If you over-dry your cannabis, it'll be more likely to go moldy, so it's important to monitor the drying process closely. If your buds are too dry, they'll be more likely to crumble when you try to break them up for smoking, so it's important to take them out of the drying chamber before they become too dry.
To ensure proper airflow, avoid overcrowding the branches and leave some space between them. The branches should be left to dry slowly in a temperature and humidity-controlled room. Drying cannabis branches typically takes 7 to 10 days.
While the cannabis flowers are still soft from the moisture, cultivators take the time to trim the sugar leaves and make the buds more visually appealing. This step also helps to speed up the drying process, which can take anywhere from a few days to three weeks, depending on the environment.
Mold can also develop while your buds are being dried and cured. There are methods growers use to help prevent bud rot. Wait until after a dry spell before harvesting your plants. Outdoor plants should not be harvested if there has been any rain during the last three days.
Ideally, a well-cured bud should bounce back like memory foam. When you bend the stems, do they snap cleanly? This is a sign of a good cure. If they are still pliable and bend, the bud is too moist.
A simple test you can do is to take one of your bigger buds and put it in a small jar or bag. Come back in an hour and if there is any moisture on the inside of the bag or the bud is suddenly damp to the touch, then you know it needs more drying time.
When Do I Know My Buds Are Properly Dried And Ready To Cure? There's a simple test to know if your buds are dry: Simply take a small branch and try to bend it. If it snaps, your buds are dry and you're ready to move on to the curing process. If they bend, your buds need a little longer to dry.
Powdery mildew on buds after harvest is a serious concern for cannabis growers, and for good reason. This severe blight is one of the top causes of cannabis plant destruction. The key to beating this threat is to keep it from getting anywhere near your plants in the first place.
Post-cured Cannabis Buds
After being cured, the nuggets will look like they've been rubbed down with baby powder. The hair color will fade to an ashy gray color, and many trichomes will start to fall off. However, it is essential to note that those trichomes contain most cannabinoids and terpenes within the flower.
Be aware that your buds will most likely start to get that hay smell when air-dried in a warm place so try to keep the environment as cool as possible (under 70 °F/20 °C).
Trimming cannabis is a key part of the post-harvest process, and well-trimmed buds are an important mark of quality and price in the industry. After buds are harvested from the cannabis plant, they are either dried to reduce the moisture content before they are trimmed or they're trimmed right away.
If you don't have the space to hang your drying cannabis, you can also use nets that will allow you to lay your cannabis and should also allow for airflow. Remember that if there is any moisture left in between the buds that does not air out, you could lose your harvest to mould!
An ideal drying environment for cannabis is a dark room between 60-68 F and 55-65% humidity with moderate indirect airflow. The colder temperatures help to preserve highly volatile terpenes.
Simple brown paper bags, like the kind you get from the bakery, are perfect for drying buds. Especially popcorn buds. If you place a handful or two of freshly manicured smaller nuggets into a paper bag and leave them to dry for 2–3 days your halfway there.
The ideal drying room must be dark, as light can damage the THC in your buds. While it does not hurt to have a light source inside to check on the progress of your buds, you should keep it off most of the time, and block all other passages of light that can enter the room.
Higher THC
Trichomes are present on all marijuana plants, but sticky plants have the most and therefore generate the most THC on their tips. Since THC is one of many factors that affect an individual's “highness” from weed, sticky weed will often be more potent than dry weed of the same strain.
Oftentimes the flower is most susceptible to bud rot during the growing process making it crucial that cultivators establish a grow environment that's inhospitable for mold growth. However, post-harvest bud rot can sneak up on you and cause irreparable damage to your crop.
This occurs when plants lose their moisture content, curl up, and feel fragile and crunchy to the touch. Several environmental factors give rise to this issue—nutrient problems, too much water, and excess heat are just a few of the common culprits.
Water curing helps to speed up the curing process by removing water-soluble irritants that affect the overall flavour. But you can certainly use both of these methods together; bud washing beforehand will prevent your flowers from bathing in their own grime during the water curing process.
Depending on the strain, it takes 3 to 10 days for your plants to be optimally dried. We know it is hard! You can tell they are ready when the outside of the buds feels dry to the touch. If you used the hanging method, it is ready when stems snap clean off versus bending or tearing.
The drying and curing phase after harvest allows the buds to fully develop in taste, aroma, and potency. However, it also gives the buds time to become more firmly packed and tight. If the buds are not given time to fully dry and cure, it could cause airy buds.
Right before you begin to harvest buds, you can remove most or all of your fan leaves. However, always allow two days for the plant to recover before harvesting buds. You may want to prune fan leaves just prior to flushing, because the reduction in nutrients will tend to yellow some of these leaves anyway.