FLUSHING IN HYDRO OWDS WAY

The question on flushing keeps arising on the boards and although each individual has their own way i thought i'd give you my thoughts on it

I used to be under the impression that a two week flush was needed at the end in hydro but have since changed my mind completely.My way of thinking is that starving a plant for any amount of time is detrimental to its progress so for me two weeks is a definate no no

What i now do whether in a hydro system or hand watering in coco is 2 weeks from cropping i start to reduce the phosphorus.I cease using any boost/pk13/14 seeing as these have a large amount in and i start to reduce the ec too seeing as plants dont need as many nutes late on.

I run at an ec of 1.8 max no matter how i grow in hydro so i'll drop my ec to 1.4 with the food being made up of 50/50 grow/bloom for 3-4 days,then i'll drop that to 1.0ec till theres only a week left.

The final week i just feed 1ml/grow up until the last 2 days which i'll use just tap water.

What ive found with me not feeding excessively is that if i feed just water i get yellow leaves after just two days,and if this is a fortnight from the end your plant is stressing for 2 weeks and not reaching its potential.The early yellowing leaves also tells me that if my plants are yellowing after just 2 days they have no excess of nutrient in them and my feeding throughout has been pretty much ideal

Ive tried all different methods over the years and thought i'd try and take a leaf out of the organic pot growers book and reduce phosporous towards the end and just use grow in the make up

Less phosporus means a better burn and smoother smoke,and my bud using this method is as smooth as ive ever had it

Plus I believe that it helps with yield seeing as the plant has a little food to keep going throughout its life

I also believe that folk that insist on using high ec's can address the flushing issue earlier and start to drop their ec's 3 weeks before chop.This will help reduce nutrient levels in the plant without affecting its growth because as i said earlier the plant doesnt need as much food towards the end

And as a final word,if you do use plain water for however long dont ph down it cos all you are doing is putting in exactly what we are trying to get out

Also if I find a better way that suits me i'll have to update this

Owd

Very informative post... I am sure it will help out a lot of peeps

Very good post and should hopeully put some peoples minds at rest about flushing

It must be strain or nutrient related, i flush for 2 weeks (Plain tapwater) and hardly get any yellow leaves.

In fact i find it harder to under feed, than over feed at the end of 12/12

I'm growing Cheese in vita link and coco, with the EC from 0.8ec-2.8ec.

I really would like to know why this is happening to you and not me Owd ?

e2a: I only use the veg n bloom, no other nutrients from the range, so i dont use any boosters. Maybe this is the difference ?

Me too mate

I think it may be something to do with how much a young plant is given when its small,I feed very sparingly when they are young,I dunno tbh Stealth

I cant remember the last time i took my ec to 2.0 for any period of time and my plants never look hungry as youve seen in all my threads

My yield is fine too so i can only put it down to the young plant thing,like i said i dunno but i know you get to ec's up to 2.8.I dont think as i can remember ive ever been that high

Owd

Ive mentioned this before, but i believe the more medium you have to flush through (in my case 30-50 litres per plant depending on what pots i use) the more flushing it may require, my thinking is that a big plant in a big pot has a hell of a lot of nutrients to flush out, especially if they have been feeding at 2.8ec.

Or maybe it is just the nutrients were using ?

if you like stealth i'll try owd's way at the end of my grow, then we can observe the difference.

the only trouble is i'm using different nutes to the pair of you

cheers owd cracking thread mate.

atb cropman

p.s. your messenger is off stealth

Size of pot should be irrelevant mate,its all about ec strength.Like ive said before a bigger pot doesnt mean a higher ec,not in my experience anyway,just means more of the mix.

I used to grow in 25ltr pots on top of nft tables but drip fed and still we never got our ec's up to 2.0,with hydrotops nutrients aswell

Even then it was only the last 7 days flush with just water and our plants were always yellow come the end

Owd

ive found 7 days with plain water in a dwc work fine. mr cervantes recons if you flush with a 25% mix it will actually flush quicker.

prob like diets if your body realise your starving yourself it hoards the fat

nice thread ill try this on my crop wen its ready for it

Hello owderb.
Nice thread, I will probably bring down my ec gradually towards the end of my grow as well. You said that one can also add veg nuts, correct? I will be using pk13 as well. How long do you reckon i can use pk for. Just a single week or a couple? I have about a 10 week flower period but entering my 3rd.

thanks,

the austrian

hi owderb,
very interesting thread, i notice that you say grow/bloom 50/50 does this mean that you are using grow all the way through flowering? i've never done this, does this explain why i get yellow leaves about a month into flowering? does this affect yields? cheers

No mate i dont use grow all the way through

I just use grow in the make up with 2 weeks to go

Owd

I'm gonna feel alot better about not flushing with ph'd water this time around after this read thx mang...

I hear ya But I have to dissagree, Your system sounds impressive, but in a big bucket of clay pebbles lots and lots of salts are stored...

