So using those bags is a viable plan B. Sucks that these are probably my only option since I'm in Europe and I don't want to deal with customs.
Which method would you chose if you had a lot of low quality material? Iso or the bags?
What do with a bunch of wild (pollinated) plants?
- Thread starter Zokko
- Start date
Which method would you chose if you had a lot of low quality material? Iso or the bags?
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
You should be able to get iso through an eu vendor. Its a pretty common thing. Even 90% iso is fine.
Bagginski
Well-Known Member
Oh, bubble bags...haven’t used them, but I *do* know what they are!
That’s a completely different process, as you’ve likely already noticed.
If bubble bags are your plan B, I would use herb that HASN’T already been through an alcohol wash, because it will already have a considerable amount of oil/trichomes removed - maybe most of it, if fact; it’s a longer, more involved process, but if you have enough material to fill the bag, go for it, if you like.
One thing to consider with the bags: because it will involve longer immersion and rougher handling of your material, you may want to be prepared to plant the seeds within a few hours of removing them from the bag.
CannaOnerStar
Well-Known Member
Did you find someones hidden grow involving a breeding program and are planning to rob it? Or is it common in your area that there are spots of wild cannabis growing around?
How do you know its wild and not just planted in a way thats discrete, or maybe just fistful of seeds thrown around here and there and the spot chosen so that the plants are taken care by the river?
ESPECIALLY if its wild, drop the seeds on the ground that you dont need so that they grow well next year also
How do you know its wild and not just planted in a way thats discrete, or maybe just fistful of seeds thrown around here and there and the spot chosen so that the plants are taken care by the river?
ESPECIALLY if its wild, drop the seeds on the ground that you dont need so that they grow well next year also
Today I grabbed a giant black garbage bag and went fishing again. When I got the spot I started looking aroun for the best plants and I found 2 of them big ones like 6 feet tall tucked between some other random plants. These two looked best out of all the previous ones I saw, and had the strongest sweeeeeeet smell.
The 20 mile drive back home probably stressed me out of a few months of my life but I think it was worth it.
I have several of these sweet looking colas. The rest is small skinny flowers but with good frosting on them.
There are alot of what look like marijuana spiders. Look at his legs, they look just like trichomes!
Anyway, Im gonna test the quality as soon as possible but it looks better than what I originaly found.
I separated most of the flowers but Im tired. I will continue tomorow. I hope it doest dry too much till then. Its really time consuming because I have to pick all the leaves one by one with my fingers in order to get the best quality. I cant use scisors because I feel it will leave me with more leaf mass.
Im gona roll a fat joint with whats left of the orignal samples and some finger hash.
The 20 mile drive back home probably stressed me out of a few months of my life but I think it was worth it.
I have several of these sweet looking colas. The rest is small skinny flowers but with good frosting on them.
There are alot of what look like marijuana spiders. Look at his legs, they look just like trichomes!
Anyway, Im gonna test the quality as soon as possible but it looks better than what I originaly found.
I separated most of the flowers but Im tired. I will continue tomorow. I hope it doest dry too much till then. Its really time consuming because I have to pick all the leaves one by one with my fingers in order to get the best quality. I cant use scisors because I feel it will leave me with more leaf mass.
Im gona roll a fat joint with whats left of the orignal samples and some finger hash.
Its quite common here but I dont know, maybe someone spread some seeds around that area. But if someone did that, why didnt he eliminate the males. This could have been a killer grow with the natural watering, zero shade and almost no cometition from other plants.
It will be there next year again.
Some pictures of the material after removing the leaves as best as I can. Looks like most of the plant material's surface is covered with the good stuff.
I guess after they are comepletely dry I can pack them up in a jar as they are, without grinding them, and make do a quick 20-30 sec wash with "frozen" isopropyl. The flowers are not dense and I believe all the surface should be equaly exposed to the liquid.
I guess after they are comepletely dry I can pack them up in a jar as they are, without grinding them, and make do a quick 20-30 sec wash with "frozen" isopropyl. The flowers are not dense and I believe all the surface should be equaly exposed to the liquid.
