Have you successfully grown and harvested your plant? Then you should now dry your hemp. Many growers underestimate the importance of the drying process and then wonder why it scratches their throat when smoking and doesn’t taste as good as expected. If you want to achieve the best possible smoking experience, there’s no way around drying hemp!
In this blog post, we explain why you should dry your hemp, what you need to dry it and how and where cannabis should be dried.
For the drying process, we recommend our Bonsanto drying kit!
Table of Contents
Why dry hemp?
Once you have harvested your plant, you should dry your hemp to reduce the moisture content in the hemp. This will extend the shelf life of your harvest and reduce the risk of mold growth. Dried hemp is also easier to process and chop. It also makes sense to dry hemp for storage, as this allows it to be stored more efficiently and safely, as the lower moisture content reduces the risk of mold.
The drying process is also important to preserve the active ingredient in cannabis. Certain substances in hemp, such as cannabinoids, are broken down if the moisture content is too high, which impairs their effectiveness. Drying hemp also makes a big difference to the taste, because if you smoked it immediately after harvesting, it would be rather unpalatable and scratchy in the throat.
What do you need for drying?
For the drying process, you will first need a string or a drying net, as hemp is usually hung up to dry. As proper ventilation is important for drying, you should also get a fan. If you have grown your cannabis in a grow box, you will normally already have a fan. To control the temperature and humidity in your drying room, you can also use a thermometer and a hygrometer. The drying process of hemp can take some time, so bring time and patience for the drying process!
Where to dry cannabis?
You should dry your harvest in a cool place. Perhaps you have a chamber or a small room at home that you can turn into a drying room. The room should be well ventilated so that the humidity doesn’t get too high. It is also important to darken the room, as light degrades the active ingredients in your cannabis, which should be avoided. We advise you to dry your cannabis in a smaller room, because the smaller the room, the easier it is to control the temperature and humidity.
Of course, you can also convert one of your cupboards into a drying room. You can also use your grow box or grow tent that you used for your grow to dry your harvest, such as the Bonsanto grow boxes. If you want to be more efficient and want to grow your next plants while you are drying your harvest, we recommend getting a Bonsanto drying case. You can successfully dry your harvest in this. It comes with a grid that you need to dry your buds, as well as an activated carbon filter that neutralizes odours and controls the humidity in the case.
How long to dry hemp?
The duration of the hemp drying process can vary depending on the specific conditions, the amount of hemp to be dried and the desired amount of moisture. However, the drying process usually takes around 9 to 14 days. If you use our Bonsanto drying case for drying, we recommend a slow drying process of up to 3 weeks.
There are various factors that can influence the drying time. On the one hand, a high temperature in the drying room can lead to faster drying (which means a loss of aroma and active ingredients), on the other hand, high humidity can prolong the drying process. Some cannabis strains also take longer to dry than others. It’s important to be patient and check the cannabis thoroughly to make sure it’s fully dried before you process or store it.
How to dry hemp?
Depending on your preference, you can hang your harvested buds or the whole hemp plant to dry in a well-ventilated and dry room. Hang the hemp branches upside down on a string or net. The flowers should be far enough apart to prevent mold from forming. Turn the branches occasionally to ensure even drying.
To minimize the odours that arise during drying, you should use an activated charcoal filter. Also make sure that the drying temperature is around 20-25 degrees Celsius to preserve the quality of your harvest.
It is important to monitor your hemp carefully to ensure even drying and avoid mold growth. Once your hemp is dried, you can either smoke it directly or ferment it and process it further.
When is hemp properly dried?
First of all, you should know that cannabis dries on the outside and can therefore appear drier on the outside than it actually is on the inside.
To determine whether the buds are properly dried, you can bend the stem. If it breaks, this is a sign of dry buds. If the stem doesn’t break, you should let your buds dry for a few more days. The cannabis buds should feel dry, but not too brittle or moist. If you gently squeeze properly dried buds, they will give slightly and then return to their original shape.
Properly dried hemp also has a pleasant smell and taste. If the hemp smells musty or moldy, it is probably not yet sufficiently dried and could be infested with mold.
Also consider your individual preferences when drying. Some growers prefer slightly wetter hemp for certain applications, while others prefer a very dry consistency. Therefore, drying always depends entirely on your own preferences.
Can you dry cannabis outdoors?
We would advise against drying your cannabis outdoors. This is partly because the sun’s rays will reduce the THC content in your crop and partly because it is difficult to create the dry and cool environment needed for drying cannabis outdoors.
Drying hemp - overview
- Dry your hemp to make it last longer, preserve the quality and improve the taste
- Dry it in a dark and cool place
- For an efficient drying process, we recommend our Bonsanto drying case
- The drying time is usually 9-14 days, but can be influenced by different factors
- Hang your hemp branches upside down on a string or net
- To avoid odors, you can use the Bonsanto activated carbon filter Max
- If the branch of your plant can be broken, your hemp is sufficiently dried
