Last Updated on August 18, 2023
Growing your own medicine outdoors? Come learn how to rinse and wash cannabis buds after harvest using lemon juice and baking soda, or hydrogen peroxide. It’s easy to do, 100% organic, and effectively helps remove potentially harmful debris while still maintaining maximum quality of your cannabis flower. Cleaner herb equals a more smooth, safe, and tasty end product – whether you’re using it for tinctures, edibles, topicals, or to smoke!
Should I wash cannabis buds after harvest?
While not mandatory, it’s definitely a good idea to wash cannabis flower buds that were grown outside. The process reduces outdoor air pollutants that may have accumulated on the buds such as dirt, dust, pollen, toxic wildfire ash, caterpillar poop, insects, bird debris, and other particulate matter. You certainly want to avoid inhaling or ingesting all that stuff if possible.
If you think about it, you wash fresh produce before eating it, right? We always do, even our organic homegrown produce from the garden. So why not wash your buds? Especially considering our lungs are far more sensitive and susceptible to harm from contaminants than our guts are.
Since it’s so resinous, sticky cannabis flowers are particularly good at attracting and holding on to pollutants. That said, cannabis isn’t as easy to simply rinse off with water as other plants are. Yet the bud washing process we’ll show you today does an excellent job at dislodging and stripping contaminants without harming trichomes or terpenes.
It’s not usually necessary to wash cannabis that’s grown indoors, unless you’ve used foliar sprays that you’d prefer to rinse off before consuming the flower (though foliar sprays are usually not recommended during the flower phase anyways).
Does washing cannabis flower cause mold?
No, washing your cannabis buds shouldn’t cause mold – as long as you spread it out to thoroughly air dry that is, and don’t leave it in a wet heap after washing. Note that washing cannabis buds does add a couple days of drying time to your post-harvest routine. We’ll talk more about how to properly dry cannabis after washing below.
On the other hand, the baking soda and lemon juice used to wash cannabis can kill mold spores and therefore may help prevent mold from growing during drying, curing and storage. However, washing cannabis will not remove advanced mold or “bud rot” that is already present at the time of harvest. We don’t recommend using, consuming, or inhaling obviously moldy cannabis. Cannabis with only a small amount of mold on the plant (e.g. powdery mildew on the leaves, not moldy buds) could still be used for topical applications, such as homemade cannabis salve.
Why baking soda and lemon juice?
Often described as an “old school organic produce wash”, baking soda and lemon juice has been used to remove impurities from fruits and vegetables (and even greasy kitchens) for many decades. The mixture acts as a natural surfactant that gently encourages dirt, dust, and other debris to dislodge from deep within the plant.
Lemon juice is a natural antimicrobial and baking soda is mildly anti-fungal. When combined, they create a chemical reaction that neutralizes the solution and generates non-toxic carbon dioxide gas. This appears as fizz and bubbles that further help deep clean your bud!Hydrogen peroxide acts very similarly, is safe and organic, and can be used to wash cannabis as well.
Does washing bud decrease cannabinoids or trichomes?
Cannabinoids are fat-soluble; they only like to attach themselves to fats – like oil. Thus, this gentle wash will not strip the cannabinoids or decrease the potency of your flower. Try not to bang the branches into the sides of the bucket too much while washing, but also keep in mind that the few loose trichomes that may get knocked off during washing would’ve likely fallen off during the trimming and drying process anyways.
Supplies needed for bud washing
- 3 five-gallon buckets (or similar)
- water
- ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup lemon juice
- OR 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide (3% strength)
*Note: Some cannabis bud washing recipes call for as little as ¼ cup of lemon juice and baking soda each, while others say to use 1 cup of each. We feel that ½ cup of each is more than enough to adequately clean the cannabis, but not be overly strong or wasteful. An alternative bud washing method uses 1 cup of 3% household hydrogen peroxide (per 5 gallons of water) in the “wash” bucket instead of lemon juice and baking soda, which is also effective. Use what you have!
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep
- Clean three 5-gallon buckets. The first bucket is for the cannabis “wash”, followed by two “rinse” buckets.
- Gather your plant material. It will be easiest to both wash and dry if you leave the branches as large as possible, but still cut short enough to fit completely inside the buckets (e.g. don’t cut it down into too many small pieces or individual buds yet). You can also roughly trim off leaves now, or wait until after washing. Removing at least some of the larger fan leaves upfront will help expedite drying.
- Fill the first bucket with warm water (not hot), and the other two with tepid or cool water. The warm water helps the baking soda and lemon juice dissolve and mix. We fill the warm bucket in our laundry room sink, but if you don’t have access to a large sink or hot water outside, add a couple tea kettles of hot water to a bucket of otherwise cold water.
Wash & Rinse
- In the first 5-gallon bucket, add ½ cup of baking soda and ½ cup of lemon juice to the warm water and stir. It should fizz and bubble. (Or, add 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide instead).
- Dunk, swirl, and rapidly wiggle the cannabis in the first wash bucket for about 30 seconds. Then hold it up over the bucket to drip off excess liquid and give it a few shakes.
- Next, submerge and swirl the branches in the second bucket to rinse, then rinse one final time in the 3rd clean bucket of water. 15 seconds in each rinse bucket is adequate. This washes off remaining impurities as well as the baking soda and lemon juice residue.
