Bud Washing

I agitate 'em enough to cause suds, if the water had soap in it - like that. Swishswishswish ... swishswishswish!
:thumb:

Is there any reason I couldn't use a drop of dish soap? and baking soda, then 3-4 rinses down the line, like doing the dishes. I did a few colas that way and snipped off a bit of calyx to see through a 100x scope. I didn't notice any broken or dissolved heads. I can see cloudy and amber heads, everything looks good and intact. I was wondering if it's been tried that way. Some many pages to read through. I sprayed her during the grow with some insecticides that contained malathion and i don't want to smoke that.
 
Is there any reason I couldn't use a drop of dish soap? and baking soda, then 3-4 rinses down the line, like doing the dishes. I did a few colas that way and snipped off a bit of calyx to see through a 100x scope. I didn't notice any broken or dissolved heads. I can see cloudy and amber heads, everything looks good and intact. I was wondering if it's been tried that way. Some many pages to read through. I sprayed her during the grow with some insecticides that contained malathion and i don't want to smoke that.

I don't know if it's gonna give trouble down the line, it is a strong soap with synthetic ingredients meant for dissolving fats.
I would be afraid a thin layer of soap film would stay on the buds, even if you do 4 rinses afterwards you'll transfer the soap to the next bucket, making all buckets a bit soapy.
Even if the soap does no damage to trichomes, it would sorta ruin the organic regime many people like to go by;)

The lemon juice and baking soda makes a chemical reaction when mixed and it cleans the buds perfectly every time.
 
I've really enjoyed reading up on bud washing and I've been very excited to talk to some fellow growers about the topic. It just makes so much sense!

I am looking forward to washing my own buds when I harvest which should be in a few days! I've got about 20% of trikes showing Amber.

I plan on using three buckets at room temperature and I will take photos and maybe even some video to folks can see exactly what happens.
 
I had to budwash my recent outdoor crop due to PM and budrot. I went the full hog in making sure that any PM or budrot that may have been missed while trimming was combated by washing in hydrogen peroxide, then lemon juice and baking soda, finally rinsed in plain water. Not sure how much effect it had but at least any missed spores will be dead and gone. Got another 2 plants on the balcony to harvest and wash so will be able to do a side by side comparison of washed vs unwashed in blind taste and smoke tests.
 
I was wondering if there's another type of water you can use instead of RO water. I dont' know anywhere around me that sells it. Tried searching for it, and short of having it delivered through an expensive service, or ordering a filter system myself, I can't seem to find it. I'm thinking Distilled water??? Any suggestions?
 
I was wondering if there's another type of water you can use instead of RO water. I dont' know anywhere around me that sells it. Tried searching for it, and short of having it delivered through an experience service, or ordering a filter system myself, I can't seem to find it. I'm thinking Distilled water??? Any suggestions?

Decent tap water will work just fine. Distilled is great for the final bucket.
 
Here is a video I just made of Bud Washing. Sorry to be short but I've got to get back to trimming and washing. Got lots to do!
Bud Washing - YouTube

Nice!

FWIW, my standard practice is 3 buckets:

Lemon juice/baking soda
RO
RO

I only use the peroxide if there was PM in the room. Having said that, using your method will also get them good and clean and those who end up with your produce will be super stoked in every way.

Good job! Raisin' the bar.
 
Which lemon juice to use ? Lemon juice from concentrate contains sodium bisulfite and sodium benzoate, both preservatives, and lemon oil. Organic lemon juice is 100% juice, no additives. Which to use ? What is everyone else using ?
 
Which lemon juice to use ? Lemon juice from concentrate contains sodium bisulfite and sodium benzoate, both preservatives, and lemon oil. Organic lemon juice is 100% juice, no additives. Which to use ? What is everyone else using ?

You can use either....it's the redux reaction we're looking for.

However, the sulfites also keep the buds from growing anything and probably kill spores, etc. On the other hand, some people are very allergic to sulfites.

If you can drink red wine (especially mass produced stuff) and not have an allergy, I'd use the concentrate with the sulfites.
 
So I accidentally knocked a small part of a branch off my outdoor grow that I anticipate being ready for harvest in a few weeks, although I'm having a terrible time with the whole loop and trichome determination. Anyway, washed my branch to get my feet wet so to speak and even with brisk thrashing in the room temp. water, no loss of trichomes. Still don't get why so many out here still think the idea is strange. I expect my outdoor grow to be ready for bud washing soon.

