Bud Washing

[Papasmoke1127]

Didn't burp properly and caught some early mold growing ...

I didn't catch this bud washing tip until after I already started my cure from harvest ...

But I will not be skipping this ever again !!

 

[Hiker]

I would need 4 55gallon drums then lol. Just too much man for just me. I will definitely do it on one and just break the plant into smaller portions. If I had more help I would go all out.

I cut mine down so each branch has a little hook from the little leftover bit from the main trunk. Then I can hand the branch on a string. I use tall kitchen trash cans. If you're already doing a 'pre-trim', this wouldn't add time, just shift when you do certain tasks. I can explain my terminology if it's unclear, but here are the steps in my harvest process:
Dis-assembly - cut into branches with little hooks, hang on string
Pre Trim - remove most the leaves w/o trichomes
Wash - allow to hang and drip dry before moving on. My string hangs over my trash cans.
Trim - I find this next step is best timed to occur 1-4 hours after washing. Others think it's fine up to 12 hours after washing
Dry - 2-3 days on drying racks before going into jars
Cure

I should have been more exact. I'm a medical grower here in Washington state. I've been growing since 1998 and medically since 08. I quit my day job in 2010 to focus on growing medically. By recreational I mean last go round in the application/lotto process we didn't get one. We want to grow large at this point 10,000sq ft. So we are waiting for this auction in January. So at that point we can't just give some medicine for working.

Do you have a link about the auction next month? I can't find anything about it.

 

[Skybound]

Hiker, you got a picture of the hooks you make to hang from? I'm not seeing it clearly.

 

[Hiker]

Hiker, you got a picture of the hooks you make to hang from? I'm not seeing it clearly.

I couldn't find a good photo so I drew a picture.

Think of it this way, You are separating one stem from another. You cut above and below where it branches from the larger stem. If you cut close below the branch and leave most of the main stem above the branch, you will end up with a hook.

Hopefully the illustrations help

 

[lobosolo]

Hey Hiker. I knew what you were describing, but scrolled down to see how your drawing would show. I love your drawing!!!!!!!!! It is perfectly understandable also. Thanks for the laugh, and really better than I would do. Have a great day. Dan

 

[Hiker]

LOL I know my drawings suck.

I'm glad you understand what I'm describing now.

I grow bushes with lots of branches, so 'dis-assembling' the plants like this makes it easy to hand them on a string.

 

[David Bowman]

LOL I know my drawings suck.

I'm glad you understand what I'm describing now.

I grow bushes with lots of branches, so 'dis-assembling' the plants like this makes it easy to hand them on a string.

You draw much better than I do so no worries there Hiker. When I first saw the large drawing, my first impression, especially given the time of year, was that it looked like a cannabis menorah. However it does show what I thought you had in mind based on your earlier word description of your cutting/hanging process. again for the share!

 

[FatRob]

Thanks Hiker
I love the drawing and the easy method.
My plant has a pair of branches at each node though, I only get half the number of "hooks" that you depict, the other branch at each node still needs a hanger. Guess I need to hang on to a few of my clippy thingies.

 

[Hiker]

Thanks Hiker
I love the drawing and the easy method.
My plant has a pair of branches at each node though, I only get half the number of "hooks" that you depict, the other branch at each node still needs a hanger. Guess I need to hang on to a few of my clippy thingies.

If your branches are perfectly symmetrical, you can still do it. Either, leave the 2 branches connected and hang the large V on the string, but then you may have trouble washing. What I do when this is an issue is, split the large stem. I've nearly always been able to split the stem down it's length. It leaves half the stem on each branch, so they both have hooks. Again, a picture would probably help, but this is a little easier to explain.

 

[FatRob]

Excellent.
No more running out of clippy thingies due to good results.
Thanks!

 

[Skybound]

Last time I used garden wire. This time the wire will stay on the bench unless needed like when a hook decides to go one way or the other. Either way, I'm coming out the other end much quicker, thanks Hiker!

 

[OttawaGreen]

I will be trying this too when my plants are ready in 3.5 weeks. Thanks for all the good info!

 

[OttawaGreen]

I am picking up the supplies for this today. Is there any special type of lemon juice or peroxide I need?

 

[Doc Bud]

I am picking up the supplies for this today. Is there any special type of lemon juice or peroxide I need?

Skip the peroxide unless you have mold or PM.

As for lemon juice, there is fresh without sulfites and "Real" lemon that has sulfites. If you have no allergy or bad reaction to sulfites, I recommend the "Real" Lemon (or another lemon juice with added sulfites) because these sulfites are anti-fungal....which is why they are added.

You won't be sorry you did this at all! In fact, you'll notice a definitive step up in the quality of your produce.

 

[OttawaGreen]

Ok just sulfated lemon juice and baking soda then.
Thanks!

 

[CoNerd]

Before and after Washing Closeup Pictures - Damage to Trichomes

I'm just getting back into growing after 20+ years and ran across this thread. Washing the buds seemed very sensible and the methods reminded me of the "Fruit Fresh" prep we did to the lettuce for salads at a pizza shop I worked at in the '70's.

Like many others, I wondered; How much damage will washing do to my precious trichomes?"

