Drying And Curing …

You just harvested your grow, congrats! Now it is time to dial in your drying and curing. Many growers fumble when it comes to drying and curing buds, but this stage is just as important!

Harvest

I take pride in my buds. When I grow for personal use, I try to keep my harvest in the best condition possible. My trimming strategy for elite buds is simple. When you cut down a branch, start by removing all large foliage. Pulling big leaves by hand works great, but large trimming scissors work just as well. I really try to remove as much green foliage as possible without touching trichomes. Whether I hang my branches or debud, I always clean my buds meticulously good. Some growers prefer to debud when drying. This technique is a good idea for growers that need to save space. For this type of drying, I recommend purchasing a dry rack. Dry racks are cheap and work great because they allow you to dry a large amount in a small space. Avoid the simple mistake of flat buds, make sure to flip your buds over every few days when using a dry rack.

Drying

Slow drying my buds for 7-14 days is definitely my preferred method. However, your dry time will vary based on the temperature, humidity and density of your buds. I try and keep the temperature in my dry room between 60-70*F and the humidity between 45-55%. I also dry my buds in the dark. Since I clean my buds up really well the day I cut them down, this make the next step easy! The day they feel brittle is the day I finish the job. I check on them everyday because timing is critical. I prefer to trim my buds brittle because the leaves just crumble off. Its way easier and saves a ton of time! I use a fine point pair of scissors. There usually isn’t a lot of cutting involved. Instead I use the fine blade point to bend and break the small remaining leaves. The trichomes are never touched.

Curing

Once your buds are dry, its time to cure. Curing is optional, but I like to cure my buds because I believe they taste better. In fact, I don’t smoke my buds for at least 3 months after harvest. Curing removes any remaining chlorophyll and also makes your buds uniformly dry. If you trim like I do, you’ll need to rehydrate your brittle buds. In the old days, people use to put lemon or orange peels to rehydrate theirs buds. Ive also heard stories of people using bread. Fortunately we can avoid the orange peels, bread, and mold by hydrating our buds with humidity packs. Humidity packs are also great for long term storage. I prefer storing my buds in mylar bags with zip locks over glass containers because they don’t let any light in. Ideally, you should store your buds in a dark and cool location. If you plan on storing your buds for 6 months or longer, you can take it one step further by incorporating oxygen absorbers.