Drying Outdoor Marijuana Plants
If drying your marijuana plants is not done properly, all of your hard work could be for nothing. Read this article to learn how to dry your marijuana properly. In this article, we will learn:
why exactly drying weed is important
how drying outdoor marijuana buds is accomplished
how to dry them quicker using various means
how to cure the dried marijuana
how to store the buds successfully
Why drying marijuana is important
When you are finally collecting the fruits of your labor on harvest day, cannabinoids will have stopped being produced within the plant, as well as resins, meaning that from that point on the potency will only diminish. Drying slows down that process so that the final, smokable product will still be highly potent. Burning a dried plant works much more evenly as well, which contributes to a better smoke overall because there is no longer any water in the plant.
Plenty of new growers have made the mistake of not being patient enough with harvesting, drying and smoking their marijuana plants. Therefore, they likely did not end up with something that was a nice smoke. This was probably a direct result of an early harvest, quick drying, and premature smoking. The product was likely still made up of mostly water, meaning the smoke was a disaster.
Don’t be one of those newbie growers who can’t remain patient until the correct time to smoke has come. If you do, your weed will most likely no longer even get them high, as the drying process spurred cannabinoids into action.
This is why you must remain patient, and be sure to dry your weed properly, and promptly. It is not worth wasting all of your time and efforts by rushing the growth and harvest of healthy marijuana plants.
The drying process
Like every other aspect of growing marijuana, there are a number of methods and techniques to choose from when it comes to the process of drying weed. Some techniques favor speed and simplicity while others are more complex and difficult for beginners.
That being said, every drying method is user-friendly, and anyone can learn how to do them without too much trouble. Make your choice based on personal preference, rather than which one is the easiest to manage:
- For starters, let’s look into a method that takes a while, but is extremely simple and effective. Generally speaking, this method will land you with the best-smelling, best-tasting bud possible. For this technique, hang buds upside down in a dark location that has good ventilation, but also has sealed windows.
- Your room’s temperature should be approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure you are well aware of how strong the smell will be. This makes the security aspect of the job absolutely crucial, so it is extremely important that you choose a good location for it initially. Never hesitate to use a carbon filter to keep the smell from getting out and attracting unwanted attention.
- Another key aspect of this process that needs to be taken into account is avoiding the accumulation of mold. One way to prevent the spreading of mold is to keep your hanging plant material separate from the surrounding ones so that, in case one does appear with mold, it can be contained, and won’t destroy your entire harvest. Complement this setup with a fan within the room, closet, or other space in which you have the weed drying, to prevent mold from forming.
- One key tip to keep in mind is the fact that green plant matter, such as leaves and stems, are where most of the plant’s water is kept. If you need or want to speed up the drying process of your weed, removing these green, water-filled parts will help do just that.
- Do not dry your weed in the sun. This is actually counterproductive, as excessive sunlight can affect the taste, color, potency and texture of the weed, leaving a bland and brittle product that is altogether unpleasant for smoking.
- If you have not already figured this out, humidity is a crucial aspect of a well-kept drying room. In general, the level of humidity should be right around 30, with plenty of circulating air. The air circulation is particularly important when the outside conditions are rainy, or if the inside is naturally humid. Mold thrives in humidity, so you must always keep the conditions just right to avoid the onset of mold.
Back to the topic of security, the place chosen should be one that you can access numerous times without arousing suspicion. Keep in mind that the entire drying process, when done with the method above, will require 10 to 14 days to for a regular to larger-sized harvest. More about the drying process in my free grow bible.
Quick-Dry Your Marijuana
For the impatient growers, there is luckily a technique that allows you to dry your marijuana more quickly, without removing the freshness, taste, and potency of the product. Once again, hang up the plant matter upside down in a dark room. There is one simple, key difference to the method described above, however: turn up the heat. Instead of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, the room’s temperature should be a balmy 90 degrees Fahrenheit, or even higher.
You may need to purchase a heater of some kind to manage such a high temperature. Keep in mind that the room should still have superior ventilation. If the buds are jam-packed in the room, lots of marijuana can actually be completely dry by the end of one week.
