Using drying boxes to dry and preserve herbs is a well-loved process in the hydroponics community. Using a drying box is also the fastest and most convenient way to preserve herbs.
Whether you are preserving herbs for personal use or for commercial sale, processing your herbs properly is a good idea and can even increase the commercial value of your crops as dried herbs last longer.
Aromatic herbs for culinary use provide better flavor and aroma when dried properly.
Choosing the Right Method to Dry Pot
The internet is filled with many methods about how to dry pot. There are methods that involve freeze-drying then there is the method that involves water.
Getting into complex methods is no good. Most weed growers use one simple method or perhaps their own variation of it.
This good old method is basically how you dry clothes: hang them from a wire. It involves cutting your plants and hanging them from wire or string. Instead of hanging from a wire, some growers also use a drying rack for the buds. You basically let the buds dry on their own by providing the right conditions.
If you are thinking about quick fixes like microwave or heat fans, stop right there. Using anything that accelerates this process will dry it but the product you will get would be absolute garbage. You do not want months of hard work to go to waste.
How to Dry Weed Properly: Step by Step Guide
- Cutting and Trimming
Once your plants are ready to be harvested, it is time to start the curing process. I find cutting a foot long branch from the bud the best. Even though you can manicure the branch after drying, it is better to just do it before as you do not want any leaves hampering the drying process. You will need trimming scissors or a bud trimming machine at this point to get rid of all unwanted leaves in the bud.
If you are using a drying rack instead of a hanging line, you can directly cut the buds and trim them, you will need a trim tray. You can fully manicure even after drying. You do not have to spend a lot of time manually trimming them. This is why you should opt for a bud trimming machine instead.
- Move the Marijuana into the Dark
Once you have manicured the buds, move them to a dark room. Now, you do not need any sunlight or grow lights at all.
This darkroom needs to meet the temperature and humidity requirements. You can use a dehumidifier to keep humidity within 45–55%.
The temperature needs to be between 60° F (15.5° C) and 70° F (21°C). If the room already has this temperature then you do need to do anything. Otherwise, use an air conditioner to maintain the temperature in the said range. You can use a small fan to improve the circulation of air.
- Check for Dryness
Usually, it can take anywhere from 5 to 15 days for the buds to dry a bit.
You can tell just by looking if it has dried provided you have been growing weed for a while.
When the flowers are a bit crispy and the branch snaps, the buds have dried enough and are ready to be cured.
- Curing Weed | Store in an Airtight Dry Container
Now, to complete the curating process and to completely dry the buds you need to store them in an airtight container.
You can store them in canning jars of plastic or glass. You can even store them in plastic bags; however, it is a bit risky. Do not pack too many flowers in one bag.
You will need to open the jar for a bit several times at least for a week. This allows any remaining moisture out and lets some fresh air in. From the second week, you can open every few days. After 2 to 3 weeks, the weed will be fully cured.
The more time you spend drying cannabis the better the result is.
If at any point after storing you get an ammonia smell, know that you did not properly follow the steps of how to dry pot. Chances are that bacteria have already gotten to them, hence the smell.
Make sure to check if it has properly dried before storing them.
If you are thinking of how to best preserve your herbs, drying them out and storing them is probably the best way to go about it. In this article, we will recommend best herb dryer.
ECO Farm Electric Medicinal Plants Dryer
Using advanced technology, ECO Farm provides you with a ideal temperature that has been tested exclusively for drying medicinal plants.
ECO Farm provides all of this in a captured environment, meaning you get high-quality, consistent drying in a small, enclosed space. Take back all of the space you’ve needed for hang drying because ECO Farm only needs one square foot to give you consistent drying every time.
Save Time, Money, and Space
ECO Farm takes up a little over one square foot and can dry at least 6 ounces in that small space.
The ECO Farm dryer provides a controlled drying environment, meaning your medicinal plants is perfectly dried in less time than it takes to hang dry. All while retaining potency, terpenes, and flavor.
HerbsNOW Herb Dryer
Using advanced technology, ECO Farm provides you with a ideal temperature that has been tested exclusively for drying medicinal plants.
ECO Farm provides all of this in a captured environment, meaning you get high-quality, consistent drying in a small, enclosed space. Take back all of the space you’ve needed for hang drying because ECO Farm only needs one square foot to give you consistent drying every time.
Save Time, Money, and Space
ECO Farm takes up a little over one square foot and can dry at least 6 ounces in that small space.
The ECO Farm dryer provides a controlled drying environment, meaning your medicinal plants is perfectly dried in less time than it takes to hang dry. All while retaining potency, terpenes, and flavor.
ECO Farm Refrigeration Low Temperature Freeze Dryer
ECO Farm Refrigeration Dryer uses vacuum freeze-drying technology, also known as sublimation drying, is a method to freeze water samples in advance and then sublimate the moisture in vacuum state. After freeze-drying, the original biological, chemical and physical properties are basically unchanged, easy to preserve for a long time, after adding water can be restored to the state before freeze-drying, and can maintain its original biochemical characteristics.
Features:
Integrated structure design, small volume, no external flange, easy to use, no leakage
All materials in contact with the products shall use inert materials
The cold trap and operation table are made of stainless steel, which is easy to be cleaned
High efficiency, energy saving, long service life and low noise
Famous brand vacuum pump with high pumping speed and higher limit vacuum degree
Vacuum pump protection function, can set the vacuum pump cold trap temperature, protect the service life of vacuum pump
Technical parameters:
Freeze drying area: 0.12 M2
Working Temperature(℃): ≤30 ℃
Cold trap temperature: ≤ — 60 ° C
Water capture: 4 kg
Limit vacuum: ≤ 2pa
power: 680W(standard 370W vacuum pump)
Overall dimension: 600558390 mm
Conclusion
Using a drying box is the fastest and most convenient way to preserve herbs. Which one do you like above those threes herb dryer boxes?