The Water Cure

Peace be unto all who read this post.

There seems to be a lot of confusion and/or inaccurate information revolving around water cures and what is to be done. While every member recognizes the fact that I am a stupid ass newbie (you know what they say - those that can't, teach!), I will nonetheless go thru the steps I am using and you can use for creating excellent tasting meds free of chlorophyll and other nasty little ingredients you can do without.

The logic behind the water cure is very alluring:

1. It is fast compared to air curing methods. To do an air cure properly, you hang dry for 7 days and then into the jars for the burping festival for up to 60 days before consumption begins. Water curing completes the same process in 7 to 10 days. So you save time.

2. Water curing is stealthy. The plants are totally submerged, so they aren't making a terrible stink. This is an issue I am dealing with on my harvest right now.

3. Product preservation is superior. In an air cure, a certain amount of THC may be lost in the drying and curing process. The plant's resin is not soluable in water (as we have all know from tryingto wash our stinky pinkies), so the THC isn't lost - it increases as a percentage of total weight.

4. Bag appeal may be improved. The removal of the chloropyhll and nasty assed terpines leaves you with a nuetral color that may serve to increase a given strain's bag appeal.

There may be more advantages, but I'll leave it at that for the time being. The water cure may be used in TWO DIFFERENT ways. They are:

A. Fix a bag. If the product you are holding is crisped or otherwsie excessively dry, or it tastes too grassy, then you do a water cure for three (3) hours to get things where you want them. Doesn't work magic, but does make improvements. Place the buds in a mason jar and cover with warm water for three (3) hours. Place you buds on screens to dry. Once it's dry then you are back in biz.

B. Process fresh product. Freshly cut product can be water cured for a week, then dried and immediately be consumed. I chose an appropriately sized cooler. I bundled the buds and placed them in submerged water. I'll change the water every day for a week, then lay them out to dry on screens. When they are dry, they are cured and can be immediately consumed.

Meds done right may take you less time than you think. Using the right curing method is probably as important as growing meds to begin with. If your budz end up fried under your lights for whatever reason, the water cure may be a very important tool in your program to create consistently good meds, even when the growing environment betrays you.

Comments? Thoughts?

MPD - So the purpose is not to dry the product but to cure it by water. Drying comes later.

I think this technique is going to be criticised. The main reason for ciriticism is that a low humidity dry works well and is quite quick. For really cured head (Black Bud) you could do a high humidity dry - high humidity for 5 - 7 days then start slow drying. With this immersion technique is going to extend the time it takes to get them dry - but if cured by water you could quick dry I suppose.

An air cure - it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to snap dry. Curing may occur from Anabolic (low oxygen) storage with periodical air change (burbing) or with Shopping Bags and time. In the first two weeks of drying the taste improves markedly - thereafter whether stored in Shopping Bags or Glass Jars - the taste will slowly improve for up to 2 months. The Glass jar is much better for preservation of drug over time.

The curing process is well on the way with 2 weeks post-dry storage and is nearly done with one month storage. This water cure does all the curing in 5-7 days and then I guess its a case of promptly dry it out.
So lets say 2weeks dry and 2 weeks store (4weeks total) compared with 5-7 water cure and 10 - 14 days drying (kinda hard to quick dry and get it properly dry) = 2 to 3 weeks. So 1 to 2 weeks are saved in chasing a cure.

How does a 3wk water cured bud compare with a 4wk air cured one ?


john street.

hmmm interesting. I wouldn't do it with all my bud, but if you've got some that's been dryed to quick, with that grassy taste you mentioned then that's when I'd give it a go...cheers

pb

I fear a three week water cure would result in the plant matter being completely decomposed. Our goal is to remove the various compounds and substances that we don't want in our lungs. The air cure method does this by slowly allowing the entirety of the product to decompose in the air, then suspending that decomp. indefinitely once the buds reach that perfect state.

As I had to be gone for a couple of days, I placed the budz in a nylon stocking with a weight and dropped them into my swimming pool. The pool has no chlorine in it for the time being and is quite cloudy due to the incessant rains we have been having for the past three weeks. The temperature is around 40 or 50 degrees (fahrenheit), so this may be the right environment for it to shed the unwanted due to the availability of a relatively limitless supply of fresh water.

If this works, the next step is to take a batch and put it in the skimmer where the pump's high volume of water flow over it would serve to reduce the time needed for the cure.

