# Drying and Curing Marijuana: HOW TO



## pauliojr (Mar 20, 2007)

Here is one of MANY ways to dry and cure Marijuana. Figured I put this in here while there aren't too many topics. Courtesy of *marijuanapassion.com*

*Drying and Curing Marijuana*

Drying and curing Marijuana is a 3 step and the last process in growing marijuana in order to smoke it without damaging your lungs and getting the best taste out of your buds

*Drying Marijuana*

Drying marijuana buds generally takes from 2- 6 weeks and curing marijuana can take 2 weeks up to 2 or more months. Drying time also depends on where you live and the place you dry them. Places in a desert would dry them faster, and tropical places would take longer

The first step after harvesting your marijuana buds is the drying possess. This can be performed by taking the branches and hanging them up side down so the fan leaves droop and cover the buds. During this step you need to put the branches in a cool dark place (not humid) with enough ventilation. It is good idea to check up on the buds every day to watch for signs of mold and mildew and correct the problem if it happens. After the fan leaves droop down over the flowers and turn crisp or break off easily, you would want to start trimming off the fan leaves only. Even a better way to take off the leaves is to do it before drying the marijuana buds because it it will be much harder to cut off the fan leaves after the buds have dried. So, I recommend you to cut them off before you hang the marijuana branches upside down.​ 


The deal with this method is to dry it slowly but not to fast. If you dry your buds too fast it will make your buds smell like pine needles, hay, or taste bad. Drying the buds too slow in this first step is not a good idea ether because of mold and mildew will attack them. It's very important there's enough air circulation in the room so you can't do it without an electric driven fan.

After the fan leaves are trimmed you want to hang it up to dry again because the marijuana buds will still be moist or wet. They should still have the little inner leaves so they can droop and cover the buds . Hang the branches again in a cool dark place with proper ventilation until the little leaves and bud tips turn crisp when you touch them. It is then time to remove the buds from the branch and remove the rest of the leaf material as best as possible. This is what is referred to as "manicuring" of marijuana buds. But as said before it's better if you do this before you hang them to dry.

At this point the buds should be a little moist, including the inside of them. Some can be smokeable at this point, but if you wait till the next 2 processes you can get even better smelling and tasting buds

*Bagging the Marijuana Buds*

After the marijuana buds are trimmed (and a little moist still) you would want to dry them some more in the paper bag step. The best choice would be the brown shopping bags found at a supermarkets, because they are not bleached (the stuff you don't want in your buds) This is another tricky step. Put the trimmed marijuana buds in the brown bag loosely and its best not to fill it more than 3-4 inches from the bottom. It is not necessary at this time to close the bag ( still need to prevent mildew and mold) When the buds are in the bag you would want to check every day to rotate the buds in the bag so they dry evenly. This can be achieved by shifting positions of the marijuana buds, turning them ever so often, or shaking the bag. As the buds dry they will naturally compact into the self-preserving state that is mostly desired . At this time that the buds can be more compacted together and the bag can be folded close. They should now be fully smokable, though perhaps still ! slightly moist in the middle. A big reminder that every climate differs and may take more or less time. There is nothing better than repeated, hands-on checking to prevent damage to the marijuana buds from mold and mildew.

*Curing the Marijuana Buds
*
The last step is to create a way to bring out the full flavor and best smoke from the marijuana buds. This can be done by using an air tight jar or similar. Put the dried buds into the jar loosely (do not compact them) and cover them. It is very important in the early jar-stage to check the buds at least once a day to replace the air, take them out(this helps dry evenly) and put them back in a different order. This should be done for 7 to10 days then it can be done lest often. After 7 days all you need to do is open the jar and check the buds on a daily basis for mold and mildew. If mold and mildew is found in this step. Take the buds with mold or mildew out of the batch (throw away) and put the rest back in a brown bag for a few more days then the jar step can be repeated . this step can take from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on how you want you buds to develop its distinctive characteristics. The longer the better

A bud is completely dry, cured, and ready for consumption when the stem in the middle of the bud snaps easily with the fingers. The snap is easy to detect with practice. The marijuana buds now can be sealed and stored for a really long period of time.

lastly there are many ways to dry marijuana buds, but this is the best method yet I use and never failed me.

Enjoy!


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## Jordy Villain (Mar 21, 2007)

this is a sweet gem man. thanks


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## thaman420 (Apr 8, 2008)

thanks for the howto! do you think you can get some pics?


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## blonddie07 (Apr 8, 2008)

man this was a great write up! adding some pictures would be pretty cool, but not needed  

Thanks!


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## DivideMySky (Apr 8, 2008)

This is a good candidate for a sticky . . seeing as there aren't any in the section yet, and this is a reoccurring question.


