Flushing???? +rep

time to flush got about two weeks to go..last harvest went ok, taste was decent not what i expected from how fruity they smelled. cured for about a month and they lost the great smell until it was broken up. wondering if i can do anything different to help taste and smell during the flush... heard somethings about apple juice, honey. and molasses any input?? =rep!!

IMHO and experience, nothing you add to your feed solution will change the taste or smell. You're a soil grower, correct? If from what you do add has any nutritional value, the micro organisms will break them down to ions that the root system can absorb. That's all that really happens at that level. In my experience with molasses during flush, it helps with sustaining the plant with a little nutrition during this stressful time with no nutrients. Others may think otherwise, but flavour and odour have never been altered from any additional additives that I've tried.

Genetics, genetics... Genetics If you're looking for specific expressed phenotypes from a plant, do some research and you'll find what strain has what you are looking for.

For the last 2-3 waterings, flush with a mild nute solution, maybe 1/8 strength or a flushing agent. If it makes you feel better, use straight water for the last of the 3 waterings. As Canuck pointed out, genetics and a cure seem to play the biggest role in flavor.

molasses works great!

lime73 said:

molasses works great!

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Can you elaborate please? "molasses works great!" doesn't really help the OP.

CaNNaBiZ CaNucK said:

Can you elaborate please?

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It helps dense up your buds. You can flavor buds if you wish using extracts. Add to your plant's water and give a light watering with extracts about 2 hours before cutting the stems. Some that work well are orange, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon and grape. As far as preserving the buds true flavor, no idea, would love to learn something new here.

I've never seen molasses have any effect on the density of my nugs. With the same strain I flushed half w/ molasses and half w/o.. no difference, save for the fact that the one with molasses had slightly healthier fans. As for the extracts, I never used them, nor would I ever, mind you, but that's what the directions actually state? Mix the extract and water 2 hours before harvest? How could that possibly flavour the buds? That is biologically impossible. And you say it works, from your experience?

I'm kind of curious about these extracts myself. Recently I came across some stuff that most definitely wasn't a "Tasty Puff"-induced flavour, but still tasted pretty artificial.

It goes like this.....

"Adding flavors with the proper technique will produce your favorite variety of smells and taste like whatever you want. Do not pour syrup or similar sugar based flavorings on the harvested herb because sugar will make a harsh taste. The best flavor enhancing starts while the plant is still growing. There are two main approaches, inside out and outside in. You can apply flavors inside the plant while it's still growing and you can try to add flavors after it's been harvested from the outside. Select a flavoring that is very concentrated. Take orange for an example. You could use orange juice but it contains natural sugars. You will find some concentrated flavor extracts in the grocery store. Vanilla extract is cheap and readily available, so is lemon extract (cooking variety). Other extracts can be found in stores that specialize in baking supplies. Vanilla is our favorite taste. A coffee filter works well for filtering fruits but it'll take a while to filter it all. You may have to change filters a few times. Concentrated extracts are the best to use. Use extracts shortly before harvest. Most extracts have sugar in them. Sugar will ferment and decay rapidly, even more so in a hydro unit. With hydro put the flavoring in the water between 1 and 3 hours before harvest. Anything longer will produce harmful bacteria. Plants draw up solution fairly quickly, one hour should be enough for some of the flavoring to reach the top. Three hours should not be enough time for bacteria to grow. Dump out the solution right afterwards and clean out your unit. Use plain water for a few days before harvesting your hydro crop so all that will be in the water will be the flavoring. Soil growing is easier. Let the plant dry out a little before applying the solution. Do it in the watering just before harvest. Give your plants plain water for the last two weeks and near the end do this process. When the plant is somewhat dry and craving water, give the plant the water with the flavor when it's a little bit thirsty and it will draw it right up. One hour is more than enough time."

I've done Orange and cinnamon with good effects. If you need a source for the info, just google the first sentence.

And how is it biologically impossible? Ever sit a piece of celery in tomato juice? Doesn't take long does it? A dry plant near harvest does the same thing.

Serapis said:

And how is it biologically impossible? Ever sit a piece of celery in tomato juice? Doesn't take long does it? A dry plant near harvest does the same thing.

