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Soil grow, do u flush?

LIFER25

Member
By flushing I don't mean drowning the plants in water but more like do u guys stop feeding and just water with plain water up until harvest, or do u feed up until harvest? Is there a difference? Tomorrow is the last day im watering the ladies then on Saturday it's chop time so I was thinking if I feed them one last time tomorrow will I benefit from it and will the smoke be harsh or anything? I have been watering them with straight water for 2 weeks now. Was thinking of feeding them some nutes tomorrow and see if I can get them to pack on any more weight until Saturday?
 

big_daddy

Member
By flushing I don't mean drowning the plants in water but more like do u guys stop feeding and just water with plain water up until harvest, or do u feed up until harvest? Is there a difference? Tomorrow is the last day im watering the ladies then on Saturday it's chop time so I was thinking if I feed them one last time tomorrow will I benefit from it and will the smoke be harsh or anything? I have been watering them with straight water for 2 weeks now. Was thinking of feeding them some nutes tomorrow and see if I can get them to pack on any more weight until Saturday?

My grows are water only in a living soil, so I'm effectively "flushing" throughout the entire grow. The only other inputs they may (or may not) get is is an application or two of a tea....comfrey/nettles/yarrow depending on whatever is fermenting at the time. I may give them a crude compost tea/slurry with vermicompost but that's basically it.

b_d
 
W

wilbur

I feed fish emulsion fortnightly til flower and then foliar spray weekly with high calcium/potash thereafter.

in between times I water when the leaves begin to droop. and when I water it's a BIG one! like a flush so that the draining water sucks oxygen into the soil for the roots.

but sounds like yr doing ok. harshness of smoke shouldn't depend on yr watering schedule (well, never noticed mine has).

cheers!
 
G

growingcrazy

You really need to specify what type of soil you are using and what method you are using it in. Pots of soil, soil bed, what method? That will make a difference in how you treat your watering habits.

I grow in a bed method that doesn't use a drain. Flushing is impossible for me. The only way for something to leave is through the plants and evaporation.

If you are growing in a commercially available organic soil product in a typical pot, I would flush at the end of runs. Especially if you are not reusing soil.
 

mad librettist

Active member
Veteran
i try not to top dress too much near the end of a cycle, but I still make sure there is enough to eat for the worms
 

Sean Price

Member
In organic soil the plant "flushes" itself as it dies. Yes you can impart bad flavors by watering in fishy stuff late in flower, but thats extreme. In general if you just keep the soil food web happy in your pots, the plant will do the rest for ya. Basically they just start dieing, somehow the soil life knows this and goes dormant..then voila a beautiful yellow (maybe) plant ready for chop.
 

xmobotx

ecks moe baw teeks
ICMag Donor
Veteran
+1 sean; no flush ever

wetting a livinng soil to the level of runoff=over-water
 

dank.frank

ef.yu.se.ka.e.em
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Flush oragic soil = dry it out. Plant will feed as long as the microherd lives. The point is to force the plant to use its reserves. No water - NOTHING 3-5 days pre-harvest. No moisture kills the herd...forces reserve usage.


dank.Frank
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
If growing in a living soil flushing it with excessive water or drying it out is harmful to that life. As Mad has said the plant is not just a straw that sucks up all nutrients. This is controlled by the plant if growing naturally.
 

GreenHands13

Active member
if you are feeding with liquid nutes then cut all nutrients off 2 weeks before harvest. with liquid nutrients there are insoluble as well as soluble the soluble nutes are readily available and will be used by the plant as long as it is fed to them the insoluble nutes are broken down by the beneficial organisms you have bred in the soil and then they feed it to the plant either way you want your herb with as little nutrients in the bud as possible so always feed straight water for the last two weeks prior to harvest. have fun and the best of luck to u.
 

Bullfrog44

Active member
Veteran
I flush, sometimes I give a common courtesy flush when in a public bathroom.

On the real, if you take what MM just said wouldn't that be flushing? If you kill all the microbes that are feeding the plant, wont that "flush" out any nutes built up in the plant? Maybe some strong chlorinated water would do the trick. This would only apply if you didn't want to keep the soil alive, a one time harvest in the soil.
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Those who believe they can flush compounds from the plant tissue are sorely mistaken.
 