Either way, I'll be checking on them today to see where things stand....

Plants appear to have retained most of their color when I checked on them yesterday in the early afternoon. I'm going to go ahead and pull them today at 4:20 so I can have a portion dried out for one of the med patients who is really hurting, as I can continue to smoke what ever dainties are in the trim bag.

I'll set the dehydrator to its lowest setting (90F) and dry them out for a few hours to get them to the right point for their trip into the bag. The rest will go into the jars overnight to determine the level of moisture remaining in the plant matter.

Smoke reports to follow, but the rest of the crop doesn't look like it will finish before Day 77 (11 weeks!). We will definitely water cure this batch to save on some time as well.

Yes, the purpose of the water is to cure the product. Once the product comes out of the water, it is then trimmed and allowed to dry - another 4 to 6 days depending upon ambient air temperature and humidity. Once it is dry it should be ready for immediate consumption.

havent tried it yet

havent tried it yet

heard of this method from way back .... were talkin the 70's. i think this is the way all the weed was cured back then. a plant would be chopped down and thrown into the drainage or irrigation canals to avoid being spotted during curing.

or i could be completely wrong .... anyway sounds like its worth a try.

re: water cure

re: water cure

mpd...what do ya think about using water curing and the dry ice method alternative? Use the dry ice method to dry your fresh harvest and remove most the water... then water cure the harvest to remove the water-souble compounds including chlorophyll .hang dry a couple days to get rid of excess water then 48 hours dry ice again ..done?

Water Cured Marijuana Technical Report
Final Version

The Report

The purpose of this report (the "Report") is to provide technical background information, together with such notes and observations that were made in conjunction with the utilization of a water curing method for the purposes of converting freshly harvested marijuana materials into readily consumable product.

Means & Methods

The basis of the process and reporting was the use of readily available materials to provide the necessary technical means for curing and drying the product. The methodology relied upon the execution of the following steps:

Step 1. Product was freshly harvested and only given a very rough trim.

Step 2. Product was placed in a polycarbonate beer cooler along with approximately 5 gallons of water. The product was forcibly submerged in the water solution for two (2) days. The water was changed one (1) time. All water used was tap water.

Step 3. Product was removed from the cooler at start of Day 3 and placed inside pantyhose netting and submerged in an outdoor body of water, the temperature of which was estimated to be between 45 degrees to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and contained algae and other microrganisms. The body of water exceeded 15,000 gallons in size. The plant material was submerged to a depth of approximately six feet (6'-0"). The plant material was not visible from the surface and remained there for another four (4) days.

Step 4. Product was removed from the water, cleaned using tap water, shaken, and then trimmed.

Step 5. Product was placed in a Nesco Dehydrator with a setting of 95 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 6 hours. Periodically, the product was tested, turned, etc. to insure even drying would be maximized.

Step 6. Product was removed and stuffed into a mason jar. The yield of this plant was approximately two ounces.

Step 7. Product was tested in the form of a glass pipe for overall taste, smell, effect, etc. were noted and all of the noted observations are provided below.

Noted Observations

I dried the product until the leaves felt crisp and there wasn't any dampness to the product. Stems did not snap, but were not really pliable either. My biggest concern was the temperature of the dehydrator creating conditions for THC boil off. Bag appeal isn't great at all, but the starting product wasn't very frosty to begin with. Overall, material appears to be darker green than I expected and this may change as the material continues to dry out in the jar.

The material had an incredibly strong odor of rotten meat prior to the start of the curing process. Upon completion of the cure, the most noted smell was of a general spiciness that had strong overtones of black pepper. The material was not particularly odiferous in the jar or on the table.

A random bud was taken that was handy (approximately a 1/4 to 1/3 of a gram) and smashed into the glass pipe. Generally, the pipe has a capacity for about 5 hits. I dumped in what I thought would be two or three hits and fired it up with a Zippo lighter (using lighter fluid). The expansion properties of the smoke were mild. The taste on exhale had a faint metallic twinge to it (due to lack of flushing time no doubt), but had the typical earthy, spicy taste of fairly good marijuana. Potency was suffering (three hits didn't knock me down or anything) due to the harvest being done too early, but the buzz is now setting in and is a sativa head buzz that creates tingling sensations around the neck and head. Does not appear to be a debilitating buzz, and my headache has been reduced approximately 40%. I can't imagine what the fully cured goods will do, but I am very hopeful.