Dry
- After giving each one a good shake, hang the washed cannabis branches outdoors to drip dry for a few hours (up to 24 hours). For the best quality, choose a shady well-ventilated location out of direct sunlight. A nearby fan (but not blasting right on them) will provide additional airflow to expedite drying, as will trimming off leaves. For smaller branches or buds, consider using an herb drying rack.
- Finally, proceed with drying and curing the cannabis as you normally would.
That’s all there is to it! Isn’t it satisfying to see that gross dirty water, and know that isn’t in your bud anymore? If you found this information to be useful, please consider leaving a rating below – or sharing this post! If you need any tips more tips on when and how to harvest, trim, dry, cure and store you cannabis, check out this guide. Otherwise, have fun and enjoy your harvest!
Don’t miss these related articles:
- How to Grow Organic Cannabis at Home: Seeds, Soil, Containers, and Care
- Homemade Cannabis Oil Recipe
- Homemade Cannabis Salve Recipe
- How to Make Cannabis Tincture: Easy Cold Alcohol Extraction
- Sexing Cannabis: How to Tell the Difference Between Young Male vs Female Cannabis Plants
- Organic Cannabis Pest Control: How to Keep the Bugs Off Your Nugs
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How to Wash Cannabis Flower Buds
Growing your own medicine outdoors? Come learn how to wash cannabis buds after harvest using lemon juice and baking soda, or with hydrogen peroxide. It’s easy to do, 100% organic, and removes potentially harmful debris – without reducing the potency or quality of your flower!
Keyword: bud washing, washing cannabis buds, washing cannabis flower
Equipment
3 five gallon buckets
Ingredients
- cannabis flower
- 1/2 cup lemon juice and
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- OR 1 cup hydrogen peroxide (3% household strength)
Instructions
Clean three 5-gallon buckets.
Collect your plant material. Keep the cannabis branches as large as possible, but short enough to fit completely inside the buckets. Optional: remove large fan leaves before washing.
Fill the first bucket with water (not hot), and the other two with tepid or cool water.
In the first 5-gallon bucket, add ½ cup of baking soda and ½ cup of lemon juice to the warm water and stir (OR 1 cup hydrogen peroxide and water)
Dunk, swirl, and rapidly wiggle the cannabis in the first wash bucket for about 30 seconds. Then hold it up over the bucket to drip off excess liquid and give it a few shakes.
Next, submerge and swirl the branches in the second bucket to rinse, then rinse one final time in the 3rd clean bucket of water. 15 seconds in each rinse bucket is adequate.
Shake out then hang the washed cannabis branches outdoors to drip dry for a few hours (up to 24 hours). For the best quality, choose a shady well-ventilated location out of direct sunlight. A nearby fan (not blasting right on them) will provide additional airflow and expedite drying, as will trimming off fan leaves. For smaller branches or buds, consider using an herb drying rack.
Finally, proceed with drying and curing the cannabis as you normally would.
As a seasoned cannabis cultivation enthusiast with a deep understanding of the intricacies of growing and processing cannabis, I can confidently address the concepts presented in the article about washing cannabis buds after harvest. My experience spans not only the cultivation of cannabis plants but also the post-harvest processes crucial for ensuring a clean and potent end product.
The article delves into the practice of washing cannabis buds, particularly those grown outdoors, to remove potential contaminants and enhance the overall quality of the final product. This process involves using a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda, or alternatively, hydrogen peroxide. The choice of these substances is grounded in their ability to effectively cleanse the buds without compromising the valuable trichomes and terpenes.
The primary evidence supporting the washing process is based on the understanding that cannabis flowers, being resinous and sticky, attract and retain pollutants from the environment. The article emphasizes the importance of this practice for outdoor-grown cannabis, highlighting potential contaminants such as dirt, dust, pollen, wildfire ash, caterpillar poop, insects, and bird debris. The comparison to washing fresh produce before consumption serves as a relatable analogy, underlining the sensitivity of our lungs to contaminants.
One crucial point of clarification is that washing cannabis buds does not lead to mold formation, provided the buds are thoroughly air-dried afterward. The article provides insights into the potential benefits of using baking soda and lemon juice in preventing mold growth during the drying, curing, and storage phases. It also dispels concerns about a reduction in cannabinoids or trichomes, explaining that the gentle washing process does not strip these valuable compounds.
The choice of using baking soda and lemon juice is rooted in their historical use as an "old school organic produce wash." The article elucidates the natural surfactant properties of this mixture, facilitating the removal of impurities from deep within the plant. The chemical reaction between lemon juice and baking soda generates non-toxic carbon dioxide gas, enhancing the cleaning process.
Additionally, the article provides a detailed guide on the supplies needed for bud washing, including three five-gallon buckets and the specified amounts of baking soda, lemon juice, or hydrogen peroxide. The step-by-step instructions for the washing process, rinsing, and subsequent drying are comprehensive and cater to ensuring the best quality outcome.
In conclusion, the article not only advocates for the practice of washing cannabis buds after harvest but also provides a wealth of information backed by practical insights into the cultivation and post-harvest care of cannabis plants. The emphasis on maintaining the organic nature of the process, coupled with evidence-based explanations, establishes the article as a valuable resource for cannabis cultivators seeking to optimize the quality of their harvest.
