When newbie marijuana growers face the question “What is flushing weed?” many will most probably first imagine flushing their cannabis plants in the toilet, trying to stay away from possible problems.
However, flushing weed actually refers to a much more innocent operation, which aims to remove any traces of accumulated nutrient supplement that have been fed to your green beauties.
And while utilizing the proper nutrients to help your cannabis garden flourish and reward you with those fat, tasty, THC-sparkling buds is an excellent approach in increasing your yields, flushing is no less crucial.
Keep reading and you will learn everything you need to know about the importance of flushing your weed, as well as the best practices to reap all the benefits of this essential technique.
#1 – Is Flushing Really Necessary for your Marijuana Plants?
You might have already come to the conclusion from what we briefly mentioned above, that flushing your weed is indeed, of vital essence for your success as a marijuana grower.
Flushing is an extremely important process because it helps your plants grow properly and avoid or recover from nutrient blocks, including both nutrient deficiency and/or nutrient surplus.
Nevertheless, after you flush your weed, you will enjoy a whole new dimension of flavor upon consumption, which is not to be underestimated at all.
Unflushed weed, or non-properly flushed weed, as well, induces much more of a couch while smoking.
But most importantly, if you don’t flush your weed before harvest, you risk exposing your body to the elements, found in additional nutrients, which are not good for your health.
And thus, in order to prevent health issues in both the development of your marijuana plants and in your body as a final consumer, flushing is a MUST.
#2 – When to Flush your Cannabis for Best Results
Flushing simply refers to letting pure water, free of any additional nutrients, to run through your plants for a particular period of time.
That process helps to remove any accumulated toxins throughout the system of your plants, starting from the roots and ending in the flowers.
Moreover, flushing aids in sustaining the right pH levels of the growing medium, just as well.
Sometimes, if you accidentally feed your green beauties with less or more of a particular element, this causes a nutrient blockage in the entire nutrient absorption rate.
For example, if you give your plants too much Nitrogen, this can stop the proper transfer of the rest of the essential elements, leading to either nutrient deficiency or nutrient surplus.
Thus, there are 3 major stages of the development of your marijuana plants when flushing must be taken into consideration.
1 – End of Vegetative Stage and Entering the Flowering Stage
Your cannabis plants will require a different rate of nutrients during the vegetative stage and the flowering stage.
That’s because of the different needs your green babies establish from being immature and subsequently maturing.
For example, during the vegetative phase, your emerald cuties will need to focus on growing healthy leaves and strong stems, rather than flowers.
Thus, flushing your weed when the transition to flowering begins will help you eliminate any possible issues, due to improper nutrients for the particular stage of development of your plants.
2 – Removing Excess Nutrient Buildup in your Growing Medium
When your plants are already in the flowering stage, every wrong step can cause a decrease in your yields.
Moreover, since your cannabeauties are much more sensitive once they have entered the flowering stage, you want to do everything possible to stay away from trouble, which is hard to cure during this delicate period.
Stress, improper pH levels, as well as deficiency or surplus of any nutrient can quickly lead to the so-called nutrient lockout.
Nutrient lockout causes your plants to suffer because they cannot access the essential nutrients they need.
Subsequently, your green goddesses can start lacking behind in their development, and during flowering, this can seriously reduce the overall potency and quality of the buds.
3 – Straight Before Harvesting
Flushing your weed before the harvesting point is one of the most important steps, which will determine the results you get after consuming those long-dreamed, succulent buds.
When you flush your cannabis a week or so before it’s time to harvest, you literally force your plants to use the nutrients, which they have already accumulated.
In the case, your emerald princesses fail to utilize those accumulated nutrients and you keep feeding them more, the buds will simply end up much less flavorful, due to the lack of proper and full nutrient break down.
#3 – How to Flush your Weed like a Pro
In order to flush your weed like a real professional, you simply need to make use of pure water for watering your marijuana plants within about a week on an average.
Sounds fairly effortless, and in fact, it is fairly effortless to put in practice, too!
For flushing your weed when switching from vegetation to flowering, you need to water them to the point of overwatering, using only pure water.
You want to measure the pH of the water you are about to use because this is also crucial.
For flushing marijuana plants, grown in soil, your water’s pH should be within 6 to 6.8. When it comes to flushing weed, grown hydroponically, the recommended pH levels are anything between 5.5 and 6.5.
Simply pour a good amount of the purified water until you fully saturate the soil. Afterward, repeat the process within the next 15 minutes, and you are done.
For flushing your weed before harvesting, you don’t need to overwater your plants all the time but simply use pH balanced and purified water for an extended period.
For cannabis, grown in soil, flushing should start 2 weeks before the harvest point. For hydroponically grown marijuana, the flushing should begin a week prior to harvesting.
As a rule of thumbs, flushing is not recommended only in the case you are growing in organic soil without the use of any additional nutrients.