The harvesting process from flush to cure

A personal tip I would give anyone prior to harvesting their Cannabis would be  to  have  the  weed plant  flushed  with  distilled  or Reverse Osmosis filtered water two weeks prior to harvesting. If the filtered water isn't available, use a clearing aid and tap water. Any leftover chemicals and fertilizers will be flushed from the soil, given at least 10 days.

Plant moisture prior to cutting

Prior to cutting down, it is a good idea to let the soil get fairly dry. Not so dry as to hurt the marijuana plant, but more like it  is  just ready  for another watering. I find that this speeds drying time rather than harvesting a freshly watered weed plant.

24 hour dark period

When the marijuana plants are ready to harvest, I like to give them 24 hours of darkness to promote more resin.Since potency is lowest in the middle of the day period under full  heat,  the  darkness  should  let  the  weed plant  come  to  it's  full potential.  Some marijuana plants, especially the White family (Russian, Widow) really seem to like this, and I can't see it causing  any damage  either  way; just another way to maximize the potential of the weed plant in some circumstances. The frosting on the cake, so to say.

Cut down, trim, and drying 101

Now comes the fun part! Time to get those scissors sticky. For  this  part  of  the  procedure,  you  will  need  a good  pair  of  trimming scissors.Many garden nurseries and hardware stores carry appropriate models with small enough blades to get the marijuana bud leaves and comfortable handles for hours of work. A small closet  or  room  is  all  you  will  need  for  drying  a personal harvest. Larger grows may need more though. But for just a few weed plants, a small closet will work  fine.  Enough clothesline or rope to wire across your small room is all that you will need to hang your branches, but make sure its attached well  on each end. You don't want to come in and find your precious stash on the floor!

Temperature

Temperature in the space should be between 70 and 80°F, with the lower to mid-range preferable.The closet should also be able dark. At this point, heat and UV rays are the two  main  enemies  of  THC,  the  active  ingredient  in  your  weed buds. A small oscillating fan is a must as well. Also advisable is a gauge to measure the humidity in the room. This is especially important in areas such as a basement or tropical climates, as too much humidity will extend the drying time and perhaps bring on mold in the marijuana buds.

Hanging

You can hang your colas and branches by just using simple clothespins, or running a  paperclip  straight  thru  the stem, and curling it to hang on the clothesline. Just make sure the branches and rope are secure enough to hold the weight of the marijuana buds.

Air circulation

As long as the humidity in the room  does  not  go  over  50%,  I  generally  let  the  weed buds  hang  for  one  day  without any air movement. I do this just as a measure against drying too fast. Too dry of humidity (30% or lower), can  sometimes cause the weed buds to dry too fast, and make them crispy and crunchy.On the second day, I put my fan on low making sure that the breeze doesn't hit too directly on the marijuana buds and branches. Too much of this will cause certain weed buds to dry out faster than others. Try  to position your fan in such a way that all marijuana buds get  some  air  movement  on  them,  just  not  directly  from  the fan. Humidity readings of 45-55% are ideal. Sometimes I will flip the weed buds around from day to day, just to make  sure  they  all  get good air movement around them.

Drying before curing

To get to the next stage, curing, the marijuana buds must be dry. Too much moisture in the weed buds after  putting  in  the  jars can result in moldy marijuana buds, and then everything you have achieved up to this point will have been in vain. So how do  you  know when the weed buds are really dry?

In general, five to seven days seems to be the norm for marijuana buds to be ready to put in curing  jars,  given the above parameters.  For the weed buds to be ready for the next step, try this: gently, but firmly try to snap the stem that the marijuana buds  are  on. If  you get a crisp snap, the weed buds should be ready. Also check the marijuana bud itself by gently squeezing it. I would recommend this after a few days of drying, and then every day after to get a "feel" for the weed bud drying.When the marijuana buds have hardened a bit, and the stem cracks crisply, your weed buds are ready for the next step: the curing jars.

The curing process

To cure your marijuana buds for short term storage (up to a year), I would recommend using glass mason jars and canning  lids, which are available at most department stores and supermarkets around the world.