Bud Washing?

I was discussing bud washing in my grow log and I figured I'd start a new thread here.

So does anyone wash there buds before harvest? Some people are doing it and giving the process rave reviews.

I cleaned out my attic and probably got my plants a bit dusty. That's the reason I figured I'd give it a try.
Guys who foliar feed there plants into flower came up with this idea.

A lot of people are probably thinking dunk my buds in water after harvest? I've had bud rot before without doing that. Why the f*ck would I do that? Well watch and see. I'm going to harvest a SLH plant and wash the majority of it, leaving some unwashed as a control. See how it works for me.

Here's the recipe:
Keep the plant in branches, not buds and trim as u normally would.
Get 3 5 gal buckets set up.
The first bucket is room temp h2o and 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup lemon juice.
The second is hot water
The 3rd is cold water.
Dip branch in first bucket, agitate lightly, cycle through remaining buckets and hang to drip dry for a day. Continue drying as u normally do.

Great!
I love a good experiment.
But I'm still scratching my head and wondering.

Can you explain the logic behind this?

"The first bucket is room temp h2o and 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup lemon juice."

Why in the blue eyed world, would anyone do that to some poor, innocent, buds?!

Where did you find this method?
I'm a micron away from calling fnord on it.

Aloha,
Weeze

Now I can see a little rinse before harvest, mother nature and all, bet you guys figure it out though

What's a fnord, something about G. Ford??

I've never done this and likely will never do so. The buds in the bucket sound more like removing the trichomes from the plant to make hash...
I do foliar feed sometimes so I have rinsed living plants down with a hose or spray bottle, but way before harvest.

@tlr:
Surprised that you didn't google it,
Google is our friend.

Fnord:
The word was coined as a nonsensical term with religious undertones in the Discordianreligious textPrincipia Discordia.
Fnord was originally the typographic representation of disinformation or irrelevant information intending to misdirect, with the implication of a worldwide conspiracy.

I have seen trollish types give horrible advice to newbies, just to see if they were dumb enough to act upon it.

@Shovelhandle:
Not a problem as long as the water is not < say, 40 F.
The trichs are quite flexible at normal temperatures.

I know this because I took macro images before, and after the wash.
Got progressively rougher with each cola.
Then dried, photographed, and compared.

At 70 F.
You can thrash them like a red-headed stepchild and suffer no capitate gland loss.
Gotta get 'em cold to knock them off for hash.

Notice:
No red-headed stepchildren were harmed in these experiments.

@Captain Org:
Nevermind, I googled it.
The Bicarb and lemon is touted as a "produce wash".
It's for fruits and vegetables that one hardly ever smokes.

Gotta say that it sounds really dumb for bud, but what do I know?
Precious little if truth be told.
So, you have my attention.
Gonna watch closely while you do this.

Might have unimagined merit.
Might be a epic fail.
Former? I get to learn something, risk free. :)
Latter? Hmm, better you, than me. :D
That is, unless you bail.

Geronimooo!

Weezard

I am going to quote my source here. I hope it is okay to reference a grower on another forum. I won't mention the specific forum, that might be better.

I have been following this guy Doc Bud for a while. I am real interested in his High Brix grows.
He is the one who came up with the lemon juice baking soda wash, along with the hot then cold water.

I now have to read though a shit ton of material again to find the "why" for using this stuff. I am doing this now and I will post here as soon as I can.

Brb...

Btw, I washed a small sample of super lemon haze last night using weezards 3% hydrogen peroxide an room temp water bath. They buds are now drying. They seem to be drying just about the same as the unwashed buds. 2 wks to smoke and see if there is any noticeable difference.

Photo washed:
Attachment 296619

Unwashed:
Attachment 296620

I really am having a hard time finding info explaining the reasoning behind the lemon juice and baking soda. Google doc bud bud washing... I'm still working at it...

Here is the recipe from the creator himself: credit to doc bud,

For those who are new to this, here's my method:

4 buckets total. (5 gallon buckets are perfect)

Bucket 1: 3 parts RO water to 1 part 3% H202.
Bucket 2: 5 gallons of RO with 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup Lemon Juice
Buckets 3 and 4: RO only.

Cut down plants, pull off fan leaves by hand, remove any necrotic leaves. Leave sugar leaves and anything with frosting on the plant.

Fully submerge in bucket 1 (H2O2) for 30 seconds. Submerge for a full minute if you had ANY sign of PM or bud rot. Let water drip from buds and then.....

Fully submerge in buckets 2 through 4 for 30 seconds each...lightly agitating the whole time.

Allow produce to drip dry. You can blow a fan on it if you like, just make sure it's blowing clean air.

Hang and dry per usual.

Final manicure of buds is best done after they dry. It goes very fast and you're left with washed, highly resinous trim....makes superb joints. I'm also educating my customers to select untrimmed buds, which are actually better than the manicured ones because they still have sugar leaves attached. The trichomes in the leaves have more THC than those in the buds.....so it's good to get the whole spectrum in there.

I give instructions for this in my journals, as I do it every single week, on every single harvest. Once you try it, you'll never go back.

