with SCIENTIFIC studies from universities as supporting evidence that if you manage your nutes correctly throughout the life cycle THERE IS NO NEED TO FLUSH. In fact, you will be depriving your plants of needed nutes in the final cycle, reducing your yield.

Go green until harvest and don't flush is the conclusion I have arrived at.

 

[Brett2theMax]

Medicine21, the difference between chemical and organic nutrients is how the plant is given the nutrients. In organics you really never feed the plant, but rather the micro life in the soil. There are fungus' and bacteria that live in the soil, the different mycorrhizae live on the root system in organic growing and it is actually that fungal network that breaks down the "chemicals", or nutrients, in the soil into usable material for the plant. While on the elemental level everything is "chemical" the human made chemicals are not the same as the organic amendments in how they are fed to the plant. I also doubt that those studies done at the universities were on marijuana, but rather on vegetables. You can tell a plant wasn't flushed if the ash you have is a dark charcoal color and not white after it is burnt. Those lumps of charcoal ash are the left over chemicals in the plant. Plus clubs pay more for Organically grown herb so there has to be a difference somewhere between chemical and organic growing.

 

[PrairiePoet]

Medicine21, the difference between chemical and organic nutrients is how the plant is given the nutrients. In organics you really never feed the plant, but rather the micro life in the soil. There are fungus' and bacteria that live in the soil, the different mycorrhizae live on the root system in organic growing and it is actually that fungal network that breaks down the "chemicals", or nutrients, in the soil into usable material for the plant. While on the elemental level everything is "chemical" the human made chemicals are not the same as the organic amendments in how they are fed to the plant. I also doubt that those studies done at the universities were on marijuana, but rather on vegetables. You can tell a plant wasn't flushed if the ash you have is a dark charcoal color and not white after it is burnt. Those lumps of charcoal ash are the left over chemicals in the plant. Plus clubs pay more for Organically grown herb so there has to be a difference somewhere between chemical and organic growing.

Not disputing all of your post, just the part about clubs selling Organic grown product. Just like the food at the grocery. some people will pay more for something that fits into their view on life. They could get a little more from a few less people if they also claim that no animals were hurt in the production of the product.

Prairie

 

[medicine21]

Nitrogen is nitrogen. Potassium is potassium. Because there is a middle party in organics standing between the plant and what it needs, it takes longer for the plant to get it and tougher to dial it in for the grower.

 

[Stilletto]

I have to agree with most here, flushing is pointless. I also agree that a plant absorbs P, K N, etc in the same way whether it is chemical or organic. The source of the nutes is a mute point as the roots convert it into the same chemicals. I have also learned that flushing stresses out the plant in it's final phase and is more detrimental than beneficial. Removing the source of nutes(flushing) does indeed cause the plant to use up it's "stored" nutes, pulling from leaves and roots, but unless the plant accually dies 100% the buds will not have any less nutes in them.
It is all about the dry and cure. Most importantly this point: If you DO NOT fully trim the buds when you first cut the plant down, the buds will then absorb all the chemicals in the stalk and leaves. So just cutting the plant down and hanging it to dry makes it taste worse. If you cut it down and immediately trim all the buds they will not have any food to extract from the leaves hence the cleaner tasting buds.
I believe that flushing is not needed and accually bad for the final product.
But...
I do flush. But knowing how the plant eats/drinks/processes nutes is important.
I flush with a clearing solution. (I have tested 2 plants side by side and found that the runoff of the one with flushing solution was much yellower than one with plain water.)
My flush in 5 days. I water with a flush solution and then trim off 25% of my fan leaves at the same time. 3 days later (next watering) I use plain water and again trim off 25% of fan leaves. Then when I chop down 2 days later I fully trim all buds.
My weed always tastes great and smells fabulous. The dry is normally 4-5 days and then jar cured for 2 weeks minimum.
A freind hangs whole plant and always has a green flavor.??
I might not even do the 5 day flush anymore as I seem to be finding less and less scientific research supporting it?

This is just my 2 cents...

Jonny

 

[IGrowGrass]

I dont flush

 

[medicine21]

I don't think I can post a link, but Google "The truth about flushing" and make the call yourself.

 

[BLAINE7200]

I've been growing indoors for over 15 years now, with dirt, my friends call me the master, I average 3oz per plant in 3 gallons of dirt! I flush with only water for the last 3 weeks I also use mircle grow for all of my fertlizing needs along with a really old product called superthrieve. You all go out and spend money on expensive fertlizers and flushes. I've taught over 20 people to grow over the years, reeducated many the proof is when they walk into my grow room there jaws always drop. And when they fire up a bowl they can taste and smell the plant not chemicles. I wish I could educate the entire growing community, then we could eliminate all the high priced fert companys taking advantage of stupid. Sorry it's just so hard to read comments like "fertlize to tyhe end and buy this expensive flush, shit, water is the best flush.