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Um no that's rubbish, complex flavour molecules are too big to be absorbed by roots,
The celery absorbs the tomato juice because the stem is sat in the juice, bypassing the root system.
You'd have to cut branches off of your plant and sit the cut ends in a lemon juice solution for the plant to absorb it. I definately wouldn't recommend it though

If you want your buds to taste lemony, grow a lemony tasting strain

I must retract my 'biologocally impossible' statement as water can move about 1 meter per hour through a plant. But what I can't understand is how flavour is transferred and maintained through the root absorbtion process. I love to know the science behind that. Any thoughts?

thanks for all of the replies... im growing dwc 400watt hps my temps are also higher than id like but dont have the cash to invest in a port AC unit just yet..think that may effect taste or smell?

Heat stressing won't affect the taste or smell, but will certainly affect the overall health of the plant. Try to remedy that problem! At the very least, try to have your intake as low to the ground as possible to have the coolest air available for your growspace.

rastakolnikov said:

Um no that's rubbish, complex flavour molecules are too big to be absorbed by roots,
The celery absorbs the tomato juice because the stem is sat in the juice, bypassing the root system.
You'd have to cut branches off of your plant and sit the cut ends in a lemon juice solution for the plant to absorb it. I definately wouldn't recommend it though

If you want your buds to taste lemony, grow a lemony tasting strain

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Somebody better inform my plants then, they are breaking your complex physics laws.... LOL...

My current crop is Bubble Gum. I hope to add cinnamon extract flavored flush on chop day and i'll cure with cinnamon sticks for what I hope will be some good cinnamon essence bubble gum smoke. All I'm aiming for is a very subtle essence, not an outright flavor change. I've experimented with it before and was able to notice the difference, as did my smoking buddy. could be we were hallucinating, but I doubt it. Follow my grow. I'll be doing cinnamon and vanilla. If needed, I'll cure with vanilla bean and cinnamon stick, hitting the bud inside and out.

check out floralicious plus. I swear by the stuff. It adds a fruity aroma and light sweet fruity taste. I think most of the taste you get when you smoke is from smell because isnt that how we taste food and everything else? next time you eat your favorite dish try holding your nose for a few seconds and then take a bite. But i agree with finding a strain with the taste your looking for. I think all you can really do is enhance the flavors that are already there. As for spraying that tasty puff stuff or what ever that flavored stuff is called, why would anyone do that? I bought a bag that had been sprayed with some of that flavor stuff an just threw it away.

Heresy here !!!! I have never found ´flushing´ to make any difference whatever to the taste of my bud - did an experiment one year, ´flushed´some, kept feeding others. Tasted just the same, in fact thost that I continued to feed were a bit more potent.
IMHO this flushing is just another Old Wives Tale - propogated by naive kids who have never cultivated anything else and just pass on what they have read.
My grandad never flushed his tomatoes - in fact is any other plant at all flushed before harvest???

I believe in flushing. When i don't flush the bud doesn't necessarily have a bad taste bit it kind of leave a burning sensation on my tongue and throat, and is a little bit harsher. Nutes prolly have alot to do with it as well. I'm using botanicare cns17. But i think two full weeks of flushing is a bit extensive. doesn't that stunt growth in some way? I only flush about 4 days or so but im nft....

prizm23a said:

I believe in flushing.

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Along with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny??? All fiction.

Spanishfly, if you don't agree with the majority on here then find a new forum. All you keep doing is moving from one thread to another disagreeing with people, that's not helpful.

Spanishfly said:

Heresy here !!!! I have never found ´flushing´ to make any difference whatever to the taste of my bud - did an experiment one year, ´flushed´some, kept feeding others. Tasted just the same, in fact thost that I continued to feed were a bit more potent.
IMHO this flushing is just another Old Wives Tale - propogated by naive kids who have never cultivated anything else and just pass on what they have read.
My grandad never flushed his tomatoes - in fact is any other plant at all flushed before harvest???

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Do you smoke tomatoes? You need to flush the salts and sugars from the plant so they don't burn and make the smoke harsh.