Trouble reading today's article? Click
here: Issue
#249 - Sunday, January 22, 2017
Dear Fellow Grower,
In today's
issue... - Learn the best way to store your weed so it stays potent and fresh for years!
- Check out pictures of common cannabis growing mutations!
- Discover how to "flush" a sick cannabis plant!
- Read about the controversial defoliation technique! (this is a repeat from last week because I didn't give you the correct link last time, sorry everyone!)
- This week's trophy pic features an "auto" plant that rivals any of it's photoperiod sisters!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com) "Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
~Hans Christian Andersen
How to Store Weed So It Lasts Forever! by Nebula Haze |
How Long is My Weed Good For?
When it
comes to storing your cannabis, the method you choose makes a huge difference in how long your buds maintain potency and freshness!
But what's the best way to store weed? Is it vacuum-sealing? Will freezing your buds hurt them in any way?
I've tried a few different methods for storing marijuana over the years,
and today I want to share what has and hasn't worked for me!
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Improperly Stored Buds Start Turning Brown and Crumbly Note: Some people actually prefer the effects of wet-cured buds, which tend to be very smooth! However, buds that have turned brown are usually losing their overall potency and smell as time goes on.
How to Store Cannabis Properly (so it lasts for years!)
If you grow a lot of cannabis at once, you may want to store it so that it lasts until your next harvest! Some growers only harvest once a year (especially outdoor growers) and may need their bud
to last until the next year!
Luckily it's pretty easy and cheap to store your bud. You don't need any special equipment besides an air-tight glass jar!
Air-tight glass jars are the best place to store cannabis buds! Here are the main methods and tools for storing cannabis, with the pros and cons of each:
Main Tactics for Cannabis Storage
1.) Store in Glass Mason Jars in Cool, Dark Place
A cool (60-70°F or 15-21°C) dark place is the most popular way for growers to store buds, and is one of the best and most effective. Quart-sized glass mason jars are found everywhere from grocery stores to home improvement stores. These are often used for cooking (making preserves or marinades for example), but when it comes to storing cannabis they
help maintain potency by protecting buds from moisture and air. Glass jars will also completely contain smells while preventing buds from getting crushed during handling. Make sure jars are at least 3/4 full so there's not as much air being stored in with the cannabis (if you have less bud, use smaller glass jars). Buds stored in airtight glass jars in a cool, dark place will maintain their potency for a year or more. 2.) Freeze Your Buds (Controversial)
Once buds are completely dry and have been stored for at least 4 weeks, you can freeze them and they will maintain their potency for years. Some growers double-bag buds in Freezer bags and then wrap the bags in foil. This works okay but you can actually store your buds directly in glass mason jars. If you've got a lot of bud that needs to be stored for a long time (multiple years), the freezer is the best way to do it! However, some growers
believe you shouldn't freeze your buds (more on that below)
3.) Refrigerate Your Buds (Avoid!)
Buds stored in the fridge tend to mold, even in air-tight containers. Either keep it outside the
fridge or put it in the freezer! If you must use the fridge, it's especially important to make sure buds are completely dry to avoid mold, and keep them in the back where the temperature doesn't fluctuate as much. But again, you should avoid using your refrigerator to store buds; a regular cabinet or drawer is usually better!
4.) Plastic Baggies (Avoid!)
Although this is the most common way for non-growers to store cannabis, it's one of the worst. Buds lose their smell and tend to get dried out and brittle in plastic baggies. The potency degrades quickly, and the lack of protection means that handling the buds tends to crumble them. Plastic baggies should only be used short term, or avoided altogether.
If you need to store a small amount of bud, it's recommended to get a UV-proof glass stash box (will also prevent smells from leaking out!). As a bonus, a small glass container can help buds continue curing. Note: Freezing buds is controversial because it's easy to lose trichomes when moving frozen buds. You do need to be extremely careful when handling frozen buds as the trichomes
(glitter) become brittle and can easily break off at freezing temperatures. However, if this does happen you can still collect trichomes from the bottom of the container and use them (just like the kief that
falls to the bottom of a grinder!); the trichomes do not "vanish" into the ether!
Additionally, you can dramatically reduce this problem by always letting buds come to room temperature before handling them. The fact of the matter is that buds will stay potent for longer in the freezer than if kept at room temperature, so
it's up to you to decide whether the risk is worth the reward. I can tell you that many growers freeze their buds for years to maintain potency, especially outdoor growers who may harvest pounds at a time.
So if you want to use the refrigerator to store buds, don't risk mold by using the fridge portion - put your
buds in the freezer!
Weird fact: Ever notice that the word 'refrigerator' doesn't have the letter 'd' in it, but the word 'fridge' does? Although 'fridge' and 'frig' are technically both acceptable spellings, one proposed explanation is that the word was originally spelled 'frig' but adding the 'd' and 'e' became
much more popular since the word is pronounced as if it rhymes with 'ridge'.
Using Glass for Storage
- Air-tight and smell-proof
- Doesn't stop the curing process, and buds may actually continue to cure and gain potency over time
- Doesn't affect the natural smell/taste of buds (unlike plastic, metal and some types of wood)
- Won't cause trichomes to break off due to static
- Buds last for 1+ years in a cool, dark place without losing potency
Using the
Freezer for Storage
- If using Freezer Bags (as opposed to glass jars), buds may lose some of their smell/flavor over time due to the plastic, and are easily damaged from handling in their frozen state. However using glass jars in the freezer will help prevent these
problems.
