first flushes

Noun

first flush (plural first flushes)

1. The first growth of buds, flowers, seeds, or whatever is harvested from a plant.
   • But, because the first flush of growth is from a preformed bud and subsequent flushes are from buds developed during the current growing season, chilling directly affects only the first flush.1979, S. P. Wells, Chilling requirements for optimal growth of Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir seedlings, page 2
2. (broadly) The beginning; the period of time when something is first starting.
   • When however the first flush of our surprize is over we cannot fail to perceive that amid all this legerdemain there is a vast deal of nature united with that astonishing splendour of colouring which so many have tried to emulate.1836, Allan Cunningham, The Cabinet Gallery of Pictures by the First Masters of the English, page 189
3. (wastewater management) The flow of wastewater at the start of a storm or season, when runoff has the highest concentration of pollutants.
   • Several published data sets have been collected to evaluate the occurrence of a first flush of pollutants from urban watersheds.2005, Allen P. Davis, Richard H. McCuen, Stormwater Management for Smart Growth, →ISBN, page 148