Last Updated December 22nd, 2022: At the end of any cannabis grow, you finally get to harvest your buds! Unfortunately, after you harvest your yield you have to dry and cure your buds before you can consume them. Drying your cannabis buds is a lengthy process and can take multiple weeks until they’re ready. That being said, it’s often a good idea to take a small sample of bud to test if everything is ready or simply if you can’t wait any longer. In this guide, we’re going to cover how to quickly dry a sample bud for testing or to get your fill!

How To Dry A Sample Bud Quickly For Testing:
There are a few different methods to help you quick-dry your buds and allow you to test if the rest of the batch is ready or not.
Quick-Dry In The Oven Or Microwave:
If you are in a time crunch, it’s possible to dry a few buds in the oven or microwave in a matter of minutes rather than waiting days.
- Trim your buds so they are neat and tidy and then lay them on an oven-safe baking sheet.
- Lay your buds neatly spaced on the baking sheet with at least an inch or two of space in between.
- Set your oven to around 150 degree Fahrenheit.
- Leave the tray and buds in the oven in for 5 minutes.
- Pull the tray out, flip the buds over, and place them back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

The overall goal of this technique is to ensure that the heat is at a relatively low setting to ensure you don’t damage the cannabis or overcook it which can kill the THC in the buds.
Leaving Buds In The Sunlight:
If you don’t have an oven, you can go the old natural way, and use the sunlight to quickly dry out the buds. Along with this, by placing your buds in brown paper bags, will help to absorb any additional moisture along with the sunlight.
- Place your buds in brown paper bags.
- Place these bags outdoors in direct sunlight.
- Place something heavy in the bag to ensure that the wind doesn’t knock over your bags.
- Leave the brown bags outdoors for a few hours, and check back on the moisture later in the day.
What Happens When Buds Dry Too Quickly
If buds dry too quickly they will become bitter and will have a slightly different aftertaste when smoked. This is because there’s more chlorophyll remaining in the buds. That being said, if you are just drying to test the buds, then I wouldn’t worry too much about drying the buds too quickly.
Can Buds Dry In 3 Days?
If you are drying your whole grow, then it’s unlikely buds can dry in 3 day. It generally takes 7-10 days to dry your buds by traditionally hanging. But if you are just looking to dry a sample to test, then it’s definitely possible to dry buds in less than 3 days by using one of the methods above.
Final Thoughts On How To Quickly Dry A Sample Bud:
Whether you’re looking to test out if your buds are ready, or you just need a small amount of cannabis to get you through the day, then you should try quick-drying rather than traditional cannabis drying methods.
Overall, both of these methods above will help to dry a small number of buds quickly and allow you to test it before taking weeks to dry the entire yield! I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide on how to quickly dry a sample bud.
Resources:
https://www.leafly.com/learn/growing/harvesting-marijuana/drying-curing-cannabis