How to Prepare Cannabis Leaves and Roots

It's harvest time!!! I couldn't be more excited. In my reality it is a magical time of year and a pure joy to be around happy growers.

(Cannabis Sativa Fresh Leaves)

This season, I have been gifted the leaves, stalk and roots of one six-foot tall Sativa. 

As is often the case, the grower didn't know the strain name of the seed that was used to produce the plant. That didn't matter to me, I was thrilled to be able to use the rest of the plant that was just going to be composted otherwise.

So, I set out to dehydrate as many of the leaves as I could fit  in my 9 tray Excalibur food dehydrator.

( Cannabis leaves in the dehydrator.)

I dehydrated the cannabis leaves for 18 hours at 118 degrees F. Then I bagged the leaves and yielded 1.5 large freezer bags of dried leaves.

(Dried Cannabis Leaves.)  

( 1.5 large freezer bags of dried cannabis leaves from a 6 foot tall plant.)

Preparing the root was slightly more complicated. Cleaning it took about 45 minutes, just to get it "mostly" dirt-free.

(Notice the size of the stalk. It was like "wood" and required a saw to cut.)

(Lots of roots.)

I cut the roots from the main root ball and cleaned them again. I used a soft bristled brush under warm running water, to do this. Then, I put the roots on 2 trays in my dehydrator and dried them for 24 hours.

I am planning to crush the leaves and grind the dried roots to make a powder. I will then use these powders to make tea blends and topical ointments for joint and body pain. I'll also use them to make a topical salve for skin conditions, like psoriasis.

I welcome your comments and thank you for taking the time to read my material.

~RebeccaRyan