Top Shelf Tips for Packing Drying Racks

One of the most vulnerable points in the seed-to-sale cycle is one you may not suspect – packing dry racks. After the flowers have been removed from the stem (bucked), they need to be dried and cured on tray racks. While some growers may simply toss their nugs onto a tray and call it a day, we believe that the tray rack requires as much attention as any other step in the process. Flowers should have as minimal physical contact as possible to retain the delicate natural trichomes and maximize the evenly distributed laminar air flow that our systems utilize. Flowers must also be properly loaded in order to have an optimal dwell time. 

Here are some tips on how to load a dry rack and how to organize a dry rack: 

Flowers should never be thrown onto a drying rack. Instead, it should be placed evenly across a dry rack with gloved hands. It is important to lightly place nugs across the tray rack in an evenly distributed manner without overcrowding each tray rack. You want to maximize the number of buds that can fit on each tray rack and minimize the distance between them while not overcrowding them. This will guarantee the preservation of the delicate compounds of the trichomes (cannabinoids & terpenes) and increase their potential potency. Flowers should not be stacked or overlapping; each nug should have at least some space around it so that air can flow through and dehumidify each nug evenly. 

When handling flowers, gloves should always be worn. Unwashed hands are contaminated with bacteria, oils, and dirt that can reduce the quality of the flower. 

Flowers should ideally be arranged according to size to ensure more even drying. Even nug sizes ensure a more uniform drying process because they will dry roughly at the same rate. Cann has more post-harvest tips that can be found on our blog. 

Dry trays should be packed as much as possible but also not overpacked in your dry chamber. By overloading the dry trays, you run the risk of uneven dry times or even contamination via lack of airflow on the tray itself. Dry chambers should also not be under-packed as this may cause the product to dry too quickly. While the CDS may increase the speed at which we are able to dry high quality cannabis, it does this through complete control of the environment inside the chamber space itself, utilizing both laminar airflow components and a heat pump based dehumidification system.  

We obsess over the dry cycle so that your cultivation team can obsess over the aspects of the production cycle you’re most passionate about. With Cann, you can worry less and grow more.

Message our team here to learn more about our dry chambers.