Bud Washing

I used to think that bud washing diminished the fragrance of my buds, but this summer season I was pleased to see that was not the case. I am thinking my issues in the past were 1) early harvest (duh) and 2) improper drying/curing.

Hard to see the buckets full of crud and not be a believer :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
I haven't read through all 114 pages of comments here, and I'm somewhat of a newb to growing, but washing makes sense to me and all you proponents for it have me convinced - much thanks to Doc for the recipe.

A couple of questions I have:

1) If swirling the freshly cut bud in water washes away all the THC, how do outdoor growers deal with rain? Am I wrong in thinking that large drops repeatedly pelting the flowers at high speed has to have way more impact than a gentle dunk? Half an hour in a rainstorm and you're not any dryer than the kid in the swimming pool, right?

2) To prove or disprove the theory that washing loses potency, couldn't you run your wash water through a bubble bag when you're done and test for cannabinoid concentration on what's left? If you end up with hash you're obviously wasting something but if all that's left is dirt and grime...
 
LingerFicknGood said:
1) If swirling the freshly cut bud in water washes away all the THC, how do outdoor growers deal with rain? Am I wrong in thinking that large drops repeatedly pelting the flowers at high speed has to have way more impact than a gentle dunk? Half an hour in a rainstorm and you're not any dryer than the kid in the swimming pool, right?
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THC is not water soluble. The only risk of losing trichomes is banging the buds against the side of the washing/rinse containers. With bigger buckets (5g) and smaller branches, this is easily avoided.
LingerFicknGood said:
2) To prove or disprove the theory that washing loses potency, couldn't you run your wash water through a bubble bag when you're done and test for cannabinoid concentration on what's left? If you end up with hash you're obviously wasting something but if all that's left is dirt and grime...
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The best reply I've seen to this (here on 420) is...IF there is any loss of potency...take another puff :)
Like sausage...most people don't care what's in it...but once you see the nasty first bucket, you'll be super glad you are not putting that in your body.
 
Ya know, this is interesting to read because once a long time ago I did what at the time was a debated curing technique known as "water curing".

The process was something along the lines of...
Put freshly harvested buds fully submerged in distilled or ro water and change the water daily for one week or until water stayed clear for 24 hrs, then remove buds and hang dry until preffered dryness was reached and continue curing as normally preffered.

The idea was that the chlorophyll and other water based substances would dilute in the water through repeated osmosis and the final bud would have fewer of these remaining.

I did it once and remember that it significantly dropped my finish dry weight but also significant raised my finish potency and made for a much smoother, cleaner smoke.

At this point I wonder how much of the results was strictly because of the wash! Lol
 
BeanTownFan420 said:
Washing bud will wash away thc glands and oils that are not yet dry completely.Some do it i would never.Plus you increase your chance of bud mold or rot if they do not dry in time.But i understand why some do it.
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Pure nonsense, but you're entitled to believe it. :cheesygrinsmiley: :Namaste:
 
I would like to add my experience to this thread just in case it helps anyone who has not done this before.

I had to help a mate cut down his 8x4 which had a medium Aphid and also Thrip infestation. We used a 3 bucket system, first tub with the prescribed Baking Soda and Lemon Juice and the others with plain water at room temp in it.

We found this method removed all of the aphids and the only thrips that did not wash off were the ones that had got stuck in the trichromes near the head of the colas. Once dried these brushed off fairly easy.

I found when the buds came out of the first bucket the smell was amazing and after dunked and hung they dried quite quickly.

What worked best for me was to sink the bud in the first bucket and swish it around but buckets 2 & 3 I'd sink the bud then pull it straight up using gravity and the force of the water running off the bud to dislodge the insects, i found dunking them and swishing them around wasn't getting them off as well. With doing this method only in the water buckets i found that my mix didnt require changing as often and only the water buckets needed changing.

Buds are all washed, dried and look and smell amazing.
Good luck if you have not tried this method before.
 
