Different curing methods

Hash Lover

Well-Known Member
Hey guy's, just to throw my 2 cents in also. I like to weight my fresh trimmed buds, and when they are down to about 25% of their original weight they are ready for the jar. That way I know for sure they are dry inside as well as outside. But still follow the regular method of checking them every day or so for the first week. Never had mold problems. I find them to be fully dried at about 20% of original weight. To me it seems to take the guess work out of wondering if they are dry all the way through or not.
 

headband707

Active Member
One more time ... this is what I follow:


Marijuana


Manicuring, Drying, And Curing Marijuana



Right after all the plants have been harvested, it is time to manicure them. Manicuring is simply cutting off the leaves that were growing from the buds. Cut off all the leaves surrounding the bud, so that just the bud remains.

Work over a glass table or some kind of smooth flat surface. This will make it easy to collect all the material that has been cut away from the buds. It is lower in THC than the buds, but rather than throw it away, you can use it to make hash oil.

When manicuring the buds, use a pair of scissors with small blades (to reach hard to get leaves) that is comfortable on your hands. If you have a small crop, you can handle the plants with you bare hands. With a large crop, wear powder free latex gloves.

The latex gloves will collect trichome resin in a similar manner to the way live marijuana plants are rubbed to make hashish. The latex gloves have to be powder free or the powder will get mixed into the resin.

Do not touch anything other than the plants once you have put the gloves on. If you have to do something, remove the gloves you are wearing and put them in a plastic bag, prior to doing whatever it is that has to be done.

When finished, put on a pair of new gloves. Material on the first pair can be collected later. When you are finished manicuring all the plants, remove the gloves and place them in a plastic bag (to catch resin that drops off).

Put the plastic bag with the gloves in a freezer for 2-3 hours. The trichome resin can easily be peeled from the frozen latex gloves and consumed the same way you would use hashish.

If absolutely necessary, you can wait to manicure the buds. However, the job will take more time if you wait. Manicuring right after the plants are harvested will also speed the drying process.

Instead smoking marijuana directly after it is harvested and manicured, it is best to dry and cure it. Some new growers might be in such a rush to try the marijuana that they don't want to dry the crop, or they might be tempted to put buds in a microwave oven to dry them out.



Drying Marijuana After Harvest


You probably don't want to smoke marijuana that is harsh and bad tasting. If you do not take time to dry the bud, you will not get the best possible smell and taste your crop is capable of producing.

Proper drying and curing will also ensure maximum potency of the marijuana you have grown. Marijuana is not potent just after harvest. Some of the THC is in a non-psychoactive acidic form. Drying marijuana the right way will convert the non-psychoactive acidic compounds into psychoactive THC.

The area where the drying is done should be dark. Light and high temperatures (higher than about 80 degrees) will cause THC to break down into less desirable chemicals, this will lower the potency of the finished product.

A good way to dry the crop is to hang the buds upside-down by the stem, from some string or wire. The drying marijuana must have some circulation blowing over it at all times. A gentle breeze that circulates over all the plants is necessary.

A fan or two will circulate air within the drying room. Fans will aid in drying the plants evenly, and reducing the chances of mold. If mold starts and is allowed to grow, it might ruin all of your crop. Mold looks like white fuzz and has an odor that is unpleasant.

You will have to keep the temperature and humidity within a certain range for optimal results. Conditions should remain constantly somewhere within the following ranges, temperature should be between 65-75 degrees F, relative humidity should be between 45%-55%.

At temperatures lower than 65 degrees, drying time will be lengthened. At temperatures higher than 75 degrees, the heat will cause the outer portion of the bud to dry quicker than the inner part, and the taste will suffer.

At humidity levels lower than 45%, the marijuana will dry too fast and the taste will suffer. At humidity levels higher than 55%, the marijuana will take a long time to dry, and it will be prone to mold.

Keep a hygrometer and a thermometer in the drying area, close to the plants. A hygrometer will allow you to keep an eye on the relative humidity level in the room and a thermometer will display the temperature. Some hygrometers
have built in thermometers so you can measure the temperature and humidity together.

