Bud Washing with Lemon Juice and Baking Soda

Grow from Home Harvesting, Trimming, and Curing
1

Guide Name: Bud washing for beginners
Lesson by: Kapouic
Topic: Bud washing
Summary: How to wash your crop to get rid of contaminants. (bugs, hairs, dust…etc.)

Materials Needed

  • Your buds (it’s easier if they are still on the branches).
  • 3 five gallons pails
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup baking soda

Instructions

  • Step 1: Fill all 3 pails with water.
  • Step 2: In the first pail, pour the lemon juice and the baking soda and shake well
  • Step 3: The other 2 pails should only have water.
  • Step 4: Prepare your branches by taking away all the fan leaves and doing a rough trim
  • Step 4a: Grab one or two branches (or handful of buds) and gently agitate it in the first pail with the lemon juice and baking soda. Dunk them and gently agitate them in the bucket for about 30 seconds.
  • Step 5: Now rinse those branches/buds in the second bucket. Gently shake and agitate your buds under the water for another 30 seconds…
  • Step 6: Finish rinsing the buds/branches in the third bucket to get rid of any leftovers… Same method as the first two buckets, for yet another 30 seconds.
  • Step 7: Hang the branches/buds to allow them to drip the extra water.
  • Step 8: Once everything has stopped dripping water, just hang them to dry in your usual manner!

Additional Information:

  • Make sure you have a confortable seat while doing this, and don’t forget to take breaks. It’s a pain on the back!
  • Results will vary depending on how dirty your plants have been.
  • If your water gets too dirty, you can change it as often as you need!

Example :
First 2 pails before the wash :

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20200125_1114001134×2016 607 KB

Same pails after washing roughly 300 grams… :
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20200125_1207171134×2016 726 KB

Living FAQs

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20 Likes
2

Thanks for sharing this @kapouic . I have just sent this link to a new community member.

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3

Seems like bud washing is becoming more popular these days. I have done it a couple times and always surprised at the dust and debris coming off after the wash. So after your outdoor season, is anyone planning on washing their buds?

4 Likes
4

Oh, yeah! I’ve watched too many videos of the grossness that can happen outside. Birdcrap alone is a good reason. I’m only on my second grow, but I’ll always wash my buds. I do a bath of watered-down vinegar and another bath of lemon juice/baking soda and then a clear water rinse.

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5

I also like to wash my indoor grown. Gets rid of dog hairs :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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6

Harvest is coming in, anyone washing their buds?

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7

I am not. I will be smoking them though lol.

3 Likes
8

I wash the few outdoor that I grow, we just have too many birds and bugs.

I usually just do diluted hypochlorous acid, dip, agitate, rinse/dip, let hang then either buck and freeze or dry/cure

3 Likes
10

Totally agree, can’t imagine all the bugs I have smoked over the years. Check the state of water after a wash in a very clean grow.

So important to wash those buds. #knowyourfarmer

4 Likes
11

But Chris just think about all the protein you gonna have to eat to replace the bugs you didn’t smoke lol.

Marty

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12

I don’t know heard a lot of negative stuff and some good also I can see were some places it might be necessary (outside grow) can’t get over the fact that one might be washing terpenes also ? Thanks for the post learner a lot

1 Like