Bud Washing

[SmokingWings]

After the wash I put the harvest on a screen with a fan blowing the air over the area but not directly on the buds. Just enough to cause a consistent air movement. I run this for approx 24 hours. The buds that were allowed to dry for several days must absorb some water since it takes them an hour or two longer to dry after the wash.

The time to dry in a paper bag that has been placed in the fridge seems to be the same.

Good thing you reminded me. Both harvests are ready to go into their Mason jars.

 

[AutoNautPsychoFlower]

After the wash I put the harvest on a screen with a fan blowing the air over the area but not directly on the buds. Just enough to cause a consistent air movement. I run this for approx 24 hours. The buds that were allowed to dry for several days must absorb some water since it takes them an hour or two longer to dry after the wash.

The time to dry in a paper bag that has been placed in the fridge seems to be the same.

Good thing you reminded me. Both harvests are ready to go into their Mason jars.

Thank you for the extensive write up on the process! Between reading the cups search of the thread from above and the posts you made I have a clear path forward!

Very grateful and so happy it all served as good reminders for you too!

Happy curing times to you and your bud babies! Thanks again!

 

[tnlobo420]

H2O2 is harsh? I read that the lemon juice is the most "dangerous" part (someone else's words, not mine), should one use too much of it, but isn't peroxide neutral to the trichomes?

From what I have read hydrogen peroxide will destroy the track homes to an extent

 

[tnlobo420]

Lemon juice with baking soda - they neutralize each other. I noticed an effect on terpenes with H2O2. Not a big deal, but enough to skip it unless necessary.

Again, a personal decision. The lemon/soda wash itself is completely proven over time.

I agree completely when you add acid to a base the ph is neutralized so the raising of the ph by the baking soda should have Little if any effect

 

[Tennessee Tim]

I have been washing buds as needed for decades. If it is just " dust" I am concerned about, I have just used cold clean water and dry hanging in a well ventilated room with a dehumidifier. If I had to spray organic pesticides or suspect some contamination from something or dried on insect dirt, I have used a weak lemon juice and baking soda wash followed by clean water wash. I do not wash all my plants, if they seem nice and clean and were not sprayed with anything. I have never had a problem with washing plants , it just takes more time and care to prevent problems. Good luck! Warning to non gardeners just starting up! Washing buds will not make buds safe to consume if they were treated with toxic pesticides/fungicides!!! Throw them away!!!

 

[SmokingWings]

I agree completely when you add acid to a base the ph is neutralized so the raising of the ph by the baking soda should have Little if any effect

That is the reaction that is wanted. The minor acidity of the lemon juice by itself does help to loosen and remove some of the small practicals of dirt and plant material but that is not the main reason to use it. The idea is not to be looking at the two individual ingredients to be doing something on their own. It is combining them.

The acid provided by the lemon juice reacts with the base of the baking soda creating a foaming or bubbling as they neutralize each other. This bubbling is allowing the baking soda to gently scrub small particles of dirt or dust from the surface of the buds and any sugar leaves.

Some of the really old msgs and articles from 15 to 20 years ago have some interesting observations on what the growers back then were noticing was happening when they were developing the traditional bud washing methods.

 

[Wildbilly]

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!

I don’t have access to RO water. I do have a Grow 1 in-line garden water filter KDF-85. Can I use that instead?

 

[Graytail]

I don’t have access to RO water. I do have a Grow 1 in-line garden water filter KDF-85. Can I use that instead?

Nah, skip the RO water, etc. We decided it wasn't necessary unless your water is especially funky. I always use tap.

 

[KeithLemon]

Very interesting. If things work out, I will try this on some of my outdoor grow. Something new to me.

 

[Mlburk1]

I all ways wash

 

[LKV]

Do you think there is any loss in smell? Do washed buds (washed with this method) smell like typical weed or was the smell muted along with taste?

Thanks!

I did a bud wash with lemon juice and bkg soda Made my weed taste like hay even after carful curing.

 

[LKV]

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 .

Did it taste like Hay after you cured it?

 

[reciprocity74]

I used DocBud's bud washing guide (and subsequent nuggets in this monster thread) on my first harvest 4 years ago when I found some Spider mites had decided to make cozy with my plants. I won't ever forget seeing those little buggars hoping around on the buds...

Luckily - I found the information here and it worked beautifully. They did not appreciate the forced eviction. Those were indoor plants and obviously taking the initial plunge was a bit concerning...But I can say that it worked and the resulting cured bud was great according to all reports from those I shared it with after drying and 2 months curing. The drying phase seemed much more consistent to me also...

Flash forward to this year's harvest. Indoor was clean, but my two outdoor plants...Well they hit some adversity.

In the third to last week of flower I noticed some powdery mildew generation on some of the leaves and tried treating it with milk/water. Unfortunately it came back. It was odd, because there really wasn't high humidity or rain during the period around then - or through until now. Perhaps it was from problems with the roots...not sure. Buds are decently plump and I'm happy with the wet volume..so if it was root issues hopefully it hasn't had any other ill effects.

So out came the buckets again. Have finished the wet trim, washing and hanging today. Long day for sure, but obviously critical for the ladies send off.

Brought back memories for certain. Same general feeling that the H2O2 bath, followed by the Lemon/Baking Soda bath is well worth the effort and does what it's designed for. The twice rinsed results smelt great and just look beauty. They are now hanging for the drying stage.

Based on today...I think that I would use this for all outdoor grows going forward to be honest. The discarded water wasn't awful, but it sure as hell wasn't clear either. As has been said, in absence of PM or other significant challenges, perhaps just the Lemon/Soda and double rinse...

THANK YOU to DocBud and the MANY contributors to this thread. It's got so much great information and shared content. Hopefully anyone out there who is nervous about taking that initial plunge will find there way here, and see how so many have benefited.

All the best to everyone.

 

[SmokingWings]

Based on today...I think that I would use this for all outdoor grows going forward to be honest. The discarded water wasn't awful, but it sure as hell wasn't clear either. As has been said, in absence of PM or other significant challenges, perhaps just the Lemon/Soda and double rinse...

I go along with that. The amounts of time and cost are minor so I wash all harvests, even doing the Hydrogen Peroxide wash at the start.

 

[SmokingWings]

I did a bud wash with lemon juice and bkg soda Made my weed taste like hay even after carful curing.

What steps did you go through with the drying stage before starting the curing?

 

[LKV]

What steps did you go through with the drying stage before starting the curing?

I cut my branches remove the fan leane wet trim and rinse 3 bucket wash. Hang to dry out doors away from sun the into dry room 10 day the into jarsAnd burp daily.

 

[reciprocity74]

I cut my branches remove the fan leane wet trim and rinse 3 bucket wash. Hang to dry out doors away from sun the into dry room 10 day the into jarsAnd burp daily.

Sorry to hear you're having some unexpected results LKV.

Just to confirm...you hung the buds outdoors to initially drip off...and then moved them into a controlled drying room for ten days?

 

[LKV]

Sorry to hear you're having some unexpected results LKV.

Just to confirm...you hung the buds outdoors to initially drip off...and then moved them into a controlled drying room for ten days?

Yes out doors under the porch.. no direct sun. Tried the same method with clean wAter( no lemon or bkg soda) buds smell perfect

 

[reciprocity74]

Yes out doors under the porch.. no direct sun.

Okay. And then into another room for the actual 10 days of drying? Some place where you are less susceptible to the swings in temperature and humidity from the outside environment?

I consider myself a perennial newbie to growing, but I try to maintain a consistent temperature of 19 or 20 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 50% inside my tent where I dry my buds. I also have the carbon filter running and a fan blowing gently below to keep air movement occurring; not blowing directly on the buds.

If you had a day or two in your drying period when the general temperature went up, it might have been unfavorable enough to the drying conditions (drying buds too fast) and adding to the potential for the hay smell...which apparently results from the chlorophyll not having enough time to break down in that accelerated drying period.

 

[LKV]

I live in California, Rh has been 55 to 62 outdoors and indoors I grow outdoors and don't mess with tents, etc. The lemon juice and soda kill the smell of my buts, As I already told you I do the same method without lemon juice and they smell divine. Thanks for the comment though. I think lemon juice is a great idea if you are concerned about pest for mildew. There is no difference in the left over water from buds I rinse in lemon juice vs plain water. all clean