Flushing....Whats your technique?

laserbrn said:

There is a potential taste difference that I have noticed between flushed and unflushed buds. The unflushed buds have more clorophyl as the plant has not started feeding off itself or isn't doing so as heavily and photosynthesis has not slowed down. When you flush, you deprive the plant of the nutrients that it needs to continue healthy growth. Because the plant has begun it's senesence (as annuals do) it feeds off of the stores "leaves" to get the nutrients that it needs. As part of this process photosynthesis is slowed. The plant won't grow as vigourously and chlorphyl production is greatly reduced.

I have found that very green buds from plants that were very green (not flushed) need to be cured very slowly and carefully to remove all of the chlorophyl while plants that I have harvested that have been flushed and therefore aren't as green and don't have as much chlorophyl production are a bit smoother with a faster cure.


After a proper month of curing, I can't tell the difference anymore, so I stopped flushing and now just cure longer. The greener, healthier plants in the end produced bigger, stronger buds. Curing or Flushing...Curing. Flushing is for toilets.

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You're talking about translocation when you talk about that leaf yellowing that results in less grassiness. I don't think it's altogether accurate to credit translocation to plant starvation. I'm using AN Sensi (supposedly mixed and balanced specifically for cannabis growth patterns and needs). Instead of a sudden plain water flush, I'm letting them feed on the AN Sensi bloom base at lower than peak flower ppm for the final stage. I'm not replenishing as my external auto top diltues. The PPM is decreasing steadily and translocation (yellowing of leaves) is occuring nicely but not too rapidly to cause leaves to drop dead overnight. This is the proper balance imo. Translocation to the point of leaves dropping like flies is too extreme and will likely impact final potency. I clipped a lower nug last night to examine, and not a hint of grassiness. The rest of the plant is still feeding and growing ever so slightly.

I think it's the correct balance of NPK that promotes the plant to translocate properly at the proper stage. Not deprivation. We're so worried about deficiency all through the growth cycle, it doesn't make sense to me to force it at the end. And too much chlorophyll causing grassiness is more a result of too much N in the mix rather than no starvation.

You said it yourself perfectly:
"When you flush, you deprive the plant of the nutrients that it needs to continue healthy growth."

The plant is programmed to live a certain length and do things at a certain time. We all know it's not just gonna keep growing to infinity if we keep feeding them. You're not really telling the plant what to do at a certain time by starving it. If you feed it properly, it knows exactly what to do and when.

KushDog said:

I can tell when i get black ash and it pops and burns my thort

I know for a fact that if you keep feeding full streath till the end, it will leave black ash, pop, and hurt your thort, or maybe i am the only one that it bothers

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Yea I had this happen when I improperly cured once.
Just curious how come when I don't flush I don't get black ash and it doesn't burn my throat yet is smooth and clean as fuck? Im just curious what this means? Unless I just keep getting lucky...

SirLancelot said:

It's kind of rediculous to argue flushing increases or decreases anything because whenver side by side no one can tell. I thought the argument was on taste? Which is also rediculous to argue if flushing improves taste or not. because NO ONE! can tell a blind taste test difference. and when you truly do one not just say you do then you will understand. I bought into flushing because "thats what all the cool kids did" untill I started taking matters into my own hands. After 3 seperate tests with almost the exact same variables for every plant (or atleast everything I could control) Everytime someone does a blind tasting you know what i get.... "Uuhhhh man idk there all good" I get people guessing the bud that isn't flushed is and the one that is isn't. It's a fucking plant, like every other living fucking plant. nothing new or special about it

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So we're not growing Orchids nor African Violets?...lol...by the way some baby a weed(and one used for crop control at that)you would think so.

wbd said:

Huh?

I used to flush for harvest, but eventually tried without and like k0ijn didn't notice a difference... so I stopped. All things being equal, simpler is better -- especially in growing.

But I never fucked up anything from flushing, what do you mean by that? Just not happy with the final product?

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Since minerals are being removed from the reservoir and thus plants are put on a forced hypotonic osmosis, which is only detrimental , you could end up with the plants being worse after a flush.
Since you are basically starving them, forcing them to consumes themselves (especially sugar leaves) and thus reducing potential productivity.

With osmosis there are three possible reactions:

• If the medium is hypotonic — a dilute solution, with a higher water concentration than the cell — the cell will gain water through osmosis.
  If the medium is isotonic — a solution with exactly the same water concentration as the cell — there will be no net movement of water across the cell membrane.
  If the medium is hypertonic — a concentrated solution, with a lower water concentration than the cell — the cell will lose water by osmosis.
  ​

  ​

The isotonic stage is the only (and therefore optimum) desirable solute ratio.

plants can have a salt buildup in nature of course they can. youve never seen plants that are over fertilized outside? poor drainage would cause this.

the idea of flushing two weeks prior to harvest is to force the plant to use up all available nutes within the plant itself so no, flushing and then adding MORE nutes would be counterproductive. nutes in the bud = bud that tastes like metal, doesnt stay lit, doesnt burn cleanly, doesnt burn to a grey ash, etc...

potpimp said:

In nature, plants do not get salt buildup. After reading the last few posts I may have come up with something good. I know LordJin does true aero and is a master at it (if you're not you just have dead plants). I love growing in hydro for many reasons, control being #1. I can see there being a buildup on salts in soil, but not hydro. What if someone growing in containers flushed two weeks before the chop, getting rid of all the buildup, then went right back to giving nutes. Would that be beneficial? Would it not solve both problems of flushing and giving the plants their nutes to the end? It's just an idea that I would like to see discussed.

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midijunkie said:

the idea of flushing two weeks prior to harvest is to force the plant to use up all available nutes within the plant itself so no, flushing and then adding MORE nutes would be counterproductive. nutes in the bud = bud that tastes like metal, doesnt stay lit, doesnt burn cleanly, doesnt burn to a grey ash, etc...

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how exactly does the nutrients get into the bud?
and your starving the plant forcing it to eat itself away. You wouldn't starve a cow before you slaughtered it would you?

midijunkie said:

the idea of flushing two weeks prior to harvest is to force the plant to use up all available nutes within the plant itself so no, flushing and then adding MORE nutes would be counterproductive. nutes in the bud = bud that tastes like metal, doesnt stay lit, doesnt burn cleanly, doesnt burn to a grey ash, etc...

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Again a new grower fails to grasp the facts of the Cannabis plant.

Nutrients are _not_ stored in the buds.
Nutrients are stored in the leaves.

And flushing doesn't force the plant to "use up all available nutes", it just forces a hypotonic osmosis, which is detrimental to not only bud production but the entire plant and it's well being.


If you get bad tasting bud = failed at curing.
If it doesn't stay lit = failed at drying.
Doesn't burn cleanly (I suppose you mean evenly) = failed at drying.

I could go on but I think the point has been made.

my flushed buds burn fine any way i dry it, and i dont cure it, no need if you flush, just tose it on a heater and dry it out roll it up and enjoy your home grown goodness, I guess you dont have to flush if your are going to cure your meds for a long time, but i like to smoke it rite off the plant. But I guess i take more pride in my cannabis than some of you.

KushDog said:

my flushed buds burn fine any way i dry it, and i dont cure it, no need if you flush, just tose it on a heater and dry it out roll it up and enjoy your home grown goodness, I guess you dont have to flush if your are going to cure your meds for a long time, but i like to smoke it rite off the plant. But I guess i take more pride in my cannabis than some of you.

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WHA?? your going to argue about the difference in taste and you don't even cure? lol if your buds burn fine from tossin it on a heater and rollin it up you truely will be SHOCKED in the difference of smoke if you cure it properly. Then you will see flushing doesn't matter Im just curious where you got this info?

KushDog said:

my flushed buds burn fine any way i dry it, and i dont cure it, no need if you flush, just tose it on a heater and dry it out roll it up and enjoy your home grown goodness, I guess you dont have to flush if your are going to cure your meds for a long time, but i like to smoke it rite off the plant. But I guess i take more pride in my cannabis than some of you.

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First of all, pride? Are you kidding me?

You dry your weed on a heater and smoke it 'rite' off the plant?

If you had any respect for your Cannabis you would know to dry it right and cure it right, not smoke it straight off the plant after a quick dry on a heater.

Why does my weed not pop, and leave black ash like unflushed weed??? LOL I didn't flush soon enough once and it poped and burned my nose and throat intill it was cured.

Why are you guys still arguing with this guy about this? He dries his bud on a heater, he "flushes" his buds and he looks down on those that grow their plants to full maturity, properly cure and dry their cannabis and smoke it. He's a joker. An all too typical these days, joker.

ha new grower. i like that. are you smoking pure flower seed capsules when you smoke bud? im thinking youre probably smoking some small leaves in there. which are close to the actual seed pods which were not pollinated. and flushing the plant moves all nutrient salts (which are nutes) out of the growing medium which means they are not brought up to the leaves. i dont see one point you made other than repeating what others have already said holmes. so please... "go on".

k0ijn said:

Again a new grower fails to grasp the facts of the Cannabis plant.

Nutrients are _not_ stored in the buds.
Nutrients are stored in the leaves.

And flushing doesn't force the plant to "use up all available nutes", it just forces a hypotonic osmosis, which is detrimental to not only bud production but the entire plant and it's well being.


If you get bad tasting bud = failed at curing.
If it doesn't stay lit = failed at drying.
Doesn't burn cleanly (I suppose you mean evenly) = failed at drying.

I could go on but I think the point has been made.

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the plant uses nutes at its disposal in an aeroponic grow right? does it do the same when you put it in soil? if you put too much into a plant in any of its processes seedling veg or flower.. what does it do with them? nothing. they sit in the soil. flushing removes salts that would otherwise be detrimental to your buds in numerous ways one including in my opinion.. the overall quality of the dope after harvest. good pot does not come from harvesting at the correct time.. drying... curing methods. i believe most of it is in the growers hands while it is still alive and even more so.. the last few weeks of growth.

SirLancelot said:

how exactly does the nutrients get into the bud?
and your starving the plant forcing it to eat itself away. You wouldn't starve a cow before you slaughtered it would you?

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you know.. its better to get a clean shot on a deer and drop it right where it stands so it doesnt run and taint the meat with adrenaline and nastiness..

laserbrn said:

Why are you guys still arguing with this guy about this? He dries his bud on a heater, he "flushes" his buds and he looks down on those that grow their plants to full maturity, properly cure and dry their cannabis and smoke it. He's a joker. An all too typical these days, joker.

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I'm not sure really, sometimes I forget to feed the trolls.
I shouldn't have bought the big bag of troll food.

midijunkie said:

ha new grower. i like that. are you smoking pure flower seed capsules when you smoke bud? im thinking youre probably smoking some small leaves in there. which are close to the actual seed pods which were not pollinated. and flushing the plant moves all nutrient salts (which are nutes) out of the growing medium which means they are not brought up to the leaves. i dont see one point you made other than repeating what others have already said holmes. so please... "go on".

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Since I smoke female plants I usually smoke calyxes. I leave few sugar leaves on my buds but nothing compared to the amount of calyx structures.
I don't know why you are smoking seed capsules primarily, perhaps you should harvest females instead of males

...which are close to the actual seed pods which were not pollinated.

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Again, I don't pollinate my crop, I'm not a seed producer.

flushing the plant moves all nutrient salts (which are nutes) out of the growing medium which means they are not brought up to the leaves.

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And?
That's my point (and many other experienced growers point), removing the minerals effectively starves the plant(s) at the most critical phase in flowering.
Thus reducing the potential of the plants and lowering production of everything from new growth to calyx formation.

Harrekin said:

How exactly do organic and chemical nutrients differ once absorbed by the roots? Is organic Nitrogen not Nitrogen or something? Is organic phosphorous not phosphorous?

Organic is great if youre "into" that sort of thing, but it's way overhyped. I find it an inexact, slow delivery system for nutes, some people like it more, but the plant ultimately uptakes and utilises the same elements in the same way regardless of whether it came from shit or from a rock.

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I doubt there is a single grower on this forum that actually is growing 'organic'. Who knows what those cows where fed that the blood meal comes from. What sort of ferts where used on the alfalfa field. Many of you may be trying to grow in a more 'natural' way. But true organic, not unless you produce every single thing you use on your plants yourself......

Plants eat what plants eat. Coming from a chemical bottle or 'organic' bag, same-same. Some foods and certain sources are just more readily available than others........

is that your grow? on your sig? just curious. do you veg under 24 hours of light?

k0ijn said:

And? That's my point (and many other experienced growers point), removing the minerals effectively starves the plant(s) at the most critical phase in flowering.
Thus reducing the potential of the plants and lowering production of everything from new growth to calyx formation.

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i do what works for me. imo.. flushing my plants about a week before i harvest gives me and has always given me better results overall especially with taste. i dont want my herb to have a "green" taste or smell after harvest. i find that flushing really takes that away.

midijunkie said:

is that your grow? on your sig? just curious. do you veg under 24 hours of light?


i do what works for me. imo.. flushing my plants about a week before i harvest gives me and has always given me better results overall especially with taste. i dont want my herb to have a "green" taste or smell after harvest. i find that flushing really takes that away.

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That's called starving your plant so it can't produce chlorophyll...the stuff it uses to produce energy? Genius man,pure genius.