Bud Washing

[4Dutchess]

Great thread ... love the idea and will try in a couple of weeks time!

I do have one question/observation though ... (it may have been answered already ... but can't find it) ... bicarb of soda is often used to clean up oily stains on furniture etc.

Doesn't this mean it might have a dissolving effect on the oil / trichomes? Or does the lemon juice neutralise these properties?

There appear to be no complaints about the strength of the washed product ... just keen to know why it doesn't affect the trichomes? Does anyone know?

First time Ive bud washed is this year and Im getting to see the difference. Cant tell yet. Ive got both washed and unwashed and the washed I dont notice any notable difference yet. Do both so you can see a difference. Im thinking if I wash again it will be with just water or minimal L.juice and B.soda. I am still undecided. You got too many Master growers swearing by it to be shit. Im curious with how Doc Bud came up with the L.juice/B.soda and the peroxide? I havent used the peroxide yet. Im harvesting my first tent run right now and Im not washing any.
Happy New Years!!!!!!

 

[Jimboswood]

Good idea. It'll be interesting to do a split test and scope them up after washing, as well as comparing how they taste.

Doc Bud did put some post washed buds through analysis which showed, from memory c.28-33% THC - which would suggest if there is any effect on the THC levels at all, it would only be a very minor effect. Don't think I saw a control group from an unwashed bud from the same plant .... he washes everything now.

I do some foliar spraying, so it would be great to wash that off ... plus I wash my vegetables before I eat. It just seems right ...?

Happy New Year !

 

[Asesino85]

Great thread ... love the idea and will try in a couple of weeks time!

I do have one question/observation though ... (it may have been answered already ... but can't find it) ... bicarb of soda is often used to clean up oily stains on furniture etc.

Doesn't this mean it might have a dissolving effect on the oil / trichomes? Or does the lemon juice neutralise these properties?

There appear to be no complaints about the strength of the washed product ... just keen to know why it doesn't affect the trichomes? Does anyone know?

THC is not water soluble and ergo does not dissolve in the baking soda/lemon juice water based mixture.

Lemon juice and baking soda is about as natural as a cleaning agent as you can get that is not oil based. I think in these small of dosages it'd be hard to really affect the plant. It's basically just cleaning off the small layer of dust and film off everything and the dunking underwater makes bugs scram.

This is why when you make edibles you have to infuse the THC in something like butter, oil or something with fat otherwise there is nothing for the THC to adhere to.

 

[Dobbi]

Great thread, thinking about it 'bud washing' does make sense. As someone else posted, when harvesting I often find one or 2 of my own hairs (I am the only person who has access) and when I wipe out the tray at the bottom it is often a little dusty.
I have one up for the chop in 3-4 weeks. Going to have all me buckets in a row. The water out of my RO tap is 13 degrees, I guess I could add some ice to make it colder still. Thanks for the knowledge!

 

[Graytail]

Great thread, thinking about it 'bud washing' does make sense. As someone else posted, when harvesting I often find one or 2 of my own hairs (I am the only person who has access) and when I wipe out the tray at the bottom it is often a little dusty.
I have one up for the chop in 3-4 weeks. Going to have all me buckets in a row. The water out of my RO tap is 13 degrees, I guess I could add some ice to make it colder still. Thanks for the knowledge!

Ack, no. Icy cold water will make the trichs brittle, and they'll fall off. Be careful with the low temp rinse. 13 is just fine.

 

[DrZiggy]

Great thread, thinking about it 'bud washing' does make sense. As someone else posted, when harvesting I often find one or 2 of my own hairs (I am the only person who has access) and when I wipe out the tray at the bottom it is often a little dusty.
I have one up for the chop in 3-4 weeks. Going to have all me buckets in a row. The water out of my RO tap is 13 degrees, I guess I could add some ice to make it colder still. Thanks for the knowledge!

dont make it any colder..13C is fine

 

[DrZiggy]

Ack, no. Icy cold water will make the trichs brittle, and they'll fall off. Be careful with the low temp rinse. 13 is just fine.

yeah! what GT said..

 

[Graytail]

[Edit] 13 Celsius = 56 Farenheit, a typical temp from the cold tap.

