Vermiculite / Perlite Flushing??

[tristan1986]

Hey guys,
I remember someone a while ago saying that he grows in a vermic / perlite mix and it doesn't hold nutrients so doesn't need to be flushed (not final flush just a flush for ph reasons)

I find this hard to understand due to the fact that the perlite holds water, wouldn't it hold nutrients too??

Thanks Guys!

tristan1986 Reviewed by tristan1986 on 09-05-2009. Vermiculite / Perlite Flushing?? Hey guys, I remember someone a while ago saying that he grows in a vermic / perlite mix and it doesn't hold nutrients so doesn't need to be flushed (not final flush just a flush for ph reasons) I find this hard to understand due to the fact that the perlite holds water, wouldn't it hold nutrients too?? Thanks Guys! :) Rating: 5

[tristan1986]

anyone?

[headshake]

perlite doesn't hold water that well (from what i understand). it wicks water well though. the vermiculite holds the water in a mix.

there will be residues and salt buildup in the mix. i would still flush at least a week prior to harvest. the flushing not only gets rid of the buildup in your medium, but allows the plant to use up it's reserves on nutrients.

i say flush that shit!


-shake

[tristan1986]

heya shake,
yeah defiantely doing a final flush but i was told by someone a clean water feed isn't necessary during the grow due to the medium not holding nutes but i find that hard to believe!

Ill give it some fresh water to try and clean out any unused nutes and salt buildup anyways

Thanks

[tristan1986]

BUMP

I know i made this a long time ago although i would like a few more opinions if possible :thumbsup:

Thanks

[tristan1986]

bump X2

[sarah louise]

I would expect that if you water to a decent amount of run off each time there would be no need to flush. Works for coco/perlite mixes, so given the same watering regime, I can't see plain perlite reacting any differently.

[tristan1986]

brilliant sarah! hadn't thought of it like that

Hope your doing well sarah, havent been on canna.com lately but us aussies have to stick together lol

[Micsog]

i would always do a final flush i've used some crazy soil mixes in the past
i once grew in cotton/perlite i mean real cotton straight from the field in Nc
i forgot to flush one plant and that one tasted real funny

[sarah louise]

brilliant sarah! hadn't thought of it like that

Hope your doing well sarah, havent been on canna.com lately but us aussies have to stick together lol

Yep, for sure. Things go well here Tristan, summer is booming along and so are the plants. My Sensi skunk#1 have just begun to flower, so I'm looking at getting my first outdoor harvest around St Patrick's Day :thumbsup:

After that I'll have one to pull down every 2 weeks until about mid June (assuming I have my timing right) then I'll take a couple of months break during the cold weather and have another flowering run beginning Sept. That should keep me swimming in bud through to the autumn of 2011.

Hope life is treating you ok too.

sara :jointsmile: