Many believe that with properly dried and cured cannabis buds, the primary stem inside the body should be so dry that it snaps in half when bent. In reality, that would be considered over-dried. It should crack, yet bend without being wet or excessively moist.
It's way too dry. If it stays compressed and feels like a fresh plant, it's too moist. Ideally, a well-cured bud should bounce back like memory foam.
Properly cured cannabis will still be spongy and sticky, but not wet. Drying your flower too quickly will cause it to become too brittle and harsher to smoke. This can also cause your cannabis to lose some of its potency and aroma.
Do your buds feel good – not wet, not brittle? If so, then you have hit the optimal environment for curing. Your buds should be a little sticky, but move independently in the jar without grouping together.
Healthy buds shouldn't be overly moist and shouldn't break apart easily. If your stored buds are wet or moist, you may be storing them in too humid conditions. On the other hand, dry buds will be, well, dry to the touch, brittle, and easy to break apart.
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.
If the buds dry too quickly, more of the chlorophyll will remain, and the smoke will be bitter and have a green aftertaste.
Depending on the specific mass and profile of the flowers, the drying process generally takes three to four weeks. For both marijuana and hemp producers of smokable flower, the curing process is an important postharvest step that provides additional value in the quality of the resulting product.
Create an optimal environment in the room
Therefore, the drying room should be a dark, cool room with temperatures of 60ºF and relative humidity levels of 55-60%.
If you cut the buds entirely off the stems, you'll have to use something like a drying rack to place the buds on to dry. If you leave a little stem, you can instead hang them from a line to dry.
Dry & cure your buds in jars – In addition to improving taste, smell and potency, drying and curing your buds the right way will cause them to “tighten up” a bit.
Most plants will do well in temperatures of 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the flowering phase. Any hotter than this and the buds can start to present problems, including airy buds. Genetics will also play a part here.
The longer the buds take to dry, the more chlorophyll they lose, and less chlorophyll means better flavor. You can take your time when you go the route of dry trimming, making for a less stressful trimming experience. It is less messy to dry trim, as the buds are less sticky.
The older the plant grows, the more these trichomes will begin to change color, beginning as clear, then becoming cloudy or milky, then eventually turning amber. Most growers wait to harvest until the majority of their trichomes look milky, with a small percentage (20-30%) looking amber.
An ideal time to dry cannabis is around 5-7 days. However, the time it takes to reach the ideal dryness (explained below) will vary depending on your climate and drying location. Also, the condition of your plant will play a role, such as how fat the buds are, how many fan leaves are still attached, and so on.
The most significant loss in weight occurred in 1–3 days of the drying process and weights plateaued after one week. Cannabis lost between 25 and 77% of its original weight stored at an average of 22.2 °C and 49% relative humidity.
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.
However, a drying room should always be properly ventilated, with fresh, filtered, outside air and with proper odor control practices on all exhausted air. It should have the ability to both impart humidity via a humidifier and to dehumidify via a dehumidifier, as well as the ability to both heat and cool.
While not mandatory, it's definitely a good idea to wash cannabis flower buds that were grown outside. The process reduces outdoor air pollutants that may have accumulated on the buds such as dirt, dust, pollen, toxic wildfire ash, caterpillar poop, insects, bird debris, and other particulate matter.
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.
So how do you know when it's time to harvest? The telltale sign of harvest-ready weed is when the hairs of the plant, or pistils, have fully darkened and curled in. If your buds are looking thick and dense, but there are still some straight white pistils, it's not time yet.
Are Sugar Leaves Good to Smoke? Yes, sugar leaves can be smoked once they're dry, but they will be harsh and relatively weak in potency compared to the buds. Moreover, they will be less flavourful.
Lack of light is perhaps the most common reason that cannabis produces fluffy, light buds. You may have noticed the lower, puny 'popcorn' bud sites that form below the main canopy. Often these buds are discarded by growers allowing the plant to focus biochemical energy on the main blooms.
By placing individual buds on a drying rack—or hanging entire branches in a drying room—you'll reduce the water content of your buds by 10–15%. This process removes water from the outer layers of each flower, but you'll need to cure your stash to rid moisture from deeper within the buds.
A bud hardener is an additive you can use at the end of the flower cycle to tighten up your flowers and pack on weight. They are typically used in the final 3 weeks or so of the grow cycle and contain a mix of macronutrients, micronutrients, minerals, essential oils, etc.