When should i start curing my buds

Step one in reaping the rewards of your cannabis plants is knowing when they are ripe and ready for harvest. Harvesting too early will reduce your overall yield and potency, as the last two weeks of harvest are the peak time for cannabinoid production.

Yet harvesting too late can cause the trichomes to become extra-brittle when they are dried and cured, making them break off easily. Harvesting at the optimal time is crucial in ensuring you get the largest possible, highest-quality yield. As the plant completes its growth cycle, there will be many physical changes that occur. The biggest are, arguably, changing colors in the large fan leaves, a tightening of the bracts that form the colas, and a change in the color of the trichome glands.

These signs can help you know when to harvest your plants:. Color change on fan leaves: During the middle of the flowering stages, the plant will naturally consume most, if not all, of the nitrogen available in the grow medium. As nitrogen is responsible for the plant's green color, the plant's leaves will turn into hues of purple, and ultimately a haylike yellow, after it's consumed most of the available nitrogen.

Changing colors on fan leaves aren't enough to determine when a plant is ready to harvest, but it is the first sign that you are getting close. Once the fan leaves start to change color, start looking out for the next visible signs. Cola morphology: When observing the size, shape, and overall look of your buds, remember that this alone is not a very reliable method for judging if your crop is ready for harvest.

However, ripe buds are typically tight and firm. If your buds look overly lanky or fluffy, it could be a sign that it's too early to harvest.

Trichome gland clarity: The most reliable method for determining if your plant is ready for harvest. Most often, harvest time comes when trichomes are milky white and a few are amber. If trichomes are still clear, it's too early. Trichome clarity is a direct sign of how much resin is stored in the gland. Clear trichomes mean there hasn't been enough resin production.

If the majority of trichomes are amber, the buds have overripened. When your plant starts showing signs that it is close to harvest, it is important to flush the plant of any unused nutrients. Ideally, flushing begins two weeks before harvest. To flush your plants, flood your grow medium with water. Wait a few minutes for the water to dissolve nutrient buildup, then add more water to flush it all out. Without added nutrients, the plant will begin to feed on what's available in the grow medium leading up to harvest.

Once you've flushed your plants, you will likely see the fan leaves change color as a sign of nitrogen deficiency. Finally, give your plants one last flush the day before harvest. Properly and evenly drying your bud will help preserve its potency, vibrancy, and color.

When dried improperly or unevenly, buds can develop mold, burn unevenly, and lose fragrance or flavor. Hang-drying is the simplest and most efficient way to make sure it dries evenly, and at an optimal pace. For the best drying results, follow these steps:. It's important to avoid losing trichomes during the drying process by not letting your branches hit any surfaces while hang-drying.

Be careful when pressing marijuana. After a few hours, take the cannabis out of the bags. Separate them and return them to the hangers to complete the drying process. Ideally, you will have completed this step already.

You have put so much effort into the process that it would be a shame to get it wrong now. From now on, your primary goal is to ensure that your cannabis buds are stored in a controlled environment. At this moisture level, the buds will feel dry on the outside but still have a softness to them. Wide-mouth mason jars are by far the best storage containers for marijuana. You can find them online or even at Walmart!

Purchase 32 oz jars as they can hold up to 1. You could invest in larger jars, but with this, you increase the risk of mold growth. You want to leave a little air at the top and avoid crushing the buds. You need to shake the jar now and then. Other storage options include wooden, metal, or plastic vessels. You can use plastic bags in a pinch, but they degrade after contact with specific terpenes found in cannabis.

Interestingly, some growers deliberately cure bud when it is a little wet on the outside to cause additional bacterial growth. Ensure the mason jars are sealed and place them in a cool, dark, and dry spot. Hopefully, the exterior of your buds is not crunchy and dry. This would indicate that the moisture from the interior of the flower has rehydrated the outside. If the outside is too dry, it means your marijuana is too dry.

During the first few days, make sure you open the jars several times a day to let the flowers breathe. This is a crucial step because you allow moisture to escape while providing more oxygen.

If you do nothing, you will end up with moldy cannabis. If you have a hygrometer, use it regularly to test the humidity of the container. Leave your jars open for a few minutes with every check. After seven days, you only need to check your jars once every two days. If you believe your buds are too dry, leave them inside the jar for up to three more days.

This will allow you to see if any moisture from the interior of the bud comes to the surface. However, by doing so, you also increase the risk of mold growth.

Your cannabis should be primed and ready for use after approximately three weeks in a mason jar. However, some experts believe that eight weeks of cure time is optimal. There are a few marijuana strains that benefit from a six-month curing process — if you can wait that long! In most instances, curing does little for strain quality after six months.

At this stage, it is best to create a long-term storage solution to ensure your cannabis remains potent. The wide-mouth mason jars you used to cure the bud are ideal long-term vessels, too.

Alternatively, you can vacuum seal the cannabis or store it in tightly-packed mason jars. They will keep your marijuana fresh for a long time. There are a host of low-cost cannabis scales available online. Choose a brand, weigh your cannabis, calculate your usage, and determine how long this batch will last you! The goal was to sell as much cannabis as possible, which meant that a crucial process was neglected. Today, the sheer level of competition in the industry means that marijuana producers have little option but to spend the extra time and money on drying and curing their products.

Fortunately, no specialized equipment is needed, which means you can do it at home with the cannabis you grow. Make sure you begin the process as soon as possible after harvesting. Otherwise, you risk reducing the quality of the plant. There is a fine line between over-drying and not drying enough. This is something you can only learn with practice. Various factors impact drying time. For example, small buds will dry faster than large, dense ones. Also, it will take longer to dry if you hang large branches because they hold the most water.

Other factors include humidity, airflow, and temperature. Therefore, we can only give a ballpark figure of days. Hanging buds to dry remains the most popular method.

However, you can also place them flat on a surface such as cardboard. Storing your weed under proper conditions will preserve your THC content and allow for quality consumption at a later date. I think it goes without saying, but never use plastic bags for storage, or anything else. Stick with your airtight glass jars.

Some prefer dark-colored glass to prevent light from creeping in but if you are keeping your jars in a drawer or closet, clear jars are just fine. Avoid freezing your cannabis. The freezing process turns the trichomes brittle. You can end up damaging your buds when there is really no need. For long-term storage, you still want to burp your jars once or twice a month just to let out the gasses your buds will continue to give off. The result will be cannabis that is as good, if not better than it was on the day it was stashed away.

Read next: 5 Ways to Stash Your Stash. Written by Cory Hughes Commercial Grower. Stay on top of new content from MaximumYield. Join our email newsletter and get the latest grow tips in your inbox every week.

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