Marijuana Business Magazine November-December 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | November-December 2019 164 Trimming and curing cannabis are two of the crucial final steps in bringing flower to market. A poor trim or cure could mean that months of hard work cultivating cannabis has been for naught. Growers thinking about how to finish strong should consider: • How the time spent drying and curing flower can impact the end result. • Keeping the flower relatively dry is important; too much moisture can rot the bud. • Curing boxes can shave days off curing time. • Hand-trimming will result in higher- quality, shelf-ready buds. • The impact that keeping a full-time trimming crew would have on your total labor force. Taking the Cure At Chicago-based Revolution Enterprises, Chief Operating Officer Dusty Shroyer doesn’t like to rush his product to market. The company’s curing process takes about six weeks. “We feel that consumers will have the best experience and quality if we allow the flower to slow-dry to preserve terpenes,” Shroyer said. To his mind, properly cured flower has a moisture content of 11%. His crew keeps the humidity in the upper 50% to lower 60% range and around 75 degrees. If you rush the cure, chlorophyll and sugar get locked in the plant, according to Shroyer, and that results in a harsher smoke with poorer taste. Revolution cures its flower in food-grade plastic storage containers and burps them by opening the containers to circulate air as often as required, depending on moisture content. Plants need to be cared for as meticulously at the end of the growth cycle as they are in the vegetative stage. Photos Courtesy of Revolution Enterprises Best Practices In Cultivation | Bart Schaneman