A lot of stuff has been written about the “ripening” of harvested weed. Cautious drying on racks, in the machine, specialized for that, with or with no leaves, etc, etc. But do you know about “water curing”? It may seem to be a weird concept, dunking your weed under water for 3-7 days, changing the water every day and drying them afterward in a couple of days. Weird? Not at all!
Water Curing
If you have done some weed growing, by now you know how water can be good for bringing out the best from our crops. People who grow weed know how flushing plants a couple of weeks pre-harvest can benefit it and get rid of a harsh taste. Flushing removes impurities and can improve your smoke by making it smoother and more enjoyable. Knowing that you might want to know that you can apply the same way when it comes to curing your bud – with water curing.
Water curing will reduce the time it will take to remove undesired substances like salts, chlorophyll or insecticides. Those substances can make for a rough, non-enjoyable smoke even if you have really good weed.
Due to the process of osmosis (which is literally the process through which soluble substances divide themselves evenly throughout the whole solution, and exchange via a semi-permeable membrane – in this case, the leaf surface), the substances you do NOT wish to smoke are dissolved. This covers not just substances on the outside to the plant itself, but also from the inside of the leaves – aka what makes you cough when you smoke. The THC etc does NOT dissolve in the water. What happens: a very strong, pure weed.
The good parts and the bad parts of water curing
Water curing marijuana with clean water comes with advantages and disadvantages that you need to be aware of before you go into it.
It is the quickest way to cure your bud in comparison to traditional weed curing. Water curing takes out a lot more undesirable solids, which turns the smoke very smooth and consequently better for your health. Because water curing takes out more undesired substances, it will also make for a much more powerful end product.
The bad side of water curing is that it can also remove substances that are responsible for taste and aroma, which translates to you losing some smell and taste of your weed for more potency. On the other side, water curing can be perfect for those strains that are notorious for a not so enjoyable or harsh taste, where losing the flavor wouldn’t be as vital.
THE WATER CURING PROCESS – What is necessary
Water (bottled water or distilled water works best)
Jar, bowl or some sort of tub (size depends on the size of bud you would like to cure)
Start with cutting down your bud and take off stems and fan leaves. If you wish to make hash later on it might be a good idea to cut your bud even further since this will make better quality hashish.
Put your trimmed buds into a jar or bowl filled with water. How big your jar is will depend on the quantity of bud you want to cure.
Water curing will give you the best results with your water temperature being from 18-24C. Try to keep the water temperature in that range.
Your bud will start to rise to the surface of the water, so you have to gently push them down so they would stay submerged. If you cure in a bowl or some type of container, what you can do is cover it with a cutting board that you have in your house.
Switch out the water with fresh water every morning. The whole water curing process can last anywhere from 3-7 days, you will have to put new water every day during this time.
When you are finished with water curing your bud, after 3-7 days, hang and dry your bud just you normally would.
