After months of hard work carefully tending your plants, you’ve finally harvested a crop of frosty, fragrant cannabis buds that you just can’t wait to try. But first, they need to be dried. While you may be tempted to dry your cannabis as quickly as possible, curing, a prolonged process of removing moisture from the flowers under controlled environmental conditions, will provide a much better product for multiple reasons.
WHY DO I NEED TO DRY AND CURE MY CANNABIS?
Curing is super important because it helps preserve your weed so it can be stored over time—while still retaining its unique flavour and maximising potency. When you harvest your buds, they contain excess sugars and starches that eventually come under attack from airborne bacteria and enzymes. By curing your buds, you actually encourage the degradation of these nutrients, making for a smoother, better-tasting final smoke.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TRIM MY WEED?
There are two main methods for trimming your buds at harvest time. Wet trimming involves trimming your buds straight after harvest. Dry trimming, on the other hand, involves trimming your buds after drying and before curing. Ideally, we recommend trimming while your buds are still wet, as it’s easier, more precise, and you don’t risk losing resin from agitation as you do when handling dry buds. That said, dry trimming can make for an exceptionally manicured product worthy of a top-shelf position on looks alone.
What you need:
Place to Dry or Drying rack (optional) – I usually hang my buds from clothes hangers in my closet but you can hang buds from almost anything! String and creativity go a long way. It’s only recommended to use a drying rack if there’s high humidity or a lot of buds to be dried in a small space, because a drying rack can dry buds too quickly in average humidity conditions.
Hygrometer (optional) – I like the Caliber IV Hygrometer because it easily fits inside quart mason jars. This measures the humidity of the air inside your jar, so you can make sure it’s not too humid or too dry for optimal curing.
Humidipaks (optional) – Boveda Medium 62% packs are cheap and specifically formulated for storing cannabis so it does not dry out or get crispy.
Drying Your Buds Step-By-Step
Step 1 – Cut down your plant(s), laying them on a protective sheet until you can hang them.
Step 2 – Trim away any extra fan leaves from your stalks. (you could also choose to do this before you cut down your plant, if you find it easier)
Step 3 – Hang your stalks upside down to dry in a dimly lit, humidity-controlled ‘room’ or grow tent.
Step 4 – Your buds are dried enough when smaller stems snap off rather than bend.
Step Guide to Cannabis Curing
Step 1 – Separate Buds from Branches
Step 2 – Place Buds into a Container
You have put so much effort into the process that it would be a shame to get it wrong now. From now on, your primary goal is to ensure that your cannabis buds are stored in a controlled environment.
Step 3 – Place Container in a Dark Place
Step 4 – Regular Checks
Here’s what to do if the humidity level is outside this range:
Over 70%: Place your buds outside the jar for 12-24 hours.
65-70%: Take off the lid of the jar for 2-4 hours, but keep the bud inside.
55% or less: Rehydrate with a humidipack if you have one.
Step 6 – Pack in Portions and Weigh
When learning how to dry and cure marijuana, it can feel like a lengthy process. Proper curing requires 2-3 weeks for a quality product. However, many strains will benefit from 4-8 weeks to improve the quality even further. In fact, some strains do well when cured for six months or more!
Once you have waited the appropriate time for curing, you can finally sit back and enjoy your hard work. Trust us, that toke will be worth it.
WHY DO I NEED TO DRY AND CURE MY CANNABIS?
Curing is super important because it helps preserve your weed so it can be stored over time—while still retaining its unique flavour and maximising potency. When you harvest your buds, they contain excess sugars and starches that eventually come under attack from airborne bacteria and enzymes. By curing your buds, you actually encourage the degradation of these nutrients, making for a smoother, better-tasting final smoke.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TRIM MY WEED?
There are two main methods for trimming your buds at harvest time. Wet trimming involves trimming your buds straight after harvest. Dry trimming, on the other hand, involves trimming your buds after drying and before curing. Ideally, we recommend trimming while your buds are still wet, as it’s easier, more precise, and you don’t risk losing resin from agitation as you do when handling dry buds. That said, dry trimming can make for an exceptionally manicured product worthy of a top-shelf position on looks alone.
What you need:
Place to Dry or Drying rack (optional) – I usually hang my buds from clothes hangers in my closet but you can hang buds from almost anything! String and creativity go a long way. It’s only recommended to use a drying rack if there’s high humidity or a lot of buds to be dried in a small space, because a drying rack can dry buds too quickly in average humidity conditions.
Hygrometer (optional) – I like the Caliber IV Hygrometer because it easily fits inside quart mason jars. This measures the humidity of the air inside your jar, so you can make sure it’s not too humid or too dry for optimal curing.
Humidipaks (optional) – Boveda Medium 62% packs are cheap and specifically formulated for storing cannabis so it does not dry out or get crispy.
Drying Your Buds Step-By-Step
Step 1 – Cut down your plant(s), laying them on a protective sheet until you can hang them.
Step 2 – Trim away any extra fan leaves from your stalks. (you could also choose to do this before you cut down your plant, if you find it easier)
Step 3 – Hang your stalks upside down to dry in a dimly lit, humidity-controlled ‘room’ or grow tent.
Step 4 – Your buds are dried enough when smaller stems snap off rather than bend.
Step Guide to Cannabis Curing
Step 1 – Separate Buds from Branches
Step 2 – Place Buds into a Container
You have put so much effort into the process that it would be a shame to get it wrong now. From now on, your primary goal is to ensure that your cannabis buds are stored in a controlled environment.
Step 3 – Place Container in a Dark Place
Step 4 – Regular Checks
Here’s what to do if the humidity level is outside this range:
Over 70%: Place your buds outside the jar for 12-24 hours.
65-70%: Take off the lid of the jar for 2-4 hours, but keep the bud inside.
55% or less: Rehydrate with a humidipack if you have one.
Step 6 – Pack in Portions and Weigh
When learning how to dry and cure marijuana, it can feel like a lengthy process. Proper curing requires 2-3 weeks for a quality product. However, many strains will benefit from 4-8 weeks to improve the quality even further. In fact, some strains do well when cured for six months or more!
Once you have waited the appropriate time for curing, you can finally sit back and enjoy your hard work. Trust us, that toke will be worth it.
Comments
Post a Comment