Drying Your Weed - A Tutorial

Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

I am currently drying some buds from my first crop. How long does it take in the curing process before the buds get that real nice smell to them? When they do get that nice smell to them are they ready to smoke.

Joe, that (how long until smokeable) totally depends on whether you trimmed before drying and what the humidity and temperature is in your cure room.

Take a test bud, break it up and grind it. If it has a problem getting through the holes in the grinder, it's probably a tad too wet yet to roll (last bastion of moisture is held in the stem and heart of the bud), but will burn in a bowl nicely. They won't be ready to seal up yet, but you'll get a great idea where the cure is going by the taste of the test bowl(s).

An early but decent cure may take a month to accomplish. A killer cure can take 4-6 months.

Bon Apetite!

;)
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

I smoked a sample of the home grown and all i can say is "finger licking good" stuff. What a treat... And to think it will get even better in a little more time....
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

i use a mason jar and air out on a newspaper about 3-5 hours a day. it takes approx. 10 days till smokin and dry. but theres something about the mason jar that makes my buds and chrystalized leaves so sweet. i never had any mold problems yet.
thanks for info on drying. i really try not to quick dry, but sometimes you got to or go w/out.:thankyou:
i try to make sure im always drying. or have some ready in the mason jar. rotational growing is hard, but can be done. so you always have something in the cupboard.
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

Awesome thread here guys i'm stuck in an airport in dallas and my budz are hangin in CO and have been for six days i was a little worried they had been hangin to long and was freakin out but i now am feelin pretty confident that its almost better that they've been hangin so thanks to everyone on the forum way to go guys and gals
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

I'd like to add that I think FAST DRYING is a crime and an injustice. It's just not right!

And I'd like to add that drying under any light is unwise too. Strong Light can decrease the THC in the trichs, I have read in many places and sources.

I believe how they are manicured or trimmed makes a big difference and the outdoor and inside humidity makes a big difference.

I dry mine in a very dark room, with an oscilating fan in the room, stirring the air, but not with the fan blowing on them. I just want some air movement.
I highly urge anyone and everyone to trim very closely, those trim leaves are ideal for making HASH, they can add harshness to the smoke and harbor undigested nutes. Well, not really undigested nutes, but they can harbor the taste of nutes or chemicals. Trimming closely can also speed up the Drying and Curing Process.

I read often to DRY until the stems snap, about ten or 12 days, but I quit drying mine that long. I like a small amount of moisture in my stems, to control how dry they get.
To start with, AFTER I chop, I save a long piece of stem, the thickness of a pencil, in my refrigerator. IF I over dry, I can add a small 2 inch piece of moist stem back to my jar for a day.
I dry my fluff and popcorn buds for about 4 days in box lids. If it rained outside, I add a day for everyday it rained. I know if I over dry, I can add moisture back. If I do not dry enough, I can have a problem with mold.
I dry my smaller stemed buds for 5 to 7 days and my large buds for 7 to 9 days, before jarring them. Then stems are not easily snapped then. I open and burp my jars daily for 30 full days in a row, feeling of them, and smelling them too for tell-tale signs of mold..
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

Had a lil problem weekend gon. Around 7 ounce of cheese 'scrap' where drying, all seperated in flat cardboard box. Was about 5 days in. Checked on everyday, nxt time it seen, mould seen to be forming bag to on nearly all of the bud. So quicky dem tek it up & place it under a bathroom blower heater whilst sperate d good from bad.The bad was rather bad fi just half a day manifestation so then that piece rather than thrown away was put eena d oven on around >100 degrees. Just 10 minutes & then placed in the grill above wid a little heat from d oven & left for round 5 hour wrap eena foil. Then dash eena pizza box again. Now the good one is curing now, nice light green & can tink it's rarse all over. The one deya mould now is dark dark green & I tell you it smoke heavy, real heavy, taste deep, no real note of harshness like I thought there might be. No waste!! ... just want to share whappen.. bless
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

best dry cure seems to be hanging with a bit of h20 cloth on root stem, allows plant to live long during very cool dry. preserve the terpines/aromatic oils which vaporize above 70 degree. preferred temp is below that, super dry air, low pressure if possible.

this plant lives during first phase of slow cool dry cure. the plant uses up much during that last long phase. oils are not leaving due to cool temp. hanging, according to legend, makes it easier for oils to migrate to surfaces.

after drying underway, seems wise to switch to dry ice, slight pressure in the release system makes it penetrate and thus dry faster.

most important is low temps to preserve aromatics, plant lives long to use up it's remaining harsh chemistries. thus a water holding rootball to feed the drying plant.

cannabis grows very well upside down, has a great system for twisting up again.. older mamas i have vine out like grapevines. so curing down seems natural to the plant i think.

but a wet rootball seems the wisest way, to allow the plant maximum life during drying, but upside down..