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## oregonroller (Dec 3, 2008)

Nice, Thank you.


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## DeepSlip (Aug 31, 2009)

First you say you leave fan leaves,then you say its better to cut them before drying xD hehe,thanks for help,helped me


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## johnssmoke (Sep 21, 2009)

i am drying in the brown bag how long does it take to get the hay small out of the buds they have been in the bag a week now and still small like hay but does not taste like hay can someone tell me if i am doing wrong i live in tx so its very hot and only took three days haning up to dry i cut the sucker leaves off before hanging help johnssmoke


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## riffkiller (Jan 21, 2010)

johnssmoke said:


> i am drying in the brown bag how long does it take to get the hay small out of the buds they have been in the bag a week now and still small like hay but does not taste like hay can someone tell me if i am doing wrong i live in tx so its very hot and only took three days haning up to dry i cut the sucker leaves off before hanging help johnssmoke


If your buds smell like hay, you dried them out too rapidly. The smell will not go away. Use a slower method next time....it may be difficult but worth it in the long run.


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## potsmokinsumbitch (May 6, 2010)

Try dippin em in dat funky skunky smellin lemon juice and dry again, Sheeet I dunno whatel happen but should taste different. hee


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## Moochbuds (May 6, 2010)

good post bro good post


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## EvolAlex (Jan 15, 2011)

2-6 weeks to dry? fail


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## hipkatt (Jun 22, 2011)

We are just at the drying stage of our first grow. The buds that i have dried so far, the hairs have not curled in on themselves, they have basically stayed sticking out, but dried. Any idea what i am doing wrong?


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## dk0515 (Jun 22, 2011)

What color are the hairs? How long did you flower for?


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## sensi8739 (Jun 23, 2011)

I don't think the drying time frame is good advice.

The time you hang your bud up on a clothes hanger or whatever is relative. Like here in Colorado, there is often 0% RH, so after 2-3 days it is ready for the next step. If you let them hang for a week here, they are completely dried and ruined... Just check for when the outside of the bud feels dry to the touch (whenever that is) take them down from the hanger and jar em. After 12 or so hours in the jar, put the bud into a brown paper bag for 2-3 hours then back into the jar. Repeat this for 2-3 days, (until the bud stops becoming noticeably re-moist after sweating in the jar), then just leave the bud in the jar, but open the lid once a day for 20 minutes to an hour. Repeat that until the stems on the larger buds snap easily. That is essentially dryed/cured imo. You can then leave the jar sealed for a long term cure, or just start smoking.


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## Midwestmetal (Jun 16, 2012)

sensi8739 said:


> I don't think the drying time frame is good advice.
> 
> The time you hang your bud up on a clothes hanger or whatever is relative. Like here in Colorado, there is often 0% RH, so after 2-3 days it is ready for the next step. If you let them hang for a week here, they are completely dried and ruined... Just check for when the outside of the bud feels dry to the touch (whenever that is) take them down from the hanger and jar em. After 12 or so hours in the jar, put the bud into a brown paper bag for 2-3 hours then back into the jar. Repeat this for 2-3 days, (until the bud stops becoming noticeably re-moist after sweating in the jar), then just leave the bud in the jar, but open the lid once a day for 20 minutes to an hour. Repeat that until the stems on the larger buds snap easily. That is essentially dryed/cured imo. You can then leave the jar sealed for a long term cure, or just start smoking.



I totally agree with this. Most of the bud I come across dries within a week. I almost kicked on a humidifier to increase the room humidity because I figured that's what needed to be done. I have never done that, but I do feel that the taste and smell can be effected from such a rapid dry. It even happens on the dense strains. I'd say if you are having a dry that seems to fast cut all of the leaf matter away, or as much as you can, and jar it up. I even use big ziplock containers, if required. You will get some moister to sweat back out and if you notice it is too wet throw it in a paper bag, then back in the jar/container. I'm still no pro at the cure dry process but little things have been changing for the better every time I try to slow the process down a bit. First off, you need to grow some stank ass nugs before much of this matters. Crappy weed won't turn itself into gold because of your dry, but every little bit counts I guess.


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## Darkkeep (Dec 12, 2012)

Don't use a humidifier on high settings...know that much. I've heard horror stories of entire crops lost due to a humidifier up to high and bud molding. I wonder if high concentrations of CO2 would rapidly dry the bud? I understand weed is a different animal, but the methods you described are very similar to drying tobacco. In the south, we have to use methods like: Paper bag, Cedar tree...2 weeks dry middle of October/September..after the First step. Unfortunately, the season's are changing so rapidly in the south, hard to get one season to the next without heavy scortching during summer heats and snap freeze's. 

Really diggin on the site!


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