Hey all I finished cutting down my plant, and I have the last of it hanging now. I've read the guides for what to do to cure my plant, but I wanted some clear, basic explanation of WHY I do the steps after drying. I'm just confused as of what to do after drying, and how many days of drying are enough (Considering I'm in north-central Arizona, and it's in the 50-60's with very low (0-10%) humidity, and the buds seem pretty dry [smoked some tonight to test, it's harsh but packs a HUGE punch] [*and i'm stoned off it right now, which is why I'm so damn confused...*8.... Politely, F*** this, I'm going to get some skittles. Love and peace <3
Did you trim all of the excess leaves off of the bud? This will decrease the harshness of the smoke, and you can use the cut leaves to make hash...or smoke the leaves when you are really hard up for some grass. Also, did you flush your plants the last week or two of growing? Most people water with no fertilizer for the last week or two to flush the plant of nutrients, thus providing a smoother smoke and burn. Hang your buds upside down after trimming the leaves off them. In your low humidity situation, the buds should dry fairly quickly....within 5-7 days probably. To check to see if they are dry enough, see if one of the stems bends (not dry enough) or cracks/breaks (dry) on the bud. Then, after dry enough, you can either smoke the bud, or cure it, which imo makes for the best smoke. Curing involves placing your buds in a glass mason jar for a couple of weeks. Each day for the first few days, you need to unscrew the top periodically to allow for any moisture in the jar to evaporate out. After being cured properly, most buds taste/smell much more intense, and they seem more potent.
Its harsh because you havent dried it completely yet. Once you fully cure it, it will smoke much better and pack an even bigger punch. Keep em hanging for about a week, and when the stems snap easily or the buds are noticeably dry, then you can start the cure. Here you have a choice: air, or water cure (both are extremely easy). For the air cure, place them in air tight glass jars and put in a cool dark place, but remember to open them for a minute or so every day for about a month. You can cure them for as long as you want this way. For the water cure you place the buds in a container of water, and if they float make sure you have something to hold them down (they wont float throughout the whole cure). Make sure the lid is off, and after every day the water should become discolored. Make sure you replace the water with fresh water every day. After 7 days the cure will be essentially complete, if you did everything right. You can go longer but there wont be a very noticeable difference. After this you dry your buds again by a fan or the same way you did when you harvested, it should take about a week. Air curing will preserve and refine the buds taste and aroma. Water curing basicly removes everything water soluble in the bud (including what effects the smell and taste), and creates a much smoother smoke. Both results are very nice, except water curing returns less dry weight than air curing does.