Water cure your plants

[pyro2006]

Hi all
I found this way to cure your plants and decided to try it.
I got a cooler, filled it part way with water, added some ice to get the water temp to 50 f. Cut my plants down and submerged them for 3 days, changing the water every day. After 3 days i dryed them as i normally do. Once dryed they are ready to smoke, no other cureing is necessary. No brown paper bags , no glass jars, no more waiting. The finished product is some of the smoothest smoke i've ever had. I used a glass plate to keep them under water. I wasn't sure about this method after i read it but i gave it a try and from now on all my plants will be getting the water cure. The plants , after 3 days under water looked like the day i cut them down, fresh and firm.
Any one else ever try this way before?

 

[Stix]

never heard of it. Wouldn't you loose alot of trichs in the water?


Edit: You got me interested so I did a search on the web, I found this so far.


Water Cure


Unlike other curing methods, the water cure is performed after the marijuana is dried. Powder and small pieces are most often used, but the cure also works with whole colas. The material is piled loosely in a glass or ceramic pot which is filled with luke-warm water. (When hot water is used, some of the THC is released in oils, which escape and float to the top of the water.) Within a few hours many of the non-psychoactive water-soluble substances dissolve. An occasional gentle stirring speeds the process. The water is changed and the process repeated. Then the grass is dried again for smoking.


THC is not water-soluble; so it remains on the plant when it is soaked. By eliminating water-soluble substances (pigments, proteins, sugars, and some resins), which may make up 25 percent of the plant material by weight, this cure may increase the concentration of THC by up to a third.


Marijuana cured by this method has a dark, almost black colour, and looks twisted and curled, something like tea leaves. The water cure is frequently used to cure dried fan leaves and poor-quality grass.


Kinda interesting I must say

 

[blowin.endo]

hey pyro, next time dont use cold water, possible chance that the trichs will freeze and float off.... room temp water is adequate.

 

[Akornpatch]

The water cure is the simplest, safest, stealthiest, and most efficient method of curing that can be contrived.

The directions are simple and if followed will always provide a more potent product than can be contrived with an air cure - the operative word here being "always".

Here are the do's and don'ts of undertaking a successful water cure (deviation from these rules almost always leads to a less than optimal outcome):

Materials required for the indoor water cure:

Beer cooler (one with a bottom drain is preferable)
Cold tap water (not distilled, spring, or RO - just plain ol' tap water works just dandy)
Weights (to hold the buds down, I use blocks of wood, but dinner plates will work fine too)

1. Do not flush your plants. Keep pumping the nutes into them right up to the day/minute you chop the harvest because the water cure will get rid of the unwanted nute traces for you and allow you to ring out every last bit of bud growth each plant has to give you.

2. Trim your harvest as usual when you take it down and place the trimmed buds in the beer cooler. When the beer cooler is 2/3rd's full of buds, you need to get another container and start filling that container.

3. Fill the cooler with cold tap water. Fill it until the bud mass is floating a good 2" to 3" off the bottom.

4. Put the weights on the plant mass so that it is fully submerged. The buds must stay fully submerged the whole time or you will have rotten buds in no time at all.

5. Place the cooler out of direct sunlight and leave the lid open.

6. Change the water every 24 hours for 6 days. On the seventh day drain the water and hang your buds to dry or use a dehydrator set on the lowest setting. When the buds are done, they are ready for immediate consumption.

The "Don'ts of Water Curing"

1. Do not dry them with a hair dryer, heater, stove, microwave, or radiator. This will severely reduce potency.

2. Do not stir or agitate the buds. This serves no purpose and may in fact knock trichomes off the buds. Just let them sit.

3. Do not bother trying to strain the water for trichomes. I've done the cure many times and have yet to strain any appreciable amount of trichomes out of the water. Save your strength.

4. Do not use a dehydrator that has does not have a thermostatic control. The ones with "Low/Medium/High" controls will heat up too high and toast your buds.

5. Do not set the dehydrator higher than 95 Degrees (Fahrenheit). This will result in a severe loss of potency.

6. Do not close the lid. As the cure progresses, the chlorophylls and other nasties evaporate off the water and the air circulation is needed to keep this crap from heading back into the water again.

7. Do not change the water more than once a day. It's not necessary and serves no real purpose.

8. Do not "hard pack" the buds into the cooler or curing vessel. You need about a 4:1 ratio (my guess) of water to buds to make it all work.

 

[Akornpatch]

Another method - from Ed Rosenthal

Water Cure
Unlike other curing methods, the water cure is performed after the marijuana is dried. Powder and small pieces are most often used, but the cure also works with whole colas. The material is piled loosely in a glass or ceramic pot which is filled with luke-warm water. (When hot water is used, some of the THC is released in oils, which escape and float to the top of the water.) Within a few hours many of the non-psychoactive water-soluble substances dissolve. An occasional gentle stirring speeds the process. The water is changed and the process repeated. Then the grass is dried again for smoking.
THC is not water-soluble; so it remains on the plant when it is soaked. By eliminating water-soluble substances (pigments, proteins, sugars, and some resins), which may make up 25 percent of the plant material by weight, this cure may increase the concentration of THC by up to a third.
Marijuana cured by this method has a dark, almost black colour, and looks twisted and curled, something like tea leaves. The water cure is frequently used to cure dried fan leaves and poor-quality grass.

