Is it necessary to clean leaves

[dangobar]

Hello fellow enthusiasts,

What is your take on cleaning the leaves prior to shredding?

I mean, if I see and feel a bunch of dirt on a leaf, I'll spray it with distilled water and try to rub off as much as I can. If it's too dirty I'll discard it, but I haven't come across many leaves like that.

What I usually do though, is spray every leaf with distilled water, and rub my thumbs throughout every area of the leaf to ensure it's pretty clean. Then they have to be laid out to dry just enough for me to shred properly. It is daunting though. It's a good thing I don't smoke that much.

Is all of this necessary? I can probably get away just rubbing the leaf right out of the bag just to make sure it's not caked with dirt, and that should be good enough?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[deluxestogie]

With the leaf in low case (not crumbly dry), most dirt and tiny bugs will simply brush off with your fingertips, without wetting the leaf.

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

I use an old, dry shaving brush to clear away anything before I store them, or before I prep them for rolling. I bring the leave into case after I do that.

 

[TwoBackHoes]

My leaves dont brush off when dry. All varieties are sticky. I wash my leaves after I pick them. I pick them let em go limp takes about a day. Then I wash them with the sprayer in the kitchen sink and shake them dry before putting them in a basket to take to the curing closet. This is the onlybway I can get dirt, dandelion fluff, gnats, or hornworm shit off my leaves. The leaves firm up again after wetting and some seem to stay alive longer when color curing. Im a newb so I will regularly do things not advised by experienced growers. One thing I wont do is smoke dirt and bug covered leaves. Cleaning is a must for me, and pressure washing is the only way it will work for me.

 

[Krausen89]

we have these spotted lantern flies everywhere where i am, they excrete this sugary sap they call "Honeydew" last years Virginia was covered in it and some turned to black powdery mildew which i had to clean off once they were color cured. it was a PITA.

This years Dominican Olor as i primed, i allowed 24 hours to wilt and then i used a chip brush (cheap paint brush with natural bristles) i brushed them all off and then go back through and use a damp paper towel and wipe each side to get off what i can being gentle not to tear the leaf and then color cure. so far i haven't gotten any of that mildew and they are looking great.

 

[vanjen]

No, I have never cleaned my leaves and I don't plan on it. They look fine to me just the way they are.

 

[Jer]

My bug-a-boo (sorry for the corny pun) has been whiteflies. They lay their nasty eggs all over the underside of the leaves and it’s either brush and wash them off or smoke them which I can’t bring myself to do.

 

[Kooky]

My bug-a-boo (sorry for the corny pun) has been whiteflies. They lay their nasty eggs all over the underside of the leaves and it’s either brush and wash them off or smoke them which I can’t bring myself to do.

I need those white flies to stay away! In South Florida we have aphids, a boatload of leaf miners which destroy all leafy greens, white flies, and cabbage/looper worms. I have small amounts of white flies on some leafy green crops so I really do hope they keep their distance.

I am trying to grow callaloo for the first time, a popular Jamaican green, which might just be resistant enough to these bugs to provide summer greens.

I just posted that I am worried about cleaning leaves on my grow thread, but now that I think about it, dirt really has no way to cling to the small leaves I had tried curing. I should've used a small soft bristled cleaning brush to take care of the bottom leaves. If your top leaves are getting dirty it sounds like you have some car sized hail to worry about instead.

 

[Kiwi Smoker]

I was going to ask about cleaning leaves after another member mentioned they had brought Aphids in the house so I brush mine down with a soft paint brush to get the airborne foreign plant debris and possible larvae off. I couldn't stand the idea of the final product tasting of other plants.