~The Final Stage~ Harvesting and Curing by MzJill

Properly processing the cannabis at harvest is a craft that must be mastered in order to enhance and preserve the psychoactive properties, the taste and the appearance of the finished product. Many talented growers fail to implement some of the following techniques and the result is not up to maximum potential. Inadequate or poor handling after harvest is the biggest cause of, less than top quality cannabis. This problem is compounded by the fact that most growers feel his or her pot is better than everyone else’s. Try to tell a grower whom is your friend that he or she could do a better job on trimming and curing; this will usually result in the end of a friendship. A good trim and cure can make the difference between green tasting, hard to burn nugs and pleasurable, smooth, clean burning dank nugs.

There are two basic methods used by growers, when harvesting their cannabis. Some growers prefer to cut the buds from the branches individually, while others growers may prefer to harvest the entire plant, by cutting it off at the main stalk near the bottom.

Many for a few reasons, prefer individual cola harvesting. With some cannabis plants the buds will finish at different times. For example; the top colas may be already ripe and can be removed to allow the lower branches to be exposed to light, therefore allowing the lower buds to further ripen giving a larger yield.

Individual harvesting and drying is faster than drying a whole harvested cannabis plant. When a cannabis plant is harvested the stomata on the surface of the leaves and calyxes will start closing off, allowing only a small amount of water vapors to escape through the stomata. Thus forcing the excess moisture stored within the stems/stalks to exit through the cuts you have made on the stalks/stems when harvesting. The less cuts for the water vapors to exit through, the longer the drying time will be.

For the best end results we have found that upon harvest, it is best to trim all foliage from the colas/buds while the foliage is still rigid and fully hydrated. It is very important to remove as many leaves protruding from the bud, as possible. These leaves still contain chlorophyll, which will adversely affect the taste of your finished product. Some growers prefer to leave these leaves to curl around the bud for finished appearance. We feel that it will definitely take away from the taste and smoothness of the finished product.

Trimming is a tedious job that requires a lot of patience, self-discipline, and the proper supplies. It is important to have a good pair of scissors for trimming. A good ten-dollar pair of hair cutting shears will do the job very well. It is nice to have a bowl for the shade leaves and a bowl for the sugar leaves. We like to separate the shade leaves from the sugar leaves, as we utilize the sugar leaves for hash and butter making. A table, along with a comfortable chair, and good lighting are also musts for trimming. Try to sit up straight and keep your back straight, set goals and take breaks; trimming a full crop can mean several days worth of work, even for the experienced trimmer.



Drying your buds is simply a process that precedes the end curing process, drying is merely an act of removing the excess water from the cannabis. We like to leave the buds on the stems and hang on a string or hanger of some sort. It is best to dry the buds in a place that allows for indirect lighting and also adequate air circulation. A fan is good to have in the room, but not to be directly pointed at the hanging buds. Allow the buds to dry until they are crisp on the outside and the stems will still be pliable, since the stems contain so much residual moisture it is best at this time to remove the buds from the stems and place in a large bowl, on a screen or a tray. In our climate the hanging time is about five days, but the drying time will vary due to humidity. We like the buds to dry slowly as this makes for a smoother cure, rather than drying the buds too quickly. When buds are allowed to dry slowly the humidity is closer to that of the inside of the stomata. If cannabis is dried to rapidly, the ‘green’ taste will remain present in the finished product. According to the time of year, the temperature and the type of heat in your home humidity, airflow, and the density of your buds; drying time can vary from five days to ten days.

Cannabis will continue to cure after it is harvested, while it is drying and even after it is placed into a jar. Just like a fine wine or a gourmet coffee bean, marijuana needs to be cured to achieve the rich, robust, smooth taste that lingers on your palette and in your brain. During the curing period the cannabinoid acids go through the process of decarboxylation into the psychoactive cannabinoids and the terpenes will isomerize to create new polyterpenes. Just as with any other fruit, when cannabis is harvested, the fruit or bud is not dead, it continues to metabolize. If you pick a tomato from your garden and it is still partially green, you would set it in the windowsill to further ripen or metabolize. Another example is a fresh banana, it may still show green on the peel and the fruit inside is hard and the taste is milder, as the banana ages the peel will turn darker yellow and the fruit inside will become softer and have a more rich flavor. The more robust flavors and tantalizing fragrances begin to appear as the chlorophyll and other pigments begin to break down.

When the small stems, which remain under the buds, are completely dry enough to snap and the buds are dry enough to smoke, it is time to start the end curing process. We use glass-canning jars, such as Mason, Ball or Kerr, to cure and store our finished product. Freezer bags can also be used for storage of cannabis. Do not store your cannabis in sandwich bags or anything made of a similar plastic, because the cannabis will become to dry and it will lose potency. It is important to open the jars to allow in oxygen that is needed for the curing process, and to allow gases built up from the curing process to escape. During the first three days we open the jars once a day. After the first three days, for two weeks open your jars twice a week, then one time after the first month; at which time the cure will be complete. Make sure your cannabis is completely dry before leaving it in sealed jars or containers. Leaving wet cannabis in any sealed jar or container will result in mold, and it will become unsafe to smoke.

