Water curing of marijuana buds

Curing your weed decently may be the difference between good weed and fantastic weed. The classic way of curing is in a jar. But there is another method of curing; the water curing method. This method is faster and purer than typical air-curing in jars or bags, although it carries some quirky side effects.

Instead of relying on the plants to break down built up salts and sugars, you dissolve them in water, which is called water-curing. The idea behind this is, that unwanted solids in the buds will dissolve in water, while THC and resin glands are insoluble.

Standard filtered tap water can be used for this method, but using reverse osmosis water is suggested, as it quickens the process of osmosis, which governs the dissolution. Osmosis is the process of evenly distributing soluble substances in a solution through a semi-permeable membrane (in this case the leaf surface). All you need to do is submerge your buds in water for around 5 days and let the water extract all the unwanted substances via osmosis.

The end result is a somewhat uglier sensimilla, that has more punch and one of the smoothest smokes you will get your hands upon. When we say uglier, we mean, that water cured cannabis has less bag appeal and almost no smell or taste, as the substances responsible for aroma are dissolved too.

This may be a deal breaker, for some as the organoleptic qualities of cannabis play a big role in market value and the smoking experience. However, as there is almost no smell, water-cured cannabis could be smoked in public or used as a stealth smoke, as it will go mostly unnoticed. On top of that, as a lot of the unwanted solids are gone, the smoke is a lot smoother and healthier with more potency per gram.

HOW TO DO IT

We will now describe the simplest way of water-curing your buds. If you add the drying afterwards, it will take you around 5-8 days to have a finished product, which is a lot faster than the 20-30 days it takes for standard air-curing.

REQUIRED MATERIAL

• Freshly harvested buds
• Fresh water (reverse osmosis water preferred)
• Jars (or bowls etc.)

THE PROCESS

Trimming your buds, removing stems and fan leaves is optional, however, cured trimmings make better hash and butter for edibles, so suit yourself. Submerge your buds in the jars filled with water. Close the jars or use a weight to keep them submerged at all times. Keep your water at a temperature of 18-24 degrees Celsius for the best rate of osmosis. Change the water once per day. As the process of osmosis is going on, the water is getting saturated with salts and sugars.

You need to provide the buds with fresh water to keep the osmotic pressure at its highest, so that it can suck out the solids with the most force. For better results change the water more times per day. After 3-7 days the water will be clearer and clearer until there are almost no solids to extract, signaling you the end of the water curing. Hang the buds to dry in a normal fashion and that’s it.

On a side note, water cured buds can be efficiently quick-dried without the normal side effects, such as a harsh smoke and headaches.

The dry weight of the end result will be less than other methods, as more substances are extracted this way. Another great use of water-curing is to heal your buds afflicted with bud rot. Treat them the same as above and you will rid them of the rot, saving your smoke. The same can be done for cannabis that wasn’t dried, flushed properly or cured well to make it into an acceptable smoke.

Water-curing is another method, that seems to defy common sense, but has great results. We recommend you try it out, as cannabis growing can be a creative process where you try, fail and learn a lot with every grow. So why not take some fresh buds and startle your friends by dunking them in water? It’s worth a try.