The Ultimate Guide to Drying Weed at Home

You’re here to learn how to dry weed because you’ve probably learned the hard way that freshly harvested weed isn’t fun to smoke. It’s too full of moisture and contains undesirable compounds, such as chlorophyll and ethylene.

Lighting up such weed produces copious amounts of nasty-tasting smoke that could irritate your eyes and throat. Also, it won’t stay lit, and you won’t experience the full potency of the bud’s cannabinoids and terpenes.

Fortunately, I have all your answers on how to dry weed. It’s not hard, and it’s a valuable skill if you grow your own weed or know where to get fresh, uncured weed for cheap.

How to Dry Weed with the Air Drying Method

Drying weed with the air drying method involves hanging freshly-harvested cannabis in a well-ventilated space so that it loses moisture. It is cost-effective, straightforward, and minimizes cannabinoid and terpene loss.

Before you can begin air-drying your weed, you need the following:

• Drying Room: The room must be dry, clean, and ventilated. Also, sunlight must not enter the room.
• String or Clips: You need this to attach your weed to where you’ll hang it from.
• Drying Rack, Clothesline, or Cooling Tray: This is where you’ll hang your weed from. If you have only buds, you can dry them on a cooling tray.
• Pruning Shears or Scissors: You’ll use these to trim excess stems and branches off your cannabis.
• Fan and Dehumidifier: These will help control airflow and humidity within your drying room.
• Thermometer and Hygrometer: These are useful for monitoring and optimizing your drying room’s temperature and humidity.

Once you have the items mentioned above, follow these detailed steps to dry your weed with the air drying method:

1. Harvest and Prune Your Weed

If you grow your own weed, harvest time is when the trichomes or kief (the fine layer of fuzz coating the cannabis flowers and leaves) turn milky white or amber. Use the shears to cleanly cut off the bud-bearing branches, which will be your harvest. Handle these branches with care to avoid losing too many cannabinoid and terpene-rich trichomes.

Next, trim the branches by cutting off the large fan leaves, not the sugar leaves. Trimming off the fan leaves promotes airflow around the bud to hasten drying and prevent mold growth. I prefer leaving on the sugar leaves to shield the buds and prevent over-drying. Also, the sugar leaves are quite rich in cannabinoids and terpenes, which makes them valuable.

As you can see in the image below, the sugar leaves are the smaller leaves closer to the buds.

However, don’t throw away your fan leaves. They may not be as cannabinoid-rich, but they’ve still got goodies. You can make smoothies with the fan leaves or cannabis-infused oils and creams.

2. Prepare Your Drying Room

Your weed drying room must be clean and disinfected to prevent cross-contamination. If the room smells funny, your dried weed will take on the smell. The room should also be well-ventilated, allowing even airflow to aid moisture loss and prevent mold growth.

Just as important, sunlight must not enter the room. This is because sunlight or UV rays degrade cannabinoids and terpenes. So, if your room has windows, open them for ventilation but close the curtains to prevent direct sunlight from hitting your drying weed. It also helps to hang your weed as far away from the windows as possible to prevent exposure to UV rays.

Lastly, keep the room’s temperature within 60 to 70°F (15 to 21°C) and humidity within 45 to 55%. A thermometer will show the room’s temp, while the hygrometer will show humidity. A too-hot or dry room may damage cannabinoids by drying your weed too quickly. On the other hand, a too-cool or humid room can delay moisture loss and promote mold growth.

3. Hang the Weed to Dry

Once the room is clean and the right temp and humidity, you can hang up your weed to dry. Hang your weed to air dry by using string or clips to attach your product to the roof, rafters, clothesline, or rack set up in the drying room. It’s crucial that you hang your weed with the buds facing downward, just as shown in the image below.

Hanging weed upside down to air dry helps the buds retain resins and take on a desirable shape. However, be sure to not crowd your weed while hanging. Leave enough space between each product so air can flow evenly to dry them equally.