Store your jarred, cured cannabis in a cool dark place, to help slow the break down of the cannabinoids. Although cannabis needs oxygen through the metabolizing/curing stage, oxygen plays an adverse roll on already cured cannabis causing the breakdown of THC into CBN. We store our marijuana in canning jars with lids on tight, inside of a cool dark closet.

Implementation of the simple steps listed above will make your dank a legend amongst your friends.


Glossary

Calyxes… The sepals of a flower considered as a group.
Cannabinoid… Any of various organic substances, such as THC, found in cannabis.
Canna-Butter… Butter reprocessed with cannabinoids.
CBN… (Cannabinol) Occurs during the breakdown of THC in the curing process.
Chlorophyll… Any of a group of green pigments that are found in the chloroplasts of plants.
Curing… To prepare, preserve, or finish (a substance) by a chemical or physical process.
Decarboxylation… Removal of a carboxyl group from a chemical compound, usually with hydrogen replacing it.
Harvest… The process of gathering a crop at the end of its season.
Hash… Purified resinous extract of the hemp plant; used as a hallucinogen. Bubble Hash
Humidity… Wetness in the atmosphere.
Isomeric… Any of two or more substances that are composed of the same elements in the same proportions but differ in properties because of differences in the arrangement of atoms.
Isomerize… To cause to change into an isomeric form.
Metabolism… The chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. In metabolism some substances are broken down to yield energy for vital processes while other substances, necessary for life, are synthesized.
Metabolize… To subject (a substance) to metabolism.
Mold… (Fungi) A superficial often, woolly growth produced especially on damp or decaying organic matter or on living organisms.
Oxygen… A nonmetallic element constituting 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume that occurs as a diatomic gas, O2, and in many compounds such as water and iron ore. It combines with most elements, is essential for plant and animal respiration, and is required for nearly all combustion.
Poly… More than one; many; much
Psychoactive… Affecting the mind, mood, or other mental processes. THC is the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana
Stomata… One of the minute pores in the epidermis of a leaf or stem through which gases and water vapor pass.
Terpenes… Any of various unsaturated hydrocarbons, C10H16, found in essential oils and oleoresins of plants and used in organic syntheses.
THC… (tetrahydrocannabinol) A compound, C21H30O2, obtained from cannabis or made synthetically, that is the primary intoxicant in marijuana and hashish.




Written and Photographed by: MzJill of Subcool Seeds/TGA

Great job Sub and Jill! I was actually looking for a thread like this a few days ago. Much appreciated. I have just recently harvested and now my buds are drying. There is still that "grassy" smell to it so I assume by what you've written that it's dried too fast. It was just some bagseed from an old bad of down town brown so I'm not too worried, but I'm gonna have to do this right for the JTR I have germination now. Thanks for the tips

Great stuff man. I am wondering in you second post, what type of bud is the 1st pic labeled "420pinky" as well as the last pic "420shrom1"??

thanks for always sharing your all's knowledge with everyone im sure every one that read this loved it i know i did

ohiomedigrower

have you ever tried drying in a large cardboard box?

Cardboard has sulfer and wood acid on it as well.

Sub

Wow, thank you. This is the most comprehensive and sensible curing method I have come across. This and your super soil recipe seem like a sure fire recipe for conosseur grade bud. I can't wait to get started. Do you see any problemwith vacuum sealing the fully cured buds in plastic for safe transport and long term storage? If not do you have a favorite brand bag that is better to use? I deliver on a bicycle and jars can break and weigh a lot more. Thanks again and keep up the good work.

Thank you very much.

Goes hand in with the Amber alert thread. I'm so glad your here for us Sub. Don't know what I'd do without ya! I'd probably still be trying to research and gaining nothing but headaches as I try to piece together contradicting opinions that have no tried and true success.

You TGA folks kill it. Thanks and best wishes to both of you for the time you put into educating us.

Sub when you open your jars for the curing process how long do you leave them open?

Kaptain Kron said:

ok so if i understand this part correctly you let it sit in a bowl or on a screen in a dark cool place and dry til the tiny stems crack THEN throw it in the jar? Last time i did it i just threw it in the jar at the part where you put it in the bowl. Would this have adversly affected my smoke at all could it have been better? Other than that discrepancy the way i cure is almost exactly the same very informative nice to know i was doing something right lol

Click to expand...

That is correct although I don't use a screen or bowl I hang mine on clothes hangars. There are many different methods to the drying and curing process use what your comfortable with just make sure that you keep an eye on things so that your buds do not grow mold and your good to go. There is nothing wrong with the way you did things except the fact that you increased that chances your buds could grow mold as they still contained alot more moisture then they would have had you not skipped the first part of the drying process. Also this should not have reduced the quality of your smoke as the whole purpose of drying and curing is to give the buds time to break down and rid themselves of excess sugars and chlorophyll so that you do get a better quality smoke. As long as you gave them enough time to do this then your good to go.