BeanTownFan420 said:
Water washes off thc glands thats why we make water hash the water removes the gland from the leaf surface.
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It's the low temperature that breaks the trichomes, not the water itself. Try making bubble hash with water and no ice - it doesn't work...
 
BeanTownFan420 said:
Water washes off thc glands thats why we make water hash the water removes the gland from the leaf surface.
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I thought it was the frozen ice that breaks the glands off and the water floats them away? Also, is glandular THC water soluble?
 
BeanTownFan420 said:
Why wash your buds after harvest when you could just give them a shower every day they are flowering and see if there even cleaner that way?
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You can do that if you choose to.
 
The Dirty said:
I would like to add my experience to this thread just in case it helps anyone who has not done this before.

I had to help a mate cut down his 8x4 which had a medium Aphid and also Thrip infestation. We used a 3 bucket system, first tub with the prescribed Baking Soda and Lemon Juice and the others with plain water at room temp in it.

We found this method removed all of the aphids and the only thrips that did not wash off were the ones that had got stuck in the trichromes near the head of the colas. Once dried these brushed off fairly easy.

I found when the buds came out of the first bucket the smell was amazing and after dunked and hung they dried quite quickly.

What worked best for me was to sink the bud in the first bucket and swish it around but buckets 2 & 3 I'd sink the bud then pull it straight up using gravity and the force of the water running off the bud to dislodge the insects, i found dunking them and swishing them around wasn't getting them off as well. With doing this method only in the water buckets i found that my mix didnt require changing as often and only the water buckets needed changing.

Buds are all washed, dried and look and smell amazing.
Good luck if you have not tried this method before.
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I thought I would follow up from my post 3 weeks ago. All buds were washed, hung and dried and now Jarred up. Given these buds had Aphids and Thrips on them you would not be able to tell now and the smoke and visible resin equals any other bud we have grown before. Def. a convert here when Bud Washing is required.
 
Hi folks,

So I have read many pages into this thread, mostly forwards from the start, and then backwards from the end...and there are so many great contributions sharing results and pictures. Just awesome.

Obviously Doc Bud for sharing this....I thank you much. This has been a very timely information when faced with a frustrating situation.

Folks like AfricanGrower, Hiker, Graytail and so many others who have shared their results and thoughts - Mucho gracias!

I used the bud washing method today on one of my plants that had spider mites turn up in the last week of flower. There were no webs or other indications that the little SOB's had entered the picture. I just saw something move when I was checking the trichs...All three of my other plants show no trace of them under multiple investigations with the loupe and a microscope.

Obviously they have moved in regardless so now I have to get the helmet and commence battle...but wanted to isolate the harvest and get it drying - post clean.

The only thing I think I did incorrectly today (hopefully) was the temp of the water. I had cool water in all four buckets. No warm in any. Hopefully that will not come back to bite me.

Again - many thanks - to all contributors to this thread and the now established "Art" of Bud Washing.

I will try and post some pictures after the drying completes.

Cheers.
 
reciprocity74 said:
had cool water in all four buckets. No warm in any.
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:thumb: I have never used warm water. Always about room temp :) yer all good.

ANd big fat welcome to 420 Magazine reciprocity :welcome:

Nice choice to join up here - best place for sharing ganja growing IMO. No bounds to the amount I have learned and will continue to learn through being part of this community. Glad to have you along. :Namaste:
 
Amy Gardner said:
:thumb: I have never used warm water. Always about room temp :) yer all good.

ANd big fat welcome to 420 Magazine reciprocity :welcome:

Nice choice to join up here - best place for sharing ganja growing IMO. No bounds to the amount I have learned and will continue to learn through being part of this community. Glad to have you along. :Namaste:
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Merci Amy. I'm a newbie to indoor (with some experience over 25 years ago) so this site is like hitting the other side of the rainbow of knowledge.

In the 90's it was all word of mouth and a handful of strains...Most ending up being Northern Lights :)

The Times, They Are a Changin' - Changed -

Ciao 4 now.
 
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