Does Curing Affect Potency? Find Out Here!

[MVP]

After curing, what is the best method of long-term storage? I always thought if the bud is dried properly, it will be safe to freeze. When it is in the freezer, it is fine to keep it in plastic baggies, since at freezing termperatures it makes no difference if the bud is in mason jars or plastic baggies. What do you say?

IMO, ideally you will want to keep them in cool dark place (fridge) in a rigid container (to prevent damaging trichomes like you would if they were in a baggie). As zcomp points out, DO NOT FREEZE them as it will rupture the cell walls and you will lose potency.

Personally I leave them in the glass curing jar and place them inside a paper grocery bag in the fridge. That way they stay safe from light when the door opens, and they are discreet (when the door opens a visitor doesn't have a big jar of nuggs staring them in the face). Also they are in a glass container rather than plastic, as glass doesn't risk leaching chemical flavors into the herb. :jointsmile:

[BudGrower]

Too late for me since my entire harvest is in the freezer! Shit! I hope I dried it good. Anyhow my wife would have a fit seeing mason jars with 23 oz of dried buds in the fridge. Easier to pack them tight into plastic baggies and wrap it up in layers of bags and stuff it way in the back of the freezer. The issue is how thoroughly the bud is dried before freezing it.

"During storage, buds should be stored as cold as possible, if temperatures of 0C or less are to be used, make sure the bud is dried to a very low moisture content before storage (to insure that cell walls are not burst by the freezing water)."

[LIP]

You dont have to freeze OR refridgerate bud. As long as it's dry and sealed up, it'll keep perfectly. Even at room temps.

[MVP]

True, you don't HAVE to refrigerate them, but it will help them retain their potency longer if you keep them in a cool place and away from light.

[psteve]

One thing this article didn't address, is the conversion of chlorophyll to sugars. This makes the smoke taste sweeter, and much less harsh on the throat.
Good info though!

[Zcomp]

I thought it was sugars to starches?

[07silmax]

do you NEED to open the jar every so often? or can u just throw it in the jar and let it chill for a couple weeks?? how often should you open the jar?

[07silmax]

bump

[dejayou30]

You need to open the jar to replace the old air with fresh air. Open the jar twice a day for about 30 minutes at time.

[Stellar]

Curing will change as you go along. Its a learning process that you have to pay attention to and acknowledge as a real factor in potency to get any better at. I am talking about weed t hat you've known since it was in the ground. Most good n ugget or dirt on the open market is already fairly aged by the time it gets to you. However, even purchased quality nuggets and your typical swag can benefit from curing.

In my experience, a newly harvested plant, about a month or two stored in glass jars, with minimal exposure to the atmosphere are abou t as good as they get. Do not read it wrong. I have kept buds from year old plants that still kicked my ass as good or better from the point wher e they were picked.

What I have noticed from harvesting and curing is that the trichomes will always turn cloudier as they age. This will often mean the difference between the pot that you can't get enough of, because, unripened, or, cured, it becomes like a narcotic that you want to ingest all day, everyday. Whereas properly aged and cured buds, even from an immature plant, can become that pot that fucks you sideways after 3 or 4 hits.

I will reiterate. When I cure plants, even the clear trichs go cloudy and eventually amber. I have smoked my grown in various stages of curing. What I find is that it becomes a heavier buzz from the plant as the months go. Whereas it is more like a stimulant when smoked a week or so after actually becoming 95% (smokeable) dry. That meaning that it is hard for the human brain to get enough or feel satisfied off of a stimulant. Therefore, it is a quality you really don't want if you want to get stoned and stay stoned. Smoking it too early is a clear danger, since, you won't get that adequete buzz you really want, and will probably end up smoking an eigth a day , harken back to buying shit weed on the streets.

Weed is weird like that, just like every other plant. The longer it has to ripen, and, the better you get at knowing when its just right to eat or otherwise consume, the better the effect.