Now you are ready to store or play with your herb
As your skill improves you will have more surplus. There are lots of things you can do with the extra herb. I'll give a short description here and there will be instructions for each item further down the page. I suggest you do research before trying most of these techniques and look for step by step directions.
--Give herb to your friends. This is karma for all the times in your youth when you went to their house just because they had herb. Plus it makes your friends invite you over more. :)
--Barter with folks. Many skilled craft people don't have space or time to grow with their craft and would love to barter for herb. It's a win/win.
--Store it. I covered this in the curing ramble. Mason jars claim to store herb for a year. I had to stop growing for a few years and was still getting a buzz from my 2 year old weed when I got a new grow going. Personally I don't let it hang around that long because of the other things on this list.
--Make shake hash. More on this later.
--Don't Make Butane extract. Don't do this. People on the web have posted butane "extractors". I bought one on a trip to Denver. I packed an oz of good herb in it and pumped a big butane container thru it. I collected a pool of highly explosive liquid. I left the bowl outside to let the butane evaporate. What was left was not worth collecting to smoke and the thought of the residue in it made me toss it.
--Make butter or oil. You can add this to recipes you find on the net and in herb cookbooks.
--Make tinctures. These can be alcoholic or not. Alcohol tinctures can last years and still be good.
--Make hash oil. Basically an alcohol tincture cooked down to a pure THC goo that is liquid hash.
--Make hash. This is a complex process that will take some wasted herb to master. The equipment can be simple and inexpensive or a bit more pricey depending on your wishes.
--Press rosin from your buds. This is probably the most expensive and most messy technique.
Extraction Physics
THC is able to dissolve in alcohol, glycerin, oil or fat. It does not dissolve in water. Chlorophyll dissolves in water and not oil. Chlorophyll gives most canna butters a nasty taste.
Roll the best joints and give them away
This is a great way to use the little buds from your plants. I use stuffed tubes when travelling so I can light up when I am downwind of folks.
A tube stuffer is simple to use. You lightly pack herb in the trough, close the device, add a tube on the end, slide and smoke. It doesn't take long to become fairly quick at stuffing joints that look like regular cigarettes. I only use the simple manual stuffer. The electric ones and the more complex looking manual ones will get gummed up by ground herb. Tobacco, what they are designed to use, is much drier.
For special occasions like birthdays I roll footlong joints. Raw makes a 12 inch roller and papers. It takes a little time to be able to roll a footlong joint, but the look on their face when you hand it to a friend is awesome. I make it with high sativas at the end they light first and work thru indicas by the filter.
Vacuum Store in Mason Jars
I bought a simple vacuum sealer that vacuum seals normal Mason jars for $22. I put a humidity gauge and Boveda packet in each quart jar and seal them. By removing the air you decrease the humidity changes and slow the break down of the herb. Jars should be stored in a dark cool dry place. Light will turn the herb brown in a few weeks. Herb will easily last a year stored this way. Probably much longer.
Serious grinding
Grinding herb in a small hand grinder will get old fast when you are grinding a half an oz or more. I use a small electric herb blender. It can grind a quarter oz at a time in just a second. I use mine even for my smoking herb. As a bonus the inside of the jar is covered with crude hash you just have to scrape off and smoke. Mine cost $26.
Decarboxylate
When you smoke herb you heat it with a fire, which activates the THCA to THC. Most cookbooks contain directions about how to decarb cannabis in the oven to convert the THCA. I would put the herb in the oven and then go to celebrate by smoking. A good movie would be on TCM and a few hours later I would get the munches and go to the kitchen where I suddenly remembered I was baking herb. Being a grower means you usually have spare herb around, so it was not a great loss.
Now I use a Decarboxylator. I got one for $85. I put the herb in it, program it, turn it on and then go smoke. I can have it in the living room since it is the size of a drinking glass. If I forget, it turns off when it is finished. Many Decarboxylators are also good for infusing oils and butter.
Make Shaker Hash
-freezer - Hopefully you have one otherwise visit a friend who has one.
-shaker - $22
-rolling tray with magnetic lid - $18
This is simple and fun. Grind some herb and put it in the shaker. Put the shaker in the freezer for a few hours. Take from freezer and shake over a rolling tray. Collect the kief and enjoy. Put shaker back in freezer until the next time. You can shake a lot of kief out of the shaker before you need to refill it.
Make Cannabis Butter or Oil
-French Press - $15
My first attempt at making canna butter produced a pound of nasty tasting butter that tasted like lawn grass. I found a technique used by Jeff the 420 chef that makes a better tasting butter. I am also including another option where you add water to the butter.
Option 1
-Put a cup of herb in a French Press and fill with water. Change the water a few times a day for 2 days. You will notice the green water as the chlorophyll washes out. Don't shake the jar as that will break trichomes off. You will lose some THC, but gain better taste.
-Let the herb dry and then decarb it
-Melt 2 sticks of butter in a sauce pan
-Grind the herb and add to the melted butter.
Option 2
- Decarb the herb
-Melt 2 sticks of butter in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water.
The water absorbs the chlorophyll and the butter absorbs the THC.
-Simmer on low heat, between 160-200ºF; don’t exceed 200ºF or you may burn out the cannabinoids. Simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should never come to a full boil.
-Place a mesh strainer or cheesecloth over a jar and pour the butter/cannabis mixture through it. Discard the plant material. Tip: Don’t squeeze out every bit of butter—this will add chlorophyll to your canna butter, giving it a bad plant taste.
-Place the jar of butter in a fridge, and let it solidify before using, ideally overnight, or a few hours at least. If excess water forms at the bottom of the jar, remove the solid butter with a knife and drain out the water.
You can use canna butter in recipes or just on your morning toast.