In summary the water cure provides a good product. Folks who do not have a dehydrator will be air drying for 4 to 6 days, but the product is good to go for consumption at that point. I will be doing direct comparisons on other plants in the pending harvest to verify water curing's potential benefits directly against air dried and cured product from the same plant. Note following slides.

water cure report

water cure report

Being very interested in this method...and seeing it gets a fair consideration minus apparent reasons to remain skeptical..let me suggest that your advocations be present using the best model of the methods... one water cure is done with warm water... water is changed every 24 hours until green tint no longer appears... then dryed..finished product will be almost black looking like twisted tea leaf...this is as described by Mel Franks and Ed Rosenthals' book !!1The model you use for this test was from the start inadequate to give the method qualification, i.e harvested early and no or insufficent flushing of the product...how can we interested growers reach favourable conculsions if you take shortcuts in finishing the products which doesn't protray your advocated method in it's best case scenario? Mpd , I mean no disrespect here toward you or your thread as it does have encouraging information..I think you will agree you hurried this project and cut some corners? I am going to try this cure as I understand it and we can offer the community an honest effort of this methods, in regards to the finished product versus the tried and true air-drying method! keep up experimenting, samuryusan

I really liked reading your comments on this thread, samyurusan. You make some excellent points. Now let me defend myself.

I chose this plant specifically because it wasn't ready and since it only put out 3 ounces of bud, I figured I could lose it and still end up okay with the remaining plants if the water cure turned out to be a bust. My object was to see if it would turn out a good product under worst case circumstances before I tried it on the best case circumstances. I see this may be a flawed way of doing things, but it provided enough success to warrant the next stage - a full week long cure in the water. I don't like the warm water cure, as it results in significant odor issues, but I will give it a whirl tonight as I harvest the rest of the batch. We have four (4) plants left and expect a total bud yield of around a pound of dried, cured product.

So, in summary. I will be doing a warm water cure (test), a cold water cure (test), and measure the results in terms of the standard air cure (the control). Notes, observations, and pictures will be provided.

re: water cure

re: water cure

I have pmed you earlier mpd in response to your recent post so I wo'nt repost it here...I would like your veiw on the dry-ice method of curing > I don't see it as a cure realy due to the fact that it does'nt remove chlorophyl from the weed, it does however offer a quicker drying process that should prove to retain or suspend the loss of thc usually associated with the air dry method...Do you see a potential for the water cure and the dry ice drying method being used in sequences of dry/cure/dry ? I believe this would assure maximum retention of thc in the finished product ! Of course I've not attempted this but it seemed feasible! I can see a potential for curing our smoke in as little as 10 days total from harvest!!! What do YOU think of such an experiment? samuryusan

This is the first time anyone has mentioned the dry ice cure, so I don't even know where to begin the discussion...

i've been lead to belive that you put equal amount of bud to dry ice in a container and place in the frezzer to slow down the evaperation process. I hav'nt tried this but i'v herd some good report on it.... Just where the hell do you get dry ice from and how much is it?

dry-ice

dry-ice

eggy is correct.that is the method, but one must be careful with the amount of product he plans to dry in a Freezer as Dry- Ice is very very cold minus 0 degrees in the triple figures...your common thermostat in your freezer could be damaged by the drastic drop in temp. You can find dry ice where ice is sold or commonly used and it might cost 7 to 10. bucks for ten lbs... the concern is only getting enough to dry with so as you dont' have a storage problem.. I strongly suggest you do a search on dry -ice before handling it as it needs careful methods ..do not place in a closed container ...well I wo'nt go into that best to read up on it!!

CannaNet Challenge Grow
Strain B: Day 74

Harvest Report
I began harvesting the remaining four (4) Bravo Strain plants at 6:30 p.m. Cutdown, photography, and trimming required four (4) hours. This was a very laborious task, as there was a lot more bud than I thought.

One prime bud was set aside for air cure. The plant it came from (B-6) had a marker tag attached for the purposes of testing the quality of the water cured bud against the control (air cured) bud. I didn't want to be bothered with trimming later, so I took the time to give them a real good trimming. It was a very sticky and stenchy affair that made the house reek of mj. There were so many buds that I lost count. Upon cutting down each plant, I just couldn't believe how much bud weight there was in this grow. I may have undershot the harvest weight by a considerable margin, but time will tell.