 

[Stilletto]

Blaine, I have to respectfully disagree with you. It sounds like you have your set up dialed in nicely and good to see you are sharing your knowledge with others. Personally you sound like a know-it-all, I'm sorry but that is how you look when your first post ever calls us "idiots" and "stupid". You might think that water is just fine but I assure you that water alone will not remove salt based build up. Like the hardness that builds up in your bathtub, washing with water will work with alot of hard scrubbing, but add a little CLR and the build up dissolves instantly. This is the reason a flushing solution in used. To dissolve the salts and build up so the plants can't extract them from the soil durring the last few days. Water does work, but a flushing solution works better. Not to sound like a braggart but I have been growing 5+ years and avg 5-6 oz in 3 gallons of soil, smells and tastes great also.
Everyone does things differently and more power to you if you are happy with your results but try not to come here and say we are all idiots because we do things differently. Keep an open mind, when we think we know everything we lose the ability to learn new things.

My 2 cents.

Jonny

 

[quietonthe401]

Hellava first post though, you gotta admit! lol

 

[quietonthe401]

Where'd the master go?
No more drunk-typing, Blaine?
Slap some pics up, dude!!
I would love to see and hear good soil advice.

 

[SauronBlue]

Due to my lack of growing experience, I can't say how it will affect the final product, but to some extent, all the pro-chem flushers seem almost as closed-minded as Mr. Blaine. There is truth to the difference in man-made versus natural substances of ANY type. To disagree is to ignore plain fact. We can only imitate natural substances on a very base level - break it down to N and P and NaCl, etc., and add those elements in different amounts, but chemistry is much more complicated than that. If you mix all the ingredients of a cake at once, you come out with a mess. You have to mix everything in the right order, and with the right tools and methods or even with the same recipe, your cake will taste different from your grandmother's. Now keep in mind that God(or whoever you believe created pot) never gave us a recipe to make these compounds. The artificial sweeteners we consume affect us differently than the fructose in an apple, so why don't you think the artificial potassium we create will affect a plant that we choose to not only ingest, but ignite and inhale - the same way that nature's perfect example of potassium does? Artificial nutrients cannot compare in simplicity and elegance to a natural compound, however, it is almost as difficult to get natural substances to the plant in the same amounts, so chems are easier when trying to super-boost. Much like a body loses it's individuality when using steroids, and they can cause serious side effects, yet nothing beats 'roids to get big fast!
We need more feedback from people with flushing experience!
PS. just because yellow comes off the plants when using the flushing agents, does't necessarily mean it's making it cleaner to smoke. That could mean the exact opposite, how do you know? It could be color added by the nute company. It could be a reaction that would've happened even without nutes. Companies have done trickier things to make a buck!

 

[mr green thum]

Hello everyone I am a long time RIU member (mr. green thumb 01) I have become a member of this forum also for the vastest and most diverse amount of information I can absorb about cannabis.

This flush debate seems to be going on everywhere. After 4-5yrs now under my belt of perpetual growing from MG soil to GH nova promix to GH nova DWC to BC DWC. And consumed A LOT of flushed and un-flushed products. The difference seems to be clear to me in the way that it SMOKES. Un-flushed product seems to not burn smoothly and has a harsh in the back of your throat..sometimes even leaves your throat soar after consuming a large amount. Also sometimes sparkles or crackles when you burn it as the unmetabolized fertilizer salts combust. Un-flushed does get better in time w/ a longer cure but not as good as flushed imho. I think flushed taste and burns great as soon as its dry enough to smoke. I do feel that if you flush for to long then YES you would be depriving your plants of nutes but 1-2 wks WONT. You can tell just by looking at the plant...after a wk flush it still looks healthy...2wks, maybe minor deficiency signs but usually still healthy...3wks shes crying and this is at the point of deprivation IMO. This is why everyone says 1-2wks is fine because the plant will have enough stored nutes to be well off for this amount of time. I say flush for a minimum of three days to a week depending on your medium.

I also use a flushing agent to start and plain RO water the last few days. Its visually obvious that flushing agents clean the system out faster.---experiment if you dont believe me.. drain reservoir fill with ROwater and run for a hr and drain and refill with pure ROwater wait another hour and test PPM and record. Next BEFORE you drain the reservoir add a flushing agent and run system for a hr (as directions state on bottle) then drain your nutes. Then fill the reservoir with ROwater/flushing agent run for a hr drain, refill with pure RO and run 1hr & test PPM it WILL be lower than if you did not add the flushing agents. PPM's do not lie...YELLOW water might..but ppm's dont ;-) Water just doesnt get as much dissolved salts off the side walls, roots, and nook & crannys. Some flushing agents even have some sort of glucose or sucrose added to help improve trichome concentration.

Good luck everyone and keep on flushin!

 

[RebelGrower]

So mostly pointless arguments and name calling in the posts here, I came to learn and be educated on the subject of cannabis growing not to read about someone tooting their own horn about being the "Master". Your friends call you Yoda? So Ill just read books to get my info and let yall fight over who knows what ... I AM OUT.

 

[bunches]

I will remember to flush and use plain water the last week

 

[Weed Farmer]

I am using a hydroponic system and was going to flush once a month (my mother plants) and do a final flush at the end. My question is whether there is a major difference between soil and hydro flushing? Would you need to flush more often in a hydroponic system? Any help would be great! Thanks