Drying and curing in the dark..Really?

KickMuck

Member
Was just watching the Strain Hunters in Swaziland and i noticed the locals harvesting and drying plants on a line in broad daylight. Now i am actually wondering about how in most if not all guide books cases they all recommend to dry and cure in complete darkness.

What effect does drying and curing in the dark have? does anybody dry and cure in daylight? Does it affect the smoke much? Does it cause mold? more open to parasites?

I am interested to know why its recommended in the dark?

[video=youtube;ujpCWMiQDWM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujpCWMiQDWM[/video]
 

budbro18

Well-Known Member
They are probably slightly more prone to insects or mold but as for any reason its just for convenience. It shouldnt do much besides cause a slight loss of thc because of uv light but probably not much

They say to dry/cure in the dark for minimal thc loss.
 

canefan

Well-Known Member
I guess you could say this is the traditional method in many areas of the world and been done for thousands of years. One thing is certain drying in daylight will give you a more golden brown to your nugs. I dry in this method part of the time and now mostly in a room of my house but still with daylight although no sun. If the plant is spread out the sun wouldn't be prone to mold nearly as much as long as it is turned, I prefer to hang mine.
 

mrCRC420

Well-Known Member
You DRY and CURE in the dark because LIGHT (and heat and air-exposure/time) degrades THC into CBN. THC is psychoactive, CBN is medicinally beneficial & mainly non-psychoactive. Pretty simple. THAT being said, if you (or your girlfriend) freaks out on Sativa cannabis you can lower the psychoactive level of THC cannabinoids through those three methods; either 1) gently heat it, 2) leave it in the sun for 6+ hours, 3) get 3+ yr old weed. THAT being said - I grew a strain called 925 which was a late harvest indica; all amber trichs, wicked old, mainly cbd and cbn. You wouldn't get very high off it but you'd stink up the room, feel good, and then fall asleep. Sorry I ranted..... :weed:
 

Shivaskunk

Well-Known Member
You DRY and CURE in the dark because LIGHT (and heat and air-exposure/time) degrades THC into CBN. THC is psychoactive, CBN is medicinally beneficial & mainly non-psychoactive. Pretty simple. THAT being said, if you (or your girlfriend) freaks out on Sativa cannabis you can lower the psychoactive level of THC cannabinoids through those three methods; either 1) gently heat it, 2) leave it in the sun for 6+ hours, 3) get 3+ yr old weed. THAT being said - I grew a strain called 925 which was a late harvest indica; all amber trichs, wicked old, mainly cbd and cbn. You wouldn't get very high off it but you'd stink up the room, feel good, and then fall asleep. Sorry I ranted..... :weed:

THC degrades into CBD not CBN. CBD is not a cannabinol that you desire. It's main effect is dizziness. CBN is a separate cannabinol and its levels in cannabis is strain dependent. Once again THC does not degrade in CBN..otherwise there wouldn't be a huge push in the medical cannabis industry to breed high CBN plants.

Heat, sun, and age (depending on storage) are bad and degrade the shit you want. The people in the video hang their shit like that because they don't know better and are prob making hash anyway.

A cool dark area allows cannabis to dry slowly which makes it much easier to cure and get as much chlorophyll out as possible. When fast dried you trap that green harsh taste in.
 

Scotty Pot Seed

Active Member
After you cut the plant it is still alive and continues to function as environment allows. Like clones thriving after being cut. The hung plant still has some water in it and will continue to do what plants do as long as it is able. Putting it in the dark stops chlorophyll production. The plant burns up what chlorophyll is left and it is converted to sugars. Excess chlorophyll makes it taste grassy.
 

kinddiesel

Well-Known Member
yes one reason you dry it and cure it in the dark . ( thc) is degraded from light ! always have it dark or close to it.
 

Scotty Pot Seed

Active Member
Is like when you dry too fast. The herb has not had ample time to burn out chlorophyll so it tastes like lawn clippings. Some parts of the world have not caught up to science. Or like mentioned above it could be a factor of insects or maybe they don't care about the taste so much and just want the effects. I mean you can cook a pork chop in a skillet with no spices or oil and it will still make a turd. For some that is ok. Others like to spend more time marinading it and adding spices to make that shit fucking awesome. Also if I lived out in the country and had fields of the shit I may to have a barn big enough to hang it all. Especially if I was third world poor. Hang it in the sun...
 

kinddiesel

Well-Known Member
most patients smoke it so fast ! could not taste it . all they care about is the high kicking in with in 2 seconds, lol. me personally I want it to taste good so I can smoke all night long rehitting it. don't like that lawn taste nothing like good smooth product ,,
 

KickMuck

Member
Some interesting comments thanks. I am assuming there is a difference of curing in direct sunlight as to say curing in a jar in the light but not in direct sunlight, like just on a shelf in a room. My thoughts are that it wont be affected much as compared to pitch black. I am wondering if anyone has experimented with this and noticed any difference. I cant see how the herb would be much different cured in complete darkness to a non direct sunlit room.

I dunno though i am always learning. I suppose i am trying to wined out the myths and superstitions around cultivation. Like the myth busters singing or playing music to plants to get a better result, which surprisingly turned out to be plausible but not confirmed (although i still doubt some of myth busters validity in some experiments) Apparently it doesn't make any difference of what type of sound is played to a plant but it responds to sound. I am still skeptical.
 
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