The Cannabis Emergency Harvest Bath To Rid Yourself of Infestation
As Fall season is in full swing, many cannabis home growers are starting to harvest their plants. For a great number of them it’s easy sailing – however, for some…they may be facing some difficult choices.
Some of these choices may include things like, “What do I do with all of these aphids trying to rape my cannabis plant just as I’m about to harvest?” or “Oh sweet fuck! Is that Powdery Mildew on my plant? Did I just lose my entire crop?”
Don’t worry – even though you may be scouring the internet looking for some kind of solution to the infestation; everything is not lost. In fact, you can still have a successful harvest even if your cannabis plant looks like an Aphid-orgy happening all over the buds.
A friend of mine recently ran into a similar problem and was forced to harvest a bit early. Freaked out – he called me up asking me what to do. To be honest, I wasn’t too sure either. It’s difficult to assess a problem over the phone and since I didn’t fully comprehend the scale of the infestation – my advice would not be accurate.
Nonetheless – seeing that he had already harvested and was Wet Trimming I was reminded of an article I read years ago. Essentially, they were talking about creating an “Emergency Bath” to rid yourself of any excess bugs or mildew.
If you’re sitting there panicked and not knowing what to do because you’ve got an infestation on your hands and it’s harvest time – sit back and relax. We’ll talk you through the bath. In all likeliness, you have everything you need to take care of the problem.
Get three buckets! GO GO GO!
It’s important to understand that if you do have an infestation, time is of the essence. You’ll want to get to bathing your cannabis plants sooner than later. In order to do this you’ll need to get your hands on three buckets.
Sterilize the buckets with alcohol and then fill it with water. You’ll be shooting for a pH of >8 so if your tap water is roughly in that range – you should be golden.
In the FIRST BUCKET – you’re going to be preparing a mix of baking soda and water. This is meant to fight and remove any powdery mildew. This first bucket is also the one that gets dirty the quickest and will require frequent cleaning and changing of water.
As for the solution, you’re going to be putting in about 1-2 grams of baking soda per liter of water.
In the SECOND BUCKET – you’re going to be making a disinfectant bath which will use a mix of two different chemicals. You’ll use hydrogen peroxide and/or lemon juice. You’ll have to be careful with this bucket as going overboard on your ratios might negatively affect your crop.
In terms of lemon juice, you’re going to squeeze out a half a lemon for every 10-liters of water. That’s roughly a mixture containing 1%-lemon juice. You can go up to 5% without posing a significant threat. I prefer to err on the side of caution.
As for Hydrogen Peroxide, the ratio is even less. If you’re using a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide and mix 10 mL of it in a liter of water – you’re getting closer to 0.03%. [Source]. By keeping your solutions “weak” you maintain the structure of the trichomes for the most part.
The last bucket will be pure clean water. For all the buckets, it is recommended to use water at Room Temperature to keep the crystals as in tact as possible.
Will my plants lose potency?
Yes – but not as much as you’d think. Also, it’s a better alternative to smoking bug eggs and mold.
How to bathe my cannabis plants?
Firstly, you’ll want to wet trim. Reduce as much of the excess leaf as possible to allow the solutions to get into every nook and cranny. Once that is done, simply dip the entire bud into the solution. Gently waft the bud back and forward for about a minute and then lift it out of the solution.
Allow the solution to drip back into the first bucket. Once most of the droplets stopped – proceed to dip it into the second solution. Similarly, waft the bud around gently and wait for about a minute. Take the bud out, allow the solution to drip off back into the bucket.
Finally, you’ll wash it in the water by repeating the same actions as the first two buckets. When finished, allow all the water to drip off and DO NOT SHAKE THEM. You’ll want to get them ready to the drying space and place a fan near them but NOT ON THEM. This will allow the plants to dry up faster
How long will it take to dry?
This technique will add between 1-3 days of additional drying to the crop-out process. But hey, small price to pay for bug and mold-free buds!
So there you have it…and now that you know – go save your plants!
MOLD, AND BUGS, READ MORE...
HOW TO PRVENT MOLD ON YOUR CANNABIS GROW, READ THIS!
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