Hemp production has been around for thousands of years in different regions worldwide. Cannabis plants, in particular, provide various uses, and hemp flowers are the most potent part of the cannabis plant; using them can be helpful for many purposes.
Drying and curing hemp flowers are the most critical steps in turning the hemp plant into a usable material. While they are two different things, curing the flowers is as important as drying them. This blog looks at the various steps to curing and drying hemp flowers.
What is Hemp Flowers?
Hemp flowers are the flowers of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. They are typically green and sticky and contain high levels of cannabidiol (CBD). You can consume them fresh, dried, or in various products, including tea, oil, and tinctures.
They are usually harvested from the female plant and dried before being sold. The drying removes moisture from the flower buds, leaving them soft and pliable. This makes them ideal for cooking and baking.
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Differences Between Drying and Curing Hemp Flowers
Curing is the process of slowly drying and storing cannabis flowers in a controlled environment. The goal of curing is to preserve the quality of the buds while allowing them to dry out slowly. This process can take weeks or even months, depending on the conditions.
However, drying is quickly drying cannabis flowers in a warm, dry environment. The goal of drying is to remove all the buds’ moisture so they can be stored for a more extended period. This process usually takes a few days.
5 Steps to Drying Flowers
1. Check for Suitable Conditions
Hemp growers often overlook a critical step in creating high-quality CBD oil. That is, ensuring proper conditions are met during the drying phase. After the trimming and cleaning, put your hemp into a cold press machine. Then, crush it down to extract the largest amount of compounds.
Once the extraction process is complete, you can send the plant material to a drying room to dry out. During this stage, the flowering tops must remain at temperatures of around 65 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity levels of approximately 50 percent. If you don’t follow these guidelines, your end product could lose some of its beneficial properties.
2. Hang Your Hemp Flowers
After you’ve extracted the cannabinoids from the flowers, hang them up to dry. Hang them upside down to allow air to circulate freely through the flowers. Make sure that there’s enough space between each bud to prevent molding.
You should also ensure that the temperature remains consistent throughout the drying process. The flowers will become brittle and crack if the temperature fluctuates too much.
3. Keep an Eye Out for Mold
Mold is one of the biggest problems with drying flowers. It can cause the flowers to rot and turn black. To avoid this problem, keep an eye out for signs of mold growth. When you notice any moldy areas, cut off those parts immediately.
If you’re unsure whether your flowers have been affected by mold, check their color. Greenish-yellow flowers indicate mold, and your flowers may be fine if you see any other colors, such as brown or white.
4. Check if it’s Dry Enough
Drying takes about five days to two weeks, depending on the weather and the quality of your buds. You can tell if your cannabis is dry enough to move forward in several ways.
One way is to snap a small terminal branch off of the plant. If it snaps rather than bending, your weed is ready for curing.
5. Store Your Flowers Properly
When you store your flowers properly, you can increase their shelf life. Store your dried flowers in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. Also, ensure that the area where you store your flowers isn’t damp.
5 Steps to Curing Hemp Flowers
1. Prepare the Flowers
Before you begin curing your flowers, prepare them first. Remove any leaves or stems that aren’t part of the flower itself. Then, trim the flowers down to a uniform size.
2. Store the Buds in an Airtight Container
The next step in curing hemp flowers involves storing them in an airtight container. This helps preserve the potency of your buds.
3. Store the Jar in a Dark Place
Next, store your jar containing your flowers in a dark location. Ideally, you want to keep your jars somewhere that has low light exposure. You could keep its temperature close to the one used in the drying process; 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 degrees humidity.
4. Check the Moisture Level
After 24 hours, open up your jar and check the moisture level inside. If it’s moist, you have stored the hemp correctly. However, if it’s still dry, you must have overdried them.
5. Wait
After three weeks, your bud should be ready. However, some recommend waiting up to eight weeks before the curing process ends.
Conclusion
Hemp flowers are a great addition to any grower’s arsenal. They provide many benefits, including increased yields and faster flowering times. But, they require special care during the growing and curing processes. Follow these steps carefully, and you’ll have high-quality hemp flowers.
