Bud Washing

[dajerm119]

Harvest day today. 3 buckets. No issues with mold or humidity, so no H2O2 this time. Bud washing went well. I know I read somewhere in here that DocBud recommended leaving the lights on for the first 48 hours to keep the photosynthesis going? It's in here somewhere. What does everyone think? By lights does he mean veg/bloom, veg, or bloom?

Great looking harvest! Just found this thread... can't believe I didn't know about it before. Anywho... I love that rack you're using there... might I ask where you got from? I could use one of those! Thanks , and great job on that grow!

 

[Calvados]

Thanks. It's for hanging laundry

 

[Moonshine17]

I dot. Use hot water eithier I use two pails moo. One for my mix and one for rinse z shake off as much water after each stage . The. Let them hang as normal .

This lemon juice has the lifting agent in it as doc said is needed.

Can't remember the name maybe someone will come save us . But it's always worked for me . I never have bad taste and smooth as well and slow burning it turned out .

Thanks Joe! I bought both. The stuff like yours as well as 4 lemons. If I do t needs em..........yep! You guessed it! I'm having lemonade! Oh !!! So korny! Thanks man! Can't wait to try it! Peace

 

[KingJoe83]

Thanks Joe! I bought both. The stuff like yours as well as 4 lemons. If I do t needs em..........yep! You guessed it! I'm having lemonade! Oh !!! So korny! Thanks man! Can't wait to try it! Peace

You will like it bud .

 

[dajerm119]

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well! Will be harvesting and washing tomorrow and need to know... I've heard Doc likes to hang the buds with light for about 2 days... is this with the same lights they were flowered with? I could hang them in there... in my tent where they were grown if that's what I should do. Sorry if this has been asked before... thank you for any info!!

 

[Graytail]

The same lights can be a little bright.

I used to hang a string of short branches above the hood, out of direct light. You need the headroom though. The idea is to keep photosynthesis going as it dries out. That converts chlorophyll to sugars.

It's no big deal, though.

 

[Calvados]

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well! Will be harvesting and washing tomorrow and need to know... I’ve heard Doc likes to hang the buds with light for about 2 days... is this with the same lights they were flowered with? I could hang them in there... in my tent where they were grown if that’s what I should do. Sorry if this has been asked before... thank you for any info!!

Re: Bud Washing
I pm'd Doc Bud with the question about light. His answer was ....

I like the buds to photosynthesize for a few more hours after chop....so even a weak light that's strong enough to cause photosynthesis.
So I finished up around noon and the lights switch off at 8. Probably good enough.

 

[dajerm119]

The same lights can be a little bright.

I used to hang a string of short branches above the hood, out of direct light. You need the headroom though. The idea is to keep photosynthesis going as it dries out. That converts chlorophyll to sugars.

It's no big deal, though.

Re: Bud Washing
I pm'd Doc Bud with the question about light. His answer was ....

I like the buds to photosynthesize for a few more hours after chop....so even a weak light that's strong enough to cause photosynthesis.
So I finished up around noon and the lights switch off at 8. Probably good enough.

Awesome, thank you both very much! I'm crazy excited for my first HB harvest!!

 

[TheFertilizer]

So is it possible to use this technique on bud with seeds in it or would it cause premature germination being soaked inside of the bud?

 

[dajerm119]

So is it possible to use this technique on bud with seeds in it or would it cause premature germination being soaked inside of the bud?

Hey there, Na man... I'm sure that would be fine. The colas and buds won't stay wet long enough to promote germination. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come around eventually and answer your question... but I'm pretty sure washing won't cause premature germination.

 

[AllSmiles]

I've been washing my buds this way for years. No problems with my seeded plants. I harvest the seeds after they are done drying and sometimes after cure.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

So is it possible to use this technique on bud with seeds in it or would it cause premature germination being soaked inside of the bud?

Plants are soaked in the wild, so no problem there

However I don't know if the H2O2 will corrode the shell of the seed enough to make them of lesser quality, but they are of course going through 3 buckets after this.
The uninteded seeds I have in some of my weed that went through the H2O2 bucket look fine and certainly haven't sprouted.

 

[TheFertilizer]

Thanks everyone. i figured it shouldn't be a problem but just wanted to check before I ruined something.

Speaking of which, I am checking out bubble bags, and I notice this machine they use for it now. Has anyone ever thought about chucking bud into this machine to wash them? I wouldn't figure it would break the trichomes off as long as it was fresh and the water not frozen.

 

[Radogast]

So is it possible to use this technique on bud with seeds in it or would it cause premature germination being soaked inside of the bud?

I've washed 10-15 harvests with seeds - never had a problem with premature germination of the seeds.

Seeds crushed in grinders, that's bad for the seeds. Seeds washed and dried, no problem

 

[Radogast]

Thanks everyone. i figured it shouldn't be a problem but just wanted to check before I ruined something.

Speaking of which, I am checking out bubble bags, and I notice this machine they use for it now. Has anyone ever thought about chucking bud into this machine to wash them? I wouldn't figure it would break the trichomes off as long as it was fresh and the water not frozen.

