Hello! I was wondering if you could give me a hand with two questions I have regarding something you wrote about flushing:
"Flushing is definitely NOT a myth. It is done for a specific purpose. If you think that flushing means giving only water and starving your plant at the end, then that IS an old method that was used back in the 1970's to increase the plant's potency, but that has been proven to be a myth. We now know that it is better to feed your plants normally, right up to the end and that it is the curing process that cleans the smoke of all chemical tastes... it isn't done by starving the plant.
If you are referring to flushing in the correct way, to mean running a 3x the container flush of clean fresh water, to rid the soil of any built up salts or unused nutes, that IS definitely a thing, and is a good tool to use during a grow to allow for full uptake by the plant, not restricted by the debris building up in the soil.
Lastly, and most importantly, a proper 3x flush should be done 2 weeks before harvest, for it is during these last two weeks that the buds finish out, and sometimes double in weight and girth. Flushing the soil before this process starts ensures that your plants will be able to have full uptake and get as much water and nutrients as it needs for this final push."
A) If I understood correctly, you recommend flushing 2 weeks before harvest, but then keep feeding the plant after that?
B) Do you think that this should be necessary for an autoflower fed with organic nutrients? I wonder because it has a lifecycle of only 12 weeks and in my case it's planted on Biobizz Lightmix and using only the Biobizz basic nutrients (Biogrow/Biobloom/Topmax) which I understand are organic and "safer" when it comes to overfeeding/soil buildup compared to synthethic ones.
Thanks!
"Flushing is definitely NOT a myth. It is done for a specific purpose. If you think that flushing means giving only water and starving your plant at the end, then that IS an old method that was used back in the 1970's to increase the plant's potency, but that has been proven to be a myth. We now know that it is better to feed your plants normally, right up to the end and that it is the curing process that cleans the smoke of all chemical tastes... it isn't done by starving the plant.
If you are referring to flushing in the correct way, to mean running a 3x the container flush of clean fresh water, to rid the soil of any built up salts or unused nutes, that IS definitely a thing, and is a good tool to use during a grow to allow for full uptake by the plant, not restricted by the debris building up in the soil.
Lastly, and most importantly, a proper 3x flush should be done 2 weeks before harvest, for it is during these last two weeks that the buds finish out, and sometimes double in weight and girth. Flushing the soil before this process starts ensures that your plants will be able to have full uptake and get as much water and nutrients as it needs for this final push."
A) If I understood correctly, you recommend flushing 2 weeks before harvest, but then keep feeding the plant after that?
B) Do you think that this should be necessary for an autoflower fed with organic nutrients? I wonder because it has a lifecycle of only 12 weeks and in my case it's planted on Biobizz Lightmix and using only the Biobizz basic nutrients (Biogrow/Biobloom/Topmax) which I understand are organic and "safer" when it comes to overfeeding/soil buildup compared to synthethic ones.
Thanks!
I hope you're having a fabgorgelous day!
Always love helping out fellow hobbyists.