Hello ladies and gentlemen of the DGC.
I am an impatient, amateur grower in Ontario Canada. My first attempt at growing involved lessons about powdery mildew, fungus gnats, nutrient burn, and most importantly, being patient. After salvaging less than 2 ounces of consumable product, I decided to invest in a dehumidifier, better ventilation, and the supercharged kit from Remo Nutrients. I also got a DGC membership and spend a few hours most evenings watching old shows and learning as much as I can.
My 2nd grow is going so much better. It is day 50 of flower and I’m going to begin flushing the plants. I was planning on just using distilled water. This is where I ran into a question that I can’t seem to find a consistent answer to. Does the pH matter when flushing plants?
I’ve seen some say “yes, why would you stop paying attention to it after months of being so diligent” and I’ve seen some say “no, it doesn’t matter because creating a lockout will ensure the plant uses the nutrients contained within itself”. So what do you think? Does it matter or not? I’m curious what the members of the DGC do when they flush.
Here’s a bit more info on my situation; I’m using 10 gal fabric pots with ProMix soil and the Remo products at 3/4 recommended strength. I am using distilled water rather than tap water.
Thanks for everything.
Yes and I’ll explain why. Shock. Use tap water unless it’s very hard (400+ ppm). Distilled water is very pH unstable and will swing in all directions. Roots conditioned to a certain pH range will expect that to continue. It’s true, roots don’t need the minerals (if any) to be available to the trichoblasts but, there are other variables to consider. Large pH swings send the rhizosphere into a state of shock. You do not want the plant to go into shock during the flush. You want the plant to consume what little minerals are left in the medium and in the plant tissue itself. Plants can store enough mineral nutrition inside plant tissue to continue to mature through the final senescence stage. Stress is not a good thing near the end or the beginning or the middle of flower. Not ever.
Thank you so much jmystro for taking the time to explain things so well.
Im with the mystro but more with the train of thought that low ph uptakes heavy metals and I’ll pass on smoking those(low ph situation in flush). Also calcium in an immobile element so if the plant needs any to finish out the processes then it won’t be available if ph isn’t in the right zone. Multiple reasons to ph your flush and also ive heard spring water being the best with the dissolved minerals and purity.
Thank you JustCoolin for the additional information. I live in a 3rd floor apartment so my options with water are limited, but I believe purchasing some spring water for the flush might be my best option because my tap water is over 500 ppm. You and jmystro have reduced the chances of me being disappointed when I harvest in a few weeks, and I can’t thank you enough for that.