I've been studying this subject for the past 2 weeks,I've watched a bunch of YouTube vids over these past couple weeks regarding this & I only listened to the vids that had science backed evidence & from everything I've learned im never going to flush again. Not even for 1 day. Matter of fact studies show that the buds have 1 last big increase in weight during the final 48 hrs before harvest. So many ppl are flushing during these final 48 hrs & the plants are actually stressed AF from the flush that hardly anybody has had the experience of watching their buds swell up and get even fatter & heavier during the last couple days. Everything I watched had the same answer and it was no you should never flush your plants 1 week from harvest and definitely not for 2 weeks before harvest as this stops the buds from forming more or swelling up anymore bcus the plants are starved and not getting any nutes. Several channels had a good idea & on 3 specific vids I remember watching this 1 dude who must be a legit professional /master grower cus he was a guest on other ppl's vids & he was basically there to debunk or prove certain myths etc.. anyway 3 seasons in a row he video blogged his grow. The 1st yr he did not flush any of his plants & he grew top shelf bud & his best batch was Lemon Cherry Gelato that he yielded 6 lbs of finshed product. The THC on this strain came in at an insane 30% which isn't bad at all for an all outdoor grow in coco & he used both synthetic and organic nutes together as he swears by this & refuses to never do it again. The year after that he grew same strains but this time he did flush for 7 days before he cut the plant out. This batch yielded 3.25 lbs (he used the same coco as prior yr,grew in same sized pots as yr before & used same nutes on the exact same stain and in the same back yard as yr before & lost 50% of his yield compared to the yr prior, THC tested at 20% so 10+% less THC,& the smoke was said to be harsh while the aroma of the buds was complained about by everyone who smoked it & they all said it smelled like a mixture of dirt and hay. He is a vendor at several dispensaries in his area & he regularly sells them top shelf bud both indoor and outdoor. 2 of the 3 dispensaries that buy his bud on a regular basis refused to even make him an offer to sell his bud as 1 of their super cheap batches,they told him that 21% THC was the weakest buds they were selling as botton shelf cheap bud and his only tested barely at 20% & they too said it smelled like some old school bammer weed. He grew the followjng yr again same strain,same nutes,same coco,same location & same size pots. He did not flush in the 3rd season. This time he yielded a lil over 7 lbs,everyone who smoked it complimented him on the smoothness , they loved the flavor and aroma,THC tested at 32%. All 3 dispensaries offered him highest offer they give for top shelf bud. The best solution this cannabis professor said you can do if your not sure whether you should flush or not and if your stubborn & think your way is better than what modern science is trying to tell you not to do but u just have to then do the initial flush 5-7 days out, just plain H20 & do NOT over water. Wait til the pot is close to bone dry & then water and feed but cut the nutes down to 50% strength. You might have 1 more watering/feeding left still as this feeding would be 4 days before harvest,if you do it right then give it just enough water on the last feeding 4 days before harvest to where itll need to be watered & fed with 48 hrs left til hatrvest & he said remember these 48 hrs the buds should be packing on 1 more boost in weight, oil, resin production, & terpene production. There's a million final stage flowering nutes that increase oil and resin production & increase in size and weight and density, they increase the aroma & potency as well a significant amnt during those 48 hrs so why not feed ur plants something that would increase all of those things that much more than it does naturally? He said if it makes you feel more confident and safe then feed it as low as 25%%-50% strength nutes but he said that this is also going to make him yield less than you could've with full strength nutes. So there it is. Flushing plants is no longer the cool in crowd thing to do. In a few yrs flushing will be a thing of the past now that new science, studies, & video recorded grow journals will begin to show all those who believe in flushing 3X your pot size of water,I didn't know ppl were flushing that early! How would that not kill the plant from drowning the hell out of it??! I'm growing in 30 gallon pots, you mean to tell me that in the past I would've been told to flush each plant with 90 gallons of water?? Besides killing ur plant at the very least how would anyone have enough time in 1 day to fill up 90 1 gallon jugs of water that you have to pH every single gallon? It takes me 15+ min sometimes to get 1 gallon of H20 the perfect pH, 15+ min x 90 gallons would mean you'd have to stay awake for at least 4 days in a row doing nothing but filling up gallons of water til all 90 gallons are full and thats only for 1 plant!! I have 4 plants so I'd have to fill up 360 1 gallon jugs of pH'd water. There's not enough time in 7 days to even do this! Sorry for the long novel but that's all
