2022 Buyers Guide Indoor Grow - 37

MJBizDaily Buyers Guide Indoor Cultivation
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FINAL STEPS: DRYING AND CURING
After months of carefully tending to cannabis plants throughout the vegetative and flowering
stages, drying and curing represent the final steps for indoor cultivators.
Freshly harvested plants will be saturated, with moisture content making up to 75% of total weight.
Drying the plant brings the moisture content down around 12%. These final stages also allow
terpenes to develop while mitigating harshness.
DRYING THE CANNABIS PLANT
It can take seven to 10 days to thoroughly dry a batch of harvested cannabis, depending on the
quantity and method used. Rushing this process could force cultivators to redo the steps a second
time or risk losing the crop.
" It's like BBQ, " said Coleman Retzlaff, director of sales in
the agricultural division at Quest Climate. " Low and slow
gets you the best finished product. "
" Growers should design
There are two primary methods for drying cannabis:
hang-drying, where the plant can be hung whole or cut
into smaller pieces (branches); and rack drying, where the
entire plant is laid flat on food-grade drying racks or in
industrial drying chambers.
Growers will know their plants have completed the drying
stage when the stem snaps when bent.
drying areas that handle
only one harvest at
a time. Adding fresh
material to a room that
CURING CANNABIS
After completing the drying process, the buds are sorted,
trimmed and placed in air-tight containers for curing.
Cultivators should place a hygrometer inside each
container to monitor temperature and humidity. This final
step ensures the buds can remain in storage for up to two
years-if kept in a cool, dark setting-without developing
mold or losing terpene quality.
" Properly cured flower enhances the flavor and smokability
of the flower while maintaining the optimal color and moisture levels, " Josh Schneider, CEO of
California-based Cultivaris Hemp, told MJBizDaily.
-Ryan Douglas,
Ryan Doulgas Cultivation
is almost finished drying
will re-hydrate the older
material and potentially
affect quality. "
The curing process can take between 10 and 30 days, and cultivators should open or " burp " the
containers at least once per day early on to release any built-up humidity.
OPTIMIZING DRYING AND CURING SPACES
To create ideal environments for drying and curing, cultivators will need to install fans and
dehumidification equipment in the designated rooms to maintain climate levels around 60-65
degrees Fahrenheit and 50%-65% humidity.
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2022 Buyers Guide Indoor Grow

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