Bagginski
Well-Known Member
Don’t forget to freeze the weed - in the container you use for the wash - overnight at least - as with the ISO
They look like (green) pistils to me...trichomes are microscopic & would make lousy legs...just sayin’
Last edited:
Oh yes I will freeze everything. The spiders's legs look like pistils, right not trichomes. I read about him, he can change his colour to match the envirement.
I found a dry ice supplier nearby but the minimum quantity I can purchase is 10kg in pellets I believe. Is that too much? How much I realy need?
Also I can't find good quality isopropyl but I can get my hands on 96% ethyl so I'm probably gona go with whts called QWET. I read its the same just the wash times are like 5 to 15 minutes insted of 15 - 45 seconds with iso.
Also If I want to make vape juice should I go with the decarb the weed then mix it with the PG/VG method or extract with QWET then add to the PG/VG.
(I have to use PG/VG, I cant get all those fancy liquds that are specialy designed for weed.)
Is it worth it to exctract?
Bagginski
Well-Known Member
If you have a refrigerator with a freezer section, dry ice is probably overkill - but for a single jar test run, 10kg should be more than enough...as long as you contain it all in a decent cooler; by the same token, a home freezer should be more than enough, too. The dry ice will freeze it harder, faster, but I’ve used my refrigerator freezer with good results multiple times - and is why I recommend freezing 24 hours, or *at least* overnight.
It is true that 99% isopropyl is “better” than 96% ethanol- but in practice, that’s not a meaningful difference, especially if you factor in the toxicity of iso and the resulting need to evaporate it *fully*. I have worked with both, can can say with confidence that ethanol in the 96% range not only doesn’t *require* the massive extension of working period you suggest, but so long a soak time as even TEN minutes will grab plenty of chlorophyll and other water solutes - essentially injuring your results. Ethanol is also simply safer to work with if you’re working from ideas and estimates.
Here’s a detailed sequence I recommend: I don’t pretend it’s “perfect”, or “best”, but it will give you decent results if you follow it closely.
- once you’ve done your freeze, prepare a non-heat-conductive surface;
- prepare a jar larger than your freezing jar (half-liter/liter, for example), stick a coffee filter down in it part way, fold over the top part & secure the filter to the jar with a rubber band (Melita filters work fine);
- put insulating gloves on (not thick or stiff, just want to keep the cold jar and your warm hands separate);
- remove the alcohol and weed containers to your protected surface, & quickly remove the cap and lid;
- IMMEDIATELY pour cold alcohol on the cold weed - fill it half-way - screw on the lid, shake it vigorously 10 seconds;
- IMMEDIATELY put weed jar back in the freezer for 3 minutes (bury it in ice, if you can);
- put the alcohol back in the freezer, too;
- remove weed jar, shake vigorously 10sec, replace it in the freezer as before, this time for 5 minutes;
- Remove, shake, remove the lid, pour the weed and alcohol into the filter (slowly, don’t overrun the filter capacity);
- if you wish, once the filter s emptied of alcohol, pour a little more alcohol into the filter to collect anything left in the paper.
The end. Now you have the larger jar with all the honey-containing alcohol in it. Let it come to room temperature before doing anything else. Once that’s done, you can let the alcohol evaporate naturally, or you can expose it to gentle (gentle!) heat to speed the reduction. Once it’s reduced enough, a silicon muffin pan can be used to evaporate the rest...which will make it easier to remove the honey.
You can leave it with a little alcohol & use it as a tincture - but ONLY if you’re using ethanol, not isopropyl. Personally, I like to dissolve it in butter: it tastes great (to me) by itself, you can put it on toast, or use it in any way you’d use butter. If you’d rather smoke it, mix some fresh ground herb into it until it becomes a workable paste, which you can apply to a pipeful. “Fresh ground herb” means herb you *didn't* extract.
Keep it simple, and you’ll learn a lot *and* have product you can use as you wish.
I strongly advise you run through the entire process “dry“ - no alcohol, no weed - to avoid the possibility of getting stuck in the middle of the procedure, trying to get the next step right.
I read A TON on the topic, worked out this procedure, and have had good luck with it. May it serve you well! Anyone reading this with refinements to offer, I hope you’ll chime in!