If you have just buds instead of the whole weed plant or branches, you can still use the air-drying method. Simply air dry your weed buds by placing them on a cooling rack like the one in the image below.

Place the rack on an elevated surface in the drying room so air can flow under and over the buds to dry them evenly.

4. Set a Fan and Dehumidifier

Many how-to-dry-weed manuals don’t mention using fans or dehumidifiers, but I prefer minimizing the risk of losing my product to mold. A fan will ensure there’s constant airflow within your weed drying room, while a dehumidifier will keep humidity within an optimal range.

An oscillating fan is best because it ensures the even circulation of air among the cannabis you’ve hung to dry. However, don’t point the fan directly at your hung weed. Otherwise, the wind may bruise your buds and shake off valuable trichomes. Just keep the fan rotating and pointed anywhere but at your product to keep air flowing in the room to air dry your weed.

If you already have low humidity in your area, you don’t need a dehumidifier. But if you have humid weather, set the dehumidifier to maintain a humidity level between 45-55%. At this range, your cannabis will dry slowly and evenly with less risk of mold growth. Also, be sure to place the dehumidifier at the center of the drying room to ensure even distribution of dry air throughout the space.

5. Monitor Temperature and Humidity

Our how-to-dry-weed guide would be incomplete if it didn’t mention monitoring. Check on your drying weed daily to confirm the dehydration process is going well. During your daily checks, inspect the following:

• Humidity: Use your hygrometer to monitor humidity and keep it within 55% to 65% with your dehumidifier.
• Temperature: Check the room’s temperature to ensure it stays within 60 to 70°F (15 to 21°C) at all times.
• Airflow: Check that your fan is working correctly and that your weed is evenly spaced to facilitate airflow.
• Infestation: Check every weed plant or bud for signs of mold or mildew. If you notice mold or mildew, take down the affected products and isolate them from the rest. Also, identify potential causes of the infestation and rectify them to prevent a recurrence. For example, if humidity is too high, adjust your dehumidifier as necessary.
• Dryness: You can’t accurately predict how long it’ll take to sufficiently dry your weed. And you don’t want to over-dry your weed. So, during your daily checks, test your weed’s dryness to ensure you take them down at the perfect time.

The goal of air-drying weed is to help your cannabis lose 85-90% of its moisture. If the humidity and temperature within your drying room are perfect, your weed should be sufficiently dry within 5 to 14 days.

You’ll know your weed is dry enough when the buds have a dry but not crumbly texture. Sufficiently dried buds feel slightly springy when you squeeze – not too soft (still wet) or too hard (over-dried). Also, if the small stems snap cleanly when you bend them, and the larger stems bend without breaking, the weed should be dry enough.

Can I Dry Weed Faster?

Yes, but if you’re looking for how to dry weed in the best possible way, the air-drying method will always come first. It takes time but it prevents cannabinoid and terpene loss. However, if speed is your priority, then you can look into faster ways to dry weed like freeze-drying, oven-drying, and using a food dehydrator. Let’s take a quick peek into how to dry weed faster with these methods.

i. Drying Weed with a Food Dehydrator

Food dehydrators use heat and airflow to remove moisture from foods. You can take advantage of this to dry your weed quickly. Trim your weed, leaving only the buds and sugar leaves as shown in the image below.

Place your trimmed fresh cannabis on the dehydrator tray, spacing each bud to allow airflow for even drying. Slide the tray into the food dehydrator and put it at its lowest temperature (95-105°F or 35-40°C).

Check on the buds every couple of hours to see how the drying is coming along. Also, flip each bud during checkups to ensure even drying. When the buds feel dry but not brittle, and the small stems snap cleanly instead of bending, your buds should be sufficiently dry. With a food dehydrator set to 95-105°F, you can dry your weed within 24 to 48 hours.

ii. Drying Weed with a Low-Heat Oven

With a convection oven, you can dry your weed even faster – within a couple of hours. Same as with drying weed with a food dehydrator, start by trimming your cannabis, leaving only the bud and sugar leaves. The sugar leaves will help protect the bud from the oven heat and minimize cannabinoid loss.

