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How to Dry Your Fresh Garden Herbs?

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hydroponics led grow lights ECO Farm

So you have successfully harvested your buds from mature, healthy outdoor plants. It probably doesn’t resemble the pot that you’re used to smoking, so how do you take the final steps to make it a smokable thing that creates a great high?

The key is to dry and store your weed properly. Make sure you are paying close attention to the details and take your time. Dry your marijuana in a cool and dark place with temperatures around 65 and humidity of 40. Patience is key to having a good result.

Why dry your weed

After the point when you are harvesting the marijuana, the production of cannabinoids and resins will stop, and the potency of the product will only decrease from then on. The process of drying your marijuana will slow down these effects, allowing the end product to maintain its potency far more effectively. A dried plant will burn more evenly, thus making it a great smoke. This is because the drying process results in all the water weight evaporating from the plant.

Many experienced cannabis growers remember a time early on in their growing career when their impatience resulted in a product that was not very pleasant to smoke. They probably cut, dry, and smoked it far too quickly – before the harvest took place. Because it is mostly made up of water (over 70%), it didn’t smoke well.

Even worse, this type of weed wouldn’t even get you high. This is because the process of drying actually triggers the cannabinoids. Therefore, patience is key. After all your time and effort to get this far, don’t waste it by being impatient now.

How to Dry Your Fresh Garden Weed (Quick Guide)

Harvest and Trim
When your plants are ready to harvest, it’s time to start the process of drying and curing. Most people prefer to cut off a branch, trim of chunks of flowers, and then trim the leaves from the buds. Doing it this way speeds up the drying time.

You can also directly cut and trim the buds if you are using a drying rack, then neatly trim off the leaves from the buds after they have dried. If you want to avoid lots of time spent trimming the leaves, you could invest in a trimming machine.
Hang your Buds in a Dark Room
After you have trimmed your buds, transfer them to a dark room. Ensure that there is no sunlight streaming in. Your darkroom should have a temperature between 60°F and 70°F and humidity levels of 45-55%.
To maintain your humidity levels, it helps to use a dehumidifier. Use an air conditioner to maintain the temperature if needed. Additionally, you should use a small fan to improve ventilation.
Check if the Weed is Dry
Leave your marijuana to dry for 5 to 15 days, checking daily for signs of mold, as well as to avoid overdrying. Rotate the buds daily to ensure they are drying evenly. Handle them by the stem to prevent breakages.
If you are a seasoned grower, you can tell if the weed is dry by just looking at it. However, as a guide, you can touch and tell. If the flowers are a bit crispy, and the branches snap, your buds are dry and ready to be cured.
Cure Your Weed
Curing ensures that your marijuana is completely dry and tastes good. Cannabis is cured by placing it in an airtight container, or plastic or glass canning jars.
Open the jar every day for several minutes to let out any remaining moisture. If you are in a hurry and want a quick fix, you can cure it for two days, but if you are not in a rush, cure your weed for 2 to 4 weeks.

If you happen to get a whiff of ammonia smell, it is an indication that your weed did not dry properly before storing it. That ammonia smell means bacteria may have already invaded your buds. This is why you must ensure that they have adequately dried before storing.

Optimal Conditions for Drying Weed

Drying cannabis is essential for great tasting weed. To ensure you are drying correctly follow these steps:

  • Dry your weed in a dark, cool, and well-aired room (except when the Sun Drying Method is used). 
  • Keep the temperature between 60°F and 70°F. High temperatures will reduce the humidity level (below 45%), causing your weed to dry too fast. 
  • Use a thermometer and hygrometer to measure temperature and humidity and adjust for fluctuations. 
  • Use heaters and air conditioners to manage temperature levels. 

Although drying as fast as possible may seem like what we want, drying fast can cause a harsh taste. On the other hand, lower temperatures will trigger an increase in humidity (above 55%). This makes the drying process take longer than expected, thus increasing the chances of mold infesting your buds.

Drying correctly can take a long time, which is why, over the years, many marijuana growers have tried experimenting with different ways of shortening the process.

 

Best Herb Drying Machine

The ECO Farm herb dryer features all food grade safe plastic construction, a clear housing to monitor food. This Food Grade Safe Plastic (BPA free) herb dryer is built to ensure ‘Super’ long lasting reliability & easy cleanup. The temp ranges allow for precision drying. When using the herb dryer always follow the manual directions, for the correct drying temperature of desired food & prepping if need be. The ECO Farm dryer provides a controlled drying environment, meaning your weed is perfectly dried in less time than it takes to hang dry. All while retaining potency, terpenes, and flavor.

The HerbsNOW dryer gives you the perfect environment to dry your weed every time. Using advanced technology, HerbsNOW provides you with a pre-set, ideal temperature that has been tested exclusively for drying cannabis. Multi-directional airflow, along with open-weave trays ensures each bud is dried consistently. This also means you do not need to rotate or touch the buds during the drying process. HerbsNOW provides all of this in a captured environment, meaning you get high-quality, consistent drying in a small, enclosed space. Take back all of the space you’ve needed for hang drying because HerbsNOW only needs one square foot to give you consistent drying every time.

The ECO Farm dryer gives you the perfect environment to dry your weed every time. Using advanced technology, ECO Farm provides you with a ideal temperature that has been tested exclusively for drying cannabis. Multi-directional airflow, along with open-weave trays ensures each bud is dried consistently. This also means you do not need to rotate or touch the buds during the drying process. ECO Farm provides all of this in a captured environment, meaning you get high-quality, consistent drying in a small, enclosed space. Save Time, Money, and Space. ECO Farm takes up a little over one square foot and can dry at least 6 ounces in that small space.

FAQs About Drying Marijuana

Why should you consider drying marijuana?
A dried plant burns more uniformly, which makes it a perfect smoke. This is because the drying process has the effect of evaporating all the water weight from the plant.

What is the best way to dry marijuana quickly?
If you feel especially impatient there is one way to dry your weed quickly without completely losing the freshness and flavor. Hang them upside down in a dark room as you would in the slower approach except instead of leaving the room at its usual temperature, switch the temperature up to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is the optimal way of storing dried marijuana buds?
You can easily place your marijuana in the fridge, packed in airtight glass containers or airtight bags (perfect for these bake bags). If it is more convenient, using a very cold refrigerator is also fine.

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