Growing is done and dusted and you are ready to start cutting your plant.

Depending on the plant size you can either cut and hang the whole plant to dry or you can cut off branches and hang them individually.

Now you need to decide if you want to trim your buds before or after drying.

If you live in a very dry area with a low humidity I suggest that you trim after you have dried your buds. This will allow your buds to dry a little slower, giving you a better chance of getting the drying process right.

Alternatively if you are in a very humid area I suggest that you trim the buds before drying, thereby lowering the chances of mold forming on your buds while drying.

Your buds will need to hang for 3-7 days while drying. In humid environments you will need to get the air moving around your buds, so have a fan handy. However you need to make sure that you do not blow the air directly over your buds as this can dry them out way too fast, leading to low quality buds.

As far as possible you need to keep your buds out of direct light, preferably in a dark environment. Light is your enemy once your plant has been harvested. It is the fastest way to break down the terpene profile on your buds.

As your buds are drying you need to test them to make sure you don’t over dry them. Take some of the smaller buds and try to break them off. If the stems break instead of bending they are ready to be stored in jars.

When to jar cannabis buds?

When hanging your buds upside down to dry, your buds are ready to be placed in jars when the outsides of all the buds are completely dry to the touch, but not brittle. The bigger stems will still be bendy but the smaller stems will snap when buds are ready to pull down.