VerdantGreen

Genetics Facilitator
Boutique Breeder
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
guys, before some of you get on your high horses about flushing, LIFER clearly defined what he meant by that in his first post -

By flushing I don't mean drowning the plants in water but more like do u guys stop feeding and just water with plain water up until harvest, or do u feed up until harvest? Is there a difference?

most people would just use water for the last week or two rather than adding any extra food, and as mentioned it's good to try and let the soil dry a bit out before harvest.

VG
 
S

SeaMaiden

By flushing I don't mean drowning the plants in water but more like do u guys stop feeding and just water with plain water up until harvest, or do u feed up until harvest? Is there a difference? Tomorrow is the last day im watering the ladies then on Saturday it's chop time so I was thinking if I feed them one last time tomorrow will I benefit from it and will the smoke be harsh or anything? I have been watering them with straight water for 2 weeks now. Was thinking of feeding them some nutes tomorrow and see if I can get them to pack on any more weight until Saturday?
I do things a little differently from others. I do stop almost all feeding about 2-3 weeks prior to planned chop, but they always get some sugars with the water. Molasses, malted barley extract, panocha/panela, date sugar, palm sugar. I go for a low saturation solution. This helps me achieve the fade I'm after, because I don't want the plants to be very green at harvest.
 

trichrider

Kiss My Ring
Veteran
your plant will not be able to utilize nutrients in that short a time frame...don't waste them. plainwater or sweet water in the last weeks...quit watering several days before chop, will help cut drying time if you do.
good growin'!
 

BurnOne

No damn given.
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I do things a little differently from others. I do stop almost all feeding about 2-3 weeks prior to planned chop, but they always get some sugars with the water. Molasses, malted barley extract, panocha/panela, date sugar, palm sugar. I go for a low saturation solution. This helps me achieve the fade I'm after, because I don't want the plants to be very green at harvest.

The plant is putting on a lot of weight the last two weeks before harvest. That's assuming we are harvesting at the correct time. She is trying to survive and reproduce and needs a lot of energy (food) to do so. I feed the most right before harvest. I never get a fishy taste when using fish and never taste bat guano when using guano. Nor worm casting, dolomite, peat or seaweed taste.
I want the most yield possible. I think this is a better solution than microbiology studies, expensive additives and pure nonsense we read here every day.
A well fed plant can yield as much a 30% more than a starved plant at the end of its grow period.
And why spend so much time and effort during months of growing a plant only to miss out on the two most important weeks?
Burn1
 

VerdantGreen

Genetics Facilitator
Boutique Breeder
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
im not so sure that the plant is able to process food through the roots so well as it approaches harvest time. roots have been shown to get 'tired' and inefficient at that time. i find that if you can encourage the plant to start using what it has stored in it's leaves then that gives a great boost in the last few weeks. i like my plants to look yellow and starved by harvest - but with fat buds
and yield wise i seem to do just fine. 10 oz from my last grow with a 250 HPS.

VG
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
guys, before some of you get on your high horses about flushing, LIFER clearly defined what he meant by that in his first post -



most people would just use water for the last week or two rather than adding any extra food, and as mentioned it's good to try and let the soil dry a bit out before harvest.

VG

My comments for one were not in direct reply to the OP.

Hate to break it to you folks but you do not feed the plant (unless using soluble fertilizers/amendments) in organic/natural growing. Some folks may be using soluble nutrients while others may not. Therein may lie the discrepency. [in my arrogance I would say this delineates true organic/natural growing from label organics but I won't say that because I'm not feeling too arrogant today]

The plant feeds itself. I harvested on many occasions with the soil containing plenty of nitrogen for the next plantlings going into the same soil and the soil moist enough to support the mushrooms growing in it and other life forms. Although not pushing for yield amount, it was sufficient to earn a living for 3.5 people.

There is a thread on this subject somewhere in the Organic forum started by Mr Fista. The title has something about plant yellowing.

Whatever floats your boat...do it.
 

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