DRYING AND CURING CANNABIS: HOW TO DO IT?
After the cannabis harvest, you can't enjoy your cannabis right away. Drying and curing cannabis is an important step if you want to preserve the plant's optimal strength and aroma. Drying allows you to get all the water out of the buds, making them easier to smoke. And curing, which takes a few weeks, gives your weed a lovely, smooth aroma. So it's worth applying these techniques. This blog tells you how.
Drying and curing weed in steps
Ideally, of course, you would like to enjoy your buds immediately after harvesting. But unfortunately that is not the best thing you can do. Moist buds do not smoke pleasantly and will also quickly turn mouldy. That's why drying is the first step, and if you really want to go for quality, you can also go for curing.
Drying weed
Drying is not complicated, but you should take your time. It is best to dry weed in a dark room or cupboard, so that no light can reach it. Light stimulates the breakdown of THC. Make sure you have something to hang the cut cannabis branches on, and do it in such a way that the plants cannot touch each other. That way, enough air can circulate between them. Hang the branches upside down.
It is useful to put a thermometer in the room. Try to keep the temperature at around 20 degrees. If you can also keep an eye on the humidity, keep it at 50%. This allows the moisture to evaporate fairly quickly, without your plants drying out too much. In general, it takes at least 10 to 20 days for your buds to dry sufficiently. When are they dry enough? You can test this by bending the branches. If they break easily, the buds are dry. If they bend without breaking immediately, they need a little longer.
During the drying process, it is especially important to ensure good ventilation. When the room is well ventilated, the chance of mould is minimised. Use a fan if there is not enough airflow in the room. Drying cannabis is only step one, after this you can start to cure.
Curing cannabis
Once you've dried your cannabis buds properly, it's time to cure. Curing is actually an extra step to remove the last moisture from the buds. It ensures that your buds will have a better aroma and more powerful high. In addition, drier buds are better to burn and smoke. But it is important to find the right balance. If your buds get too dry, they will become too brittle and lose flavour.
You also need patience for curing. You should take at least two weeks, but for best results, your buds should cure for about two to three months. For this step, you need airtight, glass jars (e.g. weck jars with a rubber ring). Fill each jar up to two-thirds full, leaving enough space for some air circulation. If you fill the pot too full, the buds will be too close together and moisture will not be able to escape. This eventually leads to mould.
Put the pots in a cool and dark place. For the next two weeks, the idea is to open the pots every day. Check that there is no mould in them, shake the contents briefly to get extra oxygen. If you see a top with mould, remove it immediately. Hopefully it hasn't spread yet. Smell the contents of the pots as well. If it smells like wet hay or ammonia, throw away the contents. The good bacteria have then died and there is too much moisture in the buds.
If after two weeks you haven't smelt any strange smells and everything looks good, you can in principle use the buds. But the longer you let them cure, the better the result will be. If you want to cure longer, open the pots regularly and check them for mould. After 2 to 3 months, your buds will smell and taste even better and be of optimal quality.
Extra tips for curing
Drying and curing weed takes a lot of time, but it does give you a lot. Still, some things can go wrong. Managing the moisture balance is pretty tricky. During curing, it can happen that your buds get too dry. In that case, it's good to know that you can rehydrate your weed.
A handy tip is to add some fresh buds to the pot. These will rehydrate the air, creating a new balance. Eventually, all the buds can continue drying, while the extra moisture ensures that the buds do not become so extremely dry.
Another option is to add small pieces of fruit, such as lemon or orange. These also provide some extra moisture, but also add a lovely subtle aroma. Of course, you have to love this, but you can experiment with the different possibilities.
Patience is a virtue, it is said, and this is certainly true when it comes to drying and curing cannabis. Because while it does take a lot of time, it is well worth it in the end. If you really want to enjoy the rich, smooth flavour of your cannabis buds and an extra powerful high, then you would do well to put the necessary time and energy into this. And once you do, you'll probably never want anything else. If you're still looking for good cannabis seeds, check out our Top Ten Seeds!
