Why dry cannabis well?

Cannabis drying is a long but essential step in the cultivation of cannabis. The quality of the drying will influence the taste of your flower, but also the concentration of cannabinoids, terpenes, perfume, texture and appearance of your flower! And yes, drying is the first step in refining cannabis once harvested. If neglected, the quality of the whole flower will suffer. That is why we will detail here the optimal method for drying cannabis.

What happens when a plant dries?

We’ll leave it to Jamie to explain what happens at the molecular level when tobacco plants dry. The same process is going on for cannabis. But there is a difference in size between drying cannabis and drying tobacco. Tobacco producers are looking to increase the carbohydrate concentration in the leaves. On the other hand, it is imperative for cannabis, when it eliminates chlorophyll, that its sugar concentration remains at its lowest as they distort the taste of the cannabis flower. It is the presence of these carbohydrates that gives the unpleasant taste of the fumes that make cough. You can now detect cannabis that has dried too quickly and produces a large number of carbohydrates.

What happens when a cannabis plant is dried?

First, it is important to dry cannabis in the dark to degrade chlorophyll. But also at low temperature, and apply the opposite of what Jamie explains so that the chlorophyll degrades slowly. Tobacco can be dried in ovens at 70 degrees to get the most sugar when drying, when we want to have as little as possible.

Second, when a cannabis plant is harvested, it continues to live. The bacterial activity continues on the plant and the enzymes that made cannabinoids such as THC acid synthase which makes THCA, which once de-brieded turns into THC, continues to work. On one condition: it must dry slowly. It must disgorge as slowly as possible from its water in order to be kept alive. A plant without residual water in its branches, leaves and flowers will die. As a result, it will stop producing cannabinoids and your plant will never reach its maximum potential in THCA, CBDA, etc., and ultimately in THC and CBD. You will understand that if you want to get the best out of a cannabis plant, you will choose to keep it alive for as long as possible. For this, it must be whole with its branches and leaves. The enzymes on the flowers will be able to drink water from leaves and branches, and produce cannabinoids. They will work for a longer period of time than if we peel our cannabis plant before drying, or if we cut the flowers.

Under what conditions should you dry your cannabis?

In addition to the darkness, the temperature of the drying place will have to remain cool. This will prevent water from evaporating too quickly from plants. Invest in a hygrometer and thermometer to maintain an environment with 55 humiditys that does not exceed 20 degrees. This is also why florists keep flowers in fridges to avoid early drying of the petals.

However, avoid too much moisture that could cause your cannabis to rot. It is a very sensitive plant to moisture. Once cut in the dark, it will have great difficulty in removing excess water. We advise you not to water your cannabis on the day of harvest, see the day before. You will avoid excess water in the plant from the beginning.

How do I dry cannabis?

The ideal method to dry cannabis is to dry the whole plant upside down, in the dark, with 55 of hygrometrics. Flower enzymes may continue to produce cannabinoids and terpenes. Chlorophyll will degrade slowly, but enzymes may degrade the sugar produced during this process. The flower will still retain a beautiful color, because the chlorophyll will not be completely degraded.

How long do you dry cannabis?

It will take about a fortnight under the conditions dictated above for cannabis to reach its optimum drying state. It will take the grower, from ten days, to observe his cannabis in order to decide when he will have to peel it and pass it in curing, the final stage of the refining of cannabis.

The green stem of the cannabis must have given way to a slightly crisp brown stem in the ear. Flowers should also crack under the pressure of their fingers. They must keep some moisture causing resistance in its heart. You can also use a specially designed hygrometer to measure the internal moisture of the flowers which should reach 10-15 humidity.

What’s curing for?

A curing in good conditions will allow you to stagnate the drying of your cannabis, keeping the flower with a slight humidity. Under the right conditions, you can keep your cannabis for at least two years without any alteration of terpenes and cannabinoids. On the contrary, your flower has never dried it will continue to mature for many months. The enzymes will continue to produce THCA, and your cannabis will gain in cannabinoids.

You will also understand the difference between a flower dried too quickly and then moistened, and a flower that has never dried. In the first case, your cannabis will no longer be able to mature since the enzymes will be dead. You will only limit its degradation. If, on the contrary, you have taken care during drying, your cannabis will improve and will produce terpenes and cannabinoids for many months.