Curing may seem like a tedious task, but do it wrong, and you may end up ruining all your hard work. Properly cured cannabis develops into bud that’s smooth and flavourful, and it’ll maintain that freshness for months to come.
We can all buy marijuana online nowadays, but for those who grow their own, then here’s what you need to know about the art of curing.
Why Cure Cannabis?
The curing process occurs after drying and can take weeks to complete. Curing helps preserve the potency of the buds and ensures flavourful and smooth smoke that lacks a harshness. Curing achieves this by degrading many of the byproducts produced during the drying process that contribute to bad taste. Many of these compounds can harshen the taste of the smoke and irritate the throat, but when removed during curing, you’re guaranteed a smoother toke!
As for flavour, curing helps preserve the all-important, yet delicate, terpenes. It does this by slowly drawing out the moisture and avoiding subjecting the trichomes to excessively high temperatures. Curing also enhances the shelf life of your cannabis. When done correctly, your stash may stay fresh for a year or more.
When moisture levels in the buds remain too high for too long, then it’s a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty moulds you don’t ever want to smoke. The curing process draws moisture out of the buds and ensures they remain pristine to prevent the growth of dangerous moulds.
How To Cure Cannabis
Curing cannabis isn’t particularly difficult, and so long as you can open and close a jar every few days, it becomes nothing more than a test of one’s patience. Here’s what you need to know:
- Place your dried and trimmed buds into a mason jar. Don’t fill it completely or pack them too tightly. Using clear mason jars will ensure that you can keep an eye on them during the curing process.
- Seal the jars overnight and place them in a cool dark location like a cupboard. Try and dial in the temperature as best you can. A steady temperature of 20-21°C is ideal.
- Check on them the following day. If the buds are too wet, then remove the lid for a day before resealing. If things don’t improve, then repeat the procedure each day until the excess moisture is removed. If there is no excessive moisture, then reseal it after a few minutes and place it back.
- Keep an eye out for any mould formation when there’s moisture. It’s a particularly common occurrence if things get too wet. If you notice an ammonia odour, then it’s a sure sign that the buds are not yet dry enough and that anaerobic bacteria are devouring them. Leave the lid off for a day to help prevent mould formation.
- During the first week of curing, you’ll want to remove the lid once or twice a day. This process is known as burping and involves removing the lid for a few minutes at a time. The action allows built-up moisture to escape and replenish the oxygen supplies inside.
- If you can measure the humidity inside, you’ll be looking for a relative humidity reading of 60–65% ideally.
- After a few days, you can burp your buds once per day. Do this for three to four weeks. At this point, your cannabis is sufficiently cured and should deliver a quality experience.
- If you’d like to cure for longer, you can. In fact, the longer the cure, the better the smoke. Some people cure for four to eight weeks, while others do it for up to six months.
Common Mistakes When Curing Cannabis
Always cure your cannabis in a dark location. If cannabis is exposed to light, then it quickly degrades and loses potency and the very taste we want to preserve. Unless you’re using a miron glass jar, then you’ll want to make sure it’s tucked away in a dark cupboard.
When the temperature rises above 22°C, then degradation of the delicate cannabinoids and terpenes begins. If you live in a hot climate, then it’s essential to have some method of maintaining a constant temperature of around 21°C.
If you start with buds that aren’t dry enough, you’ll soon run into problems with curing. Mould is a common occurrence, so be watchful if things get wet. Likewise, if things start out too dry, then it results in a harsh smoke. To avoid this, ensure that you dry your cannabis at a relative humidity of between 45–55% beforehand.
The Benefits of Properly Curing Cannabis
Essentially, proper curing helps prevent the degradation of volatile compounds like the terpenes and cannabinoids. These compounds, which are held within the trichomes on cannabis buds, will begin to degrade at harvest time as enzymes and aerobic bacteria begin to break down the excess sugars and starches. The process of curing cannabis forces it to use up any excessive nutrition before it dries out completely and leaves a harsh taste. If you ever smoke cannabis that’s harsh and lacks flavour as you smoke, then it’s because these residual compounds were not properly cured.
Taste and smoothness aren’t the only things that curing can promote. During the curing process, THC converts to another cannabinoid known as CBN. CBN exhibits potent antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, and anti-convulsive effects. It can also increase appetite just like THC, but without the associated psychoactive effects. It makes for an interesting way to experiment with the high. If you’re interested, then know that CBN levels tend to increase the longer the cure.
Don’t let all your hard work go to waste and fall at the final hurdle. Every cannabis grower knows that patience is a virtue if we want the highest quality bud, and this means doing that all-important step of curing.
Buy Marijuana Online
We weren’t all born with a love for growing and curing our own cannabis. For those who prefer to buy marijuana online, skip the long wait and get the goodies through a more direct route, then at Low Price Bud, we’re here to cover all your needs. Whether that’s flowers, edibles, concentrates, or vape oils, you’ll find what you need over on our shop.