Yo, what’s good, it’s your boy Dan. I’m here to talk about something that might sound wild – freezing your cannabis. But believe it or not, it’s actually becoming a common practice amongst both small and large growers alike. Sure, there are some risks involved, but the rewards are dank, my friends. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about chilled stash.
So, why would you want to freeze your weed? Well, some growers freeze their cannabis post-harvest as a way to preserve it for later use. It’s a pretty common practice to store dry sugar leaves in a Pyrex lunchbox in the freezer for hash-making at a later date. But some will go a step further and freeze the flowers themselves. Outdoor growers that cultivate cannabis seasonally or even biannually are the grand masters of stash preservation.
If your aim is to remain self-sufficient rather than cashing in on a bumper harvest, the typical go-to glass jars might not keep your stash fresh for long enough. Most growers will agree that a good old-fashioned Kilner jar stored in a cool, dark place will keep your buds dank for about 18 months. However, if you’ve harvested a few 1kg monster plants and don’t want any weed going to waste, you need a method that can extend the shelf life even longer. You don’t have to invest in cryogenic preservation, but freezing that weed could be the best option.
Now, when it comes to actually freezing your flowers for a longer shelf life, there are some steps you need to follow. The cannabis harvest standard operating procedure to trim and slowly dry flowers first must be followed. A vacuum jar is probably the best choice, or really any storage box without a static charge like plastic can work. Pack with buds and make sure it’s tightly sealed. Now you can safely place your stash in the freezer for long-term storage.
A year or two later when you need the stash, simply take it out of the freezer and let it thaw. Keep your hands off it while it’s still frozen, as the trichomes will be very fragile. Also, don’t be tempted to do anything silly like defrosting your frozen flowers in the microwave.
Typically, the top layer of frozen weed will be less than perfect as air and water may have degraded it to some degree. Overall, a frozen stash is still a quality product and comparable to buds stored in the usual manner. If you can avoid breaking the seal and dipping into the buds, you have every chance of succeeding.
But wait, there’s more! You can also make hash in a flash with dry ice. This method was actually popularized by the National Geographic TV series “American Weed”. Simply toss your sweet leaf trimmings into a bucket and add a few lumps of dry ice – just be sure to wear gloves or you’ll end up at A&E trying to save your fingers from falling off. Once the trim and dry ice are safely in the bucket, all you need to do is agitate it with a bit of a shake and a swirl. The dry ice draws out the trichomes through the process of sublimation. Finish by sieving the contents, and you’ll be left with beautiful blonde hash powder. From start to finish, the whole process takes minutes rather than hours.
Another favourite solvent-free hash of ours is bubble hash – specifically full-melt ice hash. For best results and a variety of grades of hash, a multi-bag kit is essential. Although, you will probably need a handheld whisk to agitate a bucket full of material and manually wash the trichomes off. As they fall off, the various micron screen bags will catch the hash.
Alternatively, if you want to expedite the process and not have to clean up afterwards, a Bubbleator B-Quick can make the hash for you automatically – all you need to do is add ice water and sticky green. Deliciously efficient.
Now, if you’re interested in live extracts made from frozen flowers – well that’s best left to the professionals with the expertise and equipment to do it right. In places like America extract artists are really cryogenically freezing freshly harvested buds before using various BHO extraction methods to create live resin concentrate.
Live rosin is another sub-zero cool concentrate that really dials up the dankness up to 11! Freshly frozen flowers are converted into bubble hash which is then placed in an industrial freeze dryer for 24 hours. Finally, pro rosin press is loaded with dry bubble hash then squished into live rosin.
In conclusion, there are plenty of misinformed haters out there that would have you believe that freezing cannabis is whack – but I strongly disagree! Freezing cannabis to keep it fresh for longer is a real option for home-growers out there who want their stash to last longer than 18 months without investing in cryogenic preservation. Similarly, bubble hash isn’t too difficult for anyone to make – but if you want those exotic concentrates like live resin or live rosin then be prepared to pay top dollar at your local dispensary or coffeeshop!