One could use a motor to stir up the buds, put them in, take them out 30 seconds later, but .... all the buds need is a gentle flow of water frow swishing them around. A bucket or tray is a lot simpler to use and clean.

 

[hedzenmedz]

First off, I did not come up with the idea of washing buds as part of harvest. I'm not sure where the idea originated, but I learned of it via Curso and DocBud.

I've read with interest as several members have tried this technique. The idea already appealed to me on a logical level, but it was the endorsements of other members that really sold me. Granted, my sample size is only ~6 growers, but the responses I've read have been pretty unanimous. Every comment I've read has been something along the lines of, 'now I'm spoiled and don't want to smoke unwashed buds anymore'. That kind of rhetoric caught my attention!

I can't yet say if I will have that same reaction, as my first attempt is still hanging to dry. I'm creating this thread as a place to discuss the techniques and/or principles involved with this practice. The what, why, and how if you will.

First, What are we talking about?

It's pretty simple. We're washing the plant during the harvest and curing phase. I honestly can't think of anything else to say about 'The What' without getting into the why and how, so let's get to it.

Why wash your buds?

Just like you wash your vegetables before eating them, it's probably a good idea to wash Cannabis before consuming it as well. How big an impact it makes will depend on the environment the buds were grown in. Was it outdoors or indoors? Was the indoor garden sealed or ventilated? Was any sprayed on the plant, ie food or pest control?

My flowering room is sealed, and I don't spray anything my plants. I certainly understand why it's important to some of the growers here that spray their plants weekly. My wash water actually didn't get too dirty. Yes, it certainly appeared to have cleaned something off. Even in my sealed room there will be dust and dirt on the plants.

How do you do it?

My technique was based off instructions from Curso.

I use 3 5g buckets. The first bucket has room temp, ie not cold, water with the lemon juice and baking soda. The second bucket has the hottest water I can get from the faucet. The last bucket is the coldest water I can get.

I do a pre-trim on each branch to remove any leaves without crystals. Then I dunk each branch several times and swirl them around a bit. When I dunked the branches, I did it fast enough to get the water sloshing around real good. I imagined I'm trying to get the water to get into all the nooks and crannies with some force to help clean out the dirt. I do each bucket for 10-30 seconds including a few second to let them water drain off before moving them to the next bucket.

After the last rinse, I hang them on a string above the bucket so it can drip back into the bucket. As I wash more buds, I slide the others to the side to make room so the freshest is always dripping over the bucket.

I let them dry about 24 hours before trimming. If I tried to manicure sooner than that, they felt too wet.

***********************************************************************************

So that's all I have to get things rolling. I really hope others will join in the discussion and share their experiences.

I have a question for anyone that knows. What is the reasoning behind the lemon juice and baking soda?

Hey Hiker - after reading your post, I decided to take the plunge (ha, ha) with our latest harvest of Snow White AF. I just used cold water for all 3 rinses, the first 2 with lemon juice and baking sofa, the 3rd with clear water only. I did this in the afternoon and hung the branches to dry. When I checked them before bed they were still quite damp and I thought here we go - FUBAR! I put a fan in the closet to circulate the air and by morning the buds were dry to the touch. Thanks for helping me decide to try this.

 

[Radogast]

Hey Hiker - after reading your post, I decided to take the plunge (ha, ha) with our latest harvest of Snow White AF. I just used cold water for all 3 rinses, the first 2 with lemon juice and baking sofa, the 3rd with clear water only. I did this in the afternoon and hung the branches to dry. When I checked them before bed they were still quite damp and I thought here we go - FUBAR! I put a fan in the closet to circulate the air and by morning the buds were dry to the touch. Thanks for helping me decide to try this.

I find washing my buds takes me from 10-12 days to dry to 7-10 days to dry - a couple days less after washing.
Neither one is a quick dry time, but we I don't really want fast dried cannabis

 

[dajerm119]

Hey Hiker - after reading your post, I decided to take the plunge (ha, ha) with our latest harvest of Snow White AF. I just used cold water for all 3 rinses, the first 2 with lemon juice and baking sofa, the 3rd with clear water only. I did this in the afternoon and hung the branches to dry. When I checked them before bed they were still quite damp and I thought here we go - FUBAR! I put a fan in the closet to circulate the air and by morning the buds were dry to the touch. Thanks for helping me decide to try this.

Hey there... only the first bucket is supposed to have the lemon juice and baking soda... you need two rinse buckets after...

 

[hedzenmedz]

Hey there... only the first bucket is supposed to have the lemon juice and baking soda... you need two rinse buckets after...

Oops, I missed that. Thanks for pointing that out. If my pot makes me pucker, I'll have only myself to blame. As Sid says "stay woke folks, stay woke".

 

[dajerm119]

Oops, I missed that. Thanks for pointing that out. If my pot makes me pucker, I'll have only myself to blame. As Sid says "stay woke folks, stay woke".

Yes indeed... probably ok as long as you rinsed good in that bucket. Take care and congrats on washing!! It makes for some great produce!