Harvest time!
Your buds are ready for harvest, yet your job as a grower is not quite over yet. You still need to put your newly harvested buds through the cannabis curing process.
(When do I harvest?)
In order to ensure the best quality for your freshly harvested buds, you must prepare your buds with a process known as curing, which involves drying your buds slowly in a controlled environment, then keeping buds in glass jars over the course of a few weeks to let certain natural plant processes occur. The drying/curing process causes buds to smell better and for effects to feel more potent. It also reduces harshness.
Step 1: Cut down your plant
Some growers cut the plant down at the base and hang the whole plant upside down to dry. Others will cut off branches and hang them to dry. Still others will cut off individual buds so they can lay them out and cannabis dryer on a mesh screen or rack.
How should you cut down your plant?
It’s tough to mess this part up! You can harvest your plant a piece at a time, and I’ve also seen growers trim their buds while they’re still on the plant so they can hang their whole plant upside down to dry.
Step 2: Trim away extra fan leaves
Before you start drying your buds, most growers will trim away extra leaves.At the very least, you should trim away all your big fan leaves, though many growers also trim down the little leaves that grow on the buds.This improves the appearance of your buds, and will provide a smoother experience. Too much leafy matter can make buds more harsh.
Step 3: Begin the slow drying process
If you’re laying your buds on something flat like cardboard, it can create wet spots, and will leave an imprint on the sides of your buds where they touched the flat surface. That being said, cardboard can be a way to help people herb dryer if they live in a humid environment because it will quickly pull the water out of the buds.

If buds are creating wet spots, you may need to rotate them every few hours so they dry more evenly. This is one of the reasons I prefer to use a drying rack if it’s humid, or hanging buds pretty much any other time.
If buds start to seem wet/soggy, or if you live in a very humid environment, you may need to use a small fan to create extra airflow in the drying area to prevent buds from getting too wet and causing mold. Never point a fan directly at your buds, only point it at a nearby wall. Even then, be careful of drying buds too fast with a fan! You should avoid using a fan unless it’s absolutely necessary because it can easily overdry buds. I’ve overdried an entire harvest by adding a fan before, so use with caution!

For those who live in extremely humid areas (where the high humidity in the air is preventing buds from drying even with a fan), there are more resources at the bottom of this article on how to dry out your buds properly. Learn how one grower was able to dry his buds even with 85-95% relative humidity in his area.

The most important aspect of the drying process is to dry them slowly, and in such a way that it’s easy for you to check on them regularly. So don’t hide them in the back of a closet that’s hard for you to get to. You need to be able to check on your buds every day, and more often is possible (especially during your first few harvests, until you know how weed dryer in your personal environment).