Drying and curing your cannabis buds

Drying and curing your cannabis buds is the final stages of your cannabis grow and are important in making sure you have good, tasty, smooth cannabis buds to smoke. Most methods on how to dry marijuana sound easy but rushing this stage will destroy the months of hard work you have put in, get this stage right and you will enhance your plants potential and be left with some quality buds.

Reading the following section, you will form an understanding of how to dry cannabis buds, how to cure cannabis buds and know the time required for drying and curing, what equipment you will need, as well as understanding the optimal conditions required to create the perfect cured buds.

Now that your buds have been harvested, the temptation will be to start smoking it immediately by drying your weed too fast. However, cannabis that has not been dried and cured properly will lack potency and taste harsh. The most important asset when it comes to drying and curing your cannabis buds is patience. During the drying and curing process of your cannabis buds, you must remove 75% of its moisture and this takes time.

If you dry your cannabis buds too fast, you will trap sugars and chlorophyll in your buds that will leave your weed tasting bitter, whereas overheating your bud while it is drying will degrade your THC, CBN and CBD making the final product less potent. Allowing the moisture to evaporate from your bud slowly and evenly will make your smoke smooth and sweet to taste.

If you have chosen a strain for its high potency and taste, the best way to guarantee that you enjoy these characteristics is by drying your cannabis buds properly. If you want to speed up the drying process, make sure that you have spent the time trimming your cannabis buds properly as this will reduce the amount of time it takes for the moister to be removed.

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Drying cannabis buds needs to be in a dark place, so a good place to do it is in a closet. If you do not have a closet, you can use a cardboard or wooden box, with air holes cut into the sides to allow air flow. You will need to hang your buds, so they are not touching any surfaces as they will leave some of their sticky resin on anything they touch. Use some washing line, fishing line, string, or wool, making sure it can take the weight of the bud you are drying. The easiest way to attach your hanging cannabis buds is by using a clothes pin hanging from the stem, otherwise garden wire works well. Do not try drying weed in the same room you are growing as your bud needs darkness and low humidity to dry properly.

The most common and trusted method of drying cannabis buds is through air drying. To air dry your harvested weed, use the following short steps, once you have harvested your cannabis buds, manicure and trim your buds properly to help speed up the drying time. Hang your buds in a dark room, attaching them to a line by the stem using a clothespin or bulldog clip, ensuring they do not touch each other. Use a circulating fan to keep air moving around the room. Do not point it directly at the buds as this will dry them out too quickly and will cause poor tasting buds as mentioned earlier. Leave the buds to dry over the next 5-9 days, checking daily for signs of mould or being overly dry. Rotate the buds to get an even dry, taking care to handle them by their stems. Your buds are ready for curing once they are dry to the touch, but you can bend the stems without them snapping.

The following conditions are considered optimal for drying marijuana.

Heat – Between 18-24°C (65 and 75°F)
Humidity –Between 45 and 55%

Low temperatures will increase the humidity, which increases the time it takes for your bud to dry and increases the risk of mould. High temperatures will reduce the humidity of your drying space and will dry your weed too fast. Light, heat and over handling are the biggest enemy when drying cannabis buds. Dry your buds in a dark room, making sure you keep away from hot surfaces. Try not to over handle your buds as it damages the resin glands while they are drying which can result in less potent buds.

A good cure allows your weed to continue to dry slowly, removing moisture within the bud and increasing the potency. Curing it correctly ensures good quality, smooth tasting weed that is dry and can be stored with a much lower vulnerability to mould. For a good cure that reduces the risk of mould, use mason jars, as they are airtight once sealed and the glass does not pass on any unwanted flavours to your buds. If you do not have mason jars, you can use any airtight container, but avoid using zip locks bags as air and moisture can get in. Keep your curing buds in a cool, dark, dry place, making an effort to keep the buds out of the direct sunlight as this may over sweat your bud and cause mould to grow.

The following technique is arguably the best and most used when curing cannabis buds, be warned though it requires a lot of patience. If you use the following instructions, you will have nice, smooth, and sweet tasting buds to smoke.

Dry your weed for 5-9 days until they are dry to touch on the outside, but you can bend the stems without snapping. Place your buds in an airtight container, being careful not to squeeze them in as this will damage the resin glands and close the lid. Sweat for 2-3 hours per day. Open the lid for a short time allowing the buds to become dry to the touch again. Close the lid. Follow the same pattern for the first week (keeping the mason jar shut when you are sleeping), opening the lid until dry to touch (10 -15mins), before closing it again for a couple of hours. After the first week of drying, your buds should not be so vulnerable to mould, and you can move on to keeping the jar shut for longer. Keep the jar shut for 12 hours, opening it until the buds are dry, as per the established process above. Continue this process for at least another three weeks. On the fourth week, your buds will weigh 75% less than at the start of the drying and curing process and will be ready to smoke or put into storage.

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