Drying and Curing Marijuana
Drying and curing marijuana are the final stages of your marijuana grow and are vital in making sure you have good, tasty, smooth weed to smoke. Most methods on how to dry marijuana sound easy but rushing this stage will ruin the months of hard work you’ve put in, but get it right and you’ll maximize your plants potential and be left with some quality buds.
By reading the following section, you will understand how to dry weed, how to cure weed and know the time scales required, what equipment you need, as well as understanding the optimal conditions required to create the perfect cured bud.
The importance of patience to a well executed dry and cure
Now that your bud has been harvested, the temptation will be to start smoking it immediately by drying your weed too fast. However, marijuana that hasn’t been dried and cured properly will lack potency and taste harsh and acidic. The most important asset when it comes to drying and curing your weed is patience. During the drying and curing process of marijuana, you must remove 75% of its moisture and this takes time.
If you dry your weed too fast, you will trap sugars and chlorophyll in your buds that will leave your weed tasting bitter, whereas over heating your bud while it is drying will degrade your THC, CBN and CBD making the final product less potent. Allowing the moisture to evaporate from your bud slowly and evenly will make your smoke smooth and sweet to taste.
How to Dry Weed
What will a good dry achieve?
If you have chosen a strain for its high potency and taste, the best way to guarantee that you enjoy these characteristics is by drying marijuana properly. If you want to speed up the drying process, make sure that you have spent the time manicuring your marijuana properly as this will reduce the amount of time it takes.
What do I need and where can I dry weed?
Drying marijuana needs darkness, so a good place to do it is in a closet. If you do not have a closet, you can use a cardboard or wooden box, with air holes cut into the sides to allow air flow. You will need to hang your buds so they are not touching any surfaces as they will leave some of their sticky resin on anything they touch. Use some washing line, fishing line or even dental floss, making sure it is able to take the weight of the bud you’re drying. The easiest way to attach your hanging marijuana is by using a clothes pin hanging from the stem, otherwise bendy garden wire works well
Do not try drying weed in the same room you’re growing as your bud needs darkness and low humidity to dry properly.
Step by step guide to drying marijuana
The most common and trusted method of drying marijuana is through air drying. To air dry your harvested weed, use the following short steps;
• Once you have harvested your marijuana, manicure and trim your buds properly to help speed up the drying time.
• Hang your buds in a dark room, attaching them to a line by the stem (as above) using a clothespin or bulldog clip, ensuring they don’t touch each other.
• Use a circulating fan to keep air moving around the room. DO NOT point it directly at the buds as this will dry them out too quickly and will cause poor tasting weed as we mentioned earlier .
• Leave to dry over the next 5-9 days, checking daily for signs of mould or being overly dry. Rotate to get an even dry, taking care to handle them by their stems.
• Your buds are ready for curing once they are dry to the touch but you can bend the stems without them snapping.
What are the optimal conditions for drying weed? The following conditions are considered optimal for drying marijuana;
• Heat – Between 65 and 75°F (18-24°C)
• Humidity –Between 45 and 55%
Low temperatures will increase the humidity, which increases the time it takes for your bud to dry and increases the risk of mold. High temperatures will reduce the humidity of your drying space and will dry your weed too fast.
Light, heat and over handling are the biggest enemy when drying marijuana. Dry your buds in a dark room, making sure you keep away from hot surfaces. Try not to over handle your buds as it damages the resin glands while they’re drying which can result in less potent buds.
Curing Weed
What will curing your weed achieve?
A good cure allows your weed to continue to dry slowly, removing moisture within the bud and increasing the potency. Curing it correctly ensures good quality, smooth tasting weed that is dry and can be stored with a much lower vulnerability to mold.
What do I need for curing weed?
For a good cure that reduces the risk of mold, use canning jars, as they are airtight once sealed and the glass does not pass on any unwanted flavors to your weed. If you do not have canning jars, you can use any airtight container, but avoid using zip locks bags as air and moisture can get in.
Keep your curing weed in a cool, dark, dry place, making an effort to keep out of the direct sunlight as this may over sweat your bud and cause mold to grow.
How to Cure Weed – All the Steps
The following technique is arguably the best and most commonly used when curing marijuana, be warned though it requires a lot of patience. If you use the following instructions, you will have nice, smooth and sweet tasting buds to smoke.
• Dry your weed for 5-9 days until they are dry to touch on the outside, but you can bend the stems without snapping.
• Place your buds in an airtight container, being careful not to squeeze them in as this will damage the resin glands, and close the lid.
• Sweat for 2-3 hours. Open the lid for a short time allowing the buds to become dry to the touch again. Close the lid.
• Follow the same pattern for the first week (keeping the jar shut when you are sleeping), opening the lid until dry to touch (10 -15mins), before closing it again for a couple of hours.
• After the first week of drying, your buds should not be so vulnerable to mold and you can move on to keeping the jar shut for longer. Keep the jar shut for 12 hours, opening it until the buds are dry, as per the established process above.
