If you are in the final phase of your cultivation, it has been successful and only the last step is missing, which is the harvest of the crop, do not waste your investment and the time spent with poor drying. That’s why we want to explain to you the drying of marijuana: what is it and how is it done?
You may be interested in quick drying, and in EUROGROW they explain how to quickly dry marijuana, but here we will go into a little more detail.
Let’s start by explaining what drying marijuana is; To start the process, you have to be patient, because after months of growing your beautiful strains of marijuana, haste is not very good company. This can potentially damage your hardware, which is a total disappointment for growers.
Then, once the crop has been harvested, the fresh buds must be dried, this consists of eliminating the excess moisture present in them, the main part of which is chlorophyll.
When the buds are freshly cut, they contain up to 75% water and this amount should be reduced to at least 10-15% over a period of 2-3 weeks. It should be noted that the excess humidity contained in the fresh buds does not allow them to burn properly and that the concentration of cannabinoids is not at its maximum.
This usually happens because the THC is not yet inactive, for this reason the buds must be dried in order to achieve this transformation.
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What are the ideal conditions for getting cannabis to dry well?
To properly dry your cannabis varieties, it is important to take into account certain decisive factors for the quality of the buds, the aroma, the flavor and even the effects they produce:
- Avoid light on the buds. During the drying phase, marijuana strains should be completely dark.
- Maintain the relative humidity of the room. This must be at a temperature of 60 to 65% for the first 7 days. In case the humidity is very high and you have no way to lower it, use a small exhaust fan and an activated carbon filter so that you can remove the humid air and bring in some humidity. air but with less humidity.
- Maintain the temperature between 15º and 18° C. Higher temperatures evaporate terpenes in larger quantities and quickly. In addition, it is essential to avoid sudden changes in temperature.
- Every day the air must be evacuated from the drying room.
- Do not use dehumidifiers or fans to dry your plants. Speeding up the process results in the loss of bud quality, effect, flavor and aroma.
- Don’t let them get too dry. This means you shouldn’t let it lose more than 70% of its moisture.
The manicure as a preliminary step to the drying process
In order to obtain excellent results in the drying of the buds, it is essential to do a good manicure beforehand. It’s no secret that applying this technique also requires patience. It should be mentioned that manicure consists of removing excess material from specimens with branches and leaves.
This process allows the material to be completely clean when it dries and does not contain large leaves that produce harsh smoke and have fewer trichomes.
This technique, in addition to being performed before drying, can also be performed after drying, although it is usually performed before.
To perform the manicure, you will need gloves, fine-tipped scissors and a few trays to separate the excess material.
When removing large leaves, it is necessary to cut off the resinous leaves, remove the tips protruding from the marijuana buds. You should know that if you don’t like this job, you can buy tools like a peeler.
How is the drying done?
Over time, producers gain experience and their harvests gradually improve. He becomes more and more familiar with the growing environment, the environmental conditions, and he knows the exact moment to put the buds in the glass jars or the airtight containers.
For this reason, you know when you will get the effect, aroma and flavor you want. They know they have to wait 2-3 weeks after months of waiting to harvest the buds to get quality material.
To carry out the drying process, there are currently cabinets made especially for this purpose, since they are very similar to those of the culture but with a lot of ventilation.
Inside these cabinets you can hang a drying net. Tie it to the metal bars that are on the ceiling, these meshes have compartments to place the buds during this important stage.
Even better, these cabinets have air extraction, prevent darkness, and you can install a carbon filter to dissipate odors. Because they are closed, put in a dehumidifier to keep the humidity adjusted to the settings you need.
On the other hand, you have the possibility of acquiring a complete drying kit, which consists of a cabinet, a magnifying glass to observe the trichomes, an extractor, a dehumidifier, harvesting scissors and a charcoal filter.
Now, if you don’t have the space to install a large bud dryer, these cabinets can be a good solution. There are other less recommended drying methods, but you should know:
with boxes
This is not a highly recommended way unless you are using large boxes so you can do drying with ropes inside. These boxes let in some air, which makes them an excellent alternative for the last phase of drying marijuana buds and not for freshly harvested ones.
in glass jars
Less recommended than the previous one, the glass does not allow any air to pass through and the humidity being concentrated, this can cause the appearance of fungi and destroy the material. Airtight glass jars are great for curing, but not for drying.
Outside
There are people who dry the buds outdoors, just like our ancestors did, this is mainly used in guerrilla crops, where the crop cannot be transported. This method is also not recommended, as you are exposing your buds to weather conditions and fungus or other airborne pathogens may appear.
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