Depending on the time of year and your location, a heater or an air conditioner may be necessary to adjust the temperature. To control humidity, a dehumidifier can lower humidity and a humidifier can be used to raise humidity. There are warm mist humidifiers and cool mist humidifiers.

A warm mist humidifier will raise the temperature while a cool mist humidifier will not affect the temperature. There are also humidifiers that allow you to switch between warm or cool mist. If you are going to purchase a humidifier for this purpose, take your climate into consideration and buy an appropriate humidifier.

Warm mist models will actually heat the water and release warm humidity. Cool mist water isn't cooled, it just means that water is not heated. In most cases a cool mist will work best. To be safe you can get a humidifier that lets you switch between warm and cool mist.



Curing Marijuana


It will take at least a week or two to dry the crop with temperatures between 65-75 degrees F and relative humidity between 45%-55%. You will know when the marijuana is dry if the stems snap or break (rather than fold) when they are bent. Try smoking a small bud (1/2 gram or less) in a joint to be sure it is dry enough.

At this time, small buds will be dry enough to smoke. But larger buds should be cured (slow dried) to ensure that the marijuana is as potent and tasty as possible. If necessary, you can set aside buds that are less than 1/2 gram for smoking, while larger buds cure.

The cure lasts a week or two. The aim of what you are doing is evenly finishing the slow dry process, so that mold will not grow when the buds are stored long term. Also, by the end of the cure, any remaining inactive THC will be converted to active THC (that increases potency).

To cure the crop, you will need one or more containers made out of glass or plastic. Some people say plastic can impart a taste to the marijuana. Personally, plastic containers that some types of roll your own tobacco are sold in, have no negative effect on the taste.

Containers that have a rubber seal work best, but any type of container with a tight fitting lid will do. One quart canning jars do a very good job if you are curing a few pounds or less. They have a rubber seal and hold 2 or more ounces of marijuana per one quart jar.

When curing quantities in excess of a few pounds, large (over 40 quarts) plastic storage boxes
are recommended. They are not air tight, but will do the job when smaller air tight containers are not practical.

Gently place your marijuana in the containers (cut buds to size if the are too big to fit in the container) and put the top on. Store the containers in a dark area where the temperature is between 50-65 degrees and the humidity is between 40%-60%.

You will have to open the containers for a few minutes to allow moisture to escape by fanning with your hand. If any moisture builds up on the inside of the cap on your container, wipe it off. Do this preferably 2-6 times daily, at regular 4-12 hour intervals.

You should also re-arrange the buds by giving them a quarter-turn once a day. This will ensure that different parts of the buds are exposed to the air in the container. Keep up this routine for 7-10 days. When properly dried, marijuana will burn evenly when smoked in a joint (if stems are removed).

The taste will be as good as it can be, and the THC will have reached a point where it is ready to be ingested or stored. You can keep any marijuana that will be consumed within a few months (1 year maximum) in the same containers used for curing, without having to keep opening them to release moisture.

If the marijuana is to be stored for more than a few months, you can use a vacuum sealer (designed for storing food) to seal the marijuana in an airtight environment. If stored in a dark area that is between 40-55 degrees F, the marijuana in vacuum sealed plastic will remain potent for up to 5 years.

Dry marijuana can be stored in a frost-free freezer, but some of the THC on the outer part of the buds may be damaged when frozen. A refrigerator is in the right temperature range but they tend to be humid (unless you can control the humidity).

If stored in an area of high humidity for months or years, even vacuum sealed marijuana can eventually become as humid as the surrounding air. This will necessitate drying it again before smoking. But, unless mold develops, humidity itself will not degrade the THC or make the marijuana any less potent.

Light will degrade some of the THC, so dark containers can be used for storage. If you place the marijuana in a see through container, it will have to be located in a dark area that is not exposed to light or high temperatures.

