Professor GrowTutor's Water Cure Method

[GrowTutor]

Water curing is pretty simple but there are pros and cons...

One reason some people don't water cure is that it affects bag-appeal and it can change the taste and aroma. It can be harder to sell water cured crops because it looks different but that's how I often do my personal meds. I like the earthy taste, it's very smooth and increases potency, imho.

1)
Harvest.
Cut down the plant(s), remove all leaves (manicure), remove flowers from stems and let dry for 1 day at 50-60% humidity and about 70F...in the DARK.

2)
Soak.
Submerge in clean cool (not cold) water for about 7 days, gently changing out the water AT LEAST every day, more often is better, especially in the early stage. If the water is turning green quickly change it more often. Maybe 3 times per day for the first day or so. The more water to product ratio the less often is has to be changed. I like the water to be cool but that's not always easy without a stream, lake or river handy, if you use municipal water and pay for it by the gallon then drain to waste can get expensive and it's not really needed. If the water does get warm, in the summer, I just change it more often. I use tap water for the start and switch to distilled or RO water for the last 2 days or so. (also best done in the dark)

3)
Dry.
After the cure is done, take it out of the water and drain well but don't shake it too hard. You can pre-dry it on newspaper to absorb much of the water, just roll them around to dry parts every few minutes and change the newspaper as needed. Let it dry out, in the dark, at very low (35-40%) humidity levels (72F-ish) over night to quick dry it, turning them every so often to prevent molds, then 50-60% until completely dry and then package it up for storage or whatever. I like to dry on those round mesh hanging drying racks because they have good airflow and they hold a lot. If you're not sure about it being dry enough then use the slow-cure jar/cvault method for a few days more.

I've done shorter cures of 3-4 days and some strains are fine, other might need 7-10. It was "booboy" at the old Overgrow forums that turned me on to it, he used to just cut his plants and submerge them, whole, in his cool fresh water pond for a week. It's not as pretty as long curing in jars but it's quick, easy and it has a nice earthy taste that I enjoy.


Prof. GT

[PsychedelicSam]

I do this, too, except that I mainly use if for fan leaf or trim to remove the chlorophyll and other crap. I've got a couple of ounces soaking now. I don't do it for bud unless I'm sure it has problems, but it's a big help for taste if making edibles from lower cuts. You do lose a little weight, though.

[GrowTutor]

Absolutely, if you're planning on extracting the *whole* plant then you only have to remove the trunk, branches and stems. If you consume your flowers separately and you still want to make something with the trim, then you can water cure both but I still prefer to do the flowers and the trim separately in that case. People that are new to water curing can soak the product inside a very fine bubble bag or other suitably fine substitute to see what they catch that gets knocked off. If you replace the water gently and keep it cool (not cold) you shouldn't lose many trichomes. If you're rough, you'll be glad you had the bags.

Yes, the weight you lose is the sugars, some fibers and chlorophyll, etc., so, by weight, it'd be more potent.

Some people care about bag appeal, I don't...if it's for me.

[hemivette]

So GT Im trying this for the first time this week. In fact it has been drying about 24hrs now. I couldnt believe how much smell it took away. Each time I dumped the water, it smelled like fruitloops. Now the buds dont smell at all. So I can see where if you were growing it for sale, it might be detrimental. This is one of my best strains, and I love a clean smoke, so I cant wait to try it. Peace my friend. h

[GrowTutor]

If you water cure some and slow cure some you can try it side-by-side. Yeah, it changes the smell (some strains more than others), taste and appearance but it works well and, obviously, it's cleaner. Bag appeal doesn't really matter if you are extracting/cooking but I smoke it too.

[GrowTutor]

So GT Im trying this for the first time this week. In fact it has been drying about 24hrs now. I couldnt believe how much smell it took away. Each time I dumped the water, it smelled like fruitloops. Now the buds dont smell at all. So I can see where if you were growing it for sale, it might be detrimental. This is one of my best strains, and I love a clean smoke, so I cant wait to try it. Peace my friend. h

How did you like your water cured product?

[hemivette]

It was OK. It did seem a bit stronger, but lost all its smell, and taste, and if youve ever tried "Apple Jack", its all about smell, and taste. I think it would be great in a medible, where you arent looking for taste, but I use hash for that....So in conclusion....I probably wont be taking that route. Thanks for the experiment though! h

[GrowTutor]

Yeah, it's definitely not suitable for every strain, I wouldn't water cure Blue Crack either so I know what you mean. Apple Jack sounds like it'd be yummy. When growing strains that are more plain, I like the earthy taste I get from water curing but obviously it's not for everyone.

Yes, if you're making concentrates/extractions it will give you a cleaner finished product if you use it as a first step.

Thanks for the report, good seeing you again!

[hemivette]

Ya, the Apple is 1 of my best strains. Mine has been in Seattle's top 10 local grown strains list several times. It smells like a bag of green apples, and will put you on your butt. h