Curing weed is the vital final step of cannabis cultivation. This process transforms marijuana, making it less harsh for consumers, adding flavor and potency, improving overall quality, and even preserving cannabinoids like THC and CBD.

Drying cannabis happens after harvesting a cannabis plant, removing the majority of moisture from cannabis buds to make it smokeable and prevent mold. Curing cannabis is a process likened to aging wine and retains the remaining moisture, preserves terpenes and cannabinoids, and more. 

How to Cure Weed Step-by-Step

Here are the basic steps to follow when curing weed, followed by a deeper dive into each step of the process. 

Harvesting the Weed

Growing weed can be rewarding, but harvesting the crop at the end is the real payoff. Knowing when to harvest a plant is important to avoid over-ripening buds, which leads to a loss of flavor and potency and eventually molding a plant. Here are some signs that your plant is ready to harvest:

• A pungent aroma is one of the best indicators a plant is ready to harvest. 
• Using a magnifying glass, check trichomes, the little crystals on a plant. When they look cloudy up close, THC levels are at their highest. If you want a more relaxing high, wait until trichomes turn amber, as this is an indicator of THC turning to CBN. 
• Check the color of the pistil, or hair, on the buds. Before you harvest, wait for most of the hair on the buds to turn from white to amber or red. 
• Be on the lookout for leaves turning yellow at the bottom of the plant.
• Check for dense buds, another sign that harvest time is near.

After checking that the plant is ready to harvest, it’s time for the moment of truth. Harvest the plant using pruning shears or scissors at the base of the whole plant or at individual branches to make the drying process more straightforward.

Then, once more, reach for the scissors and trim away any excess leaves to leave a more desirable bud with better flavor before drying the weed. 

Drying the Weed

There’s a critical step in cannabis cultivation before curing, and that is drying. Drying your harvested buds before curing them is essential to prevent mold, preserve flavor and potency, and allow the curing process to work. 

• Set up a drying area that is moderately humid (around 50%), with a temperature around 60–70°F and little light to prevent light damage to buds. Maintaining these humidity and temperature levels ensures a more controlled drying process and keeps the plant’s terpenes from degrading. 
• Hang the whole plant or separate branches upside down and space them around a room with plenty of air circulation to ensure an even dryness. 

Don’t let all the hard work of growing a cannabis plant come to an abrupt end at the last hurdle. Here are some of the most common drying mistakes to look out for:

• Maintain the correct temperature and humidity levels to prevent plants from drying too quickly. 
• Keep the airflow moving through a room to ensure even drying. 
• Trim plants well to make sure no moisture builds up in crevices. 
• Don’t handle plants too much during the drying process, as this can cause the potency of a plant to decrease. 
• Never dry on a flat surface. 

Preparing for Curing

Before curing a plant, be sure to prepare for the curing process. For curing, you will need:

• There should be enough airtight glass mason jars for all your buds to fit. Each will be filled to around 75% capacity. Wash and sterilize each jar to prevent mold during the curing process. Don’t use plastic, as buds may become stuck to the sides. 
• One humidity control pack (like Boveda) per jar to ensure optimum humidity levels during the curing process.  
• Labels for each jar should include the strain name, harvest date, and any other helpful information to help you keep track of different buds. 
• Prepare a dark area with a stable temperature to store jars in during the curing process. 

The Curing Process

Now that you’re prepped, it’s time to send your buds on the next stage of their adventure. 

• Take your prepared mason jars and pack them full of your dried and trimmed buds to around 75% capacity. This is where they’ll stay for at least two weeks, but some strains can be left for several months to improve flavor and smoothness of smoke even further. 
• Revisit the jars every few days to burp them. This is the process of releasing excess gas from each jar by opening them up and leaving them for a few minutes to prevent mold buildup and guarantee an even cure. During the first week, burp your cannabis 2-3 times a day, then once daily after that. 
• During the curing process, regularly checking the moisture content of your buds, humidity of each jar, and temperature of the curing area is vital to ensure an even cure. 

Evaluating the Cure

Just like knowing when to harvest a cannabis crop, knowing when to end a cure is essential, too. You’ll need to use your senses to sign off on a batch of weed:

• Smella plant and note when it changes from a fresh grass-cut smell to a more intense aroma. 
• Feel the buds to ensure they are spongy when squeezed and not too dry.
• Taste for a smooth and less harsh smoke

Some curing issues may occur, which can be solved with troubleshooting. If you come across moldy buds, remove them quickly and keep an eye on the container in which they were found, or move the remaining buds to a new sterilized container. Use a humidity control pack to maintain the correct humidity in each jar. 

Long-Term Storage

After curing, it’s time to store your weed correctly to keep it fresh and potent for longer. The best place to store cured weed is inside an airtight container or vacuum-sealed bag.

You can use more humidity control packs to keep it fresh for longer, make sure there isn’t too much natural light on buds in jars, and maintain a cool temperature. To keep terpenes intact, try to handle cured weed as little as possible and avoid opening jars until you’re ready to consume.

Conclusion

After harvesting a cannabis plant, arguably, the most critical process of curing the weed is still to come. It’s essential to dry harvested cannabis plants well first, then follow the scientific method of curing weed in a cool, dark, and moderately humid environment with regular burps in between to ensure the best buds at the end of the process.

Curing weed takes practice and commitment, so be sure to follow the steps outlined closely and use your senses to modify them depending on your strain and curing conditions.