Always make sure to properly dry your marijuana prior to storage, if you grow your own or if the stuff you have is very moist. And remember that to preserve marijuana potency at a maximum level, keep any exposure to air, heat, and light at a minimum.
I agreed with everything you said until you came to the fridge lol peace out Headband707:bigjoint:
 

lordgeek

Member
Hey guy's, just to throw my 2 cents in also. I like to weight my fresh trimmed buds, and when they are down to about 25% of their original weight they are ready for the jar. That way I know for sure they are dry inside as well as outside. But still follow the regular method of checking them every day or so for the first week. Never had mold problems. I find them to be fully dried at about 20% of original weight. To me it seems to take the guess work out of wondering if they are dry all the way through or not.
I used to grow back in the '70's, now I just like to follow what's going on in the weed world. Things have sure changed in the past 30-35 years!

This is fairly close to what I had found, except that my larger, tighter buds were always fully dried at about 25%, with smaller, looser buds finishing at 20%.
 

CLOSETGROWTH

Well-Known Member
I like curing in glass mason jars in the refrigerator.. Keeps the bud real fresh, and the taste is fabulous after a week or so.. The longer you cure the better the taste. :hump:
 

hibonation

Active Member
Great tips, much apprieciated. Would you employ the same method for fan leaves and trim for use in cooking or to make hash, or do these just needs to be dried out in paper bags?
 

doctormark

Active Member
You need to watch how the Morroccans dry their herb, or the Nepalese. They lay that shit out in the hot ass sun for about 10 days until its all dried up then then press it down and make hash. Their hash (the nepalese kind) is some of the most potent in the world so there is more than one way to skin a cat if you get my drift.

True Nepalese do that and make some killer hash but their bud taste awful. If you desire premium bud you have to cure it properly.

Three simple steps.

1) Hang dry for 10-15 days. Maintain humidity at 50-60%
2)Manicure
3) Once the bud is dry enough that the sticks will snap and not bend it is ready to go in glass jars. Keep it there for at least 10-15 days or more for better flavor.

Note: Check for mold every day.
 
Hey BT, great info. A quick question though, I'm curing my first crop of bagseed in galss mason jars in the crisper of my refrigerator, it's roughly 45-55 degrees in there and its supposedly humidity controlled. Is what I'm doing adviseable? is there such a thing as "too cold for curing"? I figure worst-case is just that it may take longer. It smelled like lemon Pledge while manicuring, it's been a little more than a week and it still has a little chlorophyll smell to it, and nowhere near the pungent aroma it had while I was handling it.
Thanks for helping ^_^
 

abryce

Member
letting your pot smell like ammonia in a glass jar will ruin it. That first bible is BS on most of the crap it says on curing. I sure as heck would NEVER let my pot mold to the point it has an ammonia smell...not only does it NOT increase potency, it will taste like crap and might cause severe lung problems from the mold!
 

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
by E. Rosenthal and M. Frank...i've read it about a billion times.

:bigjoint:

Man I'm sittin here readin and I'm thinkin shit this sounds framiliar. He prolly copied it word for word...lol but he never claimed it was his own words. But I don't cure the way Ed does in his book. I really think (IMHO) slow curing in about 60F with a low RH and sealing in jars and sweating out the moisture slowly while monitoring RH is the way to go.
 

cgrizzle3

Well-Known Member
No way seeds lower potency. Maybe quality, and un usable weight, but definatly doesnt lower potency.
And another thing, I think "brick-weed" is of such low potency because it is usually full of seeds. Seeds growing in your buds will decrease potency more than compressing it into bales will imo
 
"No way seeds lower potency. Maybe quality, and un usable weight, but definatly doesnt lower potency"...

sorry im new to these forums but read these threads regularly and i couldnt resist joining on this occasion because this info couldnt be more wrong!! if ur plant/substrate is producing seeds during flowering it is using less resources (light, nutrients and co2 etc) to produce thc and therefore cbn's and cbd's and so on. so less psychoactive chemicals = less potent weed!!! its that simple!!! sorry cgrizzle3
 

NLNo5

Active Member
Wrong dude. I make a few seeds every grow and it doesnt stress a healthy plant.
"No way seeds lower potency. Maybe quality, and un usable weight, but definatly doesnt lower potency"...

