Before harvest

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Brandon0228

Member
This is my first time growing and i am running a 10 gal DWC with a 600w MH/HPS light (HPS at this moment since it's in flower, might change to MH here pretty soon in the last few weeks of flower. Heard rumors it can promote dense buds.) Back to the main subject though, I have read something about doing a system flush and taking out all nutes and only supplying water for 2 weeks prior to harvest. The article said that this would force the plant to consume its food reserves and therefore take the bitter taste out of your bud. Of all the research i've done on the subject i've never ran across something like that. The article said that to test if your plants are ready to harvest, snap off a leave and taste the juices that come out the end. It will be bitter if there is still a lot of food running through the system, but if the plants are ready to harvest it will taste like straight water.
Thinking about it, it makes sense that these nutrients would add a weird taste to the bud and a flush would in fact make it taste better, but I'm looking for experience. Is this article accurate, or was it just someone talking out of their ass. I have one of my plants that looks like its about ready to harvest, however i've not done a flush yet so i'm not sure if i should or not.
 
Anon Emaus

Anon Emaus

Well-Known Member
Brandon0228 said:
This is my first time growing and i am running a 10 gal DWC with a 600w MH/HPS light (HPS at this moment since it's in flower, might change to MH here pretty soon in the last few weeks of flower. Heard rumors it can promote dense buds.) Back to the main subject though, I have read something about doing a system flush and taking out all nutes and only supplying water for 2 weeks prior to harvest. The article said that this would force the plant to consume its food reserves and therefore take the bitter taste out of your bud. Of all the research i've done on the subject i've never ran across something like that. The article said that to test if your plants are ready to harvest, snap off a leave and taste the juices that come out the end. It will be bitter if there is still a lot of food running through the system, but if the plants are ready to harvest it will taste like straight water.
Thinking about it, it makes sense that these nutrients would add a weird taste to the bud and a flush would in fact make it taste better, but I'm looking for experience. Is this article accurate, or was it just someone talking out of their ass. I have one of my plants that looks like its about ready to harvest, however i've not done a flush yet so i'm not sure if i should or not.
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By the date you posted you've probably already harvested, so please let me know what you did because I am very close to harvest and I'd like to know what you did and think about it.

I have read the same article. I've researched through the Harvest forum on here and you'll find a lot of controversey on the issue. What I've nailed it down to for my plan is this:

Popular opinion sounds like 2 weeks is too long for DWC, I think the article I read was talking about soil, so I would imagine it's a longer flush since you have to clean through dirt per say rather than a bucket.

I'm going to go with a 3 day flush, that was popular among the folks posting about it, thats what some long time growers feel is optimum, meaning they've done shorter and they've done longer but 3 days is perfect. I'm also going to do a 36 hour dark period throughout those last 3 days prior to the moment of harvest because you don't want the lights to have been on before picking because it pulls the nutes back up to the buds instead of leaving them in the roots while lights are off. They also say that the lights out helps create some other crap thats good, so yeah. Thats just my opinion and what I'm going to do.

In your research you'll find growers who have been doing it for years and swear that flushing DOES NOTHING, but then again you'll find growers who have been doing it for years and they swear that flushing DOES HELP. I say test it yourself and see what you feel, but overall of what I've read even if a 3 day flush doesn't help it at least will Not hurt, so worth a try! Again, please let me know what you did, I'm very curious! Thanks in advanced!
 
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Brandon0228

Member
Anon Emaus said:
By the date you posted you've probably already harvested, so please let me know what you did because I am very close to harvest and I'd like to know what you did and think about it.

I have read the same article. I've researched through the Harvest forum on here and you'll find a lot of controversey on the issue. What I've nailed it down to for my plan is this:

Popular opinion sounds like 2 weeks is too long for DWC, I think the article I read was talking about soil, so I would imagine it's a longer flush since you have to clean through dirt per say rather than a bucket.

I'm going to go with a 3 day flush, that was popular among the folks posting about it, thats what some long time growers feel is optimum, meaning they've done shorter and they've done longer but 3 days is perfect. I'm also going to do a 36 hour dark period throughout those last 3 days prior to the moment of harvest because you don't want the lights to have been on before picking because it pulls the nutes back up to the buds instead of leaving them in the roots while lights are off. They also say that the lights out helps create some other crap thats good, so yeah. Thats just my opinion and what I'm going to do.

In your research you'll find growers who have been doing it for years and swear that flushing DOES NOTHING, but then again you'll find growers who have been doing it for years and they swear that flushing DOES HELP. I say test it yourself and see what you feel, but overall of what I've read even if a 3 day flush doesn't help it at least will Not hurt, so worth a try! Again, please let me know what you did, I'm very curious! Thanks in advanced!
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I did harvest my smaller plant a while ago and didn't do the flush, it did have a notable taste, however i wouldn't exactly call it bad. just interesting, hard to explain. My larger plant, however, is still in flower, I'm waiting for first sighting of amber trychomes for harvest on her. almost all hairs have turned and leaves are beginning to curl down and have all yellowed on the tips, the fan leaves are starting to die. So i'm assuming within two weeks ill be starting to see amber trychomes on certain parts of the plant. I'll start the 3 day flush then, and ill do a 36 hour dark period as well before a partial harvest. Might addnutes again the the buds that weren't ready if there's still a good amount
 
N

Newbiew

Well-Known Member
Hello friends to try to answer your question I normally run my eight week cycle of 12/12 then flush every three or four days up until my try cones are to my liking I probably run a much bigger system then you folks so this is how I do mine but I run a (180GAL reservoir.)
 
