The bud’s color is an assurance of its quality. I want my nugs in that lime green color, gleaming with life when I spread them on virgin rolling papers.
The buds, however, change colors so many times during the drying and curing process that you get worried you won’t like the resulting bud’s color.
But really, it’s not only the color that changes during the drying process. A lot of things do!
Weight. Aroma. Volume. All these won’t remain the same as they were when freshly cut.
However, there’s more a buds color can tell you. Some changes are good, while some indicate some next-level degradation.
Do Buds Change Color When Drying?
Buds change color when drying and curing as they lose the green matter. When harvested, the buds are filled with chlorophyll, thus green in color. The drying and curing process allows for the breakdown of chlorophyll, and as it’s lost, the buds will turn muted green or purple.
The loss of the light green color is expected, and when it happens, you should be happy.
Most people love their buds in light green colors. The light green color gives the buds the visual appeal and the assumption of better quality.
However, the light green, the bright color that pleases your eyes, may sometimes mean harsher and less potent buds.
The closer to green the buds are, the higher the chances that they still contain chlorophyll.
Dispensaries that observe strict practices to nurture highly potent, medical-grade buds rarely have lime green buds on their shelves. Instead, the buds will mostly be dark/muted green or purple.
This is because medical marijuana is grown with patience. They are dried for between 7-15 days and cured for more than 4 weeks.
The buds’ taste and potency will improve with curing for up to 6 months. And through this process, the buds will continue to lose their light green color.
They stay longer in the drying and curing process to get the cannabinoids at their peak potency.
On the other hand, business-minded sellers rarely have the time to cure the buds to satisfaction.
You will find their shelves filled with vibrant green buds— the color you like. They need the product to move faster, so the visual appeal flies the buds off the shelves.
The shorter cure also saves them the work and expenses associated with curing for long. The faster the turnaround, the better.
Why Are My Buds Turning Brown During Drying?
The buds turn brown for different reasons. The buds might have been harvested at the wrong time, got overdried under poor humidity control, or suffered the ravages of poor storage. The best quality buds have either muted green or purple colors.
The array of color changes during drying and curing can be confusing, but the color shouldn’t worry you one bit when you grow your own weed.
I never let color trouble me. As long as you dry your buds slowly in a dark room at keeping the humidity at around 60%, with temperatures of about 20°C, you’ve got no qualms thinking about colors.
I wrote an in-depth guide to drying and curing. Follow it through, and you’ll never worry about the bud’s color.
Relying on the color can be misleading because some strains adopt the brownish look when in perfect potency.
If you think your bud’s brown color is a bad signal, feel them between thy fingers. If they feel crunchy, then they are overdried.
If they feel moist— not wet, they are in perfect health and will get better with curing. Also, check for the smell of the buds. If they’re brown and have a musty odor, you might be staring at the onset of mold invasion.
Why Are My Buds So Dark?
Your buds can be dark for many reasons. First, some strains are purple, and they being so purple, take a darker finish through the drying phase. But darkening buds can also be a tell-tale sign of bud rot.
If the buds are dark, appear dry and crumbly, then you should inspect them further with a jeweler’s loupe. Most likely, they’ll be having lots of bud rot spores in their core.
Bud rot is identifiable when the buds are still maturing before harvest, but sometimes they can pass, only to wreak havoc post-harvest.
Without inspecting with the jeweler’s loupe, you can also smell them for any weird smell. A damp scent typically accompanies Bud rot and mold infestation.
How To Make Your Buds Light Green
Most cannabis users have big love for the light green buds. I love lime green buds for nothing more than aesthetics. They look good in Marson jars.
The easiest way to get the light green color is to dry and cure for a shorter time. Unfortunately, the longer the buds stay in the curing jars, the more they lose their color.
But honestly, results won’t be guaranteed because some strains just won’t respond to your constricted curing methods.
I also won’t make getting light green buds a goal because you’ll have to compromise on the aroma and potency of the buds.
Turning the buds light green after curing is unnecessary trouble.
Drying and bud’s color; Key points
- As the buds dry, they let go of their less valuable components and potentiate the essential chemical compounds in them. Chlorophyll isn’t required, and so it goes, changing the buds’ color.
- The loss of color in flowers/fruits/leaves happens naturally with most plants.
- Like dying leaves, buds also lose their color as they dry. The only difference is that with weed, you have to control the process to achieve the peak potency, perfect taste, and aroma.
- Some strains will turn brownish when they’re perfectly dried and cured. Buds turning brown isn’t always a red alert.
- Some deeply purple strains may turn dark during the drying process. However, this shouldn’t worry you if the darkish color isn’t accompanied by a musty scent.
- The bud’s color shouldn’t be a problem when you slow-dry your weed and cure appropriately. The quality of the buds is more important than the visual appeal.
In conclusion, the drying and curing process will affect your buds’ color. The freshly cut green buds will turn to muted green or purple as the chlorophyll and sugars in the buds are broken down.
Though some growers would love to have complete control over the color of their buds, it’s a change best left alone.
There’s no way to escape the drying and curing process and still get buds worth their weight in gold. And the bud’s color should be the least of your concerns when you do your job right.