Cannabis drying step by step:
1.) On the day of harvesting, all the plants that are ripe for harvesting are cut off and dissected into their side shoots.
2.) Then remove all the large leaves by hand and carefully cut the small leaves from the buds with small scissors. Do not touch the flower too much, squeeze or otherwise, so that it does not lose quality. If possible, remove the leaves at the base of the stem.
3) Now from the defoliated shoots carefully detach the buds and divide into about ping-pong ball sized flower.
4) Put the buds to dry on screens / nets. There are special hangers with nets for this in the grow trade, you can also simply build a corresponding drying device from a fly screen and a wooden frame.
5) After 5-6 days, the buds are dry on the outside, but the stems are ideally still pliable. Now the buds are placed overnight in a tightly sealable box or zipper bag. Carefully squeeze the air out of the zipper bag and then close it. The box or bag should be kept in absolute darkness and room temperature. The next morning, remove the buds from the bag or box and place them on the screen again. Repeat this process until the stems of the buds crack when broken and you have achieved a result that suits your needs.
During the drying process, the chlorophyll in the flowers breaks down. The THC acid is converted into its psychoneutral form.
Important:
- during the entire drying process, the buds should be in the dark. Light causes THC to degrade, and otherwise the chlorophyll in the leaves will not break down properly.
- temperature in the drying room should be 18-22 degrees, and the relative humidity - 20-40%.
- During drying, the fan and activated charcoal filter should of course continue to run in order to get a grip on the odors that arise in the process and to get rid of them.
- in the drying room should also run a swivel fan, so that the air circulates and is evenly distributed. Especially during the drying process, care must be taken to ensure sufficiently good ventilation and air circulation so that no mold or rot develops.
- drying process should be slow and can easily take 2-3 weeks. This is the only way to achieve an optimal result in terms of taste and quality. The leaf green must first break down and convert the THC acid into its active form. This takes time.
Different drying methods
There are of course different methods when drying cannabis flowers. Some growers first hang the whole plant or individual branches upside down in a well-ventilated, dark room for a few days. This way, the THC of the plant goes even more into the tops. Before that, the large leaves are removed. After the plant has been hung upside down for a few days, the buds are cut off and the small leaves are removed. Then you can proceed as described above until the buds are completely dry. If the headbuds and buds are very large, the flower should be disassembled for drying or at least the side branches should be hung individually if the plant is very dense, so that mold and rot are avoided.