 

[Dobbi]

Thanks for the heads up, guys.
Thats my problem, I need to keep it simple stupid sometimes .
I'll do pics in 3-4 weeks.

 

[Jackopotomus]

A couple questions 1 what makes this preferable to just rinsing with ro foliar spray in combination with a flush?

2 could you use this technique on dried buds that tasted off?

 

[Graytail]

Nope, once it's dry, the trichs are too brittle.

Washing lets the fresh flowers soak in warm water for awhile, and combined with the cool rinse, it plumps up the plant tissues and they cure noticebly better. And of course, a soak will get into parts that a foliar spray won't.

No downside that we've discovered so far, after a few years of doing it, 100s of growers ... dunno ...

One comparison actually scored higher THC for the washed bud vs unwashed. It wasn't much, but it sure wasn't damaged by the wash.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

A couple questions 1 what makes this preferable to just rinsing with ro foliar spray in combination with a flush?

2 could you use this technique on dried buds that tasted off?

1. Actual washing of the buds, both mechanically by dunking and swishing and chemically with the lemon juice and baking soda. The flush only ´''cleans'' the plant on the inside.

2. No, but you can make concentrate.

 

[bobthejob]

I know everyone(many/most) is not fortunate enough to live in an area with excellent well water/spring water, but in my area of the country we are blessed with terrific natural water that comes up out of the ground. I am sure that many millions of others are also fortunate in that way. It makes terrific beer ,wine and whiskey without modification/alterations, and I have used it to wash buds a couple of years (since first reading of this). I assure you, that good water, that makes good beer without additions of gypsum, salts, etc. will be quite suitable for washing plants! Waters that taste good, will allow the baking soda, lemon and H2O2 to properly interact making a good surfactant effect and leave ,if anything, a healthier product than distilled water, even with (or because of!)beneficial traces of minerals that will be present! If your water is coming from miles of municipal pipes and is treated with chorine, fluoride and the like or comes out of the ground smelling of anything, leaves crusty mineral deposits around taps, or is hard and does not rinse off soap well, by all means use distilled water! I am a little lazy and confess that since I never use any foliar applied products (only compost, kelp and fish emulsion applied to the soils only) I now usually only do a quick rinse in plain old water without anything added, one warm and one cold, just to remove any dust or possible bug eggs/larvae (indoor grows only nowadays for me) Please, do not spray anything on your plants you would not eat directly! Plants can and do absorb and/or translocate some things through the foliage and some will not wash entirely from the plant without vigorous scrubbing! I guard against disease and insect problems and on the very rare times mites have shown up, I trashed the plants, cleaned up and started over! Washing plants with a garden hose with a firm but fine spray outside will probably work just fine to remove dust, a day or two before harvest ( also can temporarily help with mites). If you know of anyone using any chemical pesticides on cannabis intended for human consumption, kick their butts and/or spread the word against them in the customer circles. Poisoning people is bad, even when done unwittingly! I heard of a man who was using systemic pesticide purchased from the garden center, applied sprinkled on the soil, intended mostly for roses, cotton or other ornamentals, on pecan trees and he seriously injured some people who ate them(the pecans) months later! However, It does not have to be systemic pesticides to be dangerous ! I want only bud when I smoke, no oils, excessive dust, soaps, chemicals, or topical fertilizer residues and hopefully little bacteria and fungi! So, do the wash thing! Lay off of the pesticides completely! (There will be some dust, mold and bacteria always, since all the atmosphere has some dust, mold or bacteria floating about)

Hey Tenessee u are very lucky.... I am trying to do same and get a well for my house.. can you give me any advice starting off ? I am looking at bore wells... how will I know if the water quality is good and has no arsenic?

 

[bobthejob]

hey Man I wnna do teh same can you explain me how to go about getting wells ? They say well water in my area is good but there cld be a problem how Do I check the quality ? I am planning to open up a borewell.

 

[Radogast]

hey Man I wnna do teh same can you explain me how to go about getting wells ? They say well water in my area is good but there cld be a problem how Do I check the quality ? I am planning to open up a borewell.

Your local health department can do a (free?) test for nitrates and bacteria.

