The following is from http://www.hightimes.com/ht/grow/content.php?page=act_growshow&id=680&totalrecords=1000: Wikipedia says to leave the ud in the water for 7 days straight, instead of a few hours! Which is correct/better and does anyone have any experience with this?
I read this and it sounds strange. Hot water causes the oilous resins to rise to the top, leaving less THC on the bud. I've soaked ground bud in cold water to make hash before, but I throw the leaves away after triches stop falling onto the bottom of the jar. In hot water, the thc rises, the bud probably rises also, given enough water. The THC would probably seperate from the bud, which is undesirable, but since the bud is still wet (undried, uncured) in this state, it would probably adhere to the buds moreso than if fully dried. Thusly, it would simply remove magnesium and other chemicals. If this were done lightly, it could be a good way to make the smoke less harsh. But it is my opinion that the traditional drying and curing is more practical as it is more resistant to mold and decomposition. All this does is remove thc along with other volatile chemicals. It WOULD make a smoother smoke, but it would take longer to dry and would be very susceptible to mold. Also you would lose some taste to the water and curing would be less effective in terms of taste. In conclusion, if/when you harvest, take a small amount that you want to smoke now. Do the water curing and test it out. If you like it, dry cure the rest and water cure some whenever you want to smoke it for a smoother, but less flavorful, smoke.
Thanks for the reply. The HighTimes link specifically says not to use hot water for the exact reason you mentioned. They say to use lukewarm water, and I guess water at room temperature would suffice. Wikipedia says this is best because it removes a lot of the chemicals in the fertilizer - and a lot of the pesticide if you used any - from the bud and will give you less harsher smoke without sacrificing THC. Actually, it says "This can reduce the harsh grassy flavor of poor quality weed, and can increase the THC to weight ratio by as much as 30%." I am months away from getting a chance to cure. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. I'm planning everything out at the moment.
I've only grown twice and both times I lost the plants before harvest, so I never got to drying and curing. I just know from my own experience with water and weed. I don't think it could possibly release more thc glands from the bud by simply dipping them in water for a certain amount of time and drying them. Best way to do that is simply to get a grinder and bust up your bud so all the trichomes are as exposed as possible.