Curing
Marijuana Horticulture
by Jorge Cervantes
Curing allows buds to continue to dry slowly. The first week of curing affects potency in that it evenly removes moisture within the bud so virtually all the THC is psychoactive. Curing also allows buds to dry enough that mold does not grow when buds are stored. Well cured buds have an even glow when burned and smoke smooth.
After plants, branches, and / o r buds have dried on screens or hung in a drying room for five to seven days and appear to be dry, they still contain moisture inside. The moisture affects taste and potency. Curing will remove this excess moisture. Curing makes the bud uniformly dry and converts virtually all THC into its psychoactive form.
Cut stems into manageable lengths – less than 12-18 inches – and place them in airtight container. Airtight glass contains with a rubber or similar seal are the best. Avoid Ziplock and other plastic bags that are not airtight. Plastic bags used for long term storage are airtight.
Enclose buds in a container to create a micro climate that allows moisture to even out within the buds. Internal moisture will migrate to the dry portions of the bud. gently pack as many buds into container as possible without forcing and damaging them. Leave the containers in a cool, dry, dark place. Check in two to four hours to see if buds have sweated moisture. Check buds by gently squeezing to feel if they are moister than they were a few hours before. Be careful when squeezing buds; resin glands bruise easily.
If stems fold instead of snapping when bent, and buds are still moist to the touch, remove them from the container and gently place in the bottom of a paper bag. They can be stacked in the paper bag as high as six inches. Fold the top of the bag once or twice to close. Check the buds two or three times during the day to monitor drying. Carefully turn them in the bag so that different sides are exposed.. Remove when they are dry and place back into the sealed container. Check them the next day to see if they are evenly dry. Stems should snap when bent. If too moist, put them back in the paper bag until dry. When dry, return to curing container.
If buds appear to have fairly low moisture content, and stems snap when bent, leave them in the container and let excess moisture escape out the top. Open the container for a few minutes every few hours to let the excess moisture escape before closing the lid again. At this point you can add an orange or lemon peel to the container to impart a slight citrus aroma.
Check the container several times daily. Leave the top off for five to ten minutes so moisture evacuates. Depending upon moisture content, buds should be totally dry in a few days to two weeks Once they are evenly dry, they are ready to seal in an airtight container for storage.
To find the approximate moisture content of dry buds, weigh a specific bud upon harvest when it is wet. Weigh it again during the drying and curing process to learn how much moisture it has lost. For example, a bud that weighs 10 grams upon harvest, will weigh 2.5 grams when it has lost 75 percent of its moisture. In general, a dry bud will weigh 75 percent less than its weight at harvest.