To Flush Or Not To Flush? Compost Tea/organic

[Major CBD]

I am running a 5'×5' Gorilla Grow Tent, Kind LED K51000, 25 gal Radiclebag and my soil mix.

I am in week 2 flower and I've been running compost tea, great white shark, and a vital tea compost tea additive.

I'm looking forward to a week 8-9 harvest but I'm concerned about the "flush".

My tea is at 1300 ppm, 65°, 6.0 PH.

Tea feeds the soil!

Do I flush the soil with 0 PPM a week or so prior to harvest?

Also curious about going dark for 24hrs before harvest.....

 

[Major CBD]

Strain: Krysteen (Acapulco Gold x Columbian Gold) x (Afghani x Pakistan Valley)

 

[justiceman]

You can't flush organic inputs away from soil. That only works with synthetic mineral salts. Going dark 24 hrs before harvest to increase resin production or w/e magic it's supposed to do is a myth at best.

Mind if I ask what's in your tea? 1300ppm seems pretty high for an organic compost tea.

Anyway as far as the "flush" goes all you have to do is feed plain water for the last 7-14 days just as you would normally water.

 

[DrMcSkunkins]

Anyway as far as the "flush" goes all you have to do is feed plain water for the last 7-14 days just as you would normally water.

 

[Major CBD]

The base tea is at like 200-300 ppm. I add a bloom tea additive. My plants are super happy. I can walk in and not have one leaf with any yellowing of deficiency for a week.

 

[Major CBD]

I also fill up a 5 gallon bucket of foliage every week. It's crazy.

 

[Seamaiden]

Hello again @Major CBD ! Here's the problem you're encountering by trying to measure organic, non-conductive/super-conductive molecules using EC--some are conductive, some aren't, and your readings may be very inaccurate (EG, molasses tends to give a very high EC reading). My advice with these kinds of organics is to not rely on EC measurements, but instead go with volumetric measures and what your plants are telling you.

As others have said, there is no need to flush compost teas, they generally aren't going to be leaving salts behind unless you put the salts in there in the first place.

Grow looks great!

 

[Major CBD]

Hello again @Major CBD ! Here's the problem you're encountering by trying to measure organic, non-conductive/super-conductive molecules using EC--some are conductive, some aren't, and your readings may be very inaccurate (EG, molasses tends to give a very high EC reading). My advice with these kinds of organics is to not rely on EC measurements, but instead go with volumetric measures and what your plants are telling you.

As others have said, there is no need to flush compost teas, they generally aren't going to be leaving salts behind unless you put the salts in there in the first place.

Grow looks great!

I REALLY appreciate your insight. I've never thought about it being conductive material or not. Great insight.

 

[Major CBD]

Is there any word about adding too much compost tea to your garden? I know you can drown them and over water but I'm talking like adding too much assuming you aren't being dramatic and going overboard.

 

[justiceman]

Is there any word about adding too much compost tea to your garden? I know you can drown them and over water but I'm talking like adding too much assuming you aren't being dramatic and going overboard.

This depends on what your tea is composed of. If you tend to throw bat guano in your tea then it's easy to over do it nutritionally. If you just use a basic EWC tea then it's pretty hard to over do it nutritionally. Although I will say if your micro herd is doing well then excessive applications of compost tea probably won't do anything beneficial.

The only thing I could think of that could turn into a problem is the the particle size of the organic inputs in the tea. If one is just using a small container it's not hard to plug up the top portion of the medium with organic inputs which might rob the plants of necessary oxygen to the roots.

 

[Seamaiden]

Is there any word about adding too much compost tea to your garden? I know you can drown them and over water but I'm talking like adding too much assuming you aren't being dramatic and going overboard.

Based on my reading in publications like Acres, USA, there comes a point of diminishing returns. So you don't exactly overdo it, but you don't get anything out of it. And then also the nutrient tea thing mentioned above. I'm keeping my comment strictly to compost or AACT, which should be worm castings, sugar such as molasses and water.

 

[Major CBD]

Any word on adding organic Cal-Mag to a tea?

 

[Seamaiden]

I don't do it, but then I don't use combination Cal-Mag products in any event.

 

[justiceman]

I also do not add calmag to tea either. Ideally your soil mix should already provide all the calmag you need as should your tap water(unless you use pure R/O which I would then recommend cutting it with tap). If the soil doesn't have enough you might want to add some more dolomite lime in your soil mix next run.

I tested General Organics calmag in the past and had mixed results. In my opinion it's best to go either hydro or organic, but when you try to mix a little of both things can get tricky.