Bad times in CA --strategies for long term cannabis storage

[rhz]

Hi Everyone,

While I know this has been covered in one form or another, I'm looking for recommendations for long term storage strategies for raw materials to be used in my MFLB over the coming months or even years. I've heard glass jars are good, I've heard freezing is good, I've heard freezing is bad. I'm interested in storing bud as well as edibles. I'd love to hear from anyone with long-standing personal experience in such matters.

Thanks very much,

rhz

 

[chronicconnection]

kk whatsup dude i know many growers, and lots freeze their product, it isnt bad or good, i think its fine, i mean your product doesnt come out shittier, just a little more stale id say a bit less taste but hey they stay fresh, just airseal it in a few bags so no moisture gets in
glass gars are definately a good call, the bud actually cures in there and gets better over the months, i wouldnt reccomend really for months and months because it dries out your bud, id say upto 6 months, if youre going to do more than that then your bud will be dried out, theres a tecnhnique of putting lettuce in the top of all your jars when your bud becomes too dry and brittle and the bud actually sucks the moisture out of the piece/chunk of lettuce on the top or bottom of jar, just leave it in for at least 1 day
also keep in a cooler place is better than not
vaccuum sealing also could work well, you could try to vaccum seal jars for the best results
hope any of this info helps! :
)

 

[Zed]

If you are serious about storing for years you will need to estimate your consumption per 3 month period and freeze those piles individually. High quality freezer bags, vacuum packed and sealed are your best bet for a deep freezer. The individual packages can be opened into glass jars as you use them.

Avoid refreezing your herb. If it thaws, do not refreeze it. It will start a fairly rapid mold or decomposition process if you aren't really lucky.

Protect your herb from light. It is photosensitive and will degrade rapidly in direct sunlight. Keep this in mind for your freezer bagged herbs and especially the herbs you are working on in the jars.

When sealing the bags, the more air you remove the better. Assume a total vacuum is best. Lol in space no one can hear your weed scream.

Oils and kif hash store very easily. Is hashish available to you?

I have some old friends who spent some time in the bush and did the above just by burying vacuum sealed bags. They only did it for a half year though and had one month bags prepped.


Good luck.

 

[djonkoman]

never tried freezing, I use jars and now there is only a little left from last year's harvest, wich is still good and in jars for a little over a year now

and as reaction on chronicconection, it's still a little less dry as usually when you buy it(around here)

 

[weedemon]

personally not a fan of freezing, but only because then i run the risk of thaw/refreezing

i like mason jars somewhat tightly packed and stored in a dark cool place.

make sure your buds are dry of course right?

 

[SD_haze]

edibles & concentrates will definitely last the longest, so hoard those for sure

 

[chronicconnection]

edibles lol no
i had brownies i made for 420, and i went to eat it a month later and it was soo moldy
it was even wrapped in plastic so definately concentrates, making the bud into hash or hash oil would be chilll
if you wanna store bud like i said i really recommend legit vaccum seal your bud wont degrade at all... keep it out of light and in a coolish place

 

[StickyShisha2]

concentrates

 

[stroh]

you can freeze edibles for extended periods of time, though i would not freeze nuggets. i would agree that concentrates are your best bet, but if you're talking about california and not canada, than COME ON you guys had 16 dispensaries closed, thats not shit!

may i ask why you need long term storage for your products?

 

[Nycdeisel]

Actually brownies freeze really well! and i dont believe buds should be frozen too long so i think the opposite! haha

you have to be most careful of mold since once it starts growing in your jars it ruins the whole batch. be sure your herb is thoroughly dried and cured before storing for long periods of time. if your herbs are not super dry to begin with then theres no way they will be more dry if they are sealed in an airtight jar for several months, its more likely to become most inside when theres no air circulation and the water/moisture is what actually causes mold.

Best of luck with storing your buds!

 

[AGBeer]

+1 to the mold as being a huge problem.

With that said, I saw that it was mentioned to introduce some lettuce other medium for long term storage - dont do this folks. The only things that should be going into your jar is cannabis. Adding anything else to it is asking for mold - especially if it has and releases moisture.

Good luck!

 

[lwien]

^^ TOTALLY agree.

Also, no need to freeze. Air, light, moisture and high temps are the enemies, so, put your bud in an airtight jar and keep them in a cool, dark place. If your house gets hot in the summer, put those air tight mason jars in the vegetable section of your fridge. Just make sure that if you take one of those jars out and open them, leave them open for awhile till they adjust to the outside temp so that moisture doesn't form and stay formed on the inside of the glass jar.

