How and Why to Burp Your Weed

Burping weed? This practice almost makes curing buds sound like caring for a baby. What exactly does burping bud entail? And how can growers harness the practice to make their stash taste better? Imagine, if you will, a timeline of the growing process. While most everyone understands that it begins with sowing seeds, many would-be growers might believe this timeline to end at harvest time. On the contrary, cultivators still have plenty of work to do after chopping down their plants and detaching the flowers. First, they need to dry their harvest; next up comes curing, which is where burping comes to the fore.

When curing cannabis buds, growers need to habitually open the jars containing them in order to liberate built-up moisture. Though perhaps under-emphasized, burping can determine the success or failure of the entire curing process, from taste to mold prevention. Learn everything you need to know about burping marijuana below.

Why Do You Need to Burp Your Buds?

In order to understand the importance of burping, it’s essential to establish the importance of the curing process. What actually happens when you place dried buds in glass curing jars? To the naked eye, not much; however, on the molecular level, your harsh, chlorophyll-rich buds are transforming into smooth and tasty treats. This all has to do with enzymatic processes that continue even after you sever buds from their branches. Proteins within the flowers continue to fuel chemical processes resulting in the catabolism (breakdown) of sugars, starches, and remnant nutrients.

The presence of these compounds makes for a harsh smoke or vape, and is what separates uncured bud from silky smooth cured bud.

As well as promoting the breakdown of unwanted chemicals, curing also helps to prevent the degradation of desirable molecules, including cannabinoids and terpenes.

Now, onto the main topic at hand—burping. As a result of the aforementioned enzymatic reactions, both moisture and CO₂ start to build up within the curing jars. Over time, as humidity increases, so does the risk of mold; opportunistic fungal pathogens jump into action when environmental conditions allow it. Ultimately, burping serves as a method to release moisture and air from inside a curing jar, until the humidity drops to acceptable levels. However, releasing too much moisture will slow and even stall the chemical reactions that make your weed taste better. Therefore, it’s crucial to strike a balance with your burping to achieve the best results.

How to Burp Weed

Burping cannabis sounds like the way to go, but how do you pull it off? The entire act revolves around monitoring relative humidity—defined as the amount of water vapor present in the air, expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature. It might sound intimidating, but no complex equations are involved. There are two approaches to choose from when it comes to burping your cannabis. The first, more simple option, involves burping based on time. Below, we’ve laid out the directions for this process:

• Week 1: Start by burping your jars once per day for 30 minutes. Simply remove the lids and leave them open during this period.
• Week 2: Your buds will have lost some of their residual moisture by now. Switch things up and only burp for 30 minutes every other day.
• Week 3–6: During the following 4 weeks, burp your jars only once every 2 weeks.
• Beyond week 6: If you continue to cure at this point, you’ll only need to burp your weed once per month.

Many growers experience success with the method outlined above. However, if you don’t mind investing in an additional piece of kit, you can burp exactly when needed by placing a small digital hygrometer within each of your curing jars. This device will give you a constant reading of relative humidity, and means you don't have to burp as frequently. You’ll want to maintain a reading above 55%, to keep your flowers from becoming too dry, but below 70%, as this dramatically increases the threat of mold. Like the above method, each time you burp, aim for a 30-minute period.

What Type of Containers Are Best for Burping?

Glass reigns supreme when it comes to curing your weed. Not only does it look better, but some plastic bags and containers allow air particles to move through. Because the molecular spaces between glass particles are so small, the material does a superior job of trapping internal air and keeping external air out. If you’re using clear jars, store them in a dry and dark location to prevent cannabinoid degradation.

When to Stop Burping

You’ll need to continue to burp your weed indefinitely throughout its “lifespan”, although the frequency decreases over time. During the first few weeks, the metabolic processes occurring within the jar are at their highest, meaning you’ll need to burp more often, as outlined above.

As time goes by, and the metabolic processes slow down and moisture generation decreases, you’ll only need to burp once each month.

When Not to Burp Curing Jars

We get it, you’re a busy person. If you’re so busy that you’d rather do away with keeping track of the burping process altogether, we have a solution for you. At RQS, we developed the Humidity Control Pack to make the curing process as streamlined as possible—it even eliminates the need to burp. Each sachet works as a two-way moisture regulator, preventing levels from dropping too low or raising too high. Instead of burping, you simply need to switch out your humidity pack when the indicator card switches color.

Curing Weed: A Quick Guide

To make burping your weed count, you first need to ensure that you optimise all of the other important aspects of drying and curing. This includes drying your weed properly by exposing buds to good air circulation and a relative humidity of 45–55%, until the stems snap. This process can take up to 2 weeks.

Unless you wet trim your buds (i.e. trim directly after harvesting), you’ll need to remove the sugar leaves following the drying process. Once complete, move your weed into glass jars for curing. What you do next depends on the approach you want to take. Choose from the following:

📅 Follow a schedule: Use the burping schedule outlined above to optimise the curing process, regulate moisture, and improve flavor.
💧 Use a hygrometer: These small digital devices allow for precise monitoring. Simply burp when needed to maintain a relative humidity between 55–70%.
🚫 Skip a burping schedule altogether: To make things easier on yourself, use the RQS Humidity Control Pack to effortlessly control moisture levels.

Humidity Control Pack

Humidity Control Pack

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Whichever method you choose to adopt, know that it is worth the effort. Any seasoned weed user will tell you how much better properly cured bud tastes (and smokes) compared to flowers that don’t undergo this process.