It is true that 99% isopropyl is “better” than 96% ethanol- but in practice, that’s not a meaningful difference, especially if you factor in the toxicity of iso and the resulting need to evaporate it *fully*. I have worked with both, can can say with confidence that ethanol in the 96% range not only doesn’t *require* the massive extension of working period you suggest, but so long a soak time as even TEN minutes will grab plenty of chlorophyll and other water solutes - essentially injuring your results. Ethanol is also simply safer to work with if you’re working from ideas and estimates.
Here’s a detailed sequence I recommend: I don’t pretend it’s “perfect”, or “best”, but it will give you decent results if you follow it closely.
- once you’ve done your freeze, prepare a non-heat-conductive surface;
- prepare a jar larger than your freezing jar (half-liter/liter, for example), stick a coffee filter down in it part way, fold over the top part & secure the filter to the jar with a rubber band (Melita filters work fine);
- put insulating gloves on (not thick or stiff, just want to keep the cold jar and your warm hands separate);
- remove the alcohol and weed containers to your protected surface, & quickly remove the cap and lid;
- IMMEDIATELY pour cold alcohol on the cold weed - fill it half-way - screw on the lid, shake it vigorously 10 seconds;
- IMMEDIATELY put weed jar back in the freezer for 3 minutes (bury it in ice, if you can);
- put the alcohol back in the freezer, too;
- remove weed jar, shake vigorously 10sec, replace it in the freezer as before, this time for 5 minutes;
- Remove, shake, remove the lid, pour the weed and alcohol into the filter (slowly, don’t overrun the filter capacity);
- if you wish, once the filter s emptied of alcohol, pour a little more alcohol into the filter to collect anything left in the paper.
The end. Now you have the larger jar with all the honey-containing alcohol in it. Let it come to room temperature before doing anything else. Once that’s done, you can let the alcohol evaporate naturally, or you can expose it to gentle (gentle!) heat to speed the reduction. Once it’s reduced enough, a silicon muffin pan can be used to evaporate the rest...which will make it easier to remove the honey.
You can leave it with a little alcohol & use it as a tincture - but ONLY if you’re using ethanol, not isopropyl. Personally, I like to dissolve it in butter: it tastes great (to me) by itself, you can put it on toast, or use it in any way you’d use butter. If you’d rather smoke it, mix some fresh ground herb into it until it becomes a workable paste, which you can apply to a pipeful. “Fresh ground herb” means herb you *didn't* extract.
Keep it simple, and you’ll learn a lot *and* have product you can use as you wish.
I strongly advise you run through the entire process “dry“ - no alcohol, no weed - to avoid the possibility of getting stuck in the middle of the procedure, trying to get the next step right.
I read A TON on the topic, worked out this procedure, and have had good luck with it. May it serve you well! Anyone reading this with refinements to offer, I hope you’ll chime in!
Thank you for the detailed explanation!!!
Only 1 part I don't get:
- IMMEDIATELY pour cold alcohol on the cold weed - fill it half-way - screw on the lid, shake it vigorously 10 seconds;
Do you mean I should have jar almost full of weed but half that volume of alcohol? Shouldn't the weed be fully submerged in alcohol?
Bagginski
Well-Known Member
EXCELLENT QUESTION! Thank you!
Yes, fill the jar with herb, but *don’t* pack it in; it matters that the material can move during shaking.
Yes, add alcohol to roughly half-full, so the the shaking moves the alcohol into full contact with the material; the shaking of the herb in *and by* the alcohol is an important part of getting the honey off the plant and into solution. If you filled the jar full of alcohol, and weed, there would be nothing happening but dissolving, even with the shaking - and as I say, the movement helps strip off the trichomes and open them up so you get ALL the goods. Otherwise, you’d just have wet herb soaking - and that’s not a *quick* wash. By minimizing the soaking, and by maximizing the motion / interaction of fluid and solid - while maintaining the cold - you get less of the water-soluble components, which dilute your yield and add flavors and components that don’t improve your use of the product.
Between shakes, in the freezer, there is *still* solvent on all your material: it doesn’t NEED to be fully immersed for the solvent action to continue just fine; repeated shaking sessions are aided by the rests between shaking...which is why after three shake sessions, you pretty much already have what you want. Some people do “second runs“ on the same material - I’ve done it myself, and don’t recommend it: the weed must thoroughly dry between runs, the water-soluble components are ‘primed for release’, you might say, so you end up with MORE of what you have to get rid of, and evaporating that fraction is a serious pain (to me). And given that you’ve already removed 90% or more of the good stuff, that‘s extra time, energy and attention for much less return.
