question about "flushing" and harvesting

heyo all i got 2 questions as a total new grower,
i got 2 plants of white widow, i think im doing well so far
i read alot about "flushing" your plants 1 week before harvesting to flush the nutes off the soil for the buds to taste better
but i also read alot of ppl that say its plain bullshit, and it causes the plant to stress
what do you guys think i should do asa first time grower?

also, i still dont understand how or when i know when the plant is ready to harvest
i know that 70% of the hairs should turn from white to brown/gold
but what hairs??? where are they located? does all the hairs should turn?
pls help me get a peace of mind on those 2 topics,
thanks you :)

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Originally Posted by rbush

heyo all i got 2 questions as a total new grower,
i got 2 plants of white widow, i think im doing well so far
i read alot about "flushing" your plants 1 week before harvesting to flush the nutes off the soil for the buds to taste better
but i also read alot of ppl that say its plain bullshit, and it causes the plant to stress
what do you guys think i should do asa first time grower?

also, i still dont understand how or when i know when the plant is ready to harvest
i know that 70% of the hairs should turn from white to brown/gold
but what hairs??? where are they located? does all the hairs should turn?
pls help me get a peace of mind on those 2 topics,
thanks you :)

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If you don't flush, your buds will smoke harsh and taste like, well, nutes....not a very good taste or medicinal quality like....


As for when to harvest, follow the trichs....http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs...ay-cheese.html Get yourself a handheld microscope and check them out....

All clear trichs = early harvest = more of a head high.... Clear + Milky = getting close to full maturity = still more of a head high.... Milky + Amber = mature and ready for harvest = high is genetic related (indica, sativa).... Amber trichs = later harvest = more of a body high....

Just my opinion/experience....hope this helps....

CGI::::::

The idea of flushing the soil is to remove as many nutrients as possible. This forces the plant to use-up it's stored reserves. Otherwise the plant will continue uptaking and storing nutrients, which will adversely affect flavor and aroma. You'll never release (flush) all of the nutrients from the soil, but a good flush (1 or 2 gallons of properly ph'd water per gallon of pot size) has always done me fine.

If you're in "organic" (natural?) soil...every time you water you're releasing SOME nutrients from the organics themselves. In this case, I stop any additional nutrients about 2 weeks before harvest, and flush the week before harvest.

Trichomes are the ittsy-bitsy tubes with a glob of "resin" on 'em that grow from the leaf surface. It contains the THC among other stuff. If you have good eyes, you can use a 5X magnifying glass to see which stage the trichomes are at, but the pocket microscope is pretty cool to have around.

The white hairs growing out of the calyx's are pollen catching tubes that catch and transport pollen down into the calyx to form the embryo in the seed. They die-off on their own, but will also die if crushed, folded, spindled or mutilated. (or of it's calyx is pollinated)

wow ok thank you both for the answers !!
so, if i want to flush my plants 2 weeks before harvest, that means i need to give each plant 33 liters of waters? (i have 11 literpot) every day? or every other day?
or do i need to wait till the soil is dry and then flush again? im really new :)

btw, can i trim or lst the plants at 4/5 week of flowring?

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Originally Posted by rbush

wow ok thank you both for the answers !!
so, if i want to flush my plants 2 weeks before harvest, that means i need to give each plant 33 liters of waters? (i have 11 literpot) every day? or every other day?

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Just once. Some growers finish with a dose of molasses. (1 tsp per gallon of properly ph'd water, once a week) But if you don't add nutrients after the flush, one flush is all that's necessary. (usually a week or ten days from harvest date is fine) Let the soil dry before the next watering though. You don't want to end-up with root rot from keeping the soil too moist for too long.

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Originally Posted by rbush

btw, can i trim or lst the plants at 4/5 week of flowring?

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Until you get a bit of experience under your belt, best not to stress the ladies with a mid-flower trim. Low-stress training (bending and gently tying) can be done almost any time if you don't go overboard. But the stems will start to harden-off making the training (bending) much more difficult.

ty very much!
ill do as you guys say
btw, at 4th week of flowering
how my ladies supposed to look?
the main cola is still not dense with buds

btw, at 4th week of flowering
how my ladies supposed to look?
the main cola is still not dense with buds >>>>>>

Depends on how many hours of darkness you are giving them. If you're budding outside right now you won't have much density. I've been pulling half of my plants inside at 6 p/m every night and the buds are growing twice as fast as the other plants budding naturally.

You're not afraid of bringing bugs into your house? (spiders, spider mites, roaches, gnats, flea's...)

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Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome

You're not afraid of bringing bugs into your house? (spiders, spider mites, roaches, gnats, flea's...)