Preheat your oven to 105°F (40°C), and set the buds on an oven tray covered with parchment paper. Space the buds out to ensure airflow. Next, slide the tray with the buds into the preheated oven and check on the buds every 15 minutes, flipping them for even drying.

Same as with air drying and dehydrator drying, your weed is sufficiently dry when the small stems can snap cleanly. The buds will also feel dry but not brittle when you squeeze them.

iii. Drying Weed with Dry Ice

Unlike the other two fast weed drying methods that use heat, this answer to how to dry weed fast relies on cold. You’ll need dry ice, an insulated container (like a cooler), a wire rack or cooling rack, and protective gloves (for handling dry ice).

First, wear the protective gloves to protect your hands. Next, pour about five pounds of dry ice into your cooler and evenly space out your buds on the wire rack. Place the wire rack over the dry ice to rapidly cool your buds and dehydrate them.

Partially close the container, leaving enough space to vent C02 gases as the dry ice evaporates. Check on the buds every 24 hours to test the dryness and replace the dry ice if it has completely evaporated. You’ll know the buds are sufficiently dehydrated when they feel dry and powdery.

WARNING: Fast drying methods don’t deliver the best results. Using a dehydrator, oven, or dry ice degrades cannabinoids and terpenes, lowering your weed’s potency and flavor. As such, only choose to dry your weed quickly over air drying if you consider speed more important than top-quality buds.

Is Drying Weed Necessary?

Yes, it is if you want your weed to have a long shelf life. Drying removes excess moisture from fresh weed, making it less susceptible to bacteria and mold growth. Without proper drying, mold, mildew, and various bacteria can easily infest your weed and make it unsafe to consume.

Besides removing moisture, weed drying eliminates undesirable compounds, such as chlorophyll, ethylene, ammonia, and sugars. Weed that contains these compounds and excess moisture isn’t the best for blunts, dabbing, or vaping. That’s because burning such wet weed yields a harsh smoke that can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat.

Lastly, if you grow and sell weed, drying is essential. The moisture loss from drying will make your batch of weed lighter and easier to handle and ship.

What Happens After Drying Weed?

Once your weed is sufficiently dry, you should cure it. Curing weed involves letting your buds dry some more and age. Compared to dried, uncured weed, cured weed is far more flavorful and THC and CBD-rich.

Would you like to know how to cure cannabis? You can do it by placing your dried buds in an airtight jar and storing the jar in a dark, cool place for at least two weeks.

At least once a day, you must burp your jarred weed by opening the jar to vent released moisture. Not burping the weed will let moisture accumulate in the airtight jar, creating a conducive environment for mold and mildew.

As the weed cures, it will lose moisture and the remaining chlorophyll in the buds will break down. The terpene flavors will become more pronounced, and the cannabinoids’ potency will amplify. These outcomes make cured weed much more potent and flavorful than uncured weed.

You can gather any cannabis bits that break off during drying and curing, such as trichomes, sugar leaves, and buds, and use the mix as shake weed.

Learn more about how to dry and cure weed here.

Difference Between Drying and Curing Weed

Weed drying strictly involves removing moisture from your harvested cannabis. Curing, on the other hand, enhances weed’s flavor and potency. You can typically get dried, uncured weed cheaper than cured weed. This is because the seller has put less effort and fewer resources into preparing their product for sale.

The table below further highlights the differences between drying and curing weed.

Can I Dry and Cure Weed at the Same Time?

Yes, you can dry and cure weed at the same time with the Paper Bag Method. However, drying marijuana in paper bags and curing will take less time if you air dry the weed first.

Are You Ready to Dry Weed for the First Time?

That’s everything you need to know about how to dry weed and prepare it for curing and storage. If you have any questions or suggestions, don’t be shy to share them in the comments. Also, check out our articles on the benefits of CBD for focus and using CBD before work. Who knows? A bit of CBD before beginning your weed-drying project may brighten the experience.

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