Water Curing: What It Is And How To Do It

Curing is an essential part of producing great bud. Without this all-important step, the true potential of your buds cannot be fulfilled. Even for organic growers who put plenty of time and effort into the cultivation of their plants, curing is essential to unlocking the best flavours and effects from each and every strain. Plus, curing makes for a smoother smoke that your lungs will thank you for.

The traditional method of curing allows for sugars and nutrients to be broken down and digested by the buds over time. This is why they sit still in a mason jar for a period of 2 weeks to several months. But water curing works differently. Let’s find out what makes this method special.

HOW WATER CURING WORKS

Instead of waiting patiently for the flowers to digest these substances, this method uses water to achieve the same effect—in much less time. Nutrients and sugars both dissolve in water. Therefore, by submerging the buds, these substances will leach out and mix in with the liquid.

The process of water curing couldn’t be simpler. Like with regular curing, you’ll add your buds to a mason jar. With this method, however, you’ll want to leave a little more space in the jar so you can easily fill it up to the top with distilled water. You can use tap water at your own risk, but distilled will avoid further contamination. Once you have everything in the jar, leave it in there for about a week, changing the water on a daily basis. This allows for a continuous cycle of cleansing the buds of unnecessary particulates, without harming their final quality. Once this period has ended, buds will take an additional 3 to 4 days to dry fully.

DIFFERENCES TO NORMAL CURING

Being that one method uses water while the other doesn’t, they won’t yield the exact same results. Although much faster, water curing will remove some of the flavour and aroma from your buds, as terpenes are water-soluble. As such, your bud will retain more of a grassy smell that some users enjoy and others shy away from. It all depends on what you’re looking for from your smoke.

One of the problems you’ll be avoiding with water curing is the threat of mould. This is a much more common occurrence with normal curing because the buds dry out slowly, and with a fair amount of stale air. This gives time for mould to propagate and develop in the moist interior of the buds. When water curing, just be careful during those last days you’re drying the buds. This is a very crucial time. Definitely wait until the buds are completely dry before adding them to a clean mason jar, as mould can strike.

WHY IT’S A GOOD ALTERNATIVE

Another good thing about this method is that, unlike terpenes, cannabinoids are not water-soluble. This means that while the water will remove the stuff you don’t want (chlorophyll, fats, additives, etc), it’ll leave the good stuff in there. THC, CBD, and all the other cannabinoids will remain unadulterated.

Although the flavour of water-cured buds might be lessened, the smoke will likely be much smoother. If you’re someone who tends to cough a lot when smoking, water curing might be the trick for you. Try it out and see!

But the reason why most growers use this technique is speed. This method takes a fraction of the time of regular curing, which is ideal for impatient growers waiting for their personal stash or commercial cultivators looking to move operations along.

But if you need your bud for this week, there’s an even quicker method for you. Place a large bowl in the sink under a constant flow of water with your buds inside. Make sure this is a very thin stream so it doesn't push the buds out of the bowl. Having fresh water constantly moving over your buds decreases curing time significantly. Leave this bowl under the tap for 9 or 10 hours, rearranging the buds and draining the bowl as necessary. After this, your buds can go right to the drying stage.

It’s a matter of personal choice as a grower and a consumer. Whatever you decide to do will be the right choice for you.