We live in an age where people are hyping up the THC count in their cannabis products, but it shouldn’t cause us to overlook terpenes. Terpenes are not only responsible for the flavors and aromas that we’ve come to love, but they’re also at the heart of the cannabis experience
Growers all over the world have spent generations cultivating the stickiest bud imaginable. However, you want to make sure you can preserve those terpenes during the hearing process.
Here’s everything you need to know about protecting your terpenes when the growing is done.
What Are Terpenes
Terpenes are naturally occurring chemicals that appear in countless plants. They are responsible for everything from the fresh scent of pine to the bright taste of citrus. Terpenes are also abundant in cannabis.
These are the chemicals that give cannabis its potent aromas and flavors. Those sweet notes in Birthday Cake? That’s terpenes. The woodsy, almost moss-like aroma of a truly dank bud? That’s also terpenes.
Everywhere you look, what’s good in cannabis is largely due to the unique blend of terpenes in each strain.
Terpenes can also have health benefits.
Why Terpenes Matter
There’s a lot that we’re still working on understanding in cannabis. Issues like marijuana and antibiotics, for example, are in need of more research. While we have a clearer picture when it comes to terpenes, there’s still a lot we don’t know for sure.
Terpenes are at the heart of this research. There’s some emerging research that suggests that the terpenes could have potential health benefits. This means it’s more important than ever to preserve the true pants and the cannabis that you grow.
Then we have to consider the entourage effect. This is the proposed idea that the combination of THC, other cannabinoids, and terpenes that are responsible for the unique effects of cannabis. When all of these factors combine, you get the full experience and benefits of good weed.
In order to keep this experience alive, you need to preserve your terpenes.
Curing Your Cannabis
Some cannabis companies are looking to answer big questions like “can i smoke weed on antibiotics,” but others are more interested in perfecting the growing process. There’s a lot of complexity in the growing, harvesting, and drying process. However, the real star of the show is in the curing.
This is like aging a fine wine. Curing transforms dried cannabis into something wonderful. In order to cure your cannabis properly, it needs to be between 58 and 62 percent humidity. Outside of this range, you can experience all kinds of problems with your terpenes.
Humidity Control And Terpenes
Humidity control is always one of the hardest parts about curing your cannabis.
You start to miss a lot of problems when your humidity gets too high. Not only will this spoil the curing process, but it can also spoil your cannabis. High humidity increases the likelihood that your cannabis will experience mold which is a serious problem for a grower.
Low humidity is equally problematic. All you won’t get mold, you will get cannabis that’s brittle and dried out.
Both of these effects spoil the terpenes. All that wonderful aroma and delicious flavor that you work so hard to harvest can get spoiled by improper humidity control.
The solution that is becoming more common is to add silica gel packets to your cannabis while it cures. You can get industry-specific silica gel packets that are designed to keep humidity levels within a certain range. There are even companies that are making these packets specifically for curing cannabis.
No matter which way you take to maintain control over the humidity, this is arguably one of the most important parts of harvesting cannabis. The role that terpenes play in the cannabis industry is only going to get more important in perfecting your terpene game now is going to get you ahead of the curve.
Wrapping Up Maintaining Terpenes While Harvesting And Growing
Terpenes are going to play a role in everything from the scent of topicals to answering the big questions like can you smoke weed while on antibiotics?
Understanding terpenes and knowing how to preserve their best qualities is going to help you whether you’re opening up your own cannabis growing operation or you just have a few plants at home that you’re looking to make the most out of.