Water Cure

[Legalizdahurb]

Ages ago there was a poll on should you water cure or not but i can't find it now. :(
Anyway i promised i would try it and say what i think.
Although my other bud is still curing in mason jars my water cure is ready and dam its nice, much better then just quick dryed bud.
I'll update again when my normal cure is done and let you know what i think then.
[attachment=o59635]

[Kush Over]

That's an awesome looking bud.

So, wait..

How is a water cure done exactly? I've searched the boards and came across only a few basic descriptions, all pointing to basically submerging the buds in chilled water. But exactly how cool should the water be, and how long should the buds be in water?

And the buds -- should they be dried before water curing and if so, for how long?

Information would be greatly appreciated.

[Legalizdahurb]

I first heard about this on overgrow and though f*%k that i aint risking my bud i worked hard 4, but then thought why not just try a little. I tryed a little bit earlier b4 harvest as a tester and it came out ok.
With this 1 i cut it of the plant and put it straight in cold tap water. You are suppost to change the water everyday and leave it in for a week. I ended up changing the water every 2 days and left it in for a week and a half. I then hung the buds in my airing coboard for 3 days and its smoke time.
The bud looks a lot darker after this but it works really good and doesn't take a month. I have other buds curing normaly and once they are done i will know the differance. But i think this is deffinatly better than quick drying for some bud whilst you wait for the rest.

[Kush Over]

That's awesome.

The reason I asked is because I wanted to water cure an entire plant's worth of harvest -- roughly a three footer that's been tied down and HST'd. If I hadn't done this training, it'd probably be over 1.5 meters tall.

Anyway. Thanks for the info. Hopefully someone who has done entire harvests can collaborate and share their wisdom, for all our benefit.

[Legalizdahurb]

Nice it should b ok o just didnt want to risk it all just incase lol, and i am yet to tell if sealing it for a month will be better. I am thinking it will look better and mabe taste a little better.

[Kush Over]

The one thing I'd be bugged out about the water curing is the fact trichomes could get removed -- a lot of trichomes.

How does that bud feel anyway -- sticky at all? I know it looks like you could scrape off some trichomes to use as an adhesive, if only a minor one.

I wonder if sticking the buds in individual Ziploc bags filled with cold water, then placing the bags in an ice chest full of ice would do any good.

Or just go along with water curing them all in one large container, but only filter the water after each change with some silkscreen. Then you could probably salvage some of the lost trichomes for garbage hash.

I just need to come up with a curing method soon, preferably something quick -- already have a refrigerator for a chamber.

[Legalizdahurb]

If you are carefull when changing water you shouldn't loose many trics. I wouldn't have thought you would get many trics from filtering but it may be worth a try.
I am not sure about the freezing thing it may stop the curing process, plus the colder the water the weaker the trics are.

[Kush Over]

So how cold do you think the water should be?

[Kush Over]

I went searching around the internet and stumbled onto this,

"Water Cure

Unlike other curing methods, the water cure is performed after the marijuana is dried. Powder and small pieces are most often used, but the cure also works with whole colas. The material is piled loosely in a glass or ceramic pot which is filled with luke-warm water. (When hot water is used, some of the THC is released in oils, which escape and float to the top of the water.) Within a few hours many of the non-psychoactive water-soluble substances dissolve. An occasional gentle stirring speeds the process. The water is changed and the process repeated. Then the grass is dried again for smoking.

THC is not water-soluble; so it remains on the plant when it is soaked. By eliminating water-soluble substances (pigments, proteins, sugars, and some resins), which may make up 25 percent of the plant material by weight, this cure may increase the concentration of THC by up to a third.

Marijuana cured by this method has a dark, almost black colour, and looks twisted and curled, something like tea leaves. The water cure is frequently used to cure dried fan leaves and poor-quality grass."
[ link available here; http://www.marijuanamagazines.com/2000/04/curing-marijuana.html ]

I might as well give it a shot. Another thing..

Wouldn't this method of curing technically remove some of the nutrients, providing an additional flush while curing?

[latewood]

It would, as I understand it remove the nutes, that is the whole point. WE were debating about this the other day, and I am going to put a plant in a beer cooler, as recommended in our debate. That way you can add water and drain thru???? drain! Then top off, taking heed to pour water around and not 'ON' the buds. At least that is how I am going to try it. (lukewarm/room temperature water)imho

I'm still scared though. lw

Oh yeah, and you never answered how it felt. Was it still sticky like at harvest?

thanks for the additional info.

[Legalizdahurb]

No its not very sticky now.

[latewood]

No its not very sticky now.
thanks for the info. lw

[Legalizdahurb]

erm i took that bud to a party tonight and once you got into the middle of it, it was still sticky. Maybe I dryed it a little to long after the cure.
Got every one smashed though :D

[latewood]

I cut a mature lower branch that got bent.

After thinking long and hard the past few days...the mention of using this technique for crappy weed brought back memories. I have seen this before...It was crappy weed that was twisted and very dark, like you described.
Unfortunately, It was still crap.

We'll try It with some gooeyfrosty bud. later. I think I am going to let mine dry 1st, as per directions, that I found.
Perhaps that will keep it from deforming so much...maybe,
that is the key!?

[Legalizdahurb]

The reason i didn't dry it first, is i don't see the point when you are going to have to soak it in water again. But it might help in some way, let me know how it goes.