sorry im new to these forums but read these threads regularly and i couldnt resist joining on this occasion because this info couldnt be more wrong!! if ur plant/substrate is producing seeds during flowering it is using less resources (light, nutrients and co2 etc) to produce thc and therefore cbn's and cbd's and so on. so less psychoactive chemicals = less potent weed!!! its that simple!!! sorry cgrizzle3
 

smokemupm8

Member
ive harvested the top 2/3rds of my girl. separated all big colas on branches, trimmed smaller buds off,lollipopped, half of the small bud i trimmed i sat on mesh screen so air can circulate, bout week l8r, put sum in paperbags n it was nice smoke.. The rest of the plant i hung and only just took it dwn yestday, the buds were sticky az! smoked nice also.. im trying to cure half my big colas, theyre dried n sweet and nasty!!!
So it workd ok for me, i managed to get thru ok just checked my weed n made sure had fresh air n wasnt in sun
 

SUNDOGG97

Member
As long time smoker, and as the plant is natural, it stand to reason that natural method of curing would be best.
Quite frankly now days I think, too much monkeying with the product in attempt to make it better. The good growers I meet go travel look for seed stock and start from there.
Lot of mediocre weed out as the result of this monkeying and profiteering

Natural Jamaican Sensi that is compressed is a good example of what I mean, picked and compressed right away and cured
 

Jogro

Well-Known Member
Let's address some of the things from this thread:

Curing: Curing is just controlled slow drying. The point is for the plant to break down chlorophyll, sugars, and other components that taste/feel harsh when burned.
Yes, there is more than one way this can be done, though not every way is created equally.

How, for example, the Columbians used to cure gigantic bales of their leafy seeded-untrimmed-outdoor grown herb 30 years ago, may or may not be entirely relevant to how you might want to cure a few ounces of your highly trimmed, seedless, indoor-grown super-strains today.

Yes, sun curing is POSSIBLE, that doesn't make it OPTIMAL.


You need to watch how the Morroccans dry their herb, or the Nepalese. They lay that shit out in the hot ass sun for about 10 days until its all dried up then then press it down and make hash. Their hash (the nepalese kind) is some of the most potent in the world so there is more than one way to skin a cat if you get my drift.
They don't just "press it down"; there still is a step where they separate out the resin from the buds typically by vibration/rubbing through a silk screen.

Curing is done to soften the harshness of the FLOWERS for smoked sinsemilla bud.

If you're making hash, as the Lebanese and Morroccans are doing, the flower harshness is irrelevant, because you're getting rid of all the vegetable material when you make the hash and just keeping the resin. That's the WHOLE POINT of making hash to begin with!

If you don't have flowers in your final product, curing isn't all that important. In fact, if you've actually seen the Morroccan/Lebanese plants they make the hash from, they look like pure schwagg. . .they're unmanicured, totally leafy, with male flowers in there and full of seeds. If you were to try and smoke the sun-dried buds, they'd be really harsh and acrid (which is one reason nobody actually does that!).


Originally Posted by BlackHit

And another thing, I think "brick-weed" is of such low potency because it is usually full of seeds. seeds growing in your buds will decrease potency more than compressing it into bales will imo
.
This is a common misconception.

First of all, brick weed doesn't necessarily have to be of low potency; historically, some of the bricked stuff (eg the Columbian) has been top notch.

The typical Mexican commercial (which is what most people now know as "brick") is of moderate/low potency because its not harvested at its peak, barely manicured, cured quickly, smuggled through heat, and typically stored badly for up to months before purchase. So seeds or no seeds, of course in that scenario the buds aren't going to be at their full potential when smoked.

Having seeds by ITSELF doesn't decrease the absolute potency by much or even at all; in fact, some people think that seeded buds have a preferable cannabinoid profile, and are better quality wise than seedless.

The big problem with seeded stuff is that most of the final product weight is just the weight of the seeds. So measure the THC concentration (ie by weight) and of course its going to be half of what it would be with no seeds! If you take out the seeds, what's left is nearly the same THC concentration as seedless.
 
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