Make a Tincture
Tinctures can be used in cooking or just an eyedropper full put under the tongue. You can make a tincture with alcohol or glycerin. I have only made alcohol tinctures but the directions are the same.
-Decarb the herb. You can skip decarbing if you are going to make hash oil from the tincture since you will be heating the oil to smoke it.
-Once the cannabis has been decarboxylated, mix it with ethyl alcohol meant for human consumption (100 or more proof vodka or rum) or glycerin, also known as glycerol. Put the decarboxylated cannabis in a mason jar and add enough alcohol or glycerin to cover the plant matter completely; tighten the lid. Shake the jar vigorously to mix the cannabis and the alcohol/glycerin thoroughly. Put the jar in a cool, dark place and leave for up to 3 weeks; shake the jar every day and add liquid if necessary to keep the plant material wet. You can use the tincture right away, but it will be stronger if you let it sit. I use a French press to squeeze the alcohol from the herb because it is easier to filter out the herb. Don't press too hard as that will put a nasty taste to the tincture.
-You can also repeat the above step with more herb to make the tincture even more potent.
-After your tincture has been sitting long enough for the solution to extract THC from the cannabis contents, strain the mixture through a coffee filter or cheesecloth before use. Remember: straining efficiently will make your tincture more potent; so the more filtrations, the better. Once you’ve fully drained your tincture, discard the leaf and store the tincture in a small, airtight container. Don't squeeze the filter as that will effect the taste of your tincture.
-You can add sugar syrup or flavors to improve the taste.
Make Hash Oil
- Extractor - $500
or
- Double Boiler - $20
You basically take a tincture and cook it down to a THC goo.
I put the tincture in the cup and seal the vacuum. Alcohol normally boils at 170 degrees. Under vacuum it boils at 93 degrees. I run the extractor until the tincture is a goo with the consistency of Vaseline. The alcohol is collected so it can be reused. After the first run the alcohol will be much stronger and be a better solvent.
You can do the same thing with a double boiler and a electric hot plate, but it is risky. Do not do this inside a building. Since you are not collecting the alcohol you will be filling the air with alcohol fumes which can explode. Put water in the bottom pot and your tincture in the upper pot. Bring the water to short of boiling and let it simmer while the alcohol evaporates. I smoke the hash oil in a bubble pipe that looks like a "crack pipe". They are available at most smoke shops. I use a butane torch to heat the glass bubble and vaporize the oil. My college roommate used to bring hash oil back from Jamaica and the stuff I make tastes the same.
Make Bubble Hash
-5 gallon Filter bags - $50
- 5 gallon bucket - $5
-Hash washer - $140
METHOD 1
1. Line the bucket with your Bubble Bags, starting with the 25 micron bag and ending with the 220 micron bag.
2. Fill the bucket with enough cold water to cover the bottom of the Bubble Bags (about halfway full).
3. Add your dry or frozen plant trimmings or ground buds
4. Add enough ice to almost fill your bucket to the top.
5. Stir your mix with a big spoon for 15 to 20 minutes, adding ice if necessary to keep the water cold. A 50/50 mix of ice and water is ideal. The spoon will help protect the bags from damage.
6. Pull out your Bubble Bags one by one, draining them into the bucket.
7. As you pull each Bubble Bag, turn it inside out after it is finished draining to collect your herbal extract.
8. Gently press the excess moisture out of your herbal extract using your pressing screen and a dish towel.
METHOD 2 Using a small washing machine to stir the ice/water mix instead of a big spoon.
1. Place plant material in the BUBBLEBAGDUDE 5 Gallon Zipper Bag (Washbag). Add enough ice to fill the bag then place the (washbag) into your BUBBLEBAGDUDE bubble machine.
2. Fill your BUBBLEBAGDUDE bubble machine with 30% cold water and 70% ice. (Don't put too much ice where the machine can’t spin because it could overheat it. If it does, unplug it and let it cool down for a day and it’s ready to use again)
3. Plug and turn on your BUBBLEBAGDUDE bubble machine. You can adjust the time to your desired setting. (We recommend 5-15 minutes maximum)
4. When the BUBBLEBAGDUDE bubble machine has finished mixing, there is no need for settling to occur. Using the drain hose, drain the water into your BUBBLEBAGDUDE bags which you prepare in step #1
5. Gently squeeze any remaining water out of the BUBBLEBAGDUDE Bubble Machine. Rinse down the inside of the washer to make sure no plant extracts are stuck to the inside. Drain the rinse water into your BUBBLEBAGDUDE bags.
6. Now you're ready to begin collecting your herbal extract. pull out 220 Micron bags and allow the water to drain into the remaining bags. Discard the content of this bag as the 220 Micron bag is used only to catch contaminants.
7. The remaining bags contain various grades of extract. Pull out each bag one by one, draining them back into the bucket.
8. As you pull each bag, turn it inside out and stretch it over a bowl. Scrape your herbal extracts off with a spoon or plastic card.
9. Place your extract onto a pressing screen. Fold a clean, dry towel in half with the screen in the middle. Gently press out the moisture.
Press Rosin from your Buds
-Rosin Press - $180 - $500
-Pre press mold - $20+
-Filter Bags - $20
Rosin collection and storage tools - $20+
I have not used a rosin press, but have looked into it. I choose not to do rosin pressing because there are less expensive and less messy techniques.
This is a very simple explanation. You place your ground herb in a filter bag and put it in the mold. You want to press all the empty space out of the filter bag by doing CPR on it. Once you have the bag full of ground herb and empty of air space you put the bag on the press. The press heats the 2 metal plates and presses the filter bag flat or at least tries to. For a visual think of the movie "The Fly". You collect the rosin on parchment sheets as it oozes from the press. Basically you press the melted trichomes out of the herb.
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