I decided to document it by doing a before and after bud wash photo session. I clipped a bud at 7.5 weeks in 12/12. (Plant is Rocklock in soil, grown under 48x3W Mars Hydro lights.) I have a Cole and Porter dissecting microscope, and I made a lens adapter out of some hardwood for an old Olympus 4MP camera so I can take clear pictures of cannabis buds.

I clipped the most mature looking bud on the end of a minor, low stem and took the "before washing" pictures. I found various landmarks on the bud and focused on one specific calyx.

(As an aside, it's pretty difficult to pick the proper sequence of similar pictures using the 420 gallery interface, so I hope I get this right.)

Here's what the bud looks like before washing. This is the eye's view through the microscope.

When I zoom in the camera lens, I can see lots of nice trichomes. There's a couple of fibers to give me a reference.

The microscope can also zoom in, but depth of field gets shallow.

My Simplified Bud Washing Procedure; I kept it pretty simple and washed it like I might do some lettuce I'm preparing to eat. I ran the bud under a strong stream of tepid water from the faucet for a full 10 second count. It was difficult for me to hold this nice looking bud under such strong running water for the full count but I wanted to see the results of a "worst case, aggressive" cleansing. Then I did the wrist flick to shake all the water off the drowned bud. I was not gentle at all with the poor bud and expected to have washed away lots of THC.

Here's the after photos. I noticed the black fiber had shifted, but not the white one. Bud washing does not remove foreign fibers. It was easy to find exact the same trichomes around the same calyx.

Ok. I'm now looking for the expected damage...

That's strange. All that time spent in rushing, warm water and everything is completely intact. I really expected to see lots of damage to trichomes. All the bud did was plump up a bit.

Maybe this part of the bud was somehow shielded in the water stream. I took a close look at the tip, right where the force of water was the greatest.

Based on these results, I can comfortably say;
Trichomes are pretty robust when the plant is harvested and easily survive an aggressive washing in water.

I know I'll be washing all of my harvested buds with no worries about loss of potency.

 

[Icemud]

Before and after Washing Closeup Pictures - Damage to Trichomes

I'm just getting back into growing after 20+ years and ran across this thread. Washing the buds seemed very sensible and the methods reminded me of the "Fruit Fresh" prep we did to the lettuce for salads at a pizza shop I worked at in the '70's.

Like many others, I wondered; How much damage will washing do to my precious trichomes?"

I decided to document it by doing a before and after bud wash photo session. I clipped a bud at 7.5 weeks in 12/12. (Plant is Rocklock in soil, grown under 48x3W Mars Hydro lights.) I have a Cole and Porter dissecting microscope, and I made a lens adapter out of some hardwood for an old Olympus 4MP camera so I can take clear pictures of cannabis buds.

I clipped the most mature looking bud on the end of a minor, low stem and took the "before washing" pictures. I found various landmarks on the bud and focused on one specific calyx.

(As an aside, it's pretty difficult to pick the proper sequence of similar pictures using the 420 gallery interface, so I hope I get this right.)

Here's what the bud looks like before washing. This is the eye's view through the microscope.

When I zoom in the camera lens, I can see lots of nice trichomes. There's a couple of fibers to give me a reference.

The microscope can also zoom in, but depth of field gets shallow.

My Simplified Bud Washing Procedure; I kept it pretty simple and washed it like I might do some lettuce I'm preparing to eat. I ran the bud under a strong stream of tepid water from the faucet for a full 10 second count. It was difficult for me to hold this nice looking bud under such strong running water for the full count but I wanted to see the results of a "worst case, aggressive" cleansing. Then I did the wrist flick to shake all the water off the drowned bud. I was not gentle at all with the poor bud and expected to have washed away lots of THC.

Here's the after photos. I noticed the black fiber had shifted, but not the white one. Bud washing does not remove foreign fibers. It was easy to find exact the same trichomes around the same calyx.

Ok. I'm now looking for the expected damage...

That's strange. All that time spent in rushing, warm water and everything is completely intact. I really expected to see lots of damage to trichomes. All the bud did was plump up a bit.

Maybe this part of the bud was somehow shielded in the water stream. I took a close look at the tip, right where the force of water was the greatest.

Based on these results, I can comfortably say;
Trichomes are pretty robust when the plant is harvested and easily survive an aggressive washing in water.

I know I'll be washing all of my harvested buds with no worries about loss of potency.

Beautiful writeup and great photo analysis/comparison! Rep!!!

 

[SAMtheAPman]

They are some great trichome pictures CoNerd!

 

[OttawaGreen]

Thanks for the before and after Pics! I will doing this in 2 weeks.

 

[Skybound]

Great writeup CoNerd! I am especially interested in your saying that the bud plumped up a bit. This got me thinking that maybe this is why washed buds smoke soooooo smoothly? I am now of the "belief" that in the process of the wash, the flower tissues absorb some H2O and possibly [flush?] some of the internally stored elements, or even alters internal PH, but whatever is going in inside the tissues, I know it's making for a much fuller and flavorful smoke. I was gifted some meds from another grower on this thread, and at least the Royal Medic (equal THC/CBD) has a very mild maple syrup taste with peppery nuances and the smoke is just so smooth so big tokes are easily ingested. Can't wait till the Cherry Bomb and Power Flower dry/cure a bit more so I can sample their flavors as well. Whenever I have to smoke unwashed street weed, it is so unenjoyable b/c A) I don't know what it is, 2) it is unwashed and D) it's never dried or cured properly.