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Been doing this a very long time and I must say .....Rusty ,I have never seen a roach or a flea(silly me I thought fleas lived off of blood) on a medicine plant .I am sure you have :wtf:

I'd include all outdoor pests were I so inclined to mention them all. Anything that can crawl or hop into the pots is a potential hitchiker. And yes, I say this from experience.

My sentiments exactly with the "silly me" comment. Do you REALLY think the fleas never hit the ground when hopping from blood source to blood source...? Do you REALLY think your meds (and the pot that contains 'em) are immune from attack or are immune from being used as a quiet refuge? Great if you've never had this happen, but were I a newbie reading this...I think I'd err on the side of caution.

You're not afraid of bringing bugs into your house? (spiders, spider mites, roaches, gnats, flea's...)>>>

Who said anything about bringing them in my house?

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Originally Posted by Purple Daddy

Who said anything about bringing them in my house?

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Probably assumed in your house cause you said that you take them "inside".... Inside a shed?, inside a garage??? Usually when people refer to "inside", they refer to inside the home.... And since you didn't say exactly inside what/where, assumptions are left to be made.... I thought you meant in your house as well....

CGI::::::

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Originally Posted by Purple Daddy

Who said anything about bringing them in my house?

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Then I guess that maybe you should learn to be more specific and concise. Perhaps you should understand that there are new growers in here that after reading your statement "I've been pulling half of my plants inside at 6 p/m every night" take it to mean that there is nothing to wory about when bringing them inside the house. In some regions of the USA, this is not a good idea at all, and I can think of a few reasons that it's a bad idea to begin with.

Perhaps I'm just not selfish or childish enough, but I feel that if you don't give the whole story the first time, then later you change the implications of that story...you're blowin' smoke up someone's ass.

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Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome

Then I guess that maybe you should learn to be more specific and concise. Perhaps you should understand that there are new growers in here that after reading your statement "I've been pulling half of my plants inside at 6 p/m every night" take it to mean that there is nothing to wory about when bringing them inside the house. In some regions of the USA, this is not a good idea at all, and I can think of a few reasons that it's a bad idea to begin with.

Perhaps I'm just not selfish or childish enough, but I feel that if you don't give the whole story the first time, then later you change the implications of that story...you're blowin' smoke up someone's ass.

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I am no expert like you Rusty but if I was giving newbies advice I think it would be this.......be very careful when buying clones from dispensarys! Most of the time you will come home with more than you expected. MOST "spider mites" come into your indoor garden this way. The bad news is they are almost impossible to get rid of. The part ole Rusty left out is along with all the terrible bad bugs out there come some good ones too ,I think.Be sure to tell them they stand more chance of bringing them in from the outside on their clothing ,a pet an open door.Go stand in the grass that has aphids Rusty I bet you bring a few into your house. My point is .........Find more of a "real problem" to worry about is all.....Much respect Rusty I think you are a little ""off' on you advice sometimes though.:)

Good ol' waterdog...your immature attitude is already wearing thin.

If you're getting bugs from a dispensary, perhaps you should check your purchase a bit closer in the future or change dispensaries. Apparently you consider this a peripheral issue I skipped, but it falls under the same category. Use care when bringing-in plants from outside sources. Never mind the fact that I try and post what I know, (from personal experience and common sense) and I have no experience purchasing clones from anywhere. But if you think that info is valid, then post it. Were I to go sit in my yard for most of the frigging day, every frigging day...I'd certainly check for and brush-off any bugs before entering the house, because I'd expect some form of hitchiker at some point.

Regardless of whether it's a beneficial or not. I prefer my home to be insect-free. Evidently, your standards are a bit lower.

Have issues with my postings? Tough shit. Prove me wrong. But a blanket 'your advice sucks' is laughable, and it's the attitude of members like you that are driving most of us old-timers away.

Respect...? Doesn't appear to me you know the meaning.

Perhaps I'm just not selfish or childish enough, but I feel that if you don't give the whole story the first time, then later you change the implications of that story...you're blowin' smoke up someone's ass. >>>

Have you tried to switch to de-caf? I don't HAVE to tell you shit, draw all the false assumptions you want!

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Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome

Have issues with my postings? Tough shit. Prove me wrong. But a blanket 'your advice sucks' is laughable, and it's the attitude of members like you that are driving most of us old-timers away.

Respect...? Doesn't appear to me you know the meaning.

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You know, it's attitudes like yours that don't help things either, Mr. "Old Timer." ;)

Rusty, your track record speaks for itself; you're a typical blowhard passive-aggressive. It's no wonder you've butted heads with nearly every mod that has come and gone. Stinky had you pegged perfectly, and gave you plenty of chances (and infractions for that matter), yet you still tout your knowledge with the tact of an ape, and seemed to have learned nothing in the process about addressing people with respect and courtesy.

