LaserKittensGoPewPew
2 string maestro
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- Feb 21, 2007
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Well... I was just reading through the forums and stuff this morning and happened to come into this one. I noticed there weren't any threads on water curing so I decided to make this thread just to pass on the information for those who might be interested.
For those of you who don't want to hang your buds due to the smell for stealth reasons this might come in handy for you. Also, if you are using chemical nutrients and for whatever reason are unable to properly flush, this will certainly remove those impurities. This method will eliminate much of the smell the flowers give off, but also with certain strains some of the taste aswell. For some of you you might enjoy the smell and not wish to do this as the buds won't reek like usual. I for one enjoy that overpowering smell. But this method also speeds up the cure time considerably because the water pulls most of the impurities out that we usually cure for months to attain the same result.
Basically you harvest your plants and give them a good trim as usual. Take a container that you can submerge the entire flower into. You want them completely under water. You just have to figure out how to hang them by the stems which shouldn't be too difficult.
Try to use R/O water or distilled water as it is the cleanest. Now I'm sure most of us know water will not damage the thc. You should probably use room temperature water or luke warm. You don't want anything too cold because the cold will seperate the trichrome from the buds which we don't want. But at the same time you don't want the water to be too hot either. So... Room temperature is what is recommended.
What the water does is leach out the chlorophyll and other impurities in the bud leaving you with a very smooth smoke and pure taste of the trichromes. The reason some bud is very harsh is due to these impurities that are left in it. This is why we cure the buds so that they sweat these impurities out over time and allow the chlorophyll to break down. That's why bud that has cured for a very long time is usually very smooth.
Now, the more water you have the better as it gives you more water to leach impurities into. The water should be changed every 12-18 hours. This will vary a bit depending on your container size. You will see the water turn a yellowish color as it takes all these impurities out of your bud. When you change the water do your best not to disturb the buds in order to avoid knocking any resin heads off. A method that seems to work well is to use a container like a cooler with a spout. That way you can simply let the water drain without having to touch the hanging buds. Then simply refill the container with fresh water.
The buds should only be soaked in the water for 2-3 days. You will have to look at the color of the water and decide when to take the flowers out and hang them up to dry (just like you would right after you harvest/trim). And don't be afraid when you see the color of your buds. They will be a bit more brown. Sometimes the purples will look almost black. This is because much of the chlorophyll has been leached out of the buds. Again this makes for very smooth smoke.
Once they've dried out you can then jar them and enjoy.
Again this method is not for everyone. I just felt as growers/connoisseurs the knowledge was important. For commercial growers this will probably take away the bag appeal as the buds will appear brown. The potency however will remain the same or better. But hey, maybe some of you will try this out and come to really enjoy this method over the others. Maybe you won't. Either way, now you know of another curing method. Enjoy.
For those of you who don't want to hang your buds due to the smell for stealth reasons this might come in handy for you. Also, if you are using chemical nutrients and for whatever reason are unable to properly flush, this will certainly remove those impurities. This method will eliminate much of the smell the flowers give off, but also with certain strains some of the taste aswell. For some of you you might enjoy the smell and not wish to do this as the buds won't reek like usual. I for one enjoy that overpowering smell. But this method also speeds up the cure time considerably because the water pulls most of the impurities out that we usually cure for months to attain the same result.
Basically you harvest your plants and give them a good trim as usual. Take a container that you can submerge the entire flower into. You want them completely under water. You just have to figure out how to hang them by the stems which shouldn't be too difficult.
Try to use R/O water or distilled water as it is the cleanest. Now I'm sure most of us know water will not damage the thc. You should probably use room temperature water or luke warm. You don't want anything too cold because the cold will seperate the trichrome from the buds which we don't want. But at the same time you don't want the water to be too hot either. So... Room temperature is what is recommended.
What the water does is leach out the chlorophyll and other impurities in the bud leaving you with a very smooth smoke and pure taste of the trichromes. The reason some bud is very harsh is due to these impurities that are left in it. This is why we cure the buds so that they sweat these impurities out over time and allow the chlorophyll to break down. That's why bud that has cured for a very long time is usually very smooth.
Now, the more water you have the better as it gives you more water to leach impurities into. The water should be changed every 12-18 hours. This will vary a bit depending on your container size. You will see the water turn a yellowish color as it takes all these impurities out of your bud. When you change the water do your best not to disturb the buds in order to avoid knocking any resin heads off. A method that seems to work well is to use a container like a cooler with a spout. That way you can simply let the water drain without having to touch the hanging buds. Then simply refill the container with fresh water.
The buds should only be soaked in the water for 2-3 days. You will have to look at the color of the water and decide when to take the flowers out and hang them up to dry (just like you would right after you harvest/trim). And don't be afraid when you see the color of your buds. They will be a bit more brown. Sometimes the purples will look almost black. This is because much of the chlorophyll has been leached out of the buds. Again this makes for very smooth smoke.
Once they've dried out you can then jar them and enjoy.
Again this method is not for everyone. I just felt as growers/connoisseurs the knowledge was important. For commercial growers this will probably take away the bag appeal as the buds will appear brown. The potency however will remain the same or better. But hey, maybe some of you will try this out and come to really enjoy this method over the others. Maybe you won't. Either way, now you know of another curing method. Enjoy.