• Continue this process for at least another three weeks.
• On the fourth week, your buds will weigh 75% less than at the start of the drying and curing process and will be ready to smoke or put into storage.
This process can be continued for up to six months, with some growers saying that the longer you take when curing marijuana the better the buds taste. However, if you choose to do it as per the instructions, you will not be disappointed with your smoke.
How to Store Marijuana
Keep your weed in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place, similar to those used for curing your weed. You can keep your bud in the refrigerator and the cool temperature slows down the degradation of the THC. Make sure that the container is airtight, as moisture within the refrigerator will spoil your buds and cause the growth of mold. When storing marijuana, make sure you avoid light and heat as they will spoil all the hard work you’ve done.
Trouble shooting
What do I do if my weed gets wet?
THC is not water soluble, so water will not affect the potency of your bud. It will, however, invite mold to grow. Make sure you dry your wet buds in a dark room with good air circulation.
What do I do if I over dry my buds?
If you over dry your buds, you can dab them gently with a damp towel. Alternatively, you can add the peel from a citrus fruit to your curing jar, which increases moisture and adds a citrusy flavor to your buds.
Can I dry marijuana and cure my weed in the oven?
You can, but this is very risky as the heat will seriously degrade the THC in your bud and reduce the potency. You can place them in an oven heated to 150°F (63°C) for 10-15 mins, checking regularly and taking out and cooling, moving them around to even the cure, and repeating until your bud is dry. This is not recommended as it is likely your will vaporize your weed.
Can I dry and cure my weed in the microwave?
Just like using an oven, using a microwave for drying marijuana and to cure your weed is very risky. If you do choose to go about curing weed with a microwave, set it to 50% of full power and turn on the microwave for 15-30 seconds, leaving to stand for a minute. You can repeat until dry. Avoid using this technique if you can! This should only be used if you’re desperate for drying marijuana in small amounts.
If you follow this section and take our advice on how to dry weed we have no doubts you’ll end up with some of the tastiest dried and cured bud you’ve ever smoked. Remember this final note, patience is the key when drying and curing marijuana.
I tried the microwave drying once, and I botched the whole thing. After reading this article I realized that I should’ve kept it at 50% power and not leave it on for 1-2mins lol.
Since then I’ve hang dried it with a fan. That’s a much more reliable method and doesn’t stress me out like the microwave one does.
Wish we could send pictures of some of the best buds I’ve ever grown!
I used to grow back in the day, starting up again. I gotta tell you, I believe I was doing it wrong now that I’m reading here, but I kept my single stems in the closet with a fan for circulation, not on buds… but That’s all I did. The smoke was smooth and potent. I even put iron bits in the same area to absorb the moisture. It worked well. (I didn’t continue because I ran out.) but you can get little baggies from the new shoes box, or new clothes have It in shirt pockets. Like homie said, don’t let it touch anything. It will change the taste, it really does. And don’t put anything strong around it either, like detergent! IVE MADE MISTAKES TOO! But I guess you live and learn. I’m a noob now Compared to these OG growers, but… here we goooo! ✌
good advise but where are the answers? Anyways like everything else use this and all guides as a guideline and experiment. I shrink wrap my buds after drying and store in my freezer for months and even years and no complaints at all,
all my relatives love my pot. So there you go.
“get wise to moldy weed throw it back at the dispensary,” then says in another comment to ship it here to Canada, naw man, and you can have your trump tantrum illegal Canadian border crossers back as well as yer weed too, we got the finest now, and our government controls every aspect and there actually mandatory labeling and strict quality standards in effect here, …so before you go shooting your dumb ass mouth off fungoula faggo amoungous, read some facts.
fungus amongus must be jealous he can’t buy 100% legal weed in the soon to be civil wasr plaugued country of the U must be kidding me S A , ………. aww muffin, got a hate on for Canada because we not only have the best buds but now the best industry, goof!
Outdoor 3 plants. Veg stage about 2’ tall. It is August 14th first frost here is Nov1….. will i have time for plants to flower before it gets too cold?
Anyone with a compromised immune system from things like cancer etc. should be especially wary of weed contaminated with mold. Aspergillis can colonize your lungs, leaving balls of blue green mold lodged in your body that can only be removed by surgery.
Get wise to moldy weed, throw it back in their face at the dispensary.
“Think, if you were a billionaire in weed would you want them to get high for 15 minutes or 3 hours on a few tokes? Simple answer, give the taste and smell and make it only work for a short time.”
Good points, commercial agriculture always seems to get this result. Think of the big beautiful looking strawberries at the market that have no taste.
Curing in a brown paper bag will allow it to slowly continue the drying process without growing mold. Just carefully place the buds into the bag and roll the top closed, place in dark dry environment.
Note:
Moldy product can be shipped to Canada, half the weed there is moldy and few can tell the difference or even care.
I dried it in a shoebox punched with ventilation holes.