This works so well for a couple reasons:

1. takes off dirt, foliar sprays, bugs, fiberglass dust, etc.
2. fully hydrates the leaves, allowing photosynthesis to occur for a day or two on cut and trimmed buds. I recommend leaving a light on the buds for the first day or two after washing.

Another doc bud quote on the subject:
"The Lemon/baking soda bucket should have taken the crud off. The next two just wash off the lemon juice mix."

Weezard could u post some of those pics here?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?debug_pr...ient=mv-google

Jorge Cervantes video on washing off PM.
This is pretty much exactly what I did (as weezard suggested ) minus what seems like a kinda aggressive hose off at the end.

Happy to do so, bro..

Humble-brag alert:
Got thousands of pictures, so it might take me a while.

Ah, here's some
Note the PM in the second pic.
She cleaned up nicely, (but you can't take her anywhere). :D

Attachment 296623Attachment 296624Attachment 296625Attachment 296626

The purple widow was almost gritty with particulate VOG.

Attachment 296622Attachment 296621

After a violent thrashing?
Completely undamaged.

Clean as a whistle, no odd tastes added, no Mmmmmm, taste removed.
The smoothness thoroughly disproves that "gotta cough to get off" nonsense.
Jus' hit it, hold it, pass it, and grin.

My palate is demanding.
It's not easy being this "picky", (though I prefer to think of it as discerning.) :D

That's why I'm skeptical about the bicarb.
Bicarb tastes "soapy" to me, yuk!
Why add something that I then have to wash back off, and with warm water yet!

When I thrashed buds in frigid water, all the capitate glands snapped off.
Of course, that was the goal, at the time.
It's how I make bubble hash. :D
After that, I dried the buds and we called them "O'Doule's" weed,
Less than half it's original potency.

When handling the full melt bubble, I had to keep dipping my fingers in the ice water, and drying with a towel, or the wax coating would melt and the hash would adhere to my fingers.
So, no 120 F. water for me either just based on that.

I read though "Doc Bud's" threads.
While I agree that a high brix reading usually indicates a healthy plant.
And that a healthy plant can defend it's self.

There is a cognitive dissonance to his cleaning claims.
And, I looked at dozens of his published picture with hi-res shots of a full set of his fingerprints! D'oh.
I read his claims of higher education and cringed when he tried to modify the word "unique".
I'm under-impressed.

But, cynicism is my nature.
In this case, however, I say, it's not just bad advice.
I'm calling FNORD!

Now get out there and prove me wrong with direct experimentation and some side by side documentation. :)
I honestly, and earnestly, hope that you do.
I will then attempt to reproduce your results and be much the wiser for it. :)

Aloha y'all,
Weeze

I think I understand the hot and cold water reasoning. I still can't exactly figure out WHY lemon juice and baking soda. Wish I was a member over there I could ask the guy.

Think blanching veggies to improve color and flavor/texture. I think this is what it is all about. That and to rinse off any lemon/baking soda residue. As far as cold water and trichomes, I'm not going to make any bubble hash because I'm not going to do anything but gently dip a branch in the water and remove it. Not using a drill or a blender and ultra cold H2O, honestly I'm sure I WILL be losing some trichs? But how many? My buds have a lot of resin. So if I can make them burn smoother, taste better from washing and lose <5% of my trichs I'd do it. I don't think the buzz would be negatively affected by looking a LITTLE resin. The wheels keep turning..

I think when I do this I will go thru the hot water quick, like a couple seconds, same for the cold.

Fuck it, I'm driving to the store for some baking soda and lemon juice. I gotta try this, there is a lot of hype about it. I will do a couple branches that I took down last night (still really wet)
Lol, I'm off...

Thanks so much for taking part in this discussion. I am doing a side by side by side.
All results good and bad will be shared

I will have unwashed bud, washed with your method, and washed with doc buds method. Let me know what else to record I'm a rookie at this logging shit stuff,
Thanks

Let me also say I am a rookie indoor grower, and I'm kinda crazy,
So watch and see if I ruin this perfectly good bud with the washing.
Attachment 296628
Attachment 296629

Or maybe it works? ...

The buds I washed using the method weezard recommended smell better than the ones that weren't washed at all. They look really good too, still frosty. Can't wait to see how it smokes! I don't think I've ever smoked washed weed. I woulda thought it was a joke before I did all this reading.

Attachment 296630
The best close up my camera can get of a bud washed in hydrogen peroxide 3%/ water solution.
Looks good. I think this will help dry slower and more evenly for me also. ( I have a really low RH in my house)

I can zoom then snap a pic of zoom I forgot. iPhone is handy.
Same bud closer up
Attachment 296631

Here is a close up of an unwashed top
Attachment 296632
Approx same zoom
Picture used flash so maybe not fair comparison, that and bottom washed bud vs. unwashed top bud.

Google "Macro lens for iphone"
I got a 60X clip-on, with a light, for < $3 w/free shipping!

Sick. Thanks for the advice dude, it seems its good! Obviously I can't smoke any yet but by all other accounts its all good.
I just did some buds using doc bud's method. Not a ton. I am going to do more in the manner u showed me, and of course leave some completely unwashed as a control. This is the kind of stuff I like screwing around with.

