Hey guys and gals, i've been reading up on bud washing for the past 4-6 weeks. i'm about 2 days from harvest and will be chopping a plant just about every week for the next 6 weeks.
the purpose of bud washing is to get all the dirt, dust, skincells(there are tons), fuzzies, dead bugs..... just about anything that can get on your plants during growth and flowering. the way to look at it is look at a table top and don't dust it for 3-4 months and look at see the film of crap on it. this is why you should wash your buds....you don't go pull a carrot or lettuce or any veggies and eat it wthout washing it.. why would you do it to your buds....
so for the past 2-3 weeks (while in flush) have been plucking buds here and there and washing them in 3 different possible washing procedures...
while i experimented i used Solo cups.. when i harvest i'll do them in 5 gallon buckets.
procedure #1- I first tested this with 3 solo cups... 1 filled with warm water and the other cup filled with cold water the third cup with r/o water
so you trim your bud normally leaving the sugar leaves on. take the bud and dunk it in cup 1. You can either swish it around or dunk it in and out of the water.. I did this for 30 seconds. then i proceeded to do it to cup 2 and cup 3. after that you hang dry normally.
procedure #2 3 solo cups- cup 1: warm water with tablespoon of baking soda, tablespoon of lemon juice. cups 2 cold water, cup 3 r/o water.. dunk in cup 1 for wash.. cup 2 rise, cup 3 r/o water to take any sediments from the tap water off.
procedure #3 4 solo cups- Cup 1: water with a cap full of h202 cup 2: the baking soda/lemon juice solution Cups 2 and 3.. same as above.
results:
in all three instances i found the following: .. after looking under a jewelers loop before and after i can say its looks A lot cleaner. the smoke... smooth VERY smooth(even the buds i cut after only flushing for 3 days) . the look of the buds... seemed to be brighter in color, plumper.
Biggest difference between the 3 different washes:
wash 1: although cleaner, there was still some visible dirt and fuzzies on the buds. the smoke was smooth but still had a tad of harshness at the end of the bowl.
wash 2: under the loop, the bud from this wash i would say was 99% clean. i saw one hair on it but it could have easily just got stuck on the bud as i removed it from the wash. the smoke was about triple the smoothness of wash 1 and the look was about the same.. however the smell got much stronger.
wash 3: the h202 made the plant dry out faster. after a day the sugar leaves were all dried and not good looking. i don't recommend using h202 unless you have PM or bud rot.
in conclusion: IMO this is a must for every grower. i was a non believer until i tried it.. my main concern was that the water would cause mold or rot... NOT THE CASE the water pretty much just runs off the bud it doesn't soak in like a sponge or anything. I have looked at the trichs before and after the wash and they also DO NOT seem to be affected. one thing is for sure... i will ALWAYS wash my buds now. keep in mind this does add a day or two to the drying time.. but to me its totally worth it.
I will be posting pics once i start the process with my main harvest. stay tuned. ....
hey im not saying dont but i am not gunna sit there with over 6 ponds washing buds so people can have a better tasting weed if u grew it right in the first place u would not have to wash it