A word on “shaking vigorously”: imagine you have a bottle of salad dressing - vinegar, oil, herbs. Before you pour it, you want to make sure the dressing is as thoroughly mixed as possible. You accomplish that by shaking the bottle vigorously - not ‘as hard as possible’ but enough that when you pour, you’re getting the combined dressing and not just the oil on top. When you shake your wash jar, shake it like that - then back into the freezer! The better job you do of shaking, the more seconds you can shave off the shaking time...but you want to get THE PROCESS down before you start tweaking it, so make your first run a solid run, get the experience of doing it ‘by the recipe’, and go from there.
Hoping for a GREAT first run!
Fadedawg
Well-Known Member
Harvesting "wild" plants can conceivably put you at cross purposes with the brothers or sisters planting and tending them.
Here is a way to get rid of the seeds that is faster than raking in a shoebox lid.
DIY Seed Cleaner Aspirator from RealSeeds
DIY Seed Cleaner Winnower Open Source Plans - in use all over the world
www.realseeds.co.uk
Dude, I can tell you've done this many times and got this recipe well refined. Why would I try to change it?!
Thank you so much once again I will do everything step by step like you said.
Actualy I can think of one more step to add but I dont know how much would that help: If theres a litle bit of humidity in the weed and in the air thats in the jar, wouldn't it condense when it is in the freezer? Im thinking I could put the jar with the weed in the oven at the lowest setting (50 C) for 10-15 minutes and close it when I take it out while its hot. There should be no water left in the jar and weed after this. Ofcourse I will let it cool before putting it in the freezer so it doesnt crack from the thermal shock. What do you think?
I took 2 handfulls of the now dried weed and grind it as coarse as I could, just to remove the seeds and stems. I ended with 15.2 grams of grind cleaned weed, 6.2 grams of stems and seeds and a tiny finger hash ball that the scale doesnt register (its a 0.1 scale, cheapest they had in the shop).
I'm collecting the stems to QWET them just to see what will come out.
I gotta tell you, the stuff smells REALY SWEET. Now that its quite dry it doesnt even smell like grass. I don't know strains (you smoke what they sell you where I live) but these plants deffinately have some good genes. What is a sweet mango / lemon pie smelling sativa strain?
And it is even good for smoking. Still doesn't taste amazing but it's deffinately better than what I originaly found. If Im not happy with the vape juice I hope will make, I could just smoke it, because 15 grams, thats like 30 joints atleast the way I roll them.
I'll post some pictures later.
Dude, I can tell you've done this many times and got this recipe well refined. Why would I try to change it?!
Thank you so much once again I will do everything step by step like you said.
Actualy I can think of one more step to add but I dont know how much would that help: If theres a litle bit of humidity in the weed and in the air thats in the jar, wouldn't it condense when it is in the freezer? Im thinking I could put the jar with the weed in the oven at the lowest setting (50 C) for 10-15 minutes and close it when I take it out while its hot. There should be no water left in the jar and weed after this. Ofcourse I will let it cool before putting it in the freezer so it doesnt crack from the thermal shock. What do you think?
I took 2 handfulls of the now dried weed and grind it as coarse as I could, just to remove the seeds and stems. I ended with 15.2 grams of grind cleaned weed, 6.2 grams of stems and seeds and a tiny finger hash ball that the scale doesnt register (its a 0.1 scale, cheapest they had in the shop).
I'm collecting the stems to QWET them just to see what will come out.
I gotta tell you, the stuff smells REALY SWEET. Now that its quite dry it doesnt even smell like grass. I don't know strains (you smoke what they sell you where I live) but these plants deffinately have some good genes. What is a sweet mango / lemon pie smelling sativa strain?
And it is even good for smoking. Still doesn't taste amazing but it's deffinately better than what I originaly found. If Im not happy with the vape juice I hope will make, I could just smoke it, because 15 grams, thats like 30 joints atleast the way I roll them.
I'll post some pictures later.