 

[FlasH]

Putting the Cannabis in glass mason jars with Oxygen absorption packets has worked well for my friends and I. One of my buddies had an oz in a jar for over a year with a couple packets in it and when he opened it up it smelled fresh as new and looked like it had been cut and cured last week. Mason jars with those packets and storing them in a cool and dark place should serve you well. Though, all of the suggestions in this thread will serve you well.

 

[chronicconnection]

you put lettuce in your jar when you have too dry of bud and its crumbly
you dont put it in when storing...
a year later your bud will probably be maddd dry so then you put in lettuce to restore the bud to a better state, you only need to leave it in for 1-2 days

 

[lwien]

^^ Gotta repeat. Bad idea. Why? Because in doing that, there is always the "possibility" of introducing mold and why introduce that possibility when the benefits are literally non-existant. Adding moisture doesn't increase the potency nor the taste once the bud has been dried out.

The ONLY benefit would be if you are "smoking" it because added moisture will slow the burning process, but with vaping, I just don't see the benefit in doing this.

 

[chronicconnection]

if the guy posted above me is talking about me really dont listen alot of people just like to post

dude this is a growers trick in humboldt, the weed capital of the world, northern cali, this is what alot of the caregivers do to restore the freshness, im friends with some and this is where i learnt it

lettuce to restore freshness = key tip, you leave it in for a day or 2 it cannot mold thats just stupid its been done thousands of times and produces excellent results

ps: the reason you do this, bud tastes pretty shit when its super dry it burns too fast and also gives it a harsher taste, it also crumbles which is annoying and so it doesnt handle well, everyone knows fresh bud is much nicer than old bud, so this restores the freshness

 

[Gunky]

I think it's ok to put lettuce or a piece of apple or whatever together with stuff you are going to consume within a short time. I wouldn't because vapor production dries it anyway. Better cured stuff does have a nice flavor hit to start off but it doesn't matter much when you are vaporizing, IMO. If you are gonna combust that's a different story and moisture content does affect the smoke, but hey FC, right?

 

[djonkoman]

from what I've heard lettuce works, just never needed it(my weed isn't too dry even after a year in a jar), but from what I've read a few drops of water would be better because of the risk of molds growing on the lettuce(or orange peel or whatever you put in the jar)

 

[SD_haze]

the oxygen absorption packets would maintain moisture but because its not some plant it definitely wouldnt have as much chance for mold

 

[Vicki]

^^ Gotta repeat. Bad idea. Why? Because in doing that, there is always the "possibility" of introducing mold and why introduce that possibility when the benefits are literally non-existant. Adding moisture doesn't increase the potency nor the taste once the bud has been dried out.

The ONLY benefit would be if you are "smoking" it because added moisture will slow the burning process, but with vaping, I just don't see the benefit in doing this.

Gotta completely agree with this^^^^

Not only do I use mason jars, but I also add a couple desicant packs to absorb any moisture! My buds are never dry and crispy when I take them out either.

 

[weedemon]

sorry, im on the never re-moisturize your herbs side of the debate too! sounds like a bad idea to me.

 

[stroh]

agreed, it just doesn't seem like it has any benefits, especially if you are vaping. with proper storage, your buds shouldn't need rehydrating anyways

 

[brewtastic]

I've had good very success just vacuum sealing and freezing.

 

[Magic9]

What I do is, of course, a proper dry and cure. Bone dry, but not crumbly. Put in glass mason/canning jar, after boiling the jar to sterilize it. I use the ones about the size of a coke can (a little fatter). They hold about an oz. Not too tightly packed, but doesn't leave a lot of air in there. Then I put 2-3 of the silica gel packets in there. Tighten lid airtight. Then off to a cool, dark place. If you can store in a refrigerator, that would be ideal.

About once a month for the first few months, I'd take them out and inspect them. You can microwave the silica packs for 30 seconds or so to remove any moisture they accumulated. As lwien pointed out, let the jars sit for a few minutes due to any condensation that may form.

Even though others have great success with freezing, I wouldn't try it. I'd be worried the trichs and/or the cell walls would rupture due to the freezing temp. Hash makers freeze their dried stuff to make the trichs brittle for easier extraction.

If you are smoking it, and it is too dry, lettuce (no smell or taste impartsd) or a piece of a fruit peel or something will help "re-hydrate". If you do choose to (not recomended due to mold concerns), only do it to a small amount that you are smoking soon. 15 mins to an hour should be plenty.