- Always allow buds to warm up to room temperature before handling to prevent trichomes from falling off into the jar
- Buds that are frozen will maintain their potency for years
Should I Use a Vacuum Sealer?
You can use a vacuum sealer to take all the air out of a container before long-term storage. You can use these with bags, and you can also use these with actual mason jars!
Vacuum sealing is recommended if you plan on storing buds for a long time, and it's probably a good idea, but in my experience it hasn't seemed to do much (at least on its own) to slow down the bud degradation process.
When I experimented with vacuum-sealing buds in mason jars, I found that the vacuum-sealed buds didn't seem to be any different from the same batch of buds stored in non-vacuum sealed jars. After a year of storage, they looked and smoked the same as far as I could tell.
So even if you do vacuum-seal your buds, make sure to follow all the other steps, too!
Two Common Cannabis Mutations |
If you grow cannabis for a while, chances are you will eventually come across a plant that grows differently from the rest! Today I'd like to share two of the most common cannabis mutations!
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Notice anything different about the above seedling? Unlike regular seedlings which start with only two leaves, this
one started with three! This is a relatively common mutation!
As a tri-leaf seedling grows out, it will usually grow three leaves per node instead of two! Another common mutation is when your seed gives birth to "twins" (two seedlings from one seed)! For example, when this seedling sprouted, it had two taproots coming from the same seed.
As the taproots grew out, you can see there are two distinct seedlings - there's another tiny set of leaves behind the main sprout! It's common for growers with twins to assume they somehow planted two seeds by accident! Twin seedlings can be carefully separated, and will grow into two different plants!
How to "Flush" a Sick Cannabis Plant
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The main reason to "flush" your sick cannabis is to try to correct something wrong at the roots by leaching out extra nutrients or salt buildup in the soil or potting mix.
The most common reasons to flush sicks plants are...
- Fix pH - The pH at the roots is several points too high or too low, causing major nutrient
deficiencies
- Flush Out Additives That Made Plant Sick - It's important to flush a plant that has been watered with something that has made it sick, for example if it starts losing leaves immediately after being watered with a new pesticide, nutrient or supplement.
- Leach Out Time-Release
Nutrients - If transplanting isn't an option, sometimes a grower will flush a plant that is being grown in soil with "time release" nutrients (like Miracle-Gro soil). This idea is to try to leach out extra nutrients (specifically nitrogen) before the flowering stage begins. Too much nitrogen in the flowering stage can
give buds a "green" taste as well as actually prevent buds from getting as big as they normally would. Since time-release soils slowly releases nitrogen for months it's important to flush that out before your plant starts making buds
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Controversial Defoliation Technique |
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Sorry everyone, last week I linked to the wrong page, so I'm repeating this for those who missed it and want to check out our defoliation page!
"Defoliation" is the very controversial process of removing leaves from the plant. When done strategically, this technique can be used to increase your bud size and final
yields!
And you may also want to check out our article on the "Schwazzing" method, a different (but related) technique that also involves defoliating your plants!
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Subject: Thanks for a great website!
Message: When I get my tax refund, if you give me a PayPal link, I'll donate to
your website. Your website and forums together has made growing cannabis so easy. Learned early that just because I have over 20 years of gardening experience, doesn't mean I can apply the same things to growing cannabis. Lost a lot of plants due to my stupidity, and faulty equipment didn't help either.
Anyway, your
website has been immensely helpful where all the books I bought were not. With every single book I bought, or downloaded, most of it was filled with history lessons. I'm grateful for the people who got us to where we are today, but really, these books overwhelm me, I can only imagine what they would do to a newbie who never raised even a tomato plant.
Your website cuts right down to the topic where I can find exactly what I want or need without having to read through 30 pages of history or complete nonsense on what several friends did the first time they smoked up. Trumps staff is the only thing that scares me of losing all the headway everyone made over the years. Keeping fingers crossed on that too =)
Anyway, my plants are thriving, have been saved from mold, PH issues, light issues, nute burn, and so much more with the help of your website and all the friendly people in the forums. Thank you so much for helping me get signed up a month ago. I'll make sure to keep the link on my Facebook page as well.
Great work, and THANK YOU! |
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Automatic strain by 00 Seeds, growing in coco coir
~Anonymous
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You Might Find the Following Links Helpful! |
Check Out Our New Grow Forum! |
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Ask Questions and Get Answers From Real Growers!
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We encourage you to forward this email to a friend in need!
Who Runs This
Newsletter? |
Nebula Haze:
I'll be honest with you, when I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to make it easier for new growers to
get started as well as help advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We are updating and adding articles every single week and our goal is to eventually build a comprehensive growing resource so anyone and everyone can grow if they want to! If we all share the knowledge there's more buds in the world for everyone :) |
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Learn which seed sources are personally recommended by Nebula Haze |
Sirius Fourside:
Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture,
bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis is a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much
easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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Safely! |
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be made after consulting with an experienced lawyer or other legal adviser. Any medical decisions should only be made after speaking with a doctor or other medical professional. Be safe!
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