One of the most crucial steps after harvesting your finished product, is undoubtedly curing your weed. For anyone who has ever smoked uncured weed can tell how harsh and inferior the experience is. The curing process is what determines the taste and flavour of your product.
What Is Curing?
Curing Marijuana is the preservation of the product by eliminating excess moisture in the product which is a holy breeding ground for mould and mildew. Just like the curing of meats, this is an act of preservation of the product in order to ensure the best possible taste, smell and effects.
Please note that while drying and curing weed are two post-harvest processes which eliminate excess moisture from the product drying is a different process which must be done before curing your weed.
WARNING
If done improperly you may find powder mildew or mould on your product, please throw away any infected product and inspect thoroughly with a microscope in order to eliminate any possibility of infected product. Smoking this, will result in you having a lung infection probably.
Why Is Curing Weed Important?
Degradation Of Plant By Products– Curing encourages the degradation of excess sugars and chlorophyll in the plant. Freshly harvested cannabis contains molecules which serve as breeding ground for mould and mildew. Curing eliminates these by-products ensuring your a smooth and flavorful smoking experience.
Curing Enhances The Taste Of Your Weed– Curing enhances the palate of your plant’s trichomes by eliminating chlorophyll which eliminates the taste of hay or grass from the plant. Chlorophyll is harsh on the throat so it will not result in a pleasant smoking experience. Bringing the moisture out and eliminating chlorophyll results in the full flavours cannabis is so notoriously famous for.
Curing Helps Preserve The Potency of Your Weed-Through exposure to light, heat and oxygen, cannabinoids like THC and CBD slowly start to degrade.
Curing Dramatically Improves The Shelf-Life Of Your Product-If properly cured and stored weed can last up to 2 years.
How Long Does It Take To Cure Weed?
The full curing process will definitely take a minimum of three weeks however many growers decide to cure their product upwards of six months, this is because growers know that patience pay quite a lot in this endeavour. This is because going slow and controlled will yield the best results possible.
Tools Needed For Proper Curing
Airtight Containers- Glass airtight jars or mason jars
Humidity Packs-Optimal humidity levels would be somewhere between 55% – 62% , humidity packs will ensure this humidity level in the container.
Hygrometer– Used to check that the temperature does not vary within the curing container.
How To Cure Weed
- Find An Appropriate Place To Cure– Before you start curing make sure you have an appropriate place to cure your weed. Make sure this space is dark and cool where temperature and humidity levels do not vary or spike too much. The ideal temperature would be 21.1°C
- Fill Your Curing Jars 75% Full– Fill Your Airtight container only 75% full, this allows enough space for airflow. This also an optimal time to know whether you have dried your buds correctly. If when you put them in the container, the buds stick together they likely have not dried yet and mould and mildew are more likely to develop.
- Inspect And Burp The Jars Twice A Day For The First Week– In The First Week, you need to burp (open) the jards twice a day for an hour each time. This will allow for the air inside the containers to be refreshed and for the flavour to be replenished
- Keep Inspecting And Burping The Containers Regularly– Keep looking for sign of mould or mildew in the next few week, you can now burp your jars every few days
- Try Your Weed At The 3 Week Mark– This is the best part of the process, at the 3 week mark your weed should be ready to smoke, you can now roll a joint and have a toke on it. If you are looking to cure it for a longer time, you can simply put it back into its curing container and let it cure for a number of more weeks.
