There is a considerable discrepancy between plants growing organically and using chemicals.
When a plant gets too much nutrients, they experience nutrient lockout, which is resolved by flushing the soil.
Nutrient lockout can be detrimental for the plant and will typically result in very low yields. But does this happen to plants born within organic soil?
It appears there is some debate in the cultivation community regarding flushing plants, but this is just a mental carry over from hydro and chemical growers.
Organic soil is filled with organic matter, gases, minerals, liquids and organisms (microbes) that work together to sustain plant life through their life cycles.
It doesn’t need anything chemical, so there is no point in flushing organic soil to save all of the essential microbes and nutrients contained in it for the plants. Further, all organic methods will alter the soil and its characteristics.
Reasons Why You Don’t Need Flushing When Growing In Organic Soil
It Destroys Microorganisms
Avoid flushing the soil while you are growing in organic soil because it wipes out everything organic and the microorganisms in there.
Microorganisms take years to create a habitat in organic soil, and flushing might just ruin everything for good.
Also, microorganisms are already doing the work of feeding the plant, so nothing is needed from you.
Avoid Doing This: This habitat is fragile, and all of your work will become nothing.
Organic Soil Does Not Contain Hazardous Compounds
Unless you’re cultivating in a flawless organic soil, the flushing process aims to remove any hazardous nutrients, fertilizers, toxins, or similar contaminants.
When you’re doing an organic grow, you’re not using any hazardous chemical nutrients, you’re only using natural organic nutrients.
Organic inputs should not be flushed from the soils, that only applies for synthetically mineral based soils.
It Depletes Nutrients
Flushing discharges everything that was previously supplied to the plant in the growing and blooming stages. It also effectively strips your plants of nutrients.
Nutrient deprivation of plants at any part of the growth cycle is completely counterproductive, and does nothing to promote plant growth at all. A soil flush induces a lot of trauma to the plant.
Organic farming aims to create and maintain a healthy soil that is teeming of microorganisms.
Organic soil nutrients will not reach the plant as fast as synthetics. By using organic fertilizers, you are not feeding the plant but feeding the soil.
In this manner, the microorganisms eat the nutrients, breaking them down, why the format of your feed and soil makes a major difference on how plants and microorganisms can utilize them.
As A Result: The plant gets only what it wants or needs in the moment, and it does not lock out other nutrients the soil can provide as well. Therefore, there is no need for you to flush organic soil.
It Can Spread Contaminants
Soil flushing is an in situ chemical method of soil remediation.
It involves using solutions that include:
- water
- bases
- dilute acids
- chelating and complexing agents
- solvents
- reducing agents
- surfactants
The liquids are applied by spraying, surface flooding, subsurface leach fields and subsurface injection.
The major disadvantage of this technique is the potential to spread contaminants into previously uncontaminated areas and the effects of flushing solutions into the soil environment.
Bacteria Regulate Organic Soil PH
You can also flush with the soil by pre-flush with just a large amount or water with a proper PH.
Because it is just bacteria doing the work, you don’t need to PH the water or flush your organic soil.
People flush and PH only in non-organic growth.
The reason is that non-organic growers are using chemical fertilizers that are detrimental to all of the microorganisms in the soil, thus PH’ing water and feed systems is necessary.
Organic Plants Do Not Have an Unpleasant Scent or Smell
Since they do not utilize pesticides, many producers of organic produce do not engage in flushing.
Flushing soil benefits the quality, yield, and removal of foul tasting contaminants that cause disastrous effects to the final product.
Thus, flushing organic soil is unnecessary, as” developing plants will not produce any unpleasant flavors.
Orgainc produce is known for its superior flavor and quality. It is not needed to flush plants grown without pesticides, as there are no unpleasant flavours present.
Flushing Kills Beneficial Bacteria
Microorganisms regulate the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles.
To do so you would need to kill the microorganisms, and that would require salts or chemicals that are toxic to the plant.
The microorganisms will continue to decompose nutrients as long as they are there to decompose. Thus flushing organic soil is almost inconceivable.
Final Thoughts
It ultimately comes down to the number of chemical fertilizers fed to the plant.
Organic action does involve planting and letting nature run its course. You don’t over or under feed the plant. The soil does it for you.
Also, the plant is absorbing nutrients that the soil feeds the plant, so the plant can only absorb what it needs. Thus, no salt and chemical accumulation in the ground means no flushing required.
A plant growing in pure organic soil will use all of the excess nutrients from its leaves before it takes nutrients from the soil, flush itself out of all it has stored.
As a result, there is no nutrient lockout in the actual plant itself.