Does anyone have experience with that, and or opinions? I've been exploring for a best-cure process..
thanks for all the great wisdom in this forum..
peace
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

Hey listen to RooRMan the guy knows what he is talking about.I myself am on my 1st grow and started a post can i try buds 1 week before harvest and let me just say i fast-dried 1st in micro then on light hood both sucked taste worse than hay and maybe head change for 15 or so minutes.Like RooRMan says be patience whats a couple more weeks after all that hard work,buy a bag if need be smoke that until completed dry,definetally worth it !!!!!
 
Re: Drying your weed - a tutorial.

what is slow to you guys ? 7 days, 10, 14 ???

For me in Colorado, 14 days would be the absolute minimum. Hopefully I can try and keep some humidity in my drying room.
Some of the fatter buds I harvested last Friday are already shrinking faster than I would like. Perhaps next harvest, I might try hanging them and keeping the stems damp, as cooler temps. here mean much lower humidity.
 
There is only one way, slow and steady.. BUT... if you absolutely MUST smoke... I've managed to perfect my method to the point of little to no chlorophyll taste and moderate potency, so here goes

the best success I ever had was with a pie warmer, basically an open bain marie, like a double boiler, so I will heat my oven to the lowest temp possible, strip my heads of all big leaves, leave a few around the top to protect the buds, set them out on greaseproof paper on a metal cookie tray, once the oven hits the desired temp, usually about 70-80deg c, turn it off, and leave it for a minute or two, them open the door fully pop the tray in and close it, every 5 mins or so just open the door and close it to let the built up heat escape, turn as required, and just keep an eye on it...

Usually I find if I am doing this, I will be smoking the leaf as well instead of using tobacco to stretch it out(filthy habit i know), so you'll end up with some nice crispy leaves for spin and I usually dont go to crisp with the bud, but leave them a little wet, and let the leaf balance it out, works a treat, testing some of my kush using this method now and pretty buzzed :D
 
What humidity is best to keep the drying process slow without causing mold?And what is the best method of keeping that humidity stable?
 
What humidity is best to keep the drying process slow without causing mold?And what is the best method of keeping that humidity stable?

Yeah would like to know this too. Is 1st time of trying a diff technique, from some advice i had, by keeping foliage on and hanging, but struggling to keep RH down. Got it down to about 65% now, from about 80. Just by opening window and increasing heat a little, from about 16 to 21degrees. Am going to try get a dehumidifier tomorrow, is this a necessity do you think? Or will 65% be ok if can keep it round there? Am worried about mold.

Thx in advance :thumb:
 
So I am a medical cannabis patient. Nearly all dispensaries in my area have been shut down by the state that voted it legal for medicinal purposes. I was forced to grow to meet my medical needs. (failed spine surgery) Needless to say the first time trying to grow I was SO dumb about it...BEYOND dumb. This time I didn't make SAME mistakes...I made new ones. (guess thats progress lol) Everything is going well so far (minus discovering a male WAY WAY to late...know what to look for NEXT time around) Plants are about 4 weeks from being ready to be harvested. I am trying to grasp the concept of drying and tried quick drying (just because I am that curious guy I had to try it at least) You can get good "high" from quick dry methods but it just tastes and smells God awful. So now I am trying to understand THE BEST METHOD of drying the right way. Do I essentially hang buds in dark cool spot (maybe decent closet) and wait until they dry? What is sweating it mean in drying terminology? Should I clip all the big leaves first before drying? You can poke fun I get it I am a rookie afterall. ONLY one way to really learn....here I am trying to learn.
 
make sure you flush your plants with plenty of water. i flush for the last 2 weeks before harvest. left over nutrients will make the weed taste nasty, harsh and cracklin. try to dry it by hangingin. a closet is good if you can. let dry by itself w/out heat or light. the longer it takes to dry the buds the better. at least 7 days. during growing i use a dehumidifier to keep it at 44% humidity. when drying i set it to 60% thats as high as it will go. its also good to water the plants 2-3 days before harvest. so the plants/buds get a good drink of fresh water before harvest. so they dont dry as fast. forget about quick drying. leave the big leaves on the plant during drying. that helps w/ drying. pull them off after drying. i cure for 2 weeks afterward. thats optional but i highly recommend it for optimum results.
 
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