How To Dry Weed

An essential step in the growth and harvesting of the cannabis plant is the drying and curing process. The quality of the end product depends on how you dry and cure marijuana. This article shows you how to dry and cure weed.

There is a method for drying the buds. When drying occurs quickly, the surface of the buds could appear dry, but the inside might not be dry. On the other hand, allowing the buds to dry over a long period could cause them to grow moulds.

 

Why Do You Need to Dry Cannabis?

Drying weed has several purposes:

• To Preserve Terpenes and Cannabinoids

After harvesting cannabis, you need to know how to dry and cure weed. This is important because it helps preserve terpenes and cannabinoids, which help highlight cannabis flavour.

• To Get Rid of Chlorophyll and Vegetable Taste

It is also vital to eliminate the chlorophyll and vegetable taste in the plant. The drying and curing process is pivotal in preserving the integrity of weed components such as terpenes and cannabinoids. These give flavouring and aroma to your cannabis buds.

• For Storage Purposes

When properly dried, buds can be stored for extended periods without going bad.

You must be careful when slow-drying cannabis buds so they do not grow moulds. You must also be careful not to dry marijuana buds too quickly to avoid incomplete drying.

You also need to know how to cure cannabis after drying. The curing process occurs in airtight containers, such as wide-mouth mason jars.

Best Ways to Dry Marijuana

Hang-drying cannabis is a popular method to dry buds. It involves hanging the marijuana plants in a dark environment with fresh air. However, you could also dry the trimmed buds using a drying rack.

Trimming Cannabis Buds

Upon harvesting, marijuana plants could lose up to 75% of their weight due to moisture loss. They also lose weight because of the parts of the plant that are trimmed off, including sticks, stems, and leaves.

Trimming the buds could either be wet trimming or dry trimming. Dry trimming entails drying the plant before trimming the buds. Wet trimming involves cutting the individual buds before the plant is dried, a tedious process.

Once you are finished trimming and drying, you can place the dried buds in an airtight container for the curing process. Putting them in an airtight container prevents moisture loss and helps preserve flavours. The curing process allows marijuana buds to take on their full flavour.

How Long Will it Take to Dry My Cannabis?

Drying weed can take as little as two days and long as seven days. It might take a shorter time when wet trimming your marijuana buds because most of the plant material is removed. Therefore, there is less material to dry.

If dry trimming your cannabis, hang the harvested plant upside down on a hanger. It helps to avoid flattening the buds as they dry.

You can place the trimmed buds on a drying rack for the wet trimming.

So how do you know you have a completely dry bud? Bend the beach or the stem to see if it snaps. Small branches snap when the buds are properly dried.

How Do I Set Up My Drying Room?

Your drying room should have good airflow. Therefore, you might need a dehumidifier or AC.

The space will need to be dark, and the temperature should range between 60 and 70° F. You cannot dry weed in ambient air because you must control humidity, temperature, and light.

The humidity level should be between 55 and 65%. Humidity packs could help you maintain humidity levels between 55% and 65%.

Drying best occurs in a dark environment. Rays from the sun can cause the weed to disintegrate. Cover the buds if you do not have light-tight space.

You could open the door to inspect the buds but do not leave it open for too long. A dark room is also preferred to avoid quickening the drying process.

Hanging the Dry Buds

It is easy to hang dry buds. However, they will take up more space. It entails hanging a branch or whole plant upside down.

Hanging your buds upside down saves you more time because you don’t have to pluck the buds. However, they will take longer to dry because there is more plant material to dry.

When doing a wet trim, you have wet buds that you cannot hang on the line or a hanger. In this case, you could make use of a drying rack. If drying using a drying rack, check your buds after 2 or 3 days by squishing them to see if they are dry.

Curing Cannabis

Drying takes away the initial moisture. After the drying process, the next step is the curing process. The process requires you to place the dried buds in airtight containers to stop further moisture loss.

Curing cannabis helps give flavour to buds by preserving terpenes and cannabinoids. The curing process can take between two weeks and one month to complete.

Why do we need to cure buds? Properly cured buds can be stored for long periods. You do not need to worry about the buds growing moulds.

Factors that Affect the Weed-Drying Process

Various factors affect the weed-drying process.

They include:

• The strain of Weed

The cannabis strain determines how long it takes to dry. Indica strains often dry slower than Sativa strains since Indicas are typically denser buds.

• Trim Quality

Your cannabis buds will take longer to dry if there is a lot of plant material. Well-trimmed buds will take a shorter time to dry. However, it depends on how you choose to dry your buds because the final bud quality will almost be the same.

• Humidity

Your drying environment determines how long it takes to dry your weed. It also determines the final bud quality.

Too much humidity will mean that the buds take longer to dry. They could also grow moulds if they take too long. Very low humidity means that the buds dry too quickly.

Humidity packs can help you control humidity in your drying room.

• Temperature

The temperature also affects the drying time and the final bud quality. Higher temperatures above the ideal temperature will mean your weed will dry too quickly. Lower temperatures will mean the weed takes longer to dry.

Regulate the temperature in your drying room to fall between 60 and 70° F for proper drying.

• Air Flow

The more the airflow, the quicker the weed will dry. On the contrary, if the airflow is relatively low, it might take longer for your cannabis buds to dry. Consider using an air conditioner to help with the airflow in your drying room.

• Light

The drying room will require a dark environment because light degrades THC, terpenes, and cannabinoids. These are responsible for the flavour and aroma in your marijuana buds.

 

Where to Buy Weed Online in Canada

There are various places to buy weed online from websites like Get Kush and in physical stores in Canada. Make sure you buy weed from a store of repute to avoid buying substandard products.

Consider buying weed from Weed Delivery Vancouver if you are looking for same-day delivery in the Lower Mainland of BC. They have an active online presence and knowledgeable staff to help with your queries.

You can also buy weed seeds online from trusted suppliers to help get you started on your grow.

 

Conclusion

You are now familiar with how to dry and cure cannabis. You need to control the temperature, humidity, and light of the drying space for ideal drying. You will need airtight containers for curing marijuana buds.

The drying and curing processes accentuate the weed’s flavour and aroma by preserving terpenes and cannabinoids. Therefore, try to follow recommended guidelines when drying and curing cannabis.

 

References

1. Challa, S. K., Misra, N. N., & Martynenko, A. (2020). Drying of cannabis—state of the practices and future needs. Drying Technology, 39(14), 2055-2064. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2020.1752230
2. The Seed Pharm. (2023, March 5). Buy Cannabis Seeds Online. Available at: https://www.theseedpharm.com/
3. Jin, D., Jin, S., & Chen, J. (2019). Cannabis indoor growing conditions, management practices, and post-harvest treatment: A review. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 10(06), 925-946. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2019.106067
4. Get Kush. (2023, March 5). Best Online Dispensary Canada | Buy Weed Online. Available at: https://getkush.cc/
5. Lazarjani, M. P., Young, O., Kebede, L., & Seyfoddin, A. (2021). Processing and extraction methods of medicinal cannabis: A narrative review. Journal of Cannabis Research, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-021-00087-9