By Luke Sumpter


How do you dry your cannabis? Do you mess around with paper bags? Do you find yourself rushing to string up wire or rope post-harvest? Now, you can make the drying process more streamlined than ever with the RQS Herb Dryer. Not only does it make life easier, but it dries cannabis flowers excellently every time. Below, we'll cover some traditional drying methods, after which we'll provide our step-by-step guide to drying marijuana with the Herb Dryer.

Drying Cannabis: What You Need to Do

So, what does it take to successfully dry a cannabis harvest? There are several key variables you need to consider. Let’s look at the factors that determine successful drying.

  • Find a Good Spot

Choose a dedicated spot in which to dry your cannabis. An empty room or grow tent with good air circulation is perfect. You might find it tempting to dry your weed in the same room where you’re growing your plants—don’t do this! Living plants have different temperature and humidity requirements than harvested buds.

  • Minimise Light

If you're drying in a grow tent, you won’t have to think about light exposure. However, if you’re hanging your buds in an empty room with windows, make sure you have blinds or curtains in place to block out ambient and direct sunlight during the day, and street lights at night. Even indirect sunlight can degrade cannabinoids[1] and subsequently alter the potency and effects of your harvest.

  • Dial in Temperature

Temperature is another key drying metric. It might seem logical to attempt to dry your buds as quickly as possible to prevent the occurrence of fungal infections. However, going low and slow does the job just fine, without degrading those precious volatile aromatic constituents.

Aim to maintain a temperature of 15–21°C in your drying space. You can use a digital thermo-hygrometer to keep an eye on temperature, and fans or an air conditioning unit to keep it within the desired range.

  • Manage Humidity

Drying marijuana requires a low-enough relative humidity to prevent mould, but high enough to prevent bone-dry buds that lose flavour and colour. Digital hygrometers come in handy here. Aim to keep relative humidity at a consistent 55–65%, using a dehumidifier if necessary.

  • Be Patient

Cannabis flowers usually take between two days (at the very least) and nine days to be sufficiently dry, although they can take longer than this. The length of drying fluctuates according to climate and air circulation. Wet trimming also makes for a faster drying process.

To test if your buds are dry, you can bend the stem. If it snaps, the buds are dry. But if the stem bends, there’s still too much moisture, and you should give it more time.

Download our Pro Growing Guide for detailed drying protocols, ideal temperature/humidity ranges, airflow setups, and step-by-step curing schedules that lock in flavor, aroma, and potency every time.

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Drying Marijuana Using the RQS Herb Dryer

At Royal Queen Seeds, we’ve worked with cannabis for decades, and we know the post-harvest process inside out. Using our combined experience, we created a product that makes drying weed easier than ever. You don’t need to find boxes and bags, you don’t need to hang up wire and string, and you certainly don’t need to assemble a rack. Let us introduce the RQS Herb Dryer.

Check out the step-by-step process below, and take the hassle out of drying your weed.

Video id: 706464699

1. Prepare the Room

First things first; you need to prepare your drying space. If you’re using a grow tent, you’re pretty much good to go. If, however, you’re using a spare, empty room, you need to make sure you have curtains or blinds in place to block out any light. Place additional drying equipment, including fans, an air conditioner, a dehumidifier, and a hygrometer, into your space.

2. Open the Herb Dryer

You’re about to find out how easy the RQS Herb Dryer makes the drying process. To assemble, simply slide the folded Herb Dryer out of its bag. Do so carefully, as it’ll spring open in a similar fashion to a pop-up tent. It really is that easy. There’s no assembly required, and you’re ready to start drying buds within seconds of opening the bag.

3. Hang the Herb Dryer

The RQS Herb Dryer features a fabric loop on the top side. The product also comes with a metal “S”. Hang the “S” from the ceiling of your grow space, such as the scaffolding of your grow tent, for example. Then, hang your Herb Dryer from the piece of metal using the fabric loop up top.

4. Load the Herb Dryer

The time has come! Whether you chose to wet or dry trim, it’s time to load those buds into the Herb Dryer. Scatter them evenly across both layers, leaving as much space as possible between individual flowers. Each section can hold up to 150g of bud, for a total of 300g per Herb Dryer. Once you’ve placed them, insert a small digital hygrometer, and close each section using the bright green zips.

5. Let the Drying Begin

Turn on an oscillating fan to keep air circulating around the room. Don’t point the fan directly at the Herb Dryer. Instead, position it to blow into empty space. This way, the turbulent air currents will blow past your buds and they won’t dry out too quickly. Check your hygrometer daily and use your climate-adjusting equipment to make any necessary alterations.

