flushing

[damfinejoe]

To flush or not to flush, that is the question. My last 2 harvests i flushed with clearex one week before harvest. During that last week, just ran pHed water thru the system. This harvest i am considering not using clearex but rather gradually reducing the nutrient mix during the final weeks and then just water for a couple of days. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks

[kuri]

hi there, i don't know what clearex is. my opinion is when you decide to start your flush, then just change to ph adjusted water and let all the nutes be flushed out that way. no need for any other additives. it is just like in autumn when the plants are done with their cycle, it tends to rain alot, in turn, flushing the plant. plus it is cheaper and you won't have to add anything to it. just flush away and enjoy!!!

[Zandor]

That would work if you don't mind the taste of the nutrients....lol

Really, you do need to flush. Advanced nutrients have a very good flusher called Final Phase. It's expensive but it does work, I switched from clearex to flora kleen and now use final phase. I do notice a big taste difference between all the flushers and final phase works the best. Regular Ph water only does not get enough of the nutrients from inside the plant and takes three times as long to flush completely. IMO

[kuri]

hey zandor. around how much is this final phase stuff? always looking for new ideas and things, but don't want too much of a punch in the wallet.

[Nosehit]

That would work if you don't mind the taste of the nutrients....lol

Really, you do need to flush. Advanced nutrients have a very good flusher called Final Phase. It's expensive but it does work, I switched from clearex to flora kleen and now use final phase. I do notice a big taste difference between all the flushers and final phase works the best. Regular Ph water only does not get enough of the nutrients from inside the plant and takes three times as long to flush completely. IMO

I'd listen to Zandor it sounds like he knows what hes talking about. I wished I could've talked to you when I first started. Seems I learn everything the hard way. I can tell you from experience that you definitely want to flush, I didn't on my second grow and the smoke tasted like shit, I got cocky after a first successful grow.
Can final phase be used in conjuction with DWC? and where might one find Final Phase?

[Zandor]

I learned most everything the hard way myself....It took me over 15 years of growing indoors before I ever grew one plant that produced over one pound of dry bud. Hell I never flushed with anything but Ph adjusted RO water before 5 years ago. I would change the water every other day. Take a reading before and after when the PPM no longer change by more then 10 PPM I thought I was done.

After the first time I flushed with Clearex I tasted a difference right a way. Then I changed to flora clean about 12 months ago. Only because I was still using GH nutrients so I thought it would work better because it's the same company. Now I just tried Final Phase and yes there is a difference again. In side-by-side taste tests the Final Phase did taste fresher is all I can say. It is a lot more expensive and I bet the clearex will work for 90% of the people who grow and it's tons better then just water. Flora Kleen I think is the cheap then Clearex. Discount Hydro sells the Final Phase for about 30 dollars a gallon and Flora Kleen for about 18.00 a gallon all USD.

I found some people who were growing almost trees about 5 years ago I learned everything I could from them they were growing 1.5 to 5 pounds per plant and were happy to teach me their technique. Mostly how they control and maintain a stress free environment and stimulant growth at the correct time.

[kuri]

what are the active ingredients in these flushing items? i ask so if there is anything i can add to the ph adjusted water when i flush. just like vinegar lowers ph and baking soda (powder?) raises ph. is there anything i can add to the water that will help the flush without purchasing these items? i know it won't be AS good, but still

[Zandor]

I just check my bottle and it has crap all over it and I can't read most of it. It mostly say's natural this and natural that but there is some others things that help it release the nutrients. The flora Kleen is about 8 bucks a quart USD so it's not really that expensive. I too use vinegar, lemons, and baking soda for years. I switched to the real thing and now my Ph stays where I put it. When I use lemons, vinegar and baking soda I had to adjust my Ph all the time. Not anymore....Better livening through chemistry I guess.

[KanMan]

Could always water cure instead of flushing.

Good Kannabis Growing!

[Zandor]

Yes 3 weeks minimum of Ph adjusted water only works for 90% or better of the time. The other stuff just saves time so you can feed the plants a little longer.

[Garden Knowm]

Zandor... you grow plants indoor that produce 1lb of chronic?

[englishtongan2]

yea.....ZANDOR..............been reading ur posts and u see like a clued up guy............ive got 6 plants nearly ready for harvesting but id b lucky to get a pound off all of them put together...............id luv to know how 2 change that......if u can help........cheers

[KanMan]

Can final phase be used in conjuction with DWC? and where might one find Final Phase?

Yes. mondogrow.com has it and they are a reliable company.

Good Kannabis Growing!

[Zandor]

Flushing should be part of everyoneâ??s watering plan. You would have less problems of nutrient lock if you did. Especially of you grow with any hydro system. It will help keep your system clean and plants stress free. You should flush once a month and between cycle changes to maintain healthy plants at least. Itâ??s all about stress free gardening.

[kuri]

Could always water cure instead of flushing.

Good Kannabis Growing!

what is the difference with water cure and flushing?

[Garden Knowm]

Zandor... did you grow a plant indoors that produced a pound..?

How long did you let it grow.. sounds crazy..... I would like to see a picture : )

smb

[Garden Knowm]

Personaly..never flush and never change water and ..and... well... t

http://www.seemorebuds.com

the heat, air circulation and the massive amounts of water that the plants drink keeps the water fresh : )

NUT LOCK is BAD!!!!!!!

[Zandor]

Personaly..never flush and never change water and ..and... well... t

http://www.seemorebuds.com

the heat, air circulation and the massive amounts of water that the plants drink keeps the water fresh : )

NUT LOCK is BAD!!!!!!!


Well that works for you then...More power to you. It sounds like you are growing with DWC bio-buckets or something like that? There was a time when I felt the exact way as you do. I found some people who showed me the error of my way's and I did repent!....lol

This server is hosted in the USA so I don't post any pictures. As a rule I don't post any pictures anymore period. I just don't want to give leo any help if you know what I mean. I will ask some friends if I can post some of theirs. They do not live in the US so there should not be any issue with them.

[KanMan]

what is the difference with water cure and flushing?

Flushing the plants while they are alive. Water cure the bud after harvest. Water cure helps to remove the nutrients and makes the smoke smoother. Personally i prefer to flush with a nutrient clearing agent AN Final Phase.
With seed grown crops the plants sometimes finish at different times so i water cure the early finishers that don't get flushed when they are alive and growing.

Good Kannabis Growing!

[KanMan]

Flushing should be part of everyoneâ??s watering plan. You would have less problems of nutrient lock if you did. Especially of you grow with any hydro system. It will help keep your system clean and plants stress free. You should flush once a month and between cycle changes to maintain healthy plants at least. Itâ??s all about stress free gardening.

100% agree.

Good Kannabis Growing!

[bonker7]

dude i cant be live the crap i read. u must flush and u dont need 2 buy any thing just flush with quarter strenth feed 2 weeks before harvest .thats it. ull be happy with the results fat buds .say no more. stay slippery

[drew225]

Flushing should be part of everyone’s watering plan. You would have less problems of nutrient lock if you did. Especially of you grow with any hydro system. It will help keep your system clean and plants stress free. You should flush once a month and between cycle changes to maintain healthy plants at least. It’s all about stress free gardening.

Im glad I stumbled upon this thread. Just learned a lot. I haven't flushed once yet. This is my first grow so at first I started using tap water. (I know bad) Then I switched to filtered water and have been using a tdm tester to make sure its good. About halfway through my veg cycle I started feeding my plants nutes. So at about day 39 into flowering, would it be good to do a flush now, or just wait until 2 weeks to harvest. And if now, should I use somthing like Flora Kleen, or only use that before harvest?

Ive got another grow that I started and im just about ready to flower so I will be flushing next time I water!

[emilya]

Im glad I stumbled upon this thread. Just learned a lot. I haven't flushed once yet. This is my first grow so at first I started using tap water. (I know bad) Then I switched to filtered water and have been using a tdm tester to make sure its good. About halfway through my veg cycle I started feeding my plants nutes. So at about day 39 into flowering, would it be good to do a flush now, or just wait until 2 weeks to harvest. And if now, should I use somthing like Flora Kleen, or only use that before harvest?

Ive got another grow that I started and im just about ready to flower so I will be flushing next time I water!

Zandor was a wonderful resource on this board... I would love to know what happened to this guy. I too learned a lot from reading his writings here at c.com.

Here is what I know about flushing.
There is a point about 5 weeks into flower using FoxFarms nutes and soil where you just have got to flush. You see the plants go from a stable wet/dry cycle to something noticeably longer, almost overnight. Your girls are locked up at that point, with way too many salts in the soil. This makes total sense, since right before this the FF schedule has you throwing the entire line at them for 2 weeks... so it is flush time. If you watch your wet/dry cycle carefully, you can see when this time is.

The other time that you flush, as Zandor reminded, is before you harvest so that you do not have to taste the chemicals in your end product. This takes at least a week of plain water, and some do 2 weeks of just plain PH'ed water at the end after the final flush.

Here, I do a 1.5x flush in the middle and a full 3x flush at the end, one week before harvest. The 1.5 and 3x is the volume of water per container size... at the end, a 3gal container gets 9 gals of water. Also, my city water is a bit over 7.0ph part of the year and 7.2ph during others. I use plain white vinegar from the grocery store as my PH down all through the grow, and I have found that vinegar is also an effective add in to remove salts more effectively than just plain water, so this works very well to provide an effective flush in my garden.

Now, I have been speaking as a soil farmer, but if you grow using hydro the rules change and you are changing solutions every 2 weeks. The flush at the end however would still seem to be very important to me and I would adjust accordingly.

[drew225]

Zandor was a wonderful resource on this board... I would love to know what happened to this guy. I too learned a lot from reading his writings here at c.com.

Here is what I know about flushing.
There is a point about 5 weeks into flower using FoxFarms nutes and soil where you just have got to flush. You see the plants go from a stable wet/dry cycle to something noticeably longer, almost overnight. Your girls are locked up at that point, with way too many salts in the soil. This makes total sense, since right before this the FF schedule has you throwing the entire line at them for 2 weeks... so it is flush time. If you watch your wet/dry cycle carefully, you can see when this time is.

The other time that you flush, as Zandor reminded, is before you harvest so that you do not have to taste the chemicals in your end product. This takes at least a week of plain water, and some do 2 weeks of just plain PH'ed water at the end after the final flush.

Here, I do a 1.5x flush in the middle and a full 3x flush at the end, one week before harvest. The 1.5 and 3x is the volume of water per container size... at the end, a 3gal container gets 9 gals of water. Also, my city water is a bit over 7.0ph part of the year and 7.2ph during others. I use plain white vinegar from the grocery store as my PH down all through the grow, and I have found that vinegar is also an effective add in to remove salts more effectively than just plain water, so this works very well to provide an effective flush in my garden.

Now, I have been speaking as a soil farmer, but if you grow using hydro the rules change and you are changing solutions every 2 weeks. The flush at the end however would still seem to be very important to me and I would adjust accordingly.

Im growing in soil and using FF nutes. Im not exactly sure what you mean by "wet/dry" cycle. Im am right around week 5 of flowering
And Zandor talks about using a flushing product like Flora clean. Do you know any benefits of using that? Thanks again

[emilya]

Im growing in soil and using FF nutes. Im not exactly sure what you mean by "wet/dry" cycle. Im am right around week 5 of flowering
And Zandor talks about using a flushing product like Flora clean. Do you know any benefits of using that? Thanks again

Check my signature for my favorite Zandor quote. He believed that you should give your plants the very best that you can afford, and they will reward you. Certainly the Flora clean is a good product and it dissolves the salts as you flush to help them move out of the soil. My point above was that vinegar does the same thing, maybe not as well, but it works for me as I like to go more natural in my garden. I also use pickling lime for my ph up. Using this along with a bit of Blackstrap molasses several times in the grow, I get the same benefits as using the expensive Cal+Mag+ product as I adjust my PH.

