(DON'T) Flush & let plant yellow before harvest?

[shredGnar]

In my experience the color of the ash had nothing to do with flushing or not.

It's about a proper dry. Ever burn damp firewood? The ashes are black and sticky. However very dry wood burns to completely white, weightless ashes.

Same applies to cannabis in my experience. ..

 

[Redrum92]

The whole ash thing is so confusing in andnof itself I wouldn't ever use it to judge.

Some say water creates the black nasty ash

Some say only very thoroughly torched bud/hot burning will create white ash

Some say minerals/leftover nutes=black nasty ash

Some say sugar and starch = black nasty ash

So.... Yeah.. What's a guy to do

 

[stoned-trout]

Exactly why I chose the line I did. Complete comtrol over N.
What is ej, earthjuice?

yes earth juice...yeehaw...

 

[MJPassion]

I think the whole idea around flushing started with commercial growers. I could be wrong but...

Think about this for a bit:
Chlorophyl cannot exist without the element Magnesium. Mg is central to the Chlorophyl molecule.

Do your buds spark n crackle when you light them?
Have you ever seen a Mg fire?

I've flushed buds & I've not flushed buds before harvest. The flushed plants were lacking in aromas & flavors & harshness when compared to the non-flushed buds.
What did I learn?
Cut back on nutrient inputs & use a water only approach as much as possible.

 

[MJPassion]

Guess I should finish my original thoughts...

As far as being started by commercial growers...
They need to flush the Mg out so their product can be put on the market sooner.

 

[ganjygav]

��

 

[canned abyss1]

In my experience the color of the ash had nothing to do with flushing or not.

It's about a proper dry. Ever burn damp firewood? The ashes are black and sticky. However very dry wood burns to completely white, weightless ashes.

Same applies to cannabis in my experience. ..

This makes a lot of sense, I heat my house with wood, when I use cured wood it turns to light fluffy ash, when I have to burn damp/uncured wood the ash is heavy and black and has hard chunks in it that are known as clinkers.

 

[stoned40yrs]

This makes a lot of sense, I heat my house with wood, when I use cured wood it turns to light fluffy ash, when I have to burn damp/uncured wood the ash is heavy and black and has hard chunks in it that are known as clinkers.

I don't concur on dat I burn 10-15 cords per year. Mostly spruce and birch. I keep 20+ cords on hand and they range from fresh cut to 2 year dried. The majority of what I burn is birch with only a few months dry time so it's got plenty of moisture. It's burns slower than 2 year dry birch and not as hot but leaves a nice white ash just like the 2 year cured. Spruce on the other hand needs the multi year cure as it's worthless with any moisture, burns poorly and leaves black thick ash with clumps. So I don't think you can equate burning wood to burning MJ.
I run a perpetual now, coco and blumats, one rez for all- veg through bloom. GH 6/9 at 1.2ec. I quit flushing. I pull the blumats out 5 days before harvest and let them dry out. No fade, the plants stay green till the end. The dank burns, smells and tastes great. Keep your ec low all the way and you don't need to flush in coco. So many bullshit myths in this game, you just have to experiment to find out how you want to roll.

 

[shredGnar]

I don't concur on dat I burn 10-15 cords per year. Mostly spruce and birch. I keep 20+ cords on hand and they range from fresh cut to 2 year dried. The majority of what I burn is birch with only a few months dry time so it's got plenty of moisture. It's burns slower than 2 year dry birch and not as hot but leaves a nice white ash just like the 2 year cured. Spruce on the other hand needs the multi year cure as it's worthless with any moisture, burns poorly and leaves black thick ash with clumps. So I don't think you can equate burning wood to burning MJ.
I run a perpetual now, coco and blumats, one rez for all- veg through bloom. GH 6/9 at 1.2ec. I quit flushing. I pull the blumats out 5 days before harvest and let them dry out. No fade, the plants stay green till the end. The dank burns, smells and tastes great. Keep your ec low all the way and you don't need to flush in coco. So many bullshit myths in this game, you just have to experiment to find out how you want to roll.

This just proves my point... you don't flush and still obtain a good burn.

The proper dry ensures a nice fluffy ash. I'm sure some strains need a bit more of a dry to burn properly, while others don't need as much. Just like your birch/spruce.