6. Collect Your Buds and Begin Curing

After several days, you’ll have yourself a Herb Dryer filled with perfectly dried buds. Again, you’ll know they’re ready when the stalks snap instead of bend. Now, you need to transition your harvest to curing jars for several weeks to bring out their terpene profile and improve their smoothness.

7. Fold Your Herb Dryer Away

Before you start sowing your next batch of seeds (or transplanting your next set of seedlings, if you’re that ahead of the game), you’ll need to pack away your Herb Dryer. Unhook it from the ceiling and collapse it down into a flat, circular shape. Next, hold the circle with both hands, and fold it into a smaller circle. Keep a firm grip on the Herb Dryer and pack it back into its bag. Done!

Drying Marijuana Using the RQS Herb Dryer

Conventional Marijuana Drying: 3 Additional Methods

Let’s review three other procedures growers use to achieve dried buds.

Drying Method 1: Box or Bag Drying

Whether you have limited space or you’ve reached your growing budget for the year, box or bag drying serves as a simple, easy, and cheap way to remove moisture from your marijuana flowers post-harvest.

  1. For box drying, place a few cardboard boxes into your grow tent, along with a fan to circulate air.
  2. Load your wet-trimmed flowers to a depth of 5–7cm in each box. If you’re only using a couple of boxes, place a hygrometer into one of them to keep track of humidity and temperature. If you’re using more boxes, place 2–3 hygrometers into different boxes to look for any anomalies and problematic boxes.
  3. Place lids onto each box, and open occasionally to release moisture and introduce fresh air. If required, set up a dehumidifier and air conditioner to keep temperature and humidity within the desired ranges.
Method 1

The process looks almost exactly the same for bag drying. Fill each bag with 2–3 layers of buds, and open them occasionally to release built-up humidity.

Drying Method 2: Closet or Grow Tent

Hanging up branches or entire plants in a closet or grow tent works well when dealing with a medium to large quantity of cannabis.

  1. Cut your plants just above the soil surface, or dismantle them one branch at a time.
  2. Put up a piece of string or wire to act as a washing line.
  3. Hang your plants or branches up by using the “V” of a node, or pegs—maintaining space for air to flow between each plant/branch.
  4. Place a fan and hygrometer into your drying space, and use an air conditioner and dehumidifier to maintain optimal conditions.
Method 2

Drying Method 3: Drying in Racks

Drying in stacked racks works great for both wet-trimmed and dry-trimmed buds. Racks with a metal mesh or net surface enable air to flow past each individual flower.

  1. Place your rack inside a grow tent or room and simply fill each layer up with flowers, leaving room between each bud to prevent pockets of moisture from forming.
  2. Place several hygrometers on varying levels and use the same pieces of kit—fans, an air conditioner, and a dehumidifier—to maintain ideal conditions.
Method 3

The Importance of Properly Dried Bud

Anyone who has grown cannabis knows that the work doesn’t end once your buds are harvested. You’ll need to trim your flowers, dry them, and cure them to bring out their flavours and improve their smoothness.

Furthermore, failing to adequately dry cannabis flowers makes them almost impossible to smoke and vulnerable to fungi and bacteria, rendering them useless. Drying cannabis involves maintaining a fine balance of temperature and humidity. Achieving this sweet spot will dry the buds sufficiently, extending their shelf life and staving off mould, while retaining enough moisture to prevent crumbling or harshness.

When Should You Trim Cannabis?

While trimming assists the drying process, not every grower chooses to snip away sugar leaves before hanging up their buds to dry. It all boils down to wet trimming vs dry trimming.

Wet trimming occurs immediately after harvest when colas still have a high water content. Removing the sugar leaves at this point proves more sticky, but it helps to reduce the chance of mould forming post-harvest. In contrast, dry trimming occurs after the drying process; it’s much less messy and helps to preserve volatile terpenes, but it can predispose flowers to fungal infections, especially in more humid climates. It also prolongs the drying process, given the additional plant matter.

Revolutionise the Way You Dry Weed

Now, don’t tell us that wasn’t easy! We’ve dried our fair share of cannabis and identified numerous ways to improve the process while doing so. The RQS Herb Dryer will make your life as a cannabis cultivator much, much easier. Instead of faffing around with wire or stashing away paper bags, the Herb Dryer makes post-harvest life more linear, systematic, and organised. This tried and tested device suspends buds in circulating air, and the mesh material keeps buds fresh and mould-free. Once you’re done, the collapsed Herb Dryer will store away in a small cupboard or drawer until you find yourself needing to dry your next harvest!

External Resources:
  1. The stability of cannabis and its preparations on storage - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Disclaimer:
This content is for educational purposes only. The information provided is derived from research gathered from external sources.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: