Originally published at: https://homegrowncannabisco.com/grow-your-own-with-kyle-kushman/growing-stages/dry-marijuana-plants-perfectly/
After a tiring, months-long growing season, you’ve finally harvested your sweet marijuana buds. Congratulations! You’re almost there. Now, you’re ready to dry those trimmed colas. And we are here to tell you how to do it the right way, thus ensuring that you end up with the best quality smokable buds. Why Dry Marijuana Plants?…
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Good to know I’ve been doing something right! 
Patience is definitely needed.
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I’m a 10 to 14 day dryer
Good information here! I think the drying stage is often overlooked, even though it plays such an important role in the final quality. One thing worth mentioning is that drying too quickly can affect the aroma, while excess moisture can increase the risk of mold. It’s really about finding the right balance. Proper drying and curing can make a noticeable difference in preserving the overall quality of the harvest.
Balance is the part I keep coming back to. Drying too fast definitely seems to strip the aroma, and the mold risk when there is still too much moisture sounds just as bad. Your point about curing making a noticeable difference fits with what I have read, though I have not tried it myself. The 10 to 14 day range mentioned above gives me a rough idea of what patient drying actually looks like. Do you usually judge it by how the stems feel, or by the humidity in the room?
Stem snap versus room humidity isn’t really either-or — I’d track both, since the stem test is a lagging indicator. Once the smaller stems snap while the thicker ones still bend, you’re close, but a hygrometer in the drying space catches problems before the buds tell you. If the room is running humid, the 10 to 14 day range can stretch plenty longer and that’s when mold risk creeps in. You might also weigh buds right after harvest and check periodically; losing roughly 75 percent of the weight tends to land in the right zone.