Greetings! Do you guys wash your weed before drying? I read a few articles about Bud Washing. It basically says that dipping your freshly harvested bud branches in a solution of lemon juice, baking soda and water before drying cleanses your buds of dirt, bugs, larve etc. Has anyone actually done this? If so what were your results? Was there a change in potency, taste, or overall quality?
Ive read a lot about it as well, this site is really really good for many how to’s and such for outdoor growing.(indoor as well but they dont get into lights and tents and such) If you grow outdoors they suggest to do it, but indoors theres not as much risk -so depends on your methods.
Heres there take and recipe
Ive done it. It works good for cleaning loose dirt. But, its not gonna take off any gnats that are in the flower. I didn’t notice any changes in flavor. Just be sure to dunk it in just pure clean water once or twice before hanging. Then get a fan to air dry it so you dont get mold issues.
Outdoor its a good idea, indoors depends how clean your grow was I guess!
I hear about it first time today. But I’m indoor. Maybe keep the nature from outdoor?
Trichomes aren’t water soluble but they are delicate so I’d be worried about decreasing potency if I tried that even if it’s just a small amount you wash off. And then mold during drying can be an issue if RH is off, idk I would rather just shake the branches when they’re dry if anything. For my inside grows it’s not necessary
I would do the same. That’s it.
I’m currently in the process of harvesting and washing. I should have grabbed pics of how gross the water is when you are done. I do a 3 stage wash in 5 gallon buckets. First is 2 cups hydrogen peroxide and water. Second is 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Third is plain water. I take off all brown, dead or damaged material first. Then strip all the fan leaves and any excessive grouping of leaves to prevent standing wet spots. Once I’m happy with basically a light wet trim I swirl in each bucket for about 30 seconds and shake off in between buckets. Make sure water is room temp as colder water makes it more likely you could damage trichomes. Try not to hit the sides of the bucket or the bottom as well for the same reason. I fill up a Rubbermaid tote with the washed and shaken branches while I work which probably does more to damage anything than the wash actually does. And many large scale grows use totes to store harvested branches during the act of harvesting. So no worries there… When I hang everything I give double the spacing I normally would, so nothing is touching. Then I make the drying room into a tornado for the first 12 hours using an oscillating fan blocking across my hung buds. This gets rid of the excess moisture at which point I take the fan and make it an indirect breeze for a normal 14 day dry as the goal with 60/60 temp/rh.
I’m my experience after your first wash if done right you’ll never want to go back to unwashed bud. The amount of floating debris, hair, bug poop, dead bugs, pet hair, and tons of other crap that an outdoor or indoor grow can pick up is crazy to see. When I go back to finish the second half later I’ll try to remember to grab pics.
I had to do it for the first time a few years ago after we had really bad bush fires, by the time I was finished the water was an absolutely disgusting almost black soup of ash and crap that had rained down on them
@KemsahB I do a bud wash every time it works really well I put a little bit of hydrogen peroxide lemon juice bi—carbon soda and water in first bucket mix with 20 litres of water 2nd and 3rd bucket just water for a rinse just dip up and down not to rough a few times in first solution and so forth give a shake off in between buckets hang in nice airrated area with fan blowing underneath till touch dry here’s some photos of mine from last year.
Did you notice any change in potency or taste compared to unwashed buds?
I will give it a try if I see any issues on my buds with my microscope. Tent clean, no pests, no worry. But thank you for this guide. I will remember it after my first outdoor grow.
If there was I didn’t notice nor miss it. I am sure there are a few instances of trichomes breaking on every branch, but no more than I would be breaking during normal handling and transporting to the drying room. A lot of the immature and aged out ones will break free and collect in the buckets. I’m sure if you wanted to collect those with a mesh bubble hash bag you could. I would just rinse them before using them. But overall I’ve never had an instance where the wash made the bud less desirable.