For testing stuff like arsenic, radon, heavy metals you probably need to go through a lab.

Whomever is drilling your bore well should know all about this, as well as how to properly seal the upper part of the well against groundwater contamination, etc.

One of the major reasons to go to a professional with good references is to improve your chances on having the job done right the first time. And testing their work to see if the job was done correctly with a safe result.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

hey Man I wnna do teh same can you explain me how to go about getting wells ? They say well water in my area is good but there cld be a problem how Do I check the quality ? I am planning to open up a borewell.

Depends on the actual underground where you live.

I live in a country that has some of the cleanest ground water on the planet, and it's only legal to pump drinking water from at least 70m below surface. Though this is not necessary for a home well, you still need a proper magazine to pump from.

The permeabilty of the layer from which you pump the water is very important regarding flow and possiblity of lowering the original ground water level in the sorrounding area at the risk of undermining buildings.

For testing a borehole must be made first which is quite expensive because you can't test water you can't reach and despite geological surveys it's almost impossible to know the actual flow until a pumping test has been made, during which the excess crap from the drilling is pumped out and a water sample of the water is taken and sent to a lab for testing.

In addition to a pumping well it might be necessary/mandatory to drill monitoring wells in the sorrounding area.

Whether it's possible or worth while is really up to regulations and the underground.

Always go for a professional team that knows how to handle drinking water.

Whomever is drilling your bore well should know all about this, as well as how to properly seal the upper part of the well against groundwater contamination, etc.

The drilling team mount a plastic pipe in the borehole with an ''intake''(holes in the pipe) with filter sand/gravel around only in the desired depth, and no ''intake'' and an expanding clay material from there to surface.

 

[Dobbi]

Hi, well my plant is down to 68ppm out and is yellowing, and the buds have a tinge of purple in them now. When I first noticed this, I chopped a bud to have a good look that it wasn't bud rot or hermying at a late stage (had no idea this was possible that late in flower either, but i'd been reading a lot on here) Annnnyways I had the baking soda, but no lemon juice in the house, so I gave it a whirl.
In veg, that plant had been treated for spider mites, with 3 seperate foliars. I got some debris/ dirt and what looked like a spider mite web- or maybe a cat hair, as i have a white cat. Doing the lot on Sunday when she is dried out from her final flush y'day.
The bud I washed was beautiful after, springy and sparkly. Amazing technique, thanks again for the knowledge.

 

[DrZiggy]

Hi, well my plant is down to 68ppm out and is yellowing, and the buds have a tinge of purple in them now. When I first noticed this, I chopped a bud to have a good look that it wasn't bud rot or hermying at a late stage (had no idea this was possible that late in flower either, but i'd been reading a lot on here) Annnnyways I had the baking soda, but no lemon juice in the house, so I gave it a whirl.
In veg, that plant had been treated for spider mites, with 3 seperate foliars. I got some debris/ dirt and what looked like a spider mite web- or maybe a cat hair, as i have a white cat. Doing the lot on Sunday when she is dried out from her final flush y'day.
The bud I washed was beautiful after, springy and sparkly. Amazing technique, thanks again for the knowledge.

The lemon juice is a crucial step in the wash with the baking soda..

 

[Dobbi]

I'm hitting up homewares and groceries tomorrow friend, for a couple of larger basins/ buckets, (my trial was in large pans) a new strainer to examine debris, and a bag of lemons. I have seen vids with people using the bottled lemon juice. Is there a difference? I'd prefer to go with real lemons myself. Here's the girl in question. Ima gonna miss her...
Here she is, sorry photo is sideways

P.s- Leds not really that close, I was in the middle of fixing wires at top.

 

[DrZiggy]

I'm hitting up homewares and groceries tomorrow friend, for a couple of larger basins/ buckets, (my trial was in large pans) a new strainer to examine debris, and a bag of lemons. I have seen vids with people using the bottled lemon juice. Is there a difference? I'd prefer to go with real lemons myself. Here's the girl in question. Ima gonna miss her...
Here she is, sorry photo is sideways

P.s- Leds not really that close, I was in the middle of fixing wires at top.

Bottled lemon juice is great for bud washing

eat the fresh...