Want to learn how to cure your weed?
Those tasty buds have been drying anywhere from 5 to 15 days and they look more than ready to be smoked.
But is it the right time?
Because there’s a whole lot of magic in the waiting for those who follow a few extra steps and who are patient.
What is Curing?
Curing is the process that lets bacteria eat away at the remaining chlorophyll on the buds of your recently harvested plants. What’s chlorophyll? It’s the green pigment found in almost every plant, and one of its characteristics is to contain a significant amount of magnesium.
Without a proper cure, this magnesium still resides in your plants and turns your vision of having tasty buds into a pipe dream by giving it a foul tinge and harsh smoke. If you rush or completely ignore this crucial step of curing, expect rolled joints with your bud to leave dark black ash, and expect any smoking experience to be unpleasant on the lungs.
Gotta Save Those Terpenes
For those of you who absolutely love the smell and flavour of marijuana, you can thank its “terpenes” profile for that. The terpene molecule itself isn’t very stable and must be preserved below 21 degrees Celsius or 70 degrees fahrenheit to survive.
After the drying process is complete, it’s imperative that your weed is kept in a cool and dry location, without any direct sunlight. This will create the adequate environment for your buds in retaining those delicious little terpenes.
Giving Your Stash Everlasting Life
When you cure your weed, it preserves the batch from mold and a loss of cannabinoid potency. Because it’s more than possible keep your marijuana decently fresh for a long duration, you can combat mold and a loss of potency by keeping it in an air tight container, while stored in a cool and dark location.
I’ve Dried My Yield Properly, Now What?
The time has come to start the curing process. Make sure you have ample air tight containers (usually mason jars) at your disposal. You don’t want to squish your buds together, as the THC may clump and not burn properly.
For the first week, open the container a few minutes at a time, 2 or 3 times a day to allow your cannabis to breathe.
After the first week you can start tapering down to every other day. This allows the air to circulate and stay fresh.
The Wait Is On
To make sure your batch has gone through the full curing process, use a method called “Burping”. After usually the 4 week mark some strains will have been fully cured.
Once the jar has stopped “Burping” or making a popping sound, all the bacteria has ate the remaining Chlorophyll. Grab your favourite smoking utensil, it’s time to test the final product!
Cashing in Your Chips
It’s time to leave the table and hit the smokers lounge! A great player always knows when to leave a table or ride a run. Every strain and varying growing conditions lead to an un predictable cure period.
Make sure you follow these steps to finish off a top notch yield. Slow and steady wins the race.