 

[Akornpatch]

It is also great for harsh weed and nasty schwag improvement. Also bud that's finished with heavy nutes. It also takes away some of the taste so be aware of that fact. But the smoke is smooth.

 

[Stix]

Another method - from Ed Rosenthal

Water Cure
By eliminating water-soluble substances (pigments, proteins, sugars, and some resins), which may make up 25 percent of the plant material by weight, this cure may increase the concentration of THC by up to a third.
.

So, by doing a water cure I would loose 25% of my total harvest weight? Did you notice this loose in weight when you started doing water curing Akorn?

 

[Racefan]

I tried the water cure about 4 years ago when the method made a slight come back among cannabis web sites. I wasn't impressed at all. The weed turned brown for one reason. Everyone thought it was mexican compressed weed due to the color. The taste was affected as well. It was like diluted or something. Every person I know who has tried the water cure has gone back to the air dry and cure.

 

[DankCloset]

iam not liking that, once the plant is dead, it starts to decay, water only helps this process, not to mention water will leach everything out of soil, what u think its doin to that delta nine, my opinion. not good.

 

[GanjaMan417]

I've also tried the water cure and was not very impressed.. If your all about taste, smell and overall how the bud looks, I would not recommend a water cure

 

[Damagoman]

You Guys Rock !!!!
Have to play with that on weak summer crops.

 

[Racefan]

Just because a few of us don't care for it doesn't mean it doesn't have its benefits. I feel as a moderator to bring up certain good points about the water cure.
First off...THC is NOT water soluable so you won't leach any of it out or hurt the potency at all. It does seem to affect taste as I mentioned in my previous post although some could argue that taste is only my opinion. As with any process using water..the better the water, the better the final product. Use RO water or at the very least...spring water. Most house water is full of elements that affect taste in a negative way. The biggest benefit I can think about with a water cure would be a faster turn around from harvest to smoking. When air drying the idea is to dry as slow as possible while preventing mold and then sweat out the impurities for a week or two...again...the slower the better. The entire process can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month.
With a water cure you could be smoking a fully cured and dried product within 7 to 10 days. As long as you keep up the water changes on a daily basis and have great air exchange in the drying room mold should never be a concern with a water cure. At least not any more than mold with air drying is anyway. Moisture is moisture after all.
IMO only those growing for personal consumption or personal medical use should use the water cure. I doubt too many would pay top notch for brown weed with a washed out flavor. lol

 

[bigfanofpj]

Wonderful info Akorn and Racefan....thanks!

 

[Brett2theMax]

So If I bought a bag of mids and water cured them they would increase in potency?

 

[Akornpatch]

iam not liking that, once the plant is dead, it starts to decay, water only helps this process, not to mention water will leach everything out of soil, what u think its doin to that delta nine, my opinion. not good.

D-9 THC is not water soluble so if you don't knock off the trichs it will not lose potency.

 

[Akornpatch]

So, by doing a water cure I would loose 25% of my total harvest weight? Did you notice this loose in weight when you started doing water curing Akorn?

No, I've never noticed it, but then again I've only done it 3 times.

 

[Akornpatch]

I've also tried the water cure and was not very impressed.. If your all about taste, smell and overall how the bud looks, I would not recommend a water cure

That's for sure!!! If you are after "bag appeal" this is not for you.

I'd recommend it for some mids - or less - tho for sure. Think of a nice cured pipe tobacco kind of texture.

 

[Henroc420]

i will have to try this by my own when I harvest in about on month.This is my first grow and going very nice 6 weeks into my grow and doing very well do to ALL OF YOU GUYS THANK YOU FOR YOUR INFO NEXT GROW IN JUNE I WILL START A GROW JOURNAL. BUT FOR NOW I'M JUST DOING AN EXPEIRMENT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENDS. THANKS AGAIN TO URDEDPAL, ACORNPATCH AND RACEFAN. AND EVERY ONE ELSE

 

[Bobbleheadno]

Tried water cure last harvest as I was trying to beat then onset of winter. Never do it again. The taste was horrible, the smoke burns the nose on exhale, and even Vaped, it was horrible. The high was not affected, but I hate this weed now. It improved some with a long (2 month) cure, but its nasty. Not nice to mess with mother nature I think.

 

[sfhaze]

Tried water cure last harvest as I was trying to beat then onset of winter. Never do it again. The taste was horrible....

Maybe something when wrong when you tried it,

I've got some jar cured and water cured side by side right now. The jar cured smells a lot like some canabus cookies a friend recently made - buttery, toasty, slightly sweet. The smoke is smooth. The water cured smells fresher, with a slight hint of mint and it's sweeter almost like candy. The smoke is smooth, actually pretty similar. The water cured is noticably more potent.