The 3 part lemon juice/baking soda washing station
Attachment 296633

I used 1 gal water, each bucket.
Bucket 1: 72degree tap water, 2 tbls baking soda, 2 tbls lemon juice
Bucket 2: 125 degree tap water
Bucket 3: 40 degree tap water

Attachment 296634Attachment 296635
Attachment 296636Attachment 296637

Hanging to dry most and some are on a drying rack on a sheet pan.

Well they didn't explode or rot in my hands right in front of my eyes. I'm not sure on this at all yet fingers crossed.

Well then.
Let me recommend the Eyeclops or the "Supereyes".
They are well under $50 and the 'clops will do 100x, 200x, and 400x and is portable with a little USB memory stick for transfer.
The Supereyes is cheaper, but only has one speed and is tethered to a USB cable.
They both do decent macro pics.
I mean, if you are going to post pics, they should be able to compete with your excellent Avatar, yah?

Turns out, the iphone lens didn't fit my model.
So I use it like a loupe for live inspection.

A.
W.

Just saw your pics.
Let me suggest a small fan.

Here, we got trade winds to go with the high humidity.
Your RH is low, but trapped water can be a problem.
I work out doors, and whip* most of the water out before I hang 'em .


* Grip the stem well, and pitch a fast ball.

Aloha,
Nice job!

Weeze

I will have to get that eyeclops! Sounds great. What do u think I cut and pasted my avatar? It's organic flo that I grew. I phone pic. Zoomed in and snapshot'd. Would be real blurry if it were larger. Soon ill order the eyeclops. Do my buds some justice with nice pics.

Attachment 296638
Smoking a bowl of this stuff right now. Flo tastes good.

Thanks great idea with sm fan. I was kinda worried about that especially with the little buds on the sheet pan drying. Done. Thanks again.
Attachment 296640
This is a sick pic. What I did I remember was take pic on iPhone, zoom and snapshot, then zoom and snap shot again. That'll work till I get the eyeclops.

Shaking the shit out of them seems a little crazy!

Tell me about it!

I was very gentle, at first.
Then I'd stop and look,
All good!
So, got more violent looking for the limit.
Ran out of steam before losing caps.

Did manage to break off a budlet once, but it wasn't easy. :D

Ill take your advice though

Got a fan going and all the buds hanging now. Shook them out got a shit ton of water out of them it was blasting my floor! Glad to have that much extra water out of the buds.
Attachment 296641
Attachment 296642
Now it's simply drying, curing smoking and reporting back here with my verdict.

Here are some more post wash bud pictures
Attachment 296643
Attachment 296644
Attachment 296645
Attachment 296646

All these guys that "figured" this out now say stuff like "ill never smoke unwashed weed again"
Lots of hype. And now I get to see for myself and share with the forum. :)

An very curious about results, quite the exp so far, still cannot get a grip on washing loads of reefer. But I did read earlier in thread it may be used on pm and bud rot(assuming that's a type of mold) that would be great if it worked.

Weez, trying to be funny, another fail, thought it might be an island thing of your concoction, but the truth is stranger and better.

Tlranger, watch that Jorge Cervantes PM washing video( link on this thread a little earlier). It shows him washing off a LOT of PM using H2O/hydrogen perixide bath.

Honestly I didn't need to wash any of my buds, no PM, haven't foliar fed, no bugs. Great experiment though and it looks like I didn't ruin ANYTHING by trying this experiment
! That's good! The proof is in the smoke and we have to wait
Now...

It is my hope that, if I feel this works well, others will test also and substantiate the results. :)

Hey guys. I am not really too happy using this forum. They will probably delete this, but I gotta move on.
Look me up on google: COorganics
If I can I will definitely finish out this thread with a smoke report on the washed buds.
There are a few good dudes on here.. Peace..

By the way it's early to tell but I have a feeling weeze is spot on.

I do remember(I think) that in the "child's garden of grass", that taking the whole plant, dipping in water, then hanging to dry upside down got every thing into the buds when dry. But believe we have either moved on or forgotten what we knew.
Do think that the discussions such as this give us a better understanding.

Captain sorry to hear you're not to happy here, the other forms more like hooters(serve food and such)? Boy that didn't read as funny as when I was thinking it. I'm really not very computer literate, the swipe feature usually doesn't know what the heck I'm trying to say, kids got me this pad to try and keep me inside. Google kind of blows this old guy's mind sometimes. Found this and it seemed to be what I wanted, a community, not just a school room(had way to much of that). Just saying hope you stick around, this old guy needs to be kicked started by you youngsters every once in a while.

Thanks TL
I figured I should finish this bud washing thread, but I can't yet. There still curing, but of course I've sampled. None of the washes appeared to damage trichs.
The baking soda/lemon juice washed buds seem slightly darker in color.
The hydrogen peroxide wash buds smoke nice, they were smaller so there more advanced in there cure. I never spell their right.

Early but my verdict? Don't bother with any of them. I like smoking good unwashed weed, it's what I've always done. I never had any weird shit sprayed on my buds to make washing necessary. Good experiment though, and doesn't look like I ruined any of my head stash.