Not sure why you can't equate the two? They are both vegetation that ends up being combusted, the level of moisture dictates the burn (to an extent anyway).

 

[shredGnar]

The whole ash thing is so confusing in andnof itself I wouldn't ever use it to judge.

Some say water creates the black nasty ash

Some say only very thoroughly torched bud/hot burning will create white ash

Some say minerals/leftover nutes=black nasty ash

Some say sugar and starch = black nasty ash

So.... Yeah.. What's a guy to do

Experiment and figure it out yourself?

 

[Mikell]

I love watching stoner logic unfold.

 

[Redrum92]

^yeah that's exactly what i was trying to avoid. Some people have dropped off some good hard science though ... And I appreciate all effort to contribute

I did an experiment and found flushing does help, but often the amount I see posted here is quite excessive. If you don't overfeed you don't need much. And that's saying something because I use soil

 

[mojave green]

I love watching stoner logic unfold.

Use to frustrate me, now it's just entertaining.

 

[shredGnar]

I love watching stoner logic unfold.

What insight. Thanks for the constructive contribution. Maybe you can tell us what makes a proper ash then?

Maybe I'm way off the mark with the firewood analogy but I know how to make my bud burn properly.

 

[Rolling Stoner]

If I'm running synthetic nutes I will cut down to 1/4 the last week and flush with cleaner the last water. I don't have stoner logic (although I'm not apposed) just simple trial and error.

Like redrum said, if you are not overdoing the nutes a long hard flush isn't really needed.

 

[vitamingreeninc]

Flush is different for everyone is the problem to me...it's more of a translation problem. If you are using proper judgement when growing and don't overfeed too often and allow for a slight run-off it's called "leeching" while a flush is 1.5-3x as much water run through a container. Also, if you give your plants RO water there is no need to ph it because they don't uptake any feed from the water which is why we ph it.

 

[PseudoBotanist]

Alright fellas, flushing in the sense that is posted on the forums is pointless, you cannot flush ferts out of the plants. However what happens when you saturate the soil with water a few days before harvest is you deprive the root zone of oxygen. This prematurely accelerates the curing process. It induces fermentation (cure) while the plant is still alive and shaves time off a normal month long cure.

Thank riddle for his research and science to back it up
http://www.rollitup.org/t/the-truth-about-flushing.409622/

 

[amanda88]

I've read some articles saying that the only thing that can harshen the taste of bud is chlorophyll. However the whole notion of flushing to get rid of "minerals" or "nutrients" is said by some to be b.s. Starving the plant only slows its ability to produce the goodies. Yes it'll kill some chlorophyll, but a good slow cure will do that anyway. Doing this also will also diminish the flavor/aroma.

So basically... Is excessive flushing and starving plant really necessary? It seems redundant if you have time to do a proper slow cure. And even harmful.

I dont have enough experience to argue either side. However the science seems to support what I've stated here. I realize this goes against what is commonly believed by most growers, so I'm ready for some people to be pissed off ...

Discuss

I flush ...lightly, then silly me goes for a 3 day water cure, then to the dry room, my flushing is unnecessary and done outta habit more than anything.. but in truth my plants by mid to late summer are in need of a thirst quencher, I see this as a personal thing? thru choice or otherwise.
The 3 day water cure, is me being greedy, it has a far more effect on taste, flavor, even burn ability than a pre-butcher flush would ever have, the 3 day water cure, if done well, reduces the chlorophyll and after taste substantially, very useful in cookery or toking in public places ..good luck

 

[amanda88]

Alright fellas, flushing in the sense that is posted on the forums is pointless, you cannot flush ferts out of the plants. However what happens when you saturate the soil with water a few days before harvest is you deprive the root zone of oxygen. This prematurely accelerates the curing process. It induces fermentation (cure) while the plant is still alive and shaves time off a normal month long cure.

Thank riddle for his research and science to back it up
http://www.rollitup.org/t/the-truth-about-flushing.409622/

..as for your link to the horticulturally renowned Trollitup? (sarc) no thanks, but you have raised some interesting observations tho dependent on the growing medium used

 

[sackoweed]

So in conclusion what was decided? To each their own.. Trial and error