Cannabis Washing The Buds

It might seem odd when you first hear about it, and it may sound scary, but washing your buds after harvest can greatly improve the quality of the final product, especially if pest problems have occurred or it is grown in a dusty environment.

During the weeks of the flowering period, plants accumulate all sorts of contaminants. They can be dust, dirt, insects, which will affect the final flavor and quality of the buds.

To get a good clean product, the buds can be washed after harvest to remove contaminants from the buds. It is easy to do and does not wash away oils, cannabinoids or terpenes.

All growers are initially skeptical about washing buds, but all those who have tried it have sworn that they no longer want to harvest without washing the buds. They argue that the difference is huge. So why not give it a try and see what you think?

Follow this guide and let us know what you did.

All Trimmers (click here)

Wash the buds after harvest

Preparation is important. Make sure you have everything you need before harvesting the plant. Cut a branch, prune if you like, then wash the top and hang it in the drying room.

Make sure the drying area is clean and ready and prepare the tools needed to wash the buds after harvesting.

What you need to wash the buds

You will need 3 containers, preferably dry, to put the water in. These containers must be large enough to be able to completely cover the buds with water.

Bucket A

In bucket A, you will need hot water, not too hot. A temperature of around 20 ° C is fine. For every liter of water in the container, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

These two will work together to help break up dirt and other contaminants to clear them from the buds, but they won't dissolve or break the trichomes.

Bucket B

In bucket B you will only have hot water, again around 20 ° C, but do not add anything else. This bucket will be used to rinse the water from the first bucket.

Bucket C

Bucket C will contain cold water. This is the last bucket and is used to make sure that everything has been rinsed from the tops.

How to wash buds after harvest

Make sure everything is ready before cutting any part of the plant. Cut, wash and then hang to dry. The more prepared you are, the easier and stress-free the operation you are going to carry out.

Keep all the buckets lined up ready and make sure that the drying area is clean, as well as ready to hang the buds.

Once you are ready, it's time to proceed with the collection!

Step 1: Cut a branch from the plant

Remove a branch from the plant. Try not to touch the buds, so cut enough stems to handle the branch, without handling the buds themselves.

Step 2: Prune the buds

If you cut your buds while they are wet, it is worth pruning them now, before washing them.This will eliminate the chlorophyll that has dripped onto the buds from the cut leaves and remove any small fragments of foliage that may be left

If you plan to dry prune the plant, go to step 3.

Step 3: Dip in bucket A

Take the branch and immerse it completely in the water in bucket A. The lemon juice and baking soda work together to remove dirt and debris from the buds. You will see that the particles emerge to the surface on the water.

Gently shake the buds from side to side and leave them immersed for about 30 seconds, stirring them constantly in the water. Be gentle, but the more you can shake, the more contaminants can be removed.

Step 4: Shake off the excess water

After thirty seconds, remove the branch from the water and shake it for about another thirty seconds to eliminate the largest drops of water and any debris still attached to the tops.

Once satisfied by seeing that most of the water has been shaken off, immerse the branch again, but this time in bucket B.

Step 5: Bucket B

Repeat steps 3 and 4, but in bucket B. This is to remove any remaining water from bucket A. Shake in water for about 30 seconds and then shake again for about thirty seconds out of the 'water.

Eliminate as much water as possible before finally immersing the branch in a bucket of cold water, bucket C.

Step 6: Bucket C

To ensure that all contaminants are removed from the buds, a final rinse in cold water is required. You have now noticed the accumulation of particles on the surface of the water present in buckets A and B.

Removing these particles from the buds will give a much cleaner and tastier end product, especially if there are problems with bugs or dust in the grow room.

Step 7: Hang to dry

After the buds have been washed and all excess moisture has been removed, the branch should be hung to dry, with a strong flow of air aimed at it.

Turn on the fans at maximum speed for about an hour so that the largest drops of water evaporate. A good air flow is essential to keep mold and ascomycetes away from the crop.

When all the large water droplets have disappeared, reduce the speed of the fans and keep a constant light flow of air in the grow room.

Pollinator P500 (click here)

Does washing buds increase the chances of mold?

No, it doesn't. It might seem strange to indoor growers, but you have to understand that cannabis plants grown outdoors will receive rain and be constantly humid. It is not the wet buds that cause the formation of mold and rot, but rather the stale air and high humidity.

As long as you maintain a good flow of fresh air to the plant and keep humidity levels below 55%, the chances of mold are minimal.

Washing buds washes away THC and terpenes?

You might think that washing the buds removes something from the plant, but the cannabis plant is used to getting wet in its natural habitat and this does not affect the resins and oils.

To remove cannabinoids and oils from a cannabis plant, solvents are usually used to dissolve them or low temperatures to break them down. than improving the quality of the buds.

And don't worry, the flavor of the buds won't be affected by lemon juice and baking soda either.

Wash away root rot and mold

Although washing the buds will help clean them, if the plant has been affected by bud rot, it cannot be washed and should not be used under any circumstances. Not even to produce oils and extracts.

Smoking or ingesting mold particles can be extremely harmful to your health. If you find any rot in the buds, they should be thrown away, as washing them will not solve the problem.

Powdery mildew is another type of mold that can attack a cannabis plant. In some limited cases where powdery mildew attacks only the leaves, it can be washed off with 3% hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution.

If you find a certain type of rot or mold on the tops of the plant, it is highly recommended to throw them away, because washing them will not remove all the mold from them.

Cannatonic CBD Feminized (Click here)

Should the buds be washed after harvest?

It's up to you, of course. However, if any kind of problem has occurred during the flowering cycle, it is recommended to wash the buds after harvesting.

If insects had infested the plant during flowering, they would have died on the buds, laid eggs, produced waste and reproduced. All this then remains on the peaks. Obviously you don't want this kind of thing on the buds and washing them will allow them to be removed.

Also, if you have noticed a large accumulation of dust on the fan while growing, the same goes for the buds, even if you don't see it as clearly. If you have grown in a dirty environment or if dirt comes from outside, you should wash the buds.

Wash fruit and vegetables before eating them, so maybe you should try washing the buds before drying them.

Try it!

If you've thought about washing your buds in the past, but like most people were reluctant to do it, you don't necessarily have to wash the entire crop to try. Why not just wash some branches and leave some unwashed?

You can then see the difference between the two and see if there are different results in terms of quality. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.