How to Dry Weed Flower: The Right Way

When it comes to marijuana cultivation and harvesting, many new growers believe the hard work is completed. That isn’t quite right. Unfortunately, you must wait a little longer to consume the rewards of your efforts. Before using it, you’ll need to trim, dry, and cure your harvest.

Trimming and drying are both necessary aspects of cannabis preparation. However, not everyone finishes the curing process, because it is not 100 percent essential. It also means waiting even longer to enjoy your harvest. Expert growers advise going through the full curing procedure rather than skipping it. The procedure improves potency and flavor while extending the shelf life of your smoke. It also allows you to keep your weed for longer.

You have the power to choose whether or not to cure your marijuana, but there is no debating that you must dry it properly from the start. That’s what we’ll be covering in this guide: How to dry marijuana flower…the right way!

A Few Things to Consider When Drying Weed

There are a number of sophisticated drying techniques for marijuana buds, such as freeze-drying. The easiest approach to do it is, perhaps, the most effective. The drying (and curing) process begins as soon after you cut down the cannabis plant as possible. It’s critical to be patient during the drying step because it must be done slowly.

However, you must make sure it doesn’t proceed too slowly or else mold will develop. In an effort to speed up the process, some individuals use ovens, microwaves, and hot air fans. You are welcome to test any of these procedures; we won’t be responsible if your pot is destroyed as a result of it.

Producers who have been in the business for a while recommend drying marijuana in darkness, as light exposure lowers the concentration of cannabinoids.

In addition, darkness lowers the level of chlorophyll in the plants. This is excellent news because too much of it causes a harsh smoke. However, no matter what drying technique you use on buds, you will need to trim them first. It’s a time-consuming process that feels like it’ll go on forever. Nonetheless, to get a more aesthetically attractive bud, you must complete the procedure.

Trimming may be avoided, and the leaves on the plant may remain. When you smoke weed, you’ll regret it afterward when your throat and lungs burn! Furthermore, the sugar leaves on the bud have a lesser THC concentration than the stalk. As a result, if you don’t remove the plants, you’re cheating yourself out of a fantastic high.

Drying Marijuana Old School Style is STILL One of the Best Methods

The best way to dry marijuana is by cutting 12-inch branches from the plant, then trimming away the unwanted leaves. All you need next are some coat hangers or pieces of string to hang your newly cut plants– no expensive equipment required as long as you have enough space!

The most important thing when it comes to successful drying is making sure your storage area is at the proper temperature and humidity levels. The ideal drying room temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with a relative humidity of 45-55 percent. It’s fine to use a tiny fan to move the air; don’t aim it directly at the cannabis.

If the temperature and humidity in your home are outside of the recommended ranges, buy a humidifier (or dehumidifier) or an air-conditioner.

The best way to dry weed is by hanging your buds upside down. If space is an issue, though, you can lay them flat on a surface like cardboard. If you opt for this method, turn the buds every few hours to prevent wet spots from forming. Remember: since you’ll need to check on the progress daily, ensure that your grow room is easy to get in and out of.

If you can afford it, a specialized drying rack will help you dry your buds more quickly by removing the wet stems from the buds. In humid environments, mold will grow on your plants if they are not dried quickly enough. A clothes hanger may not be sufficient to prevent this in these cases, so it is important to purchase a drying rack if you live in a place with high humidity.

How to Dry Weed: Feel the ‘Snap’ of Dry Buds

Your buds will be fully dry within five to nine days, depending on the conditions of your storage room. Even if they are dried faster, you can still cure them; although, that process will just take longer. Once the buds are ready for curing, snap off the smallest buds by applying little pressure.

You may detect a slight bend in larger stems, indicating that there is still moisture inside. That’s fine since the curing procedure forces the concealed water to work its way out to the surface of the buds. If you have a big crop, stack branches in bins with the lids off overnight.

Every day, reach for the bottom of the container. If there is more moisture on top than on the bottom, turn the branches over. When you’ve achieved a similar consistency throughout both ends, you may place lids on the containers.

How to Dry Marijuana… A “Pressing” Matter

In most situations, you won’t need to ‘press’ the cannabis. If you grew marijuana nuggets outside that appear bushy, though, pressing them might enhance their appearance. It’s ideal to perform this technique 5-9 days after hanging the buds because you want slightly damp marijuana. Roll up the buds in plastic bags and squeeze them. Place the bags under pillows or similar for a few hours to keep them under strain.

If you’re not careful when pressing marijuana, the trichomes will burst and lower the quality. After a couple hours have passed, remove the weed from the bags. You’ll notice that the buds are sticking to each other; separate them and return them to their hangers so the drying process can finish. To improve aesthetics further, repeat this process every two days until you’re satisfied with what you see.

To Cure or Not to Cure your Weed?

Remove the buds from the branches and store in wide-mouth mason jars once they are dry enough for your taste. You have the right to use marijuana at this time. However, keep in mind that its strength and flavor are far below optimal. Almost half of the final bud quality is thought to be due to good curing of cannabis, according to experts. Curing your marijuana correctly might double your enjoyment!

The process of curing marijuana is quite simple, it just requires patience.

Place the buds into mason jars until they are 75 percent full. Make sure the lids are secured, then store the buds in a cool, dark location in a room with a temperature of 70 degrees and a humidity level of 60-65%.

The first week, open your containers several times a day for a few minutes at a time. This allows oxygen to circulate and supports more moisture escape. After the initial week, you only need to open them once every couple days. Curing usually takes 2-3 weeks, but this process significantly improves quality and potency. For best results, allow strains to cure in jars for up 8 weeks.

Conclusion

If you want to save your marijuana for later, you need to dry it. The process is easy but slow, and all you need is some patience and a storage room that has the right humidity and temperature. Whether you wait a few more weeks or months for curing is up to you; try it immediately after drying if you want, but we recommend waiting for better flavor and potency.

To recap, the process is as follows:

• Cut the marijuana plant down at harvest time.
• Remove extra leaves.
• Hang the buds to dry; wait 5-9 days until the small stems snap.
• Once the buds are completely dry, store them in mason jars. Jars are used to cure rather than dry things!
• For the first week, open the jars daily to cure them. After that, you can open them every few days for several weeks.

There are two primary ways to tell if your buds are dry: by feel, or by relative humidity (RH).

• 70+% RH: The buds are too wet to go into a jar. At this humidity level, put them outside the jar for a few hours.
• 65-69% RH: You can put the buds in a jar. However, keep the lid off for at least two hours.
• 60-64% RH: This is the ideal humidity level for curing.
• 59% or Less: Your buds are ‘okay’ in the high-50s. Once the RH dips to 55% or below, your weed is now too brittle. You can buy a Humidipak to increase the humidity level.