Ganja Geek said:

Sub when you open your jars for the curing process how long do you leave them open?

Click to expand...

i would like to know this also.

Heres a great way that you might want to look into Sub, I use little RH meters from ebay. they tell me what % my buds are at in the jars and takes all the guess work out of curing. the best cure ive ever had is done this way.

+70% RH - too wet, needs to sit outside the jar to dry for 12-24 hours, depending.

65-70% RH - the product is almost in the cure zone, if you will. It can be slowly brought to optimum RH by opening the lid for 2-4 hours.

60-65% RH - the stems snap, the product feels a bit sticky, and it is curing.

55-60% RH - at this point it can be stored for an extended period (3 months or more) without worrying about mold. The product will continue to cure.

Below 55% RH - the RH is too low for the curing process to take place. The product starts to feel brittle. Once you've hit this point, nothing will make it better. Adding moisture won't restart the curing process; it will just make the product wet.

Obviously, the product need time to sweat in the jar. As such, accurate readings won't be seen for ~24 hours, assuming the flowers are in the optimal cure zone. If you're curing the product for long-term storage, give the flowers 4-5 days for an accurate reading. If the product is sill very wet, a +70% RH reading will show within hours. If you see the RH rising ~1% per hour, keep a close eye on the product, as it's likely too moist.

a grower named Simon shared this with me

Nice write up Mz. Jill! I'm picking up some Jilly Bean asap! Looks and sounds like a great strain to have!

Very nice article MzJill. You should start doing articles for the magazines or start your own MZjill's blog or even better.....a cooking show for us edible fans.
Does anyone know what camera she uses to take such awesome macro shots? Its time I upgrade from my fuji finepics to a better camera.

Grasshopper

irishboy said:

i would like to know this also.

Heres a great way that you might want to look into Sub, I use little RH meters from ebay. they tell me what % my buds are at in the jars and takes all the guess work out of curing. the best cure ive ever had is done this way.

+70% RH - too wet, needs to sit outside the jar to dry for 12-24 hours, depending.

65-70% RH - the product is almost in the cure zone, if you will. It can be slowly brought to optimum RH by opening the lid for 2-4 hours.

60-65% RH - the stems snap, the product feels a bit sticky, and it is curing.

55-60% RH - at this point it can be stored for an extended period (3 months or more) without worrying about mold. The product will continue to cure.

Below 55% RH - the RH is too low for the curing process to take place. The product starts to feel brittle. Once you've hit this point, nothing will make it better. Adding moisture won't restart the curing process; it will just make the product wet.

Obviously, the product need time to sweat in the jar. As such, accurate readings won't be seen for ~24 hours, assuming the flowers are in the optimal cure zone. If you're curing the product for long-term storage, give the flowers 4-5 days for an accurate reading. If the product is sill very wet, a +70% RH reading will show within hours. If you see the RH rising ~1% per hour, keep a close eye on the product, as it's likely too moist.

a grower named Simon shared this with me

Click to expand...

I too use this method.. its kinda like a 'Fail Safe' method of curing you know? I'm not a noob.. but sometimes I get side-tracked with other shit in my busy life and tend to forget about things sometimes so I like using this method.

Last time I used this method.. it worked absolutely great! Except I didn't let the product cure long enough.. so there was still some 'green' taste to it.. but it wasn't REALLY harsh to where it wasn't smokable.

I've was told by a well known breeder/grower that if you don't let the product cure for at LEAST 3 to 4 weeks.. the product will not have had adequate time to release and evaporate any remaining chlorophyll/starches nor will it have had time to convert any non-phsychoactive THC into phsychoactive THC.. therefore the product will not be as potent as it could be.. and it won't taste like it should because it hasn't had enough time to release all the bad stuff.

Although, he did also tell me that the curing time varies from strain to strain (of course..). But he said in general.. generally speaking.. you should let the product cure for at LEAST that 3 week mark.. in order to give the product enough time to transform into something delightful.

Some strains may only take 3 or 4 weeks to transform into a delightful - smokeable product.. but then there will be some strains that may need at least 5 or more weeks.. in order for it to transform into what it should be.

Hope this helped someone..

peace.

Question out there for those who cure for vaporization (rather than smoking): what is the best process to enhance bud that is destined for the vaporizor?

Vaporized bud does not burn; turpenoids and other volatile compounds destroyed through combustion contribute to the flavor of a vaped bud. It seems to me that the different demands of vaping require a modified havest/cure process. One clear example: vaping 'sugar leaf' will not have the same negative impact on flavor as with combustion, so trimming leaves as indicated in the OP is not important for vaped weed.

A growing number of cannabis users vape instead of smoke, so any contributions to this area would be really helpful.

good info sub...