Total harvest filled three (3) Walmart shopping bags to the brim with nice, well manicured buds. The trim filled a standard paper shopping bag to the top. I then went to bed, as I was too tired and stiff to get things moving on the water cures.

This morning I woke to the sound of construction. My neighbor is having a concrete pool installed and the work crew started pumping concrete at 7:00 a.m. This presented a problem in terms of being able to put budz in the pool, and we have various visitors coming today, so I decided to do the water cure up in the Sanctuary. I got our biggest cooler (holds like 30 gallons) and dumped the buds in. The buds filled the cooler almost to a point of overflowing. I then added water and placed weights on top (weighted boards) to hold the buds in a submerged state.

The water cure will continue until the water runs clean, then we will set up the buds to air dry, then package them using our new packaging program for medicinal quality natuarl medications.

I'm tired and have a real sore back, but the satisfaction shows in my smile. The only bummer turned out to be the pictures. For some reason (I suspect the cold), none of the pictures turned out to be worth a hoot. I was not pleased, but took it in stride.

Changed water today and switched containers due to a container failure (don't ask!).

The buds that had filled the 120 quart ice chest to overflowing, now only occupy 1/3rd of the volume of a 70 quart ice chest due to the displacement of air. Clean (and cold) water added to the new batch and the lights were left off. The room is well ventilated but the temperature has yet to get above 60 degrees Fahrenheit - so this is turning out to be a cold water cure.

how'd that cure go man?


THC

I don't really think this is making your bud better. I haven't tried it so I can't say, but it seems to me like you are LOSING THC, which would make the "faster cure" with water completly pointless from where I am sitting. I'm not raggin on you dude, I just can't see how lots and lots of THC isn't just going to waste. You said you put the buds in a bag and put it in your pool? That is no way to treat a lady

I have dropped sticky ass buds in water by accident before, and even for the few seconds it had been in water it had lost so much resin. Compared to the other buds that were drying next to it, it looked like a mid-grade bud.

You claim that this will work because THC is not soluable in water. But that is one of the reasons why I doubt this works in the first place. Have you ever harvested the resin from your trim using Bubble Bags? If not, Bubble bags use several screens and cold water to filter out resin gland heads from plant material in the trim from your grow. BubbleBags Order Info and Instructions

I am BubbleBags and have used em a bunch of times, they revolve around the fact that THC isn't soluble in water. Because the Resin Gland head doesn't mix with the water, IT FALLS OFF. If yo are submerging buds in water, in any form, Resin is going to fall off into the water. Now unless you harvest the resin in the container using some kind of filter such as bubble bags or a drying method, that resin is going to go to waste. And you were saying you put buds in the pool?! I would never disrespect my beautiful buds and all my hard work by putting em in a bag and throwing them in the pool.

You said yourself the buds appeared less crystally and were actually LESS POTENT.

I don't beleive the water cure described here is a good way to cure your product, Do whatever crazy stuff you want with your own buds, Me and anyone who wants to enjoy their buds will stick to air dry and jars

Do any long time growers know anything about this "water cure"

The water change today was 3 hours late and appeared darker than the other days. Odor was down to almost nothing - which is one hell of a feat for this strain, as it was unbelievably stenchy.

Here's my theory again.

When exposed to air, THC breaks down at almost the same rate as chlorophyll. That's why the air cure only goes 7 days, then 30 days in the jar to cut off the air changes that would otherwise break down the product.

Water is an entirely different deal. Yes, you lose some crystals in the water cure - but I think the loss is negligible compared to the gains. In water, chlorophyll (and the other by-products we don't want) breaks down at a much quicker rate than the THC-laden resin THAT IS NOT WATER SOLUABLE.

Result? The test will tell, but I expect the water cured pot to be much smoother and stronger than air cured pot because once you take out most everything else, the resin laden material is basically all you have left. I am thinking this may boost potency by as much as 25% to 35% - again, with the understanding that this remains to be proven.

The reviews so far have been pretty good. One group of tasters was really impressed - but one group of stoners does not make for a fair experiment when the air-cured product is not available for comparison. Tomorrow evening the air-cured product hits the jars and the countdown begins. Thirty days and we'll have some definitive information.

No worries about riding me sports fans. I'm sure Columbus got razzed a bit along the way.

My only concern is what is my house going to smell like with 2 pounds of drying mj to deal with for the next three or four days...