Tread lightly, dear sir, for you are (and have been) walking a thin line around here for quite some time. It gets old having to babysit someone for so long. :jointsmile:

But a blanket 'your advice sucks' is laughable>>>>>>>>

That isn't what he said and I thought his response was quite respectable!


Much respect Rusty I think you are a little ""off' on you advice sometimes though.>>>>

Whats up guys.......Much respect to all of you.....I understand Rusty's point.....but I still understand the topic better....from all the posts that are just a waste of time....this one is not.....flushing and harvest is super important....and for everyone......trial and error should be used....

Can Grow it......hit the nail on the head....go with those guide lines.....then adjust to what you like.

I have a Black Grape Kush (Grape Romulan x black berry kush x OG Kush).....going from seed....had 8 pop....6 were male....1 hermie.....1 female....and I really want to see what this strain will do......Week 9 right now.....I cut 1 small bud at 7 weeks.....1 at 8 weeks...and 1 at 9 weeks......at week 9 all trichomes are cloudy and 30% milkey.....I will cut the whole plant next week...week 10.....now for the medicine...

week 7 medicine was tried last night......I was super baked.....head high....and good body high....for over 3 hours
week 8 medicine was tried today.........still super baked.....strong head high.....and equally body high for 3 + hours
.....week 9 and 10 are still out as drying and harvest will continue......but.....this is what patients need to know.....
your body will tell what the best ratio's of cloudy/amber trichomes will be best for you.....

I can not tell you......nothing bums me out more than people telling patients they need the strongest medicine they can find...because that is just completly wrong......patients need a proper medicince....that is matched for treatment they are looking for.

For anyone who grows or knows a grower....this is your best advice....harvest at different times and test your medicine....you be very suprised.

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Originally Posted by weeddaddy50

.....flushing and harvest is super important....and for everyone......trial and error should be used....

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I disagree. I have not read all the posts, just some of the tangle here at the end. I NEVER flush and don't need to. I will challenge my grow to anyone elses 'product' at any time. If you don't give a bunch of garbage to the plant there is no need to flush it.

As far as diplomacy and delicacy of how to deal with some of the immature folks here, best to just lurk. I am not a politically correct person either. Someone starts giving me garbage and I give it back.

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Originally Posted by weeddaddy50

Whats up guys.......Much respect to all of you.....

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I hit the wrong button. I owe ya one.

Frankly purple daddy, u should listen to rusty. I've seen ur grows and they r hardly impressive. And to everyone else hating, the advise rusty gave is solid. Just like he said, a noob would have read that and thought it was ok to take outdoor plants in the house. But fuck it. U guys do what u want. U can check my grow "cataract kush" Alot of my success has come from the advise of guys like rusty and ww.

Much respect again to everyone......the post was flushing and harvesting......now if your are totally organic.....like wash.....then you are flushing from the very start.....and most likely flushing will not be needed......but if you are those new growers who watch all the videos.....on youtube
and are using all the synethics to boost and grow.....you will have to flush......

So far my experience.....I started out using the synethics......grow...bloom....flower.....budboost er.......the medicine was good.....but I thought there was a better way.....better quality.....and no synethics......so I did some research......and found "clean green certified MMJ"......and I had my room certified....followed the guidelines......and believe me it's trial and error.....but I now believe my medicine is superior to any of the medicine grown with synethics...................but............this is very advanced......and Wash......has achieved the no flush because he is a very advance grower.....I do not reccomend to new growers.....the no flushing.....becasue I know .....they want the shortcut.....magical.....grow.....bloom....bigbud. ....stuff...out there, and if using that stuff to grow with you HAVE to flush.

As far as harvesting........patience is a must.......I for one do not have much......but I know most 8 week strains that claim that on the package of seeds are really a 10 week strain.......

Growing.......there in not one right way......but there are lots of wrong ways........keep focused.......and you will be successful.

wow ok i didnt know my questions will rise such an argument, some say to flush some dont.. im rly confused right now..
ill post pictures soon so you guys could help me and tell me if my grow is good

what has been your feeding schedule for ur plants....basically you should flush....two weeks before ur gonna harvest do as rusty said and flush two or three gallons of phd water through your pots....i usally do this by adding one gallon and then wait twenty minutes before flushing the others through...i do this so the water from the first gallon has time to dissolve some of the salts so they r flushed out when you add the rest...after that make sure to let it dry out..pretty much just go back to ur normal water schedule but using only phd water till the chop...one other thing..make sure to let them dry out before u chop..helps the drying process