just found this anyone try this? \t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFertilizers, although vital for the health of our plants, leave behind residues that may eventually build up and harm them. Salt is one residue of fertilizer that, especially in potted plant soil, can quickly build up and actually leach the water from our plants. The end result is a plant that is dehydrated or weakened. Horticulturists at Texas A&M University claim that when a plant becomes weakened by excess salt in the soil, it is more prone to root rot. One way to remedy this situation in your potted plants is by flushing the soil with vinegar and water. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\tDifficulty:Easy \t\t\tInstructions \t \t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRemove any surface soil that contains salt. You will see the the white, powdery residue right on the surface. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlace the plant in the sink or outside. Run water lightly over the soil, allowing the plant to remain under the water stream until it is drenched. After the pot drains, repeat the procedure. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMix 1/2 tsp. of white vinegar to 1 qt. of water and pour it into the soil, allowing it to drain from the bottom of the pot. Horticultural consultant and gardening columnist Bob Chapman (Orchard Supply) claims that the vinegar will neutralize the salts and help to keep the soil salt-free. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFlood the soil again with clear water. Horticulturists at Texas A&M suggest using twice the volume of the pot as a guide as to how much water to use when leaching the soil. For example, since a 6-inch pot will hold 10 cups of water, use 20 cups of water to leach the soil Read more: How to Use Vinegar and Water to Flush Salt Build Up Out of Soil | eHow.com How to Use Vinegar and Water to Flush Salt Build Up Out of Soil | eHow.com
well I tried it I had three girls getting lockup so I did as suggested, except I ph'd up to 5.8 cause the vinegar dropped it down to 4.8 it definitely worked as a leach I used ro water and after ph'ing it read at 170 ppm going in and coming out it was at 1700 ppm. the ? is how'd the plants take it. well before the flush they were a little droopy and after lights came on remained droopy unlike the heathly ones that perk up an hour before the light goes on. after the flush they perked up not all the way but definitely look better. I will do one more flush like that today and check #s coming out to see if salt is still high followed by a light nute mix, and will post the results I'm keeping my fingers crossed it 'd be a great alt to clearex.
Hi sage, Because I'm a newb this is a newb question only. This is how I learn. Not trying to pee on anyones parade. Why not just flush with 3 times the amount of the pot size? 3 gal. pot, 9 gal. water, ph'ed the last 3 gal. Cheers & thanks, bruce
cause the vinegar breaks down the salts better then plain water and when you put your moms in that you been feeding veg nutes for three months while taking clones, three gallons of water won't be enough. have you ever cleaned a coffee pot with vinegar? and 9 gal is a ton of water when you use ro water and your grow area doesn't have running water.
Yo GC not much of a first post but, will this work on Flood and Drain systems as well? starting to see some build up on the top of my rock wool, either salt or powdery mildew..
What is the advantage of this vinegar method over molasses?? as far as i know, molasses at 1tblsp/gal will do a good job flushing excess salt without having to cut completely on nutrient.
yep I could flush with molasses or just water at three times the amount of water to pot size right now I have 3 girls showing major salt build. thats 27 gallons of water thats alot when you don't have running water accessible. with the vinegar flush I used anywhere from 1 to 3 gallons per plant then a gal of light nute solu . thats a max of around 12 gal. so do you see my why I chose the vinegar. if this works I just saved myself a lot of work.oh and so far so good plants are bouncing back.
Hi Dude, how's your experience with the vinegar flush?? I tried on 3 of my girls with major lockout after I neglected them on auto drip system for 3 weeks.... Water going in was 250ppm, water going out was 1400ppm . Flushed with only 2 gal of mixture on 2 gal pots and managed to bring down water out to 650ppm. Will see how they react today...
I think vinegar will work perfectly for flushing new coco before charging with calmag... Cheap and super efficient.
it worked pretty good but u need to flush that sh!t out with a lite nute solut. but the best thing that got rid of the nute lockout was when I decided to take them early and started to use the yellow bottle finish for the 2 weeks before week of flush. and those suckers bounced back real quick nice and green and frosty very surprised. the yellow bottle has this alcohol Triacontanol. google it
I'd like to hear a comparison between two similar plants regarding the ppm of the flushed runoff, comparing vinegar to straight water. I think that even using straight water, the runoff ppm would be about as high. Vinegar will pull the pH way down and if the vinegar water is pH'd back to ~5.8, I think it defeats the purpose since it's the acidity of the vinegar that dissolves calcium. Still, vinegar definitely dissolves calcium better than water. Dunno about salts.
WHOA My girls are bouncing back immediately...I can see the difference, I see some new pistils on my late flowering lady after almost a week of no new growth at all... I think old plain water does the same job, but vinegar does it MUCH quicker...at least in COCO... I commenced half dose nute drip 18 hrs after the flush, then followed by another flush with molasses 24 hr later....with half dose nute drip still on normal schedule (11 X 10min/day)... That should fix them up nice...
no idea or reference on the alcohol brand.. Would like to try that too..Any specific brand for that yellow bottle thing??
its agricultural organics brand . I found a product at agway that has it in it and its cheaper. found this but can't find the 1 at agway online. Nutri-Stim Triacontanol - Liquid Fertilisers, Natural Fertilisers, Fertilisers Australia, Crop Growth, Plant Health
okay I went out and got that stuff its called TRIFFID its got amino acids vitamins and the triacontanol it was $24 for a windex size bottle the yellow bottle was $30 something for a 300ml. it says indoors and outdoors but the thing comes with a hose attachment not a spray bottle so I opened it up and started with 4ml added to my base and calmag. I'll let you know how it goes. I tried to google and came up with some novel about mobil killer plants or something to funny, but if u scroll down this is what u find http://wetandforget.com/products_triffid.php I'm pretty xcited for this stuff I'm going to go check on my test subject now.
just an update I've used the triffid stuff @ 10ml per 5 gal adverse affects. the plants have lifted off this stuff rocks I think I might start a post on it.
Sorry was totally tied up with my work.... LOL!! I live in far east... So no access to those yellow bottle thingy.... Alternating vinegar and molasses now..
hows it working for you r you seeing any adverse affects from the vinegar flush I haven't had to use it again my sh!t is running smooth healthy strong plants, what did I do different besides the triffid which I only applied once, is watering/feeding everday no mater what for bloom and ever otherday for veg, and the grow is amazing finally got my coco running like hydro. plants were looking good when I wasn't watering everyday but were silently slowing down and producing small yields without me knowing and I was constantly having issues that I could never figure out. now 2weeks into watering daily and I have the greenest healthiest plants I've grown and have huge filled in colas