Is Bong Water Good for Plants? | Dos and Don’ts Guide to Growing

Over 48.2 million people in the United States regularly smoke marijuana. That’s almost every one in five Americans!

Are you one of the 66% of Americans with a houseplant? After smoking, you may have turned to your cactus or pothos and wondered: is bong water good for plants?

Well, we’re glad you asked! It’s time to learn all about using your bong water for plants.

Is Bong Water Good for Plants?

If you water plants with bong water, it can actually be beneficial for some plants. However, it’s important to research your plant’s needs before pouring your bong water into the pot.

The basic needs of plants include sunlight, soil, and water. They can also benefit from absorbing nutrients like calcium, carbon dioxide, potassium, phosphorous, and oxygen.

Bongwater contains water, but not many beneficial nutrients, so it’s not very good for plants. You should never use old bong water for plants. Water that’s been sitting out for a long time can harbour a lot of bacteria and germs.

Bongwater is also very acidic due to dissolved smoke and plant matter. Some plants, like holly and azaleas, prefer acidic soil conditions. These plants might tolerate bong water well, but using bong water in plants still exposes them to bacteria and fungi.

You may have also heard that smoking around your plants or exhaling onto them is good for them. While it’s true that smoke contains carbon dioxide, breathing around your plants is better than smoking around them. Smoke particles can clog the pores of your plants, affecting their absorption of carbon dioxide and sunlight.

What’s in Bong Water?

The purpose of bong water is to filter the smoke produced when burning marijuana flowers. The water collects a lot of harmful materials that you wouldn’t necessarily want to enter your lungs. This makes your smoking experience feel smoother than other methods.

However, bong water is more than just dirty water. It also contains some of the following elements:

• Cannabinoids, CBD, THC
• Ash
• Resin
• Plant matter
• Bacteria
• Fungi
• Microorganisms

Considering the list above, you should change your bong water often. Contrary to what some people believe, you won’t get any higher from reusing old bong water. You also cannot extract any useable amount of THC from bong water.

It’s best to use fresh water every time you use your bong. The water filters out impurities like those mentioned above to give you a smoother, fresher smoking experience.

When your bong water becomes cloudy or develops a film over the top, known as biofilm, it’s definitely time for a change. Dirty water can harbour pathogens like Strep, E. Coli, mould, and mildew. Inhaling these can lead to serious illness.

Does Bong Water Help Plants Grow?

Some people claim that their bong water works as a low-grade fertilizer and makes their plants grow faster. This may be true for plants that like acidic conditions. Unless a plant is severely dehydrated, most plants will not benefit from bong water.  

Some people may wonder if plants can feel high like people. Plants do not have brains or cannabinoid receptors. Being high is defined as a feeling of euphoria or an altered state of consciousness.

As far as we know, plants do not experience consciousness. Because they do not have a central nervous center and are not self-aware, it is safe to assume that plants cannot feel high.

The “highest” a plant can feel is just being healthy. The perfect amount of sunlight, water, and other nutrients from the soil will make a plant very healthy. Still, it is unlikely that the plant can “feel” its well-being.

Bongwater may be better than no water if your plant is desperate. Still, it’s not good to regularly dump bong water into your plant.

Is Bong Water Good for Marijuana Plants?

You may think that bong water is good for watering marijuana plants because it has more matter than the plants can use. In general, the acidity of bong water and the risk of mould, mildew, bacteria, and fungus outweigh any potential benefits.

Marijuana plants prefer to be watered with “soft” water, like rainwater. Soft water contains fewer minerals like calcium and magnesium. Reverse osmosis, filtered or distilled water is ideal for marijuana plants.

Will Bong Water Kill Plants?

Pouring bong water on plants is generally not helpful, and it may kill your plants. Most plants don’t like the acidity of bong water. You can lower the acidity of soil by adding calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous.

Additionally, the bacteria and fungi can easily become a problem for your plant, causing infections. Plants with a bacterial infection may form spots or crispy, brown edges on their leaves. Fungi usually lead to spots, root rot, and black stems.

A small amount of bong water won’t kill your plants. A small amount could be good for them if they like acidic soil. Still, it’s best not to pour bong water in plants.

If you’ve already poured your bog water into the plant’s pot, don’t panic. Follow up the bong water with lots of fresh water and make sure the roots have proper drainage to prevent fungi and mould growth.

Bong Water: Bad for Plants, Good for People?

Does drinking bong water get you high? As you burn the marijuana and pull it through the water, traces of CBD, THC, and plant matter are left behind. However, drinking old bong water is not a good idea.

Bongwater can contain bacteria, especially if it has been sitting on the counter for a long time. No matter how desperate you are, drinking bong water will probably just make you sick. Not to mention, it smells and tastes nasty.

But will bong water get you high? In short, no. Even a gallon of bong water won’t give you a buzz. 

The trace amounts of CBD and THC are not concentrated enough to make you feel high. The small amount present in bong water will have even less effect if ingested.

Because THC is insoluble in water, you may wonder if it can be extracted and reused. It is technically possible to extract the THC. However, you will never extract enough THC from bong water to get high again.

Besides some minimal hydration, there are no health benefits to drinking bong water. Drinking dirty bong water is like drinking a puddle. It isn’t great.

Other Uses for Bong Water

If you can’t pour it into your plants and you can’t drink it, are there other ways to use bong water? Unfortunately, there are not many uses for old bong water.

If you keep a compost pile, adding the bong water to the compost should be fine. The compost is full of bacteria, mould, fungi, and acidic materials. By adding bong water, you can incorporate the leftover plant matter into the compost.

Still, you’ll need to have a balanced compost pile to do this. A pile made entirely of coffee grounds, and bong water is too acidic to be useful in your garden. It needs a good amount of decaying plant matter to balance the acidity.

In summary, bong water is essentially useless. Don’t feel bad about wasting bong water. It has served its purpose in filtering harmful materials from your smoke.

Bong Water Alternatives

If you feel guilty about wasting water or you want to mix up your smoking experience, you can try using other liquids besides plain water in your bong. Unsweetened sparkling water will add a fun carbonated sensation.

You can also flavour your smoke with unsweetened cranberry juice. Be sure to clean your water pipe quickly and thoroughly after using any juice to avoid stains and bacteria. Some people have used red wine to smoke from their bongs, but this isn’t recommended due to the sugar content and alcoholic vapours.

Alcoholic vapours are extremely dangerous to your lungs. They can also ignite easily. For this reason, never use vodka, whiskey, rum, or any other alcoholic beverage in your bong.

For obvious reasons, you should never pour juice or alcohol into your plants. Juice used as bong water will still contain harmful pathogens and substances like ash and resin. These liquids are also highly acidic and harmful. (https://fiberclean.com/)

Blooms Don’t Want Bubblers

Is bong water good for plants? At the end of the day, no, bong water is not good for plants. Bongwater can provide some necessary hydration, but the acidity, bacteria, and fungi can be toxic for your plants.

Unless you enjoy the idea of inhaling pathogens, you should change your bong water every time you smoke. Next time you’re having a smoke session, don’t pass the bong to your pothos.

Do you enjoy learning about and growing plants? The Seed Pharm has the best variety of marijuana seeds for you to grow your own herbal garden. Shop our selection of Indicas, Sativas, and hybrids!