I can prove this... If you soak them for two weeks after use, or stash them and be a lazy stoner, then you will see white salt has risen and now sits on the surface of the water and has collected all over the top of the pebbles. And thats leaving them to soak after washing them.

When I flush I have to really rinse my pebbles through, and my plants don't yellow either... I guess there is no answer only experience here...

My EC is 1.6 throughout, rizzatonic to get the clones going ??????

definetly got to flush for two weeks here though,... I gotta stand by that

To each their own... But I suspect if i go Owderb's way I'll get a good head-start on vegging, and I'll bet there's no difference in my smoke cause of it.. If there is I'll say so.. but I doubt it...

stealth If your pebbles are that full of salts it probably means you have been overfeeding .

well for me i always used to flush for 5 days but the last few grows i have done i have flushed for 2 weeks and to me there is no difference in the taste at all but i think flushing for the 2 weeks does give me less of a yield so for me its going back to me 5 day flush

I am under for the majority of the time and that's a low 1.6 on the old EC meter, but if it crawls higher I add some fresh water. The EC DOES rise as I'm sure you know, and this is generally due to stored nutrients.

I'm sure its an each to their own situation here, ...

What I should make sure to say is that when I begin my pure tap water flush, its not long before the nutrient levels are back, so in my own way I too am keeping the nutrients flowing DESPITE using just tap water, for two weeks.

Eventually the level falls to about 0.4EC

Good luck with your grows everyone, I'm not suggesting anyone reduces their crop size here, but mines just for me, and so its extra squeaky clean.

And so is mine

Owd

Nice post owd i get the exact same probs as you describe i also notice from your diary i use the same nutes at the same ec so i am going to give this a try in a few weeks In the past i tended to skip a weeks flushing as the plants used to look so bad

Thanks for the advice Owderb. I have a few question for you if you don't mind.

I have not got an EC meter so am unable to monitor the EC level but I am using Dutch Master flower at the moment and am due to change the solution tomorrow and wondered what you would advise. Tomorrow will be day 44 of flower. Should I reduce the amount of nutrient I give them for the next 7-10 days and then switch to plain water for the last few days or do I mix in some Bloom mix with the flower for the next 7-10 days. On previous grows I have used flushing solution but money is a bit tight so would prefer not to have to buy any if possible. I can attach pics if it helps

Cheers

All depends on how long a flowering period you have

Just stop using any pk13/14 with 2 weeks to go and reduce your basic foods ec mix.Makes no difference how long a flowering period you have,just do the same thing.

You have to be able to judge when the plants are going to finish,I use clones so i know how long they go

Owd

Using NFT 205

I have a couple of days to go on my Orange Bud and have been flushing for the last 4 days. I always have trouble keeping my EC down and is normally up around the 1.8 2.0 region. So 4 days ago i emptied my tank of all water and nutes and filled with 15 litres of water only. Left it for about 10 minutes and went back and checked my EC reading and it was at 0.4. Spot on.

Next night i went back to check on things and my EC reading had gone up to 1.2 ?? Now i think i know why this is. The Orange Bud im growing is massive and the root system is nearlying coming out of the top tray on my NFT tank and has gone right in below in the water res and is not kicking the arse of smoothering my water pump.

The next night the EC is back to 1.8 again... and this is with just filling with water each time.

I have a m8 who only flushes the last few days of his grow and his weed always taste far harsher than mine.

Im sticking with 6 days flushing at the minute.

Cricky thats a pretty hefty jump , i did notice the "run of" from the trays upped the ec of mine a tad prolly 0.6 - 0.8 but nothing like that i simply changed the res on the second or 3rd day witch isnt a prob as on the first top up of fresh water just put in the amount they will drink in a couple o days , have you checked that meter ?

Took my ec meter to a m8's house tonight to check its reading properly and its spot on.

As i said i think with the amount of root system i have the run off from the tray and what roots are already swimming in the tank has made the ec rise very quickly again.

Some of my roots have started to grow into the water too. Is it better to pull them out and place them back on the root mat or are they ok in the water?

owd i have used this method for the last 2 grow (dropping ec and switching back to grow nutes ) but this time im usin canna coco nutes and there is no grow nutes

should i just drop the ec as i would normally ?

and i have tasted no difference

Cant see why not mate,but drop it quite low the final week

Owd

thanks mate

Well i've now tried Owds method and i'm very pleased
i cut the PK out after a week and continued with bloom for a week and then just went onto grow for the last week and flushed for about 3 days
it is a much smoother smoke and tastes that much better
i've just done NYCD in coco/clay balls and it burns better and tastes better and its only been drying 10 days

i did have a few problems as i changed nutes this grow and underfed them for a couple of weeks due to my misreading
but other than that its all turned out good

and cheers for the help Owd

Nice post Owd

Always good to hear the different method's used.
I'm about 3 weeks 12/12 on my first NFT grow so all this info is very useful.
Time to make a plan for the next 3/4 week's.

Dawkins,leave your roots dangling mate,Chuck a couple of airstones in your res as well if you can

Gati

interesting read!

was just about to do the just water flush next week!!!

will try cutting it down to minimal instead of that!

cheers...[1st thread i look at is well useful... this could be a great site ]

ahh interesting read as i am handwatering in Coco atm and was wondering what to do about flushing as i had heard many conflicting storeys as to when to flush and if to leave nutes in thanks for the tip

Hi OWD,

Have you never considered using a clearing solution or flushing agent instead? An what are your thoughts on these products?

Or what about using a micro nute with no N P K like plant start or GH micro?

Just a thought,

I had the same problem with mine last time (all leaves went yellow to soon). I think it depends on a lot of things personally and I don't think there is an answer that will suit all. IE plants of different strains and in different setups will use the nute stored within at different rates etc. So for some, two weeks is OK but for others, their plants will have used them all up within a couple of days. ;-)

Maxi

I'll try your way this time as I think it will work for my situation just fine :-) thanks mate.

Yes ive used flushing agents but why use them if they are not needed, just a waste of money

All they are in essence is a weak food

Owd

I know what you mean,

So do you reckon that all the stuff they say about:

"If left behind, old nutrients, such as Nitrogen can be detrimental to plant quality and yield. However, flushing this nutrient substantially increases yields and quality by creating a root stress that drives energy stored in the plant upwards to the reproductive organs."

Happens anyway just by depriving the plant of food and that there's nothing in these products that cause this reaction?

Maxi

makes sense thanks

if you really must ph your water (like me and your really anal about the little things like this) and still want to eliminate the phosphurus from your water in the last days of flushing canna do a nitric acid ph down!!!!!!!

hi there Owd, just a quick one mate

since im stopping ph'ing my feed in the last two weeks, can i just use water straight out the tap to mix my feed or would you still recomend letting it stand for 24 hours?

im growing in coco

Still best to but not essential mate

Your nutrient alone should drop it to mid 6's so not really a problem

Owd

cheers Owderb, nice one

wow... big topic.. ive read all the posts boys.. cant believe none of you mentioned flushing throughout the grow!!

every 2 weeks or so when the tanks real low.. throw the fuckin lot out.. ph some water and let em run 4 a day or 2 on

the water.. then tip that out n start again with fresh everything preset in the bucket..

these plants get a build up of salts and it locks out the nutes.. watch em go again when the feed is back.. whoosh!

and lets say your plant has been needin more micro elements outa the feed.. yer wand doesnt give u a breakdown of

whats left in the food, it just gives u a strength, that could be anything or anything missin if you gets me!..

and.. if you keep the same solution throughout and only flush at the end, it tastes rank man!

the only reason we ph the solution it 4 nutriant uptake.. certain chemicals are available at ph 5.5 that are not at 6.5 etc.

so why ph the last flush, thats just more chemicals to me..if your ec goes flying back up on yer last flush, its only whats

been trapped in the roots and the spreader mat n the bottom of your tank.. tip it out again.. put fresh water in again.

it`ll soon drop then..

i also cant believe that theres 2 week last flushes goin on!.. thats 4 soil growers!.. 4 or 5 day flush 4 me!!

here`s a good one 4 ya`s.. harvest all but one branch, not your best one either.... add some stawberry or vanilla

essence or even vimto cordial ive tried, to the tank.. only leave it in for half a day tho.. turn your pump up to full

power.. mature this seperatly. and youve got another flavoured weed of your choice..

ive got some proper flush to make it taste awsome this time.. hope it does!!

feeding water when we do a res change aint needed its just starving them if you dont overfeed there shouldnt be any build up , they hit the nutes hard again cos they are hungry . as you would be if you hadnt eaten for 2days

i dont see it as starvin them.. the nutes get locked out and they cant feed.. ive had this problem myself..

but your proberly right about overfeedin em.. but i dont care coz i`l just flush em 4 a day!

what do you take your ec up to jiff?

do you use a booster? and if so when? and 4 how long?

also.. what ph do u run at bro?

im bein nosey here, i want your statistics dude.. haha

i pmed ya , to keep it on topic

i heard of using vinegar or lemon juice as a ph down.

so as my ph down solution is phosphorous - i shouldnt use this in the final flush? my tap water is about 7.2 will this be ok to use?

so to put all this in layman's terms, what your saying is we should flush pure water regardless if the PH is a bit high?

dont want to add acid at this stage , just water if you must

thanks jiffa

so i guess going from say a PH of 6 to 7 (or higher) isnt going to shock the gal?

and as a layman, am i right in thinking the reason why we need to adjust the PH is just to allow nutrient uptake?

yes mate and as you aint giving her nutes , no need

also vinegar or lemon juice aint as stable as the acid . stick with the acid its cheap enough