Water vs. Air Curing

I've recently been studying water curing and it seems very interesting to me.
I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but some people swear by water curing.
Has anyone had experience with this? Which do you prefer?
Basically with air you dry, then cure. Whereas with water, it's cure, then dry.

First I'll just go over the process of my air drying/curing method, then what I know about water curing.

Air Drying: Hang the buds upside down in a dark environment less than 80 degrees. Have a fan oscillating 24h a day and let sit for 1-2 weeks or until stems snap without bending. Humidity around 50% if possible.
Air Curing: Place buds in glass jars about 75% full and leave them somewhere dark as light will break down THC quicker. Burp containers by fanning your hand daily for 7-10 days.

Water Curing: After harvest submerge buds in warm in a glass container (leave lids OFF so the chlorophyll disolves). Do not stir or upset the water. THC is NOT water-soluble for those of you doubting this method already. Change out water with fresh warm water everyday for 7 days, no less.
Water drying: Hang buds up near a dehumidifier or something similar because they need to dry quickly so they dont mold.

Air Pros:
No water mess, hang and wait.
More dry bud weight.
Easy to hide.
Air Cons:
Long time to wait for chemicals to escape.
Not all chemicals will escape.

Water Pros:
Shortens the time drastically.
Clean, smooth tasting bud.
Some say, more potency.
Water Cons:
Less weight (probably not good choice for commercial)

Also this could be a pro OR con, I hear with water curing, you lose some of the "dank" smell, but I'm unsure of this.

Anyway, I hope this thread was informative, please post any response or comments you have.

Duece.

The only good reason to water cure is if your going to be making "pot liquor" as it removes most of the chlorophyll flavor.water cure, dry and then soak again in alcohol for up to a month or more the higher the proof the shorter the time . but other then that it will reduce flavor and smoking pleasure. long slow air cures are the way to go IMO

I watered cured my last crop and it was just as potent as the air cure, but it is looking like it is lasting longer . I cant say yet which I prefer but I am happy both ways so far.

As far as smell goes....I thought I would actually test it out for real. Had a decently warm evening before the sun went down the other night and went out to eat and sat outside with the other people. After dinner, sitting there having drinks and I fired one up and nobody even turned a head.

rkm - Yeah and I also hear the ashes from water cured are clean white.

uberpea said:

rkm - Yeah and I also hear the ashes from water cured are clean white.

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I'll say there is some truth to that.


EDIT: It seems that 2 gallons of water per ounce of weed(wet weight of course) does the job. Any less seems to leave the smoke having a [SIZE=-1]chlorophyll[/SIZE] taste or you will need to soak it longer. Once the water does not have a smell neither will the smoke.

Well this topic has been rehashed a million time on this site but basically with water cure its faster but you loose all the good taste and the smell from the good weed you just grew.The water cure is as slightly smoother smoke but lost it true flavor and aroma.The water cure is basicall for the impatient but if your took all the time to grow I have no idea why you would rush the last stage and ruin the taste and aroma which is wat you want along with a good high

FilthyFletch said:

Well this topic has been rehashed a million time on this site but basically with water cure its faster but you loose all the good taste and the smell from the good weed you just grew.The water cure is as slightly smoother smoke but lost it true flavor and aroma.The water cure is basicall for the impatient but if your took all the time to grow I have no idea why you would rush the last stage and ruin the taste and aroma which is wat you want along with a good high

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What if you dont particularly like the smell or taste of weed but like the effect???
I imagine that is a hard concept to grasp.

FilthyFletch - you make good points, but you arent looking at it from other peoples' perspective.. Like rkm said, what if maybe you dont prefer the taste of the ganja, or you need it not to stench because you smoke around people or indoors. I disagree when you say it is for people without patience. Thanks rkm for putting in thoughts for both sides, this is afterall a debate thread.

just incase anyone uses this guys advice...

Do not leave lids on when water curing , your supposed to let it evaporate not trap the crap in the container.

el1 said:

just incase anyone uses this guys advice...

Do not leave lids on when water curing , your supposed to let it evaporate not trap the crap in the container.

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That is EXACTLY what i said for those EXACT reasons... please read the whole post....

Edit: My mistake, that's exactly what i MEANT to say, it was a typo bro chill out.

nevermind mate , was just stating incase someone read this post and then fucked up there buds.

I realised it was a typo , but it still needed to be pointed out nonetheless.

man Ive never heard of this.........Honestly, I wish I had. The smell of weed makes my stomach turn when people are burning like crazy at concerts and other stuff.

If its overpowering like that I literally get an upset stomach. I wish more people practiced this.

So you really just soak the buds in water, changing it frequently and until the water doesnt smell anymore and then dry out the bud?

Do you guys screen the water to catch the trichs that must fall off the bud?

Hmmmm..............now that Im thinking of it..........would real hash smell like anything since its not plant and chlorophyl'd out?

Well hybrid, of course SOME trichs will fall off, but this is actually the cool scientific part about it. THC is NOT water soluble.
So unless you're churning the water or arent being delicate, almost all the trichs will stay attached.
You can of course try and screen the few that fall off, but im not sure it's worth your time.

And yes you're exactly right. It takes about 7 days to clean out all the chlorophyll and other chemicals. Then you just dry your buds quickly and you're good to go!

Duece.

I guess if you dont like the delicious taste and the uphoric aroma of a good quality ganaj then this is for you but I have yet to met that person and wonder how it can make you sick in your tummy but I guess it could be some weird affliction.I grow great strains for taste and aroma so it just as rkm said is hard to imagine lol

FilthyFletch said:

I guess if you dont like the delicious taste and the uphoric aroma of a good quality ganaj then this is for you but I have yet to met that person and wonder how it can make you sick in your tummy but I guess it could be some weird affliction.I grow great strains for taste and aroma so it just as rkm said is hard to imagine lol

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Actually, I am one of those that dont care much for the smell or taste. I tolerate it. Then again, I have learned most "commercial" growers dont do a good job in curing it to begin with, so that could be part of the reason. However, I have noticed that since I have started this hobby, what I harvest and cure it is a lot more tolerable. I am still being open minded about it, but as of now I have preference.

Personally, I love the smell of some homegrown dank weed. But that doesn't make me rule out water curing. Like rkm said, a lot of commercial growers suck at drying and curing

hybrid said:

Hmmmm..............now that Im thinking of it..........would real hash smell like anything since its not plant and chlorophyl'd out?

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I am puzzled too. Anyone know if a PRO of water curing IS because to make hash anyway? I guess the flavours would all wash away, and maybe hash has those aromas, now doesn't it, so... anyone knows?

Yeild difference? Any advantage to being able to go full strength or stronger with nutes up to the day of harvest?
How are the terpenes being effected? Does it truly remove all taste and smell? With such a low loss of trichs during the process, could the water curing method furnish more potent dank?