For many would-be cannabis growers, drying the plant is one of the last steps they consider. Unfortunately, this generally entails that drying marijuana and curing cannabis are neglected or rushed. Learning how to dry cannabis and cure it correctly may make all the difference between a good crop and an utter disaster. After all of that effort and cost in propagating those precious seeds, nurturing your delicate plants through the early stages of veg, and carefully trimming your crop into a display of blooming, bud-i-ful works of art, the last thing you’d want is to jeopardize everything you’ve worked for by drying or curing your cannabis flowers incorrectly. Mold, germs, and a loss of terpene or marijuana cannabinoids are just a few examples of serious problems that may develop if you don’t dry or cure cannabis properly. You can buy this product in our store.
Drying and curing are two phases of the extraction process that most cannabis experts acknowledge. Many seasoned growers consider drying & curing to be an artform, and the more time, planning, and effort you put into conditioning your buds for drying & curing, the better they’ll end up.
Have you ever ruined a perfectly good batch of cannabis after failing to properly dry or cure it? What are the best techniques for drying cannabis? Is it difficult to learn how to cure marijuana? Let’s go through the dos and don’ts of drying weed and curing it.
How to Dry and Cure Your Cannabis
Cannabis drying and curing is an art. It’s difficult to dry cannabis fast in a coastal climate. This is due to the high nighttime humidity in these areas. Mold attack is likely in marijuana grown in these regions. So, winter or fall are the optimal months to attempt to dry it quickly.
If you reside in a hotter climate or an area with a high elevation, such as Denver, it’s a different story. The temperature in Arizona and Nevada can vary from 28 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year, with low humidity levels.
The average temperature in January is 34 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average temperature in July is 46 degrees Fahrenheit. The figures are taken from the averaging of recorded weather data at nearly 1,800 weather stations across the United States.
When squeezed between your fingertips, a marijuana bud should resemble a marshmallow. It will fall apart if it is excessively dry. While small amounts are simple to dry and cure, large quantities pose a greater challenge. Don’t assume that you need to achieve a certain temperature, altitude, or humidity level.
Even so, your drying room must be well ventilated and receive a steady supply of filtered, fresher air from the outdoors. You’ll also need to take steps to ensure odor control for exhaust air is adequate. Please keep in mind that low temperatures encourage cannabis with a high chlorophyll content, especially when coupled with poor ventilation.
Growers water cure, freeze-dry, or dry ice cure their plants. However, in this article, we will concentrate on a tried and true drying and curing technique.
What Is the Best Way to Dry Cannabis?
Before you begin the drying and curing process, make sure you have all the equipment you will need. This includes:
- Wide-mouth mason jars for all your plants
- A drying rack
- A hygrometer
- Humidipacks
The last two steps are not required. However, they assist by monitoring humidity and keeping your cannabis from drying out too much. When growers chop down the marijuana plants, they immediately notice how sticky and wet the blooms are. This is an excellent sign that your plants’ intoxicating resin levels are high. However, if you leave it alone, germs and fungus will infect it.
The easiest approach to dry marijuana is to use 12-inch branches from the plants. Next, cut away any unusable leaves, then hang the branches from coat hangers or even thread! If you have enough area to hang the plants, there’s no need for pricey equipment.
Trimming
The two methods of trimming are known as wet and dry. The plant is trimmed as soon as it reaches maturity in the wet method. Trim branches individually and remove any superfluous plant growth with scissors. Because their lower cannabinoid content, sugar leaves aren’t ideal for edibles, don’t eliminate all of them.
When it comes to harvesting on a commercial scale, dry trimming is preferable. This is when branches are cut off and hung upside down from individual lines. Only trim and process them when they’re completely dry.
Trim the larger fan leaves from your cannabis plants to improve the appearance of the buds, regardless of which technique you use. If you allow too much foliage to survive, your marijuana will become harsher to smoke. If you reside in a humid environment where humidity levels are below 30%, you should trim fewer leaves as a guideline.
Hanging Your Buds
The most essential aspect of effective drying is to make sure your storage space is at the proper temperature and humidity levels. Keep the drying area between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and keep the humidity level at 45 to 55 percent. It’s fine to use a little fan to move air around; don’t point it directly at the cannabis.
Are you having difficulties maintaining the recommended ranges for temperature and humidity? If so, consider purchasing a humidifier (or dehumidifier if necessary) or an air-conditioning unit. When drying cannabis, hang it upside down.
However, if space is an issue, you may lay them flat on a surface such as cardboard. If you do this, be sure to rotate the buds every few hours to avoid wet spots. Also, make sure your grow room is simple to access because you must check on your buds every day.
If you don’t have the budget for a specialized drying rack, the clothes hanger technique will take longer to dry your buds than a regular hanger. This is because you eliminate the damp stems from the buds. Mold will be an issue if you live in an extremely humid environment. It’s a good idea to invest in a dryer in this situation.