[EvilCartman]

Im growing in soil and using FF nutes. Im not exactly sure what you mean by "wet/dry" cycle. Im am right around week 5 of flowering
And Zandor talks about using a flushing product like Flora clean. Do you know any benefits of using that? Thanks again

I'm unfamiliar with Flora or GH products, but FF sells a rinse that worked quite well. The FF product is called Sledge Hammer, it uses an organic Yucca extract as it's active ingredient.
The last few times I've been trying another product that has been hard to find in my area, Elevation Organics "Desert Nectar". I like the fact that both use the Yucca extract, and neither will do any damage to the microbial activity in the soil. The Desert Nectar also has a bit of humic acid as well. (a plus) Both do a good job.
I'm not saying the other products don't do well, but I haven't found any specifics on their ingredients, and like the "organic" approach. :)

As Emilya says, the FF nutes NEED to be flushed. Using the two products above have made the process pretty simple. When I first began using them, I would evaluate the effectiveness of the flush by taking ppm readings of the runoff. Without the "rinse" products, the volume of water needed for an effective flush was significantly more.

hth

Just noticed this is in the hydro section, drew225! Hope we don't piss anyone off. ;)

[drew225]

I'm unfamiliar with Flora or GH products, but FF sells a rinse that worked quite well. The FF product is called Sledge Hammer, it uses an organic Yucca extract as it's active ingredient.
The last few times I've been trying another product that has been hard to find in my area, Elevation Organics "Desert Nectar". I like the fact that both use the Yucca extract, and neither will do any damage to the microbial activity in the soil. The Desert Nectar also has a bit of humic acid as well. (a plus) Both do a good job.
I'm not saying the other products don't do well, but I haven't found any specifics on their ingredients, and like the "organic" approach. :)

As Emilya says, the FF nutes NEED to be flushed. Using the two products above have made the process pretty simple. When I first began using them, I would evaluate the effectiveness of the flush by taking ppm readings of the runoff. Without the "rinse" products, the volume of water needed for an effective flush was significantly more.

hth

Just noticed this is in the hydro section, drew225! Hope we don't piss anyone off. ;)

Oops. Thats what I get for trying to do things right. I used the advanced search with the key word "flush" I was trying to avoid posting before doing a search. I didn't even pay attention to what section this was in

[Lemonaid]

hogwash your splitting hairs.
I would agree with soil flush but hydro DWC.blah. difference is minuet.

If its for you and you want the most very best sure go for it ,and dont forget to jar cure for 8 months.
Blah blah blah.I dont have time or space for the Back up of medicine and we are only allowed so much.
If you want your stuff to have that water cured trash clean 8 month cure then after I hand you your medicine you can throw it in a bucket of water for all I care or store it in a jar for 8 months.
Me Ill use my meds after i get em or when its ready which is realy useable after about 6 days.If its harsh use a bong, and if that doesnt work then vape or eat.

Dont get the wrong Idea I do have some meds stashed away that has been curing for a few months and the longer you cure the more smoothe your smoke will be. I just know not everyone is in the same place as I am and has the luxury of doing this.

For all the noob growers none of this is imperative. But I would suggest that you start to experiment if you can afford it.
The only way you are realy going to know for sure is if you experiment your self. dont take anyones opinion FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF !!!

There alot more things in this post I dont agree with either but thats for another thread I spose.

[bitemybud]

In this thread; The info that Zandor posted is the best info you will get. Maybe you don't need to cure you Meds for 8 months...Don't know who posted that, but Zandor does know what he is talking about. Do not be misled.

I do agree that you learn from experimenting to learn for yourself. To flush or not to flush; And what to flush with is the personal choice of the grower. Period. There is no right or wrong. IN organic soil; I do not flush. I do reduce or stop adding nutrients with 2-3 weeks to go in order to allow plant to used stored nutrients (this is why leaves yellow at finish)

In hydro I feel flushing is a good option in order to make sure the plant has less stored nutrients when harvested. Good Luck