Pay attention that growing marijuana may be subject to special restrictions and regulation in your country or state. Please contact your attorney to obtain advice before cultivating cannabis.
Disclaimer
Pay attention that growing marijuana may be subject to special restrictions and regulation in your country or state. Please contact your attorney to obtain advice before cultivating cannabis.
Drying and curing processes can be just about the most crucial part of all cannabis cultivation. After all, if the rules are not followed, marijuana can even become dangerous to your health. It is impossible to go on without drying: the crop can't remain "fresh" for a long time. If excess moisture inside buds causes mold development, then it's all in vain. That is why drying and curing is the final key to successfully growing cannabis.
What are these?
We already have an article on how to dry cannabis. However, the topic of curing remained unresolved. The thing is that during this storage process, buds release moisture, moving it from the "core" to the edges of the weed. In this case, it is essential to adhere to the rules of correct curing, which we describe below.
Drying and curing practices
Thoroughness and uniformity are the main criteria for drying and curing processes. Properly dried cannabis will have excellent effects and terpene profile. To make sure you are doing everything right, you have a few things to keep in mind:
Do not hurry. Different types of drying can take up to two weeks, and this is entirely normal. You probably won't be able to speed up the process in any way, but it's important not to make everything worse. The drying time also depends on the size of the buds and your room.
Try to adhere to the humidity and temperature indicators mentioned in the guides as much as possible. These are usually optimal ones and should not be changed unless you are a real professional. The numbers you want are 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit along with 55-65% humidity.
As we mentioned, uniformity is crucial. Therefore, the drying room must also be dark, but there must be gentle air circulation. Likewise, it is vital to control and adjust the temperature and humidity of your room. The entire process cannot be ideally monitored, so having both a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the room would be good.
Take responsibility for the selection of containers for curing. It doesn't have to be plastic because marijuana can take on the smell and taste of plastic. And also, this container must be airtight. Otherwise, you will not succeed in curing.
Let your cannabis feel loose in your packaging: do not tamp or crush the buds. We recommend filling the container to about 70% to allow excess moisture to leave the crop.
Prepare the equipment at the buds flowering stage, do not wait until the last. You should provide your yield with proper care almost immediately after harvesting it.
Consider space. It takes a lot of room to dry marijuana. If the buds are too close to each other, moisture will linger in your crop, and as a result, you may get mold.
Control the cleanliness of the room. Sanitation and hygiene dramatically affect the final quality of your weed. Besides, you should periodically check the status of your cannabis. There is a high chance of cross-contamination if even one bud has mold, so checks are inevitable.
Final thoughts
Despite the many rules, you should gather your strength and try again because this is the home stretch! The cannabis you have recently harvested is still very sensitive to the entire environment, so it's worth understanding its particular features. Drying and curing processes may seem many times easier to you than growing itself, but you should not lower your vigilance. Even if you are sure nothing terrible will happen, you can always show your love and care once again to your crop because this will definitely be rewarding.
