The short answer
With organic feeding, skip the hard water flush. Taper over the last two weeks, the way our chart does, and finish with an optional ÉLAN-only week. That keeps the plant and the soil life going right to the end without pushing extra feed into the final days.
What the evidence says
There’s no strong independent evidence that flushing improves taste. A company-run trial published in 2019 found no taste benefit from flushing, and growers still argue both ways. What growers do agree on: heavy feeding right up to the chop can hurt the smoke, in any program.
Where taste really comes from
Genetics. A healthy root zone. Balanced feeding, not maximum feeding. Harvest timing. A slow, even dry and a proper cure. A “burnt grass” taste is far more often a drying problem than a flushing problem.
Mineral and coco growers
Mineral programs leave more soluble salts in the medium, so many growers taper and give plain water over the last days. Do it gently. A plant that’s starved too early finishes worse, not better.
Reviewed 8 October 2026. Research cited here explains plant science in general; it is not a trial of a Crazy Hills product. How we handle evidence.