Not to troll this thread, but with less that 50 posts I can't private message and would love if any of you can take a look at my thread and make a suggestion. Got all this way and would hate to blow the timing of harvest. Link is here. First time grower - outdoor - harvest status opinions please

Thanks guys.

Zafu
 
I'm glad to see people are adopting my bud washing technique!

Yes, I "invented" it. I shared it with you folks here on 420....and nowhere else. I've never met, spoken to, or heard about anyone else doing it before I tried it.....and I enjoy freaking people out by putting fresh buds in a bucket of water....

But as many have said here, the results speak for themselves!

Let me put it to you like this:

Let's say I grew lettuce, cucumbers, tomatos and carrots in my basement. It's dusty down there, I've got fans flowing all around....battled with some PM, had some mites.....every now and then I get some rot or other disease on my plants....bugs flying around, dead skin cells, hair.....and I spray the plants with compost tea, fish fertilizer, kelp meal, etc.

So, you wanna come over for a salad? We'll just pull the veggies out of the ground, plop 'em in a bowl and start eating! No need to wash.....right?


The first time you wash your harvest and see all that brown crap left behind you'll begin to see the light! Then, when you smoke your first washed harvest, you'll understand.

For those who are new to this, here's my method:

4 buckets total. (5 gallon buckets are perfect)

Bucket 1: 3 parts RO water to 1 part 3% H202.
Bucket 2: 5 gallons of RO with 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup Lemon Juice
Buckets 3 and 4: RO only.

Cut down plants, pull off fan leaves by hand, remove any necrotic leaves. Leave sugar leaves and anything with frosting on the plant.

Fully submerge in bucket 1 (H2O2) for 30 seconds. Submerge for a full minute if you had ANY sign of PM or bud rot. Let water drip from buds and then.....

Fully submerge in buckets 2 through 4 for 30 seconds each...lightly agitating the whole time.

Allow produce to drip dry. You can blow a fan on it if you like, just make sure it's blowing clean air.

Hang and dry per usual.

Final manicure of buds is best done after they dry. It goes very fast and you're left with washed, highly resinous trim....makes superb joints. I'm also educating my customers to select untrimmed buds, which are actually better than the manicured ones because they still have sugar leaves attached. The trichomes in the leaves have more THC than those in the buds.....so it's good to get the whole spectrum in there.

I give instructions for this in my journals, as I do it every single week, on every single harvest. Once you try it, you'll never go back.

This works so well for a couple reasons:

1. takes off dirt, foliar sprays, bugs, fiberglass dust, etc.
2. fully hydrates the leaves, allowing photosynthesis to occur for a day or two on cut and trimmed buds. I recommend leaving a light on the buds for the first day or two after washing.

This results in very, dense, clean burning, smooth tasting produce! That's the basic recipe....and I'm tweaking and changing it all the time.

Warning: Do NOT use an "organic produce wash" that is based on oils! They sell these in grocery stores and health food stores, and while they might be good for lettuce and cukes....the oil removes resin from the plants.....don't use it!

Water will not harm resin....oil can and does.


Anyone who wants to know more about my methods is welcome to ask me about them anytime!
Doc Bud, thanks for sharing this method. I admit, I'm a little hesitate to wet my fresh cut buds. Actually, I've never cut the buds off a plant before, until it hangs about a week in tent. I'm getting ready to give it a try though in about 2 weeks. I've got to buy water as I don't have excess to RO, will distilled water work? And is mold ever a concern ? I'm taking down 6 plants, so I'll do one with washing, Smell is of utmost concern. I usually sit inside the tent and do all trimming, with the carbon filter running on low. I'll figure out how to wash them inside the tent, only have two buckets, but I'll find something similar. Outside my tent my apt. will smell like an Amsterdam coffee shop, if I do it outside. My landlord is not cool with it !! One more stupid question, does it still smell strong, like immediately after it's dunked in water ? i really agree with you about the board of health !! They're always looking for an excuse to shut us down, only this time they have a legit reason to force the dispensary to supply a healthy product !! Again,' thank you !!
 
I was wondering if there's another type of water you can use instead of RO water. I dont' know anywhere around me that sells it. Tried searching for it, and short of having it delivered through an expensive service, or ordering a filter system myself, I can't seem to find it. I'm thinking Distilled water??? Any suggestions?

I washed with tap water, no problem. My water sat for awhile to allow chlorine evaporation.
 
Back
Top Bottom