Curing cannabis
In all areas of life, patience is a virtue that certainly pays off — especially if you’re curing cannabis. While the process of curing may seem like a hassle, this time-intensive process is needed in order to produce a smooth, enjoyable smoking experience from premium, quality buds.
Depending on the preferences of the grower, there are many marijuana curing techniques to choose from, and knowing how to dry and cure cannabis correctly is a skill that pays for itself. Think about it; you’ve already put in the work to grow quality weed, why jeopardize it by dropping the ball at the very end?
Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s go over the basics about what curing cannabis is, what it entails, why it’s so important, and how to do it for yourself.
What is Curing Cannabis?
Curing can be a time-consuming process, oftentimes taking weeks or months to finish. The reason the curing process takes so long is that the longer cannabis is cured, the more the undesirable compounds left behind in the drying process are removed. Whether its an indica vs sativa, all strains of weed have these undesirable compounds that have to be removed to produce a quality smoke.
When these byproducts are left behind, they leave behind a particularly unpleasant and harsh aftertaste — and curing banishes this.
Not only does it banish it, it also improves upon the flavour, aroma and potency of your buds.
Quality weed like the one you can get when you buy weed online, will always have their bud dried and cured before it even goes on sale.
The process itself consists of two parts; a drying period followed by a longer drying period, also known as curing. While redundant, there are some key differences between “drying” and “curing” weed keeping in mind they are not one in the same.
The first step of drying removes most of the moisture from the bud while curing (long dry period) allows the bud to dry while keeping the THC in its psychoactive state. The curing process also eliminates the green, earthy flavor, and replaces it with that classic pungent flavor high-quality marijuana is known for.
To sum it up, buds that aren’t properly dried and cured, aren’t as potent and will taste bad to boot.
Where you can cure cannabis depends on if you’re drying or curing your bud. The drying process can be completed outdoors, however, the long-term curing process needs to be done in an indoor environment to prevent damage and degradation. The most crucial thing to keep in mind is drying and curing cannabis really is an exercise of patience. The more patient you are, the better the results.
Why Is Curing Cannabis Important?
Aside from providing a better tasting and smelling product, curing also extends the plants shelf life and increases the number of terpenes and cannabinoids. The hows about the curing processes ability to increase potency levels has to do with the plants metabolic process.
As marijuana cures, the conversion of CBG — a non-psychoactive precursor of THC — continues to increase, thus, increasing overall potency levels. Furthermore, THCA (acidic counterpart of THC) is converted into THC as the bud cures over time. THCA is non-psychoactive while THC is responsible for the marijuana high.
Curing cannabis is also important for extending the flowers shelf life. The best way to guarantee a harvest will last and stay preserved is to cure it. When done correctly, the curing process keeps mildew and mold from growing and helps keep it from spoiling. If the growing environment is too moist, the buds can become moldy or rot, whereas if the environment is too dry, the cannabis buds will dry too quickly — resulting in a loss of cannabinoid content.
Not only that, but the curing of cannabis makes for a better tasting and smoother smoking product because it allows enough time for bacteria to break down chlorophyll — one of several compounds that contribute to harsh or foul tasting buds. Additionally, when cannabis is harvested, it still produces cannabinoids until all the moisture is evaporated from the plant, which will produce an overall better product.
Curing cannabis doesn’t just improve the flavor and cannabinoid output, but it also affects the aroma and terpene production of the plant. It does this because the slow curing process allows the plants natural oils and terpenes to spread throughout the surface of the flowers, which gives marijuana that strong dank smell it is so well-known for.
Now, you’re probably telling yourself “all this information is great, but it doesn’t tell me how I can cure my own cannabis at home.”
Before diving into how you can cure your own marijuana, we should go over three factors that can influence the outcome of the curing process. This way you’ll have a firm grasp about what to avoid, and what to aim for.
3 Factors That Influence The Curing Process
1. Keep Buds In a Dark Location
Throughout the drying and curing process, you’ll want to make sure to keep your plants in a dark environment because the light is the sole factor that can ruin terpenes and cannabinoids including THC. A dark box, cupboard, or room would work fine, or you could even keep them in glass jars that have been blacked out.
2. Keep It Protected From Heat
The heat factor usually only becomes an issue if you live in a region that gets over 80℉, with ideal temperatures being at around 69 ℉. The reason heat should be avoided is because it can degrade the cannabinoids including the overall THC potency of your bud.
3. Humidity
Even though curing cannabis is a relatively straightforward process, if your buds are too wet beforehand, it will cause them to clump together where it will likely breed mold or mildew. Additional moisture also encourages bacteria to break down the quality of your plants, which will give off the telltale smell of ammonia.
On the other hand, curing flowers that don’t have enough moisture will create a harsh, dry, and crumbling stash that tastes terrible. The goldilocks zone for humidity levels during the drying process is between 45-55%, and 62% during the curing process.
Now that we have gone over some of the more vital aspects of the drying and curing process, we’re going to give you a step by step process for how to cure your own cannabis at home.
Step 1
If your buds were dried individually, you’re good until the next step. If you dried them still on the branch, then you will have to trim your bud first.
Step 2
Next, you’ll want to put your buds in airtight containers like a mason jar and put them (loosely) into your container — filling it up about 75% of the way. The containers should also be darkened to keep any light from filtrating. This is also a good time to see if your plants are dry enough to be cured, and can be done by giving the container a gentle shake. If you hear it rattling around freely, then you are ready to proceed to the next step. If they look like they’re clumping together, then they’re still too wet, and you need to let them cure longer.
Step 3
After sealing your container, keep them in a cool, dark place to keep it protected from the aforementioned threats (mold, mildew, degradation). Ideally, a room or cupboard that maintains a relative humidity of 60-65%, and a temperature of 69 degrees, but in order to do this, you will need to get a hygrometer. This device is the only way to accurately measure humidity levels and guarantee your buds won’t sprout mold spores, or degrade in flavor and potency.
Step 4
You will want to check on your curing buds about twice a day to make sure no mold is forming and to supply some fresh air exchange for your plants.
If your hygrometer starts to register humidity levels above the 60–65% threshold, leave the top off the container for about 3 hours so the excess moisture can escape. If there is not enough humidity, keep the lid on longer between breathing sessions. If there is still no improvement in humidity levels, you can insert a humidity pack inside the container until it improves. Once it has, remove the humidity pack and dry your cannabis out like normal.
Step 5
Continue to check on your buds about once a day for 2 weeks while making sure to take proper precautions to maintain optimal temperature and humidity levels. After about three weeks, your buds will be cured and ready to enjoy. That being said, the most patient growers will reap the best rewards because the best quality buds are cured for up to 6 months.
Concluding Thoughts on Curing Cannabis
Like a fine wine, curing weed only gets better with time. Without following proper curing and drying protocols, your weed won’t be potent, taste great or have that signature, pungently dank aroma that we all know and love from our bud.
If you’re growing weed at home, curing and drying cannabis is a must. If you rather not go through the entire curing cannabis process, consider visiting an online dispensary Canada and making the choice to buy weed online. With hundreds of options ranging from edibles to phoenix tears and flower, you can’t go wrong.
For more marijuana facts, guides and news, check out more by visiting https://weedlist.org/blog/
nice work, this is very helpful thank you. Myself I am a weed grower so i too need to cure cannabis. This will surely help.