Grow Your Own Three Plants Indoors: Part 9: Harvest and Drying

After weeks of care, fine-tuning the conditions and patiently waiting, the moment every grower looks forward to finally arrives – the harvest. In the final part of our indoor growing series, we will show you how to harvest and dry your crop correctly so that it does not lose its aroma and you get the maximum from your three plants.

In the previous part, we focused on how to fertilise and care for plants during the last two weeks before harvest. We explained the benefits of flushing and introduced the most popular products for supporting ripening. Finally, we looked at the timing of the harvest and showed how to recognise ripe flowers. If you followed our guide, the trichomes on the buds are mostly milky and it is time to harvest.

Before you start harvesting

Before you begin harvesting, you will need to decide whether it is better for you to harvest the entire crop at once or gradually. If you are growing from seed, it is likely that the plants will not ripen at the same speed. Differences between different cultivars can be several weeks, and even if you plant one variety, the ripening rate can differ by up to two weeks.

There may also be a difference between flowers in the upper parts of the plant and those in the lower levels. The upper buds are exposed to direct light and will be ripe sooner than those in the shade. It may therefore be more advantageous to harvest the top part of the plant first and only a few days later the lower buds, which will have ripened a little in the meantime.

Last but not least, it also depends on where you will dry the flowers. The drying space must be dark, well ventilated and reasonably cool. It is also necessary to remember that medicinal plants give off an intense aroma while drying. For these reasons, many growers dry directly in the grow box, where it is easy to maintain the correct climate and darkness, and the air is extracted through an odour filter. In such a case, it may be necessary to harvest the entire crop at once.

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How to harvest and dry

Whether you decide to harvest the plants whole or gradually, start by removing all the large leaves. You can cut them off with scissors, but for most of them it is enough to firmly grasp the leaf petiole between your fingers and pull downwards. You can trim the smaller leaves and petals around the flowers from the plants immediately during harvest (wet trim) or after drying (dry trim). Wet trim is more time-consuming, but you will achieve a cleaner appearance of the buds.

You can dry the plants whole, by branches or on screens. Drying whole takes the longest and requires the most space. If you divide the plant into individual branches, the flowers will dry a little faster and will not take up as much space. The fastest method is drying on screens, where the flowers are divided into small segments while still wet.

Your goal should be for the flowers to dry within 7 to 21 days. If you dry them too quickly, they will have a bitter and unpleasant taste. Drying too slowly increases the risk that the buds will start to mould. During drying, the relative humidity in the drying room must not exceed 65%. The ideal humidity is in the range of 50 to 55%, which is best achieved with a dehumidifier. However, make sure that the warm air from the device does not blow directly onto the flowers. The ideal drying temperature is approximately 18 to 20 °C. It is important that air circulates continuously in the drying space. If you are drying in a grow box, leave the extract fan switched on.

You can tell properly dried flowers by the fact that they feel dry to the touch, but spring back slightly when squeezed between the fingers. Over-dried flowers will crumble, while flowers that are too damp will remain compressed. Another indicator of good drying is that the individual buds can be easily broken off the stem.

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How to store buds

If you want your crop to stay fresh and fragrant for a long time, you must store it properly. Store the flowers in glass, metal or plastic airtight containers. The optimal humidity for storing dried flowers is around 60%. Excellent helpers for maintaining the correct humidity are Integra Boost or Boveda sachets, which can both increase and reduce the humidity of the flowers. Store containers with dried flowers in a dark and cool place. Light and high temperatures degrade terpenes and active compounds in the dried material.

During the first weeks after sealing them in a container, your harvest will continue to mature. This is called curing, and it involves chemical processes that improve the aroma, taste and effects of the crop. During the first weeks of curing, moisture trapped in the centre of the buds will be released. Therefore, during the first week, open the containers every day and let them air out for a few minutes. Before closing them again, gently mix the dried material. The containers should not be overfilled so that fresh air can reach the flowers. In the second week, open the containers at least three times. In the following weeks and months, air the crop once a week.

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With this, our Vypěstuj si tři kytky indoor series comes to an end. If you have followed us through all the parts to this point, congratulations! We hope that the journey from seed to a jar full of fragrant buds has been an exciting experience for you. And if you have grown for the first time, remember that with each growing cycle you will become more experienced and your results will be noticeably better. Enjoy the fruits of your labour and do not forget to follow our Higarden blog regularly, where you will find guides and news for both beginner and experienced growers.