How does flushing not result in overwatering

whitebb2727

Well-Known Member
I just read through it.

Newgrows, quit giving advice until you figure out what is wrong with your plants. Don't worry about to many things at one time. Keep it simple.
That yellow plant you have needs to go back in something smaller. You are watering one gallon at a time to compensate either for the small plant or because the water is running out the sides.
I would say you ended up with dry spots in your soil. Set the whole plant in the bath tub and flush with 3-5 gallons of good water. Maybe a drop of soap in the water. Make sure it is flushed good and soil is drenched

Do not worry about all the pics and info everywhere around you. Start in a small cup then work your way up. If the soil is half way decent you will not need to feed a plant the first month. At least 2-3 weeks any ways. when the cotyledons yellow and die you can feed.

Mainly just keep it simple.
 

whitebb2727

Well-Known Member
Thank you. I am almost positive it is under water or dry spots. You can tell in some of the pics. I had an outdoor plant that got dry spot and it would not take water. I went to dig it up and flush it and found it right in the center. It starts out looking like a nitrogen deficiency and then start to look like a magnesium deficiency and then dead leaves.

Any thing yellow from it will die.
 

newGrows

Active Member
I suggested either 1/2-1tsp/gal epsom salt or flushing would have more probability of improvement than using a vitamin to give mn.

I think that's what led to this thread. Your question makes perfect sense. It just leads back to the other thread(s).
yea sorry about the multiple threads that are related thing I made this thread just because I was afraid that flushing (the most common suggestion) was a troll idea and wanted to know if it is actually a safe thing to do.

An update:
I flushed the plant, she drooped like normal from overwatering but then I crushed some chelated manganese and some epsom salt into water at ~600 ppm, ph'd at 6.5 and within a day there was noticeable reduction of yellowing around all the leaves. Im guessing it was the magnesium and not the manganese that led to improvement. Thanks so much for good advice.

Now i'm wondering why the epsom salt was so much more effective than the liquid cal mag I had tried earlier? I gave both in roughly the same ppm range but only the salt seemed to improve the plants condition.
 

grorite

Well-Known Member
you cant over water with a flush you could put 50 gallons through a one gallon container without problems unless you were doing it daily
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Now i'm wondering why the epsom salt was so much more effective than the liquid cal mag I had tried earlier? I gave both in roughly the same ppm range but only the salt seemed to improve the plants condition.
There is an optimum ratio between ca and mg. I've read too much mg can interfere with uptake of ca. It may work the other way. If you have an mg def and give ca when it isn't needed, that may inhibit mg uptake (which you're already fighting).

Fortunately for you, mg by itself is easy to acquire at the store (epsom salt). Some day you'll have a ca def and that's not as easy to treat individually. You could start dissolving eggshells in vinegar (<<link) and have some calcium acetate on hand for when that day comes. You could buy calcium nitrate and keep it on hand. But, if you're a DIYer and want to "recycle" your eggshells, you could dissolve them. It should be just as available as calcium nitrate. The vinegar breaks down the calcium carbonate into ca and co2. (If you put the jar in your grow tent as it bubbles, that's some extra co2 for your plants.).

I've got a pint of the stuff plus a cup of evaporated powder. I haven't tried the powder yet, but I did use the liquid to treat a ca def 4-6 weeks ago.
 

Clown Baby

Well-Known Member
if you want to flush your plant and correct any fuckup you might have made (over fertilizing), then do it once. There's no reason this should take multiple instances.

You want runoff. If you have five-gallon plants, run five to ten gallons through the pot at once. The water will wash away all of the water-soluble salts and compounds currently in your soil, and leave you with a "clean canvas" so to speak.

remember that less-is-more with fertilizer. And you don't need to worry about pH unless you have some serious well-water issues. If you can grow plants in the back yard without pHing your tap water, it should work fine with your pot.
 
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