Put the shoebox on top of the out vent over the CPU of my computer.
Only a little warm and the big fan circulates the air.
Considering a water cure for a few buds as well.
-flek
Read all the above and it’s a deffo no no to smoke in an around any ting in grow room etc really silly ting to do hope this helps an happy growing
Thank you for all info
i trimmed my plant outside then put buds on a drying rack in attic in the dark,, how lone before i can put in mason jars,
Storing in the freezer can be risky. You have the chance of losing THC with trichomes breaking off. Some people do like to and others would say never to. It’s down to your personal preference and if you see a change in quality.
What about storing in the freezer?
The fastest, safest, quickest drying fast not doing it right is put the trimmed buds in a tray and put the tray on top of you channel changer for the TV. Feel the warm, not hot, of the device. We do this watching TV only when just starting for the first of the cutting, not for the rest. Just to not spend any more money on overpriced not getting high long enough not like in the old days like I have. I am 70 and know more than most by being there and tasting the best of time. Today the high is engineered out for money not fun. Think, if you were a billionaire in weed would you want them to get high for 15 minutes or 3 hours on a few tokes? Simple answer, give the taste and smell and make it only work for a short time. Then engineer everything else why not that and since all the old timers were wiped out by the corporations what do you expect when this is an over $8 billion/year and growing like a weed.
My Boyfriend thinks its okay to smoke cigarettes in and around our plants growing and drying. I think this is a terrible idea. Does anyone know if it will affect the taste and quality while drying & curing, (If you smoke cigarettes in your dry room) We are growing for medical patients, can the Marijuana test positive for the same carcinogens as in the cigarettes? thanks in advance… any links would be helpful. Apparently my option is only that…
I have 3 plants this year and all were doing well but 1 wa doing really terrific. I had grown them on a inside sun room with glass windows and they got good sun all day and temps remained around 70 to 75. Well I moved them into a small place and hooked up lights and even have exhaust fan and all and kept it 70 to 75 degrees as well but now my great plant is so dry its crispy, the other 2 that were nice had buds growing on each stem and they weren’t near as big as the buds on that perfect plant but all of them now have just dried out and the 2 not great plants are limp and dry and seems there is no more new growth, I did get about 1 more inch out of that perfect plant before this happened, I don’t know what to do, only the 1 plant is really worth curing, the other 2 since they dried up the buds are so small they cant be much at all after drying. Any suggestions from you experts out there, this is only my second grow but the first time I have ever produced buds like the one on that great plant
do not put bud in freezer, ever, please read with grain of salt, all comments are questionable.
If i grew 2700 lbs pounds now dried how much was it wet?
Can I dry in a metal shed, I have no other place
Damn, Good Shit Home!
Please don’t use the oven or the microwave to dry! Having a dehumidifier sucks the water right out of them, too. Not a bad idea if you’re having mold issues if you need to rush it, but please never the first two.
You can also freeze dry them. Do the first 5-9 days, then put them in a jar in the freezer (with the lid on). Let it have some room … not all packed too tight. Results in great flavor. Organic growing and flushing, of course are part of great flavor, too. A beautiful white ash when burnt indicates a nice, organic plant.
@ColoradoGuyinBuffalo, do you have a cat? If not, there is actually a strain that smells like that… and goes by the name: https://www.leafly.com/sativa/cat-piss
Page owner, it would sure be nice to be able to reply to comments, any chance of that happening? Blessings!
im getting ready to harvest some bud, last year it had a cat piss smell and taste what did i do wrong
After I dryed 7-9 days and got it all trimmed . I had to leave for family emer. so put all in 1 lb zip lock bags and put in freezer. its been 2 weeks now and I’m home. what should I do not loose my crop? ( my meds)
im 2 days into my hang dry in a shed {no power} temp 4cast 4 next 4 days 55 high 35 low im I ok
thanks for the info. oh i have found the best time to harvest is right before someone steals them!
Can you dry weed with a wood stove?
I snapped 2 plants 2 week or there about left I’ve dried now curing will it have potency
I snapped 2 plants they didn’t have long to go I’ve dried now curing will they have any potency
Done it! doing well
Go Florida!!!!
How would I cure the buds to get fluffy, soft nugs instead of hard dense ones?
how would you best cut dry leaves that havent been trimmed just cut an hung
glad i found this site as the pictures has helped me to identify 4 plants of different strains, yes my fault got stoned whilst writing labels on seedlings!lmao
Ditto to Dan Bridge, generally you can fill them to the top but it’s a good idea to leave a little bit of space at the top. Burping is the all important part of the cure, make sure you do this regularly otherwise those lovely buds will go moldy.
Leave about an inch from the top of the jars for air circulation. When burping the jar, shake the bud around in the jar a little.
How many buds can be put in the container during curing..
Great information ,it was just what I was looking for and not having to search and hunt was great thank you so much.
so much great information. thank you thank you thank you
helpful info for newbie to drying Thank you!