However, this method does come with its downfalls. Since you would need to hang your plants more closely together, the potential of mold is deadlier: instead of affecting just one bud, it could easily get to all of the drying buds within a shockingly short amount of time. The buds could actually dry out too fast as well, which would cause them to be brittle and far too dry, ruining the taste and making the smoke unpleasant and uneven. The buds could also dry at varied rates, causing the result to be varied as well.
If you do prefer to try drying your buds quickly, then you should always remember to be completely aware of the different conditions of the room and its exterior, as well as how the buds are responding to these changes. Monitor the temperature, humidity, and ventilation of your room, and be ready to make adjustments right away. One such example would be to increase airflow without reducing the temperature if the humidity is too high.
In the end, the result of a quick-drying method should be the same as a slow-drying method. The risks are lower with the slow drying method, however, so when in doubt, always allow that extra week. Stay patient and never make snap, rash decisions based on your desire for instant gratification. Cool dark rooms with lots of time are your best bet.
Download my free marijuana grow guide and learn more about drying marijuana
Quick-Dry Your Marijuana In The Oven
If you want to try out another risky way to quick-dry your marijuana buds, make sure you aren’t putting all of your eggs in one basket. Try a few with this method, but put the rest in a dark, cool room with plenty of time to dry. If you do this, you’ll be rewarded with a portion of your harvest already dry while you wait for the rest to finish up, therefore tiding you over in the meantime.
As long as you have an oven and a cookie sheet or oven tray, you can use this method without too much trouble. You literally bake the buds between 150 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit (between 65 and 95 degrees Celsius) for approximately ten minutes. The final result is not going to be as good as your slower-drying harvest, which is currently hanging in a closet or other dark room. But at least it is a decent, usable product that you can practically get instantly.
The resulting weed is going to be harsher simply because the water was forcibly removed through baking, and there was no degrading of the chlorophyll. That being said, the potency remains roughly the same, so for personal use it should do just fine.
If you are at all unsure about your oven, or you often burn baked goods when you try to make them, this may not be the best method for you. The stakes are high since burning or over-drying is so easy to do via baking. Don’t ever try using a microwave, either. It will not work.
The quick-drying oven method is not to replace the other, slower methods. Instead, it is a more simple way of tiding you over, and as a way to test out the first buds from your marijuana harvest. It will give you somewhat of an idea about the quality of your product.
No matter what drying technique you decide to use, always remember that mold is the number one culprit of ruined harvests at this point. Continuously examine your buds for any early signs of mold. If you do spot these signs, remove and discard the bud, as it is both ruined and a danger to the surrounding buds.
The Controversy of Curing Dried Marijuana Buds
Curing is not a completely necessary step, and many growers get by just fine without it. Other growers, on the other hand, swear by it, and would never smoke a product that has not been cured. Deciding whether or not to cure your marijuana plants comes down to a matter of taste and preference, as curing actually alters the taste of the resulting weed.
The other thing about curing is that it increases the possibility of a mistake, making the risk even higher than before. If it is performed incorrectly, the THC will decay, and the weed will lose its vibrant color (and will look brown instead, which denotes poor quality weed).
If you do find a way to cure your marijuana buds perfectly, then you will, in fact, end up with a smoother, more smokable product. There is even a reduction of the regular, fresh minty taste of outdoor marijuana plants. The process is nearly the same as tobacco curing so you could look into that for greater detail on doing it properly and safely.
How To Store Dried Marijuana Buds
Assuming you have a decently sized crop that is too much to smoke immediately, you are going to need to store your product properly. Placing it in the freezer will do, as long as it’s put in an airtight bag (such as bake bags) or a container made of glass. Freezers are generally better than refrigerators because they are not opened as often (and light exposure can disrupt a properly stored crop by degrading the THC), and it is more secure for that same reason.
The most important thing – make sure the container is properly sealed. Otherwise, the THC will degrade, and eventually you won’t have a usable product anymore. Any leaks also would dry out the marijuana too much. If done properly, storing your marijuana plants will allow you to have an equally high-quality product in one year, as you have today.
Thanks for reading. Please leave comments or questions below and don’t forget to download my free grow bible.