In a recent post I wrote about harvesting a girl that I was unable to flush but only feed her PH'd water for the last 3 weeks. This is a very robust thirsty strain with thick water sucking stems so I thought if any strain could skip a flush it would be this one. I did get a bit of a fade, but not as much as usual.
Here's a link to that post:
https://www.mrgrowit.com/forum/grow-community/another-kush-clone-harvest-no-flush
She has been curing for about 15 days so thought I would give her a try.
Beautiful looking buds with highlights of purple all throughout and she smells fantastic.
It's a good smoke in that she stays lit all the way to the end and burns evenly.
On the downside, the ash is definitely a tad darker than usual. Not black, but certainly a darker grey than usual. Also, she tastes good but not as good as usual and has a hint of harshness that is not normally there.
(Just an FYI - This is a clone strain I have been running for a while so I am very familiar with what the buds should be like at this point)
Conclusion: I will be flushing the girls from now on.
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Interesting but the section that says 'A flushing Theory Debunked' doesn't actually debunk it. Or at least I do not count 1 study done by someone in University getting their Masters as debunked. Too many details left out on what these buds where feed and he did not actually 'flush' them. I think the term 'Flush' means something different to the author as he states: To cannabis growers, flushing means something very different: It refers to growers using low-EC water for irrigation during the last few weeks prior to harvest
That definition does not include running gallons of water through the medium before you start the low-ec irrigation during the last few weeks.
It also says flushing did not reduce nutrients but they did not look into other factors that could result in a better smoke from a flushed plant as he states: Further research should be conducted to complement this study examining the effect of flushing on carbohydrates, chlorophyll, etc.
The article does say that you should stop feeding nutrients the last two weeks with or without a flush. I think most people agree on that point.
I definitely get a better fade when I flush so in those cases the plant must be pulling more stored nutrients from the leaves and less nutrients straight from the soil. Maybe that makes a difference?
I think that study was done in 2017, just before legalization in Canada. Most legal bud back then was pretty darn crappy and most people did not know what they were doing. The author is now involved with a company that makes hemp oil and I think flushing might be less important for extracts.
On another note, the same author did a study on cloning. I have not read it but here is the abstract which has some interesting points to consider:
This study evaluated the influence of several factors and their interactive effects on the propagation success of stem cuttings of cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.). Factors included (i) leafnumber(twoorthree),(ii) leaftip removal (one-third of leaf tips removed), (iii) basal/apical position of stem cutting on the stock plant, and (iv) rooting hormone [0.2% indole-3-butyric (IBA) acid gel or 0.2% willow (Salix alba L.) extract gel]. Cuttings were placed in a growth chamber for twelve days and then assessed on their rooting success rate and root quality using a relative root quality scale. The IBA gel delivered a 2.1× higher rooting success rate and 1.6× higher root quality than the willow extract. Removing leaf tips reduced rooting success rate from 71% to 53% without influencing root quality. Cuttings with three leaves had 15% higher root quality compared with those with two, but leaf number did not influence rooting success rate. Position of cutting had little effect on rooting success or quality. To achieve maximum rooting success and root quality, cuttings from either apical or basal positions should have at least three fully expanded uncut leaves and the tested IBA rooting hormone is preferred to the willow-based product.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I came across an interesting read that I figured I'd post here since it relates to what you're talking about: White Ash vs. Black Ash https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/white-ash-vs-black-ash-september-2021/
I am on your side once again, Cap. Lol
I have experienced the same thing in the past and now I do a “Flush”
on my plants as well just to get the plant ready to harvest. Today is a week out from chop on a sour diesel clone. For the last week she has gotten nothing but ph water and today she will be placed on the porch and approximately 10 gallons of water will be ran through the medium over the course of about two hours. Then I take another PPM reading to see where I’m at. She will get just iced water when necessary for the next 5-6 days and ice cubes nightly. This usually creates a smoother flavor even Upon my “test smoke” which is 5-7 days after chop. This is a cloned strain which I am on gen 4 with so I am familiar with it as well. Keep up the awesome posts, Brother 🌱🪴🤙🏻
Hey Cap,
So I take it you are staying with Flushing? I've read article's (HighTimes etc. ) that are saying that it appears to make no difference. Logically the science indicates it would be beneficial. It's about that time for me and thought I would ask if your ""Conclusion: I will be flushing the girls from now on."" is still the thought.
Thanks, Appreciate it,
Geologist Joe
Hey Cap ! How do you decide when the flush should begin ? Certain % of trichromes are milky or what ?
I'm getting close to the end of flower here and I'm still confused when to flush them