# flushing



## Budbrothers (Jun 2, 2008)

Hi I couldnt find a thread that covered this so i was wondering im wanting to flush soon what should my water be i  am a dirt guy.  thanks in advance for any info.


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## gettinggray1964 (Jun 2, 2008)

i always ph my water to 6.8-7.0.


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## White Widow (Jun 2, 2008)

your ph level should be between 5.6 and 6.6 idealistically!

Flushing usually involves soaking your plants with @ least 3 times more water (below soil line) then you would usually feed them. Another way is to fill a container larger then your pot with water and dip the soil pot into the water bucket all that way so that the water passes the soil line. Leave it for 12 minutes then reasonably drain the water out of the soil pot. Some would recommend that you flush with a mild nutrient solution but the amount and kind you use is completely up to you. If you are flushing your plants to get the old nuts out then use pure water.

Also I would use purified water (that's what I use as my water medium only // Brita water filtrated).

I hope this helps, enjoy and have fun 

Usualy it's a good idea to flush once a month, however I have seen some growers flush as much as once a week. Personaly I think this is a bit excessive. Also it'sa good idea to stop feeding/flush 2 weeks prior to crop date.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 3, 2008)

White Widow said:
			
		

> Also I would use purified water (that's what I use as my water medium only // Brita water filtrated).



JFYI, a Brita filter  does not purify water.  It will remove suspended solids that exist in the water as a precipitate.  But it will do nothing about solids that are in solution--which most impurities are.  Distilled water is the only truly purified water.  RO is the next best thing, but wastes huge amounts of water.  A single or double filter system has very limited capabilities.  

An EC meter will tell you how many PPM (of dissolved solids) your tap water has.  Some tap water is low and does not need to be treated.  The PPM of your water is less of an issue with soil grows than with hydroponics.


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## gettinggray1964 (Jun 3, 2008)

if you are watering your plants with 5.6 ph' d water in a soil grow i bet you got some real unhappy plants!!!!!


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## ISO2BWELL (Jun 11, 2008)

Budbrothers said:
			
		

> Hi I couldnt find a thread that covered this so i was wondering im wanting to flush soon what should my water be i am a dirt guy. thanks in advance for any info.


 
Budbrothers,

Flushing (technically, I think they call it "leaching") is a great way to get the junk out of the soil as the plant goes through it's life. Lots of garbage builds up around the root structures, and a good leaching really cleans it all out well.

I just got through leaching one plant last night, and 2 more to go through the process tonight. Since I feed rainwater, and also have R/O water, the first flush is with R/O water, then the last is with fresh rainwater, leaving them with some good water to chow on while they dry out.

Here is a tutorial I posted on another site. Hope it is of some help. 

Happy Leaching!  

ISO


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## Puffin Afatty (Jun 11, 2008)

*I heard some guys[Arjan and Franco] from Greenhouse Seeds saying they flush weekly, using a 1.3 ec nute solution at 5.5 ph.  Perhaps it is hard on the plants to use pure water???*  :hubba:


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## ISO2BWELL (Jun 11, 2008)

Puffin Afatty said:
			
		

> *I heard some guys[Arjan and Franco] from Greenhouse Seeds saying they flush weekly, using a 1.3 ec nute solution at 5.5 ph. Perhaps it is hard on the plants to use pure water???* :hubba:


 
Interesting. If it was a hydro grow, it would be practical to flush weekly, but I really don't see the benefit of it. In hydro I flush at the end of the 2nd week of flower and then again 2 weeks before harvest. Might not be the right timing, but it works for me.

In soil, if you flushed weekly the plant might never dry out   :holysheep:

The idea of flushing, I *think* is to get all those unwanted salts and leftover nutes, etc. from the plant washed out. Adding a nute to a pure flush...maybe for some...not sure I want to try it.

ISO


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## Runbyhemp (Jun 11, 2008)

IMHO flushing is not neccessary for organic growing. I never flush.


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## pussum (Jun 13, 2008)

I have always heard that you should only really flush when there is a problem like nute lock or excessive salt in the dirt. Other than that, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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## camcam (Jun 13, 2008)

I thought you had to flush the plants so they use all the nutes up what are left over in the soil/plant and this stops the buds tasting of chemicals?? I am flushing mine at the minute just using PH-ed water, thats what I have read anyway.


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## massproducer (Jun 13, 2008)

It sounds as though he was talking about not giving any nutes for the final two weeks of the plants life, in order to make the plant feed on itself and use up all of its nute stores.  This helps with the break down of the green taste, and gives the plant a head start on curing


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## Puffin Afatty (Jun 13, 2008)

*I dont flush at harvest either, because I regenerate and thought it would tend to give the regeneration a hard way to go.  However, Arjan and Franco were talking about flushing both soil and hydro media with the 1.3 ec solution at 5.5 ph on a weekly basis. :hubba:*


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## massproducer (Jun 13, 2008)

yeah, most clearing solutions like clearex are basically only weak nute solutions


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## camcam (Jun 13, 2008)

I think if you flush on a weekly basis that would stop nute build up around the root system, preventing or even blocking the plant from taking up it's full capacity/potenshal amount.


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## pussum (Jun 13, 2008)

If you are flushing two weeks before than yeah, flush away, but I am not exactly sure about weekly flushing. In "theory" it sounds like an obvious thing that should be done, but I just don't know. I have never done it myself.


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## donnie189 (Apr 4, 2009)

Has anyone ever tried soaking their nug 24/48hrs. after a good trim, then lay them out to dry as usuaul.


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## donnie189 (Apr 5, 2009)

I'd rread somewhere about soaking trimmed nuggets, in ph'ed zero water 1-2 days. Another type of leaching. Anybody ever heard of this method.

Thanks, Donnie :holysheep:


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## trillions of atoms (Apr 5, 2009)

donnie its called water curing and there are threads here on the site- i might have one floating. its a nice method, but using fresh water everyday is the most important thing. you can use this method for a quicker cure to rid of excess chlorophyll but you still cure normally after you pull the buds out of the water.

goodluck!


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## SmokinAce (May 18, 2009)

does anyone actually know what actually happens in the plant, or is all this speculation, fanciful imagination, or 2nd grade theory of the universe stuff....
a link, or science would be helpfull....
people are usually full of sh*t....


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## hanfhead (Jun 6, 2009)

I start flushing 2 weeks before harvest with water pH 6 ~ish and let the soil rinse well into buckets. I have had branches break off early and they crackle and taste funny when burnt so I always flush. A friend gives his ladies an additive called sweetleaf for flavor during the last few weeks also.


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## LEFTHAND (Jun 6, 2009)

hanfhead said:
			
		

> I start flushing 2 weeks before harvest with water pH 6 ~ish and let the soil rinse well into buckets. I have had branches break off early and they crackle and taste funny when burnt so I always flush. A friend gives his ladies an additive called sweetleaf for flavor during the last few weeks also.


 
*does that sweetleaf inhance natral flavour or is it an added flavour? if you can do that.*


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