How do I dry my plants at home? 420 Guide for Beginners
There are many ways to dry a cannabis plant and to be honest they all pretty much give the same results in the end if done right. We are going to be showing you our method of drying as its simple gives people amazing results. A marijuana dryer can help you more. Note that this is a dry trimming method as we find it helps weed dry out slower and is less harsh once smoked due to proper chlorophyll breaks down.
Once you have successfully dried and cured your cannabis buds come to the act of “sampling”, of course, in order to ensure that the process worked effectively. Assuming that the weed buds are adequately dried and cured, you will then need to consider how to store the bud for future use.
There are two different options for long term bud storage. For buds that are to be used within the next six months, leaving them in the mason jars will be fine—just open up the jars about once a month in order to allow the buds to breathe. These mason jars should be well sealed and should be kept away from light; a cupboard is the ideal (and most practical) storage solution for dried and cured buds.
If you have a surplus of buds and will want to be using these for longer than the previously mentioned 6 months, you will need to consider alternative storage solutions. Buds can only be kept for up to 6 months in mason jars before they will begin to lose their potency; as such, for longer-term solutions, you should consider getting the buds vacuum wrapped in order to allow them to retain their THC and CBD concentrations for as long as possible. When vacuum packing, though, you should always note that the vacuum packing process can crush the buds if not done with care.
Why Drying Marijuana is Important?
Improved Potency
As marijuana grows, it produces chemicals such as tetrahydrocannabinol acid – also known as cannabinoids. These compounds are converted to other chemicals over time, eventually becoming the main psychoactive compounds that are responsible for marijuana’s euphoric effect. For example, THCA eventually becomes THC.
And the process doesn’t stop once you harvest the plant. Curing weed under warm conditions continues the development and conversion of these cannabinoids, allowing your buds to gain potency. However, if you are drying weed under warmer conditions – and are doing so more quickly – the process will end more quickly.
Improved Flavor and Smoke Quality
Marijuana contains terpenes, which are the compounds responsible for the unique flavor and smell of the plant. These are relatively volatile, meaning they can evaporate in relatively high temperatures (generally 70 degrees and above). If you start curing cannabis at low temperatures, you can help keep the terpenes intact for a better flavor profile.
Another reason for drying and curing marijuana is that you can create the ideal environment for aerobic bacteria and enzymes to develop and begin breaking down minerals and undesirable sugars. These sugars and other minerals are responsible for that unpleasant, too-harsh sensation you can experience while smoking cannabis that has not been cured (or been cured incorrectly).
Improved Ability for Long-Term Preservation
Unless you plan on smoking that pot immediately, you need to dehydrate it. If you don’t, you’ll have to worry about mold and a decline in cannabinoid content. Just as you can dehydrate food products to help them last longer without refrigeration or other processing, so, too, can drying marijuana makes it possible for you to store your flowers for up to two years.
Once you’ve made sure your cannabis plant is ready to harvest and be dried follows these steps to ensure you’ve done your best when it comes to drying out your marijuana.
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The HerbsNOW dryer is America's first cannabis-specific dryer. Made for growers by growers. HerbsNOW operates with a low pre-set temperature that is ideal for perfectly drying weed while allowing it to retain 10 - 15% moisture levels. The dryer utilizes vertical and rotational air flow to ensure each bud has an even dry down. The contained environment of the dryer allows for faster drying, while still breaking down chlorophyll to produce a smooth, flavorful smoke. The HerbsNOW dryer does all of this while retaining THC levels, terpenes, and flavor with every dry.
Step1: Cut the branches off at the bottom of your cannabis plant one by one, so you left with single branches of cannabis.
Step 2: Hang the branches with strings or coat hangers in your dry room. Make sure the branches are not touching each other. Now you should’ve by now made a plan on where you are going to dry your cannabis. If you haven’t most growers just use their grow tent or grow area where they were growing their bud in. Growers like to use their grow tents and grow areas as the conditions to which you were growing your weed are also very good conditions to dry your weed in, minus the light. Do not run any light in your tent if you are drying your bud in there as this will degrade the THC.
Step 3: Make sure the environment you are drying your weed in is good. You want your temperatures to be around 18 -24⁰C and about 45 – 55% RH(relative humidity). Now we know it can sometimes be hard to get those exact temperatures and RH so anywhere around there should be fine. Just keep in mind, you must not let the RH be too low, or let the heat be too high as this will dry your cannabis too quickly and hinder the buds overall quality. Always remember the slower and longer your cannabis dries for the better, just don’t let the RH be too high either as it can cause mould and also ruin your bud.
Step4: Make sure you have proper air circulation in the tent. If you are using fans run them on the lowest setting and do not let the fans blow directly onto you branches as this will dry them out way too quickly. We’d even suggest having your fans on timers to help slow down the process of drying your buds. You will be able to see and examine yourself if your plants are drying too quickly or not. The ideal length of time your buds should be drying for is around 5 – 10 days, some have even dried for longer, but you want to aim for around there.
Step5: once your bud is dry, it’s time to start cutting your dry fan leaves and sugar leaves off your plant and shapes them into the beautiful buds you know and smoke! You will know your buds are dry enough when you bend a small branch and it snaps but doesn’t break cleanly off. This is the ideal time to change over to curing.
Step6: Once you’ve trimmed and manicured your buds its time to start the curing process!
We hope this post helped you in showing you the exact steps it takes to properly dry your cannabis plant. If you have any questions or further comments please don’t be shy, leave a comment below! We would love to hear from you guys!
Final thoughts
Ultimately, you have to dry your marijuana buds if you wish to enjoy them later on. It is an easy, albeit slow process. All you need is patience and a storage room at the right humidity and temperature. It is up to you whether you wish to wait a few more weeks or months for curing. You can try your weed immediately after drying it, but we recommend curing it for better flavor and a more potent high. ECO Farm Plants Dryer can be your great choice.