Flushing ... How Do You Flush

[PFCruz]

I need to flush soon and have never tried anything but just watering with ph'd water for the last 2 weeks . I read that atleast 12 gallons of ph'd water per plant is needed for a good flush. I am growing in about 4 gallons of pro mix w/perlite. I use a screen and it is FULL. I don't use any collection base for run off. Any advise on how to pour , pump , drain would be helpful ..thanks...

 

[Crazy Composer]

The amount is determined by how much nute is actually in the soil. If the plant looks like it's got too much nute, flush it more, if it looks yellow with reddening leaf stems, but not crispy leaves, it probably needs less flushing.

Now, as for the act of flushing, I like to use a 5 gallon bucket to catch the runoff in. Put something (like a screen) on top of the 5 gallon bucket, then place the pot on the screen. Now when you water, the excess will run out of the bottom, through the screen (which holds the pot above the bucket) and into the bucket. Even the front cage of an oscilating fan can be used as the screen - as long as water can pass through, and it's strong enough to hold your pot above the bucket.

Pour your water in slowly. You're flushing salts, sometime salts that have dried up in the medium, so you want to give the water time to dissolve those salts. Once the salts are dissolved into the water, they can be flushed out with more water.

I like to flush in two stages. The first stage is merely to wet the soil and dissolve those salts, the second stage is where I add enough water to start the flow from the bottom of the pots. Why start the flow from the bottom of the pot if the salts aren't yet fully dissolved? Stage 1: wet the soil thoroughly, stage 2 (after a wait of 5-10 minutes) start the actual flushing.

A trick to tell if the flushing has worked: Wait a couple days, then snap off a leaf, taste the juices that flow from the tip of the broken leaf stem. If those juices taste extremely bitter, there's still nutes in the soil. If, however, the juices taste almost like water, with very little bitterness, the soil is probably clean enough for harvesting.

Another trick: Plants that are properly flushed will often let go of their leaves much easier. Leaf stems on unflushed plants tend to break off sloppily, that is - they snap off and you get those threads that tear down the stems. Cleaner plants often snap right off without those threads. Use a quick downward jerk to remove leaf stems.

 

[Crazy Composer]

Oh, they're in a screen. Well, that'll take a little inginuity won't it? :smile:

 

[Sinfuldreams]

Your going to have to Hoist those babies.
No use in flushing just to let them sit in their own waste.
Get some 2 x 4's and lift the pots off the floor.
Get some Plastic and try to direct the flow to a Floor Drain.
Mite need a Hose. In Basement I hope?

More info might help.
Sin

 

[PFCruz]

Thanks for the great info on flushing Crazy Composer. Also thank you sinfuldreams ,I think your right to lift my pots to flush. I would have been lazy and left them on the floor flooting in the run off. Think I'll try some 2x4 or 4x4 blocks to hold up a screen. Place a small basin under the screen and pump the water out from it . Thanks again ...THIS WEB SITE RULES!!!!

 

[TNTBudSticker]

Flushing always sometimes maybe soon-to-be a mess.... sometimes not.....3X the volume of the container..or use one gallon in the runoff using cleaning flushing liquid