Can the rain flush plants outdoors instead of doing a manual flush?

[Xtensity]

If you flush by giving the plant 3x water as the container can hold, can this be substituted by just a ton of outdoor rain that's natural?

With 20+ plants deep in the woods, requiring about 3 gallons of water each(1 gallon pots); toting all that water seems like a ton of work...... and I know people have done much larger grows.

Could rain work as a substitute to flushing in those last few weeks? How long would rain need to fall for this to work?

Why or why not?

 

[Donald Mallard]

Id think rain would be the last thing your going to want in the last few weeks prior to harvest .
If your using organic ferts and growing in the ground , why the need to flush??

 

[Xtensity]

Id think rain would be the last thing your going to want in the last few weeks prior to harvest .
If your using organic ferts and growing in the ground , why the need to flush??

Any reason to why you would not want rain?

I've had tons upon tons of rain before, no root rot due to my soil mix, which is good... other than that... what's the harm?

 

[Xare]

Botrytis, AKA budrot.

 

[Dawn Patrol]

Budrot sucks!! Try to keep the plant (from the ground up) as dry as possible the last 3-4 weeks of flowering to avoid this problem. They don't even have to be wet, high humidity can mess your shit up.

 

[Donald Mallard]

Yep what those guys said , rain can really spoil a great crop , ive lost more than i can count to rain ..

 

[Donald Mallard]

I once visited a garden early morning , it was a bit overcast and threatening rain ..
Huge fat colas stood proud and tall in the garden , as you do i kinda clicked my heels a little as i passed them thinking of the good things to come ..
As i made my way to the undercover area some distance from the garden it began to rain ,, the rain got heavier and heavier , it was pissing down and kept on for over an hour ..
I made my way down to the garden to check it was all ok ,,
as i approached instead of looking upwards to see the tall flowering plants ,, alas .. the rain had smashed them into the ground ... literally ..
The tops of the plants were now at the bottom of the plants , in the mud and slush .. i stood them up best i could , but i knew they were as good as cactus ...
Rain is one of your biggest enemies in late flower , other than the obvious threats ..

 

[Krull]

Go organic and forget about flush.

=K

 

[Xtensity]

Botrytis, AKA budrot.

I'm not worried about bud rot or root rot, I know of those issues. Last week my previous harvest, it rained every single day for the last week before harvest, and these were long rain sessions(easily a few hours each). No root rot or botrytis. I am aware of the damage the rain 'can' do to the plant. I was strictly asking IF the rain can be used as a substitute for flushing.

No one answered my question. All out of 7 or 8 replies, all I've been told is, go organic, or bud rot/root rot can bring issues etc.... I know about both of those and I never said I wasn't doing organic, I was simply asking a question..... It's good to know information relating to this even if you're growing with organics only.

So no one has an answer to the question?

 

[two heads]

Rain will help flush your crop but it would take a lot of rain to pour three gallons of water through a one gallon pot if that is your target. If you are not using organic fertilizer you should stop fertilizing at least 2-4 weeks before harvest to help deplete those foul-burning salts. Even more important is not over-fertilizing through the season so there is less build-up.

 

[Dawn Patrol]

 

[BirdManFlyHigh]

Yes

 

[Xtensity]

Rain will help flush your crop but it would take a lot of rain to pour three gallons of water through a one gallon pot if that is your target. If you are not using organic fertilizer you should stop fertilizing at least 2-4 weeks before harvest to help deplete those foul-burning salts. Even more important is not over-fertilizing through the season so there is less build-up.

Wait so if you are using organic it is safe to fertilize up to the day of harvest without taste being affected?

 

[Dawn Patrol]

I think that really depends on the strain, but the soil around your plant will hold some nutes. I always use organic fertilizers and stop feeding between 7-14 days before I think I'm gonna chop. I grow in pots with amended soil and I figure I might as well let the plant use up what's in the soil and then let the plant start to consume the nutrients stored in the plant. You can keep feeding but you're more than likely just wasting time, effort and money.

Many people think that some stress at the very end causes extra resin production as the plant senses the end. Reducing food and water at the end helps this process and can also speed up your initial drying time. Again, positive effects are probably also dependent on the strain you're growing.

That's one of the things that has driven me nuts while trying to grow bag seed. Since I've never really known what I was growing, it's difficult to know what to expect as the plant finishes. And even if you do know what you have, until you've done a couple runs with the same strain you're probably just making educated guesses at what works best to finish the grow. Ultimately, good growers learn to read their plants and learn what they want.

I've tried "formula" feeding and that just doesn't seem to work for me outdoors and I don't grow indoors anymore. If I have any pattern to feeding it is that I stop feeding heavily after week 7 of flower (nothing finishes outdoors for me as quickly as published) and start really watching the plants closely at that point looking at trichs and watching for any nute deficiencies.

 

[Donald Mallard]

I think xtensity already knows the answer to his question , but is just seeing what we all think ..

 

[Paddi]

I prepare the soil well at the start of the season, that means I spread fertilizer, lime, ash and compost.
Then there is no further need for fertilizer, and therefore no need to flush
And I can assure you that I have the most tasty buds


P

 

[Xtensity]

I think xtensity already knows the answer to his question , but is just seeing what we all think ..

Why do you say that?

I was simply asking if enough rain can flush the soil. Isn't that that point of posting on forums? To see what others think lol? I have a tendency to be technical even with things that I don't necessarily need to worry about for the time being... It's good to know things though.

 

[Donald Mallard]

I just cant see how or why you want to flush your outdoor , organic grown herb , if thats what your growing ,,
If you did want to , rain would be the last way to be doing it , cannabis really hates a wet finish , i know well enough growing in the tropics ,, the rain damaged cannabis never yeilds near as good or as much hash as the herb that didnt see any rain ,, the difference is huge.
You could flood the area with water , but again its not going to do the cannabis near harvest any good at all ..
Just adjust your ferts to suit what you are growing and your tastes , no need to flush then ..

 

[shrpshooter]

let the rain flush theflush 4 ya shrpshooter plant it woll get any nasties out of the soil .....0 ppms and 7.3 ph that shouud do a perfect

 

[Xtensity]

I just cant see how or why you want to flush your outdoor , organic grown herb , if thats what your growing ,,
If you did want to , rain would be the last way to be doing it , cannabis really hates a wet finish , i know well enough growing in the tropics ,, the rain damaged cannabis never yeilds near as good or as much hash as the herb that didnt see any rain ,, the difference is huge.
You could flood the area with water , but again its not going to do the cannabis near harvest any good at all ..
Just adjust your ferts to suit what you are growing and your tastes , no need to flush then ..

Well originally when I made the topic I wasn't aware you didn't have to flush organics. So I learned that from this... then I still wanted to know if rain could flush soil with non-organic ferts. I will be using organics to save me such a work load, along with a healthy smoke and so the soil can be used by future natural plants outdoors.