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Brandon0228

Member
Last question, I've trimmed off most of the dead fan leaves and left the sugar leaves. everything left is crispy and dry. is there a point to the plant getting light anymore? i doubt the leaves' chlorophyll or whatever are still working. do the buds use the light? i suppose its about time to do my 36 hour flush and dark period
 
SnaFuu

SnaFuu

Well-Known Member
You should try an expensive flushing agent and let us know

Also i hear a disco ball in the room for the last 36 hours does wonders. Make sure it's set to spin fast. This really helps the flush.

Oh and then stick it in a toilet. That's the best way to flush.

Heard all these rumours.bongsmilie
 
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Brandon0228

Member
well from what i read, the 36 hour dark period ensures that all of the remaining nutrients in the plant roots remain there since there hasn't been anymore light to fuel the plant's processes and therefore nutrient movement up the plant. As for the flush, i'm aware of the controversy, this is my first grow, so i planned to play it safe simply because the idea made sense. By giving the plant only water, you force it to burn any remaining food reserves in the plant (buds is where we're concerned). This is rumored to give a better tasting bud as there won't be remnants from the nutes. These two steps, in my eyes, are a safety net that i know i may not need, but ultimately protects me from the possibility of funny tasting buds from remaining nutes in the plant. I was mainly looking for opinions on the ideas, and judging from Snafuu's snide comments, i know where he stands.. though it may have been a little easier just to say it rather than waste my time with sarcastic nonsense.
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Nutrients are stored in the leaves not the calyxes(buds)

The dark period I thought was to increase thc production as light degrades thc.
 
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Brandon0228

Member
firsttimeARE said:
Nutrients are stored in the leaves not the calyxes(buds)

The dark period I thought was to increase thc production as light degrades thc.
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I wasn't aware of that, so what your saying is that unless I'm smoking leaves i don't need to worry about nutes making the buds taste funny? are you sure? i find i difficult to believe that nutes don't find their way to the buds in some way, how would they grow? So in theory, there would have to be some remnants.
You're probably right on the dark period thing, but in my case i wasn't sure if my plant was still doing anything. What i mean by that is, the stem is green so it's obviously still doing alright and moving water, but all of the fan leaves have died and i have cut them off, also all of the sugar leaves with the buds have dried up, like almost crispy. i think this is normal, but wasn't positive. can the plant still produce thc if all of the leaves are crispy and pretty dead looking?
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
It's just what I heard. I've flushed. I've not flushed. Never noticed a difference really. So given that why starve your plants on nutrients it NEEDS for final bud/resin production.

I feed really low anyways. Like 500-600ppm peak (1-1.2EC)

A good 10+day dry is key to nice tasting buds and genetics of course.

Your fan leaves died because you didnt feed the plant. Which im sure you know that.
 
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taGyo

taGyo

Well-Known Member
During the dark phase the plant stores sugars in it's roots and terpenes (Taste) development is at it's maximum. You induce a dark period to maximize terpenes. It also adds a bit of stress which may or may not aid in THC production (THC is a defense mechanism).
Harvest before morning has the same affect. If you're growing for personal I'd do that 24 hrs of darkness if you feel like it. If it's for commercial just do it in the morning, most stoners don't really care about taste. They just want to get high.
 
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Brandon0228

Member
firsttimeARE said:
It's just what I heard. I've flushed. I've not flushed. Never noticed a difference really. So given that why starve your plants on nutrients it NEEDS for final bud/resin production.

I feed really low anyways. Like 500-600ppm peak (1-1.2EC)

A good 10+day dry is key to nice tasting buds and genetics of course.

Your fan leaves died because you didnt feed the plant. Which im sure you know that.
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well i expected the fan leaves to die from nitrogen deficiency, i suppose now that i think through that, the deficiency would affect sugar leaves as well and they would eventually die too, leaving the buds, which aren't concerned with nitrogen.
However, for learning purposes, towards the end of flower, i ran my ppm at ~1000, was this right or should i have stayed lower like i did with the veg nutes and ppm]
(ran ~600 for veg, ~1000 or 1200 for flower. higher later into it)
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
what is your ppm conversion factor?

1200 sounds awfully high to me. if its a 700 scale meter thats 1.7EC which is a little too high in dwc.

500 scale thats 2.4EC which us way too high
 
B

Brandon0228

Member
firsttimeARE said:
what is your ppm conversion factor?

1200 sounds awfully high to me. if its a 700 scale meter thats 1.7EC which is a little too high in dwc.

500 scale thats 2.4EC which us way too high
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honestly, I'm not sure. the conversation EC to TDS conversion factor says "NaCl (avg .5)". I have no idea what that means, this is a little over my head
 
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