# LONG term storage



## zem

so i plan on storing my weed for years, yes years, i smoke light like 2 grams per week and have 250 grams. so i have been reading a bit, there seems to be different opinions about freezing. what do you guys know about long term storage?
one person suggested that the best way is to pre-roll it all in joints and it sounds very appealing to do it since it will be much more compact, he says it's the best way to store in the cold since the trichs will be contained in that joint.
 i'm thinking of something else, maybe grind it all up without rolling and store it in a fridge or freezer? if i can grind them and keep the quality it will be awesome, they will require very little space maybe only a couple of jars instead of 8 but then again, one person suggested that the best is to keep the buds with the stem saying that they will deteriorate slower... 

or should i just go with vacuming the jars and placing them in fridge or freezer?


what do you know about this?  thanks


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## niteshft

Vaccuum the jars if you are set up for that. I have an attachment for my food sealer that works on canning jars. The best for long term, IMO.


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## zem

and what about grinding it before vacum and storage? it will be great to have it compact


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## fruity86

only problem i can see with grinding is all the sugar goodness will end up at the bottom of the jar, you will find the weeds gets stronger the lower the jar get jmo
peace fruity


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## cubby

I have always stored mine in sealed mason jars, in a cardboard box, in a dark coset, in my cool cellar. I don't grind it, roll it, pull it off the stems, or give it a foot massage.....The more you mess with it, the more you mess with it.  
   Dry it corectly, cure it well, and it will be just fine. I am currently smoking weed I put up 3 years ago. Thats the longest I've ever had any around so I can't tell you from experience how long it will last, I'd assume it has a shelf life, but I have'nt hit it yet.


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## zem

hey cubby that's great news! finally someone who tried years old weed and reporting no degradation. i am considering buying a mini beer fridge just for this purpose. they're cheap like 50$. i still haven't messed a lot with the weed, only thing i would do was spread them on a tray for few hours then re-jar them. now i only burp them every 2 weeks or so. they've been harvested since 2 months now. i guess i don't have to keep burping anymore but i still do just in case. i think i will grid some and put them in a little jar just to try it out. if it's successful, i can pack a large quantity in much smaller volumes, that's my concern now


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## frankcos

I have used a little electric coffee grinder to grind up bud before when I was going on a road trip. I ended up grinding it up too fine and the stuff was like powder. It was horrible you had to roll the joint so tight so it wouldn't all fall out of the paper that it wouldn't smoke. I ended up having to use my bowl to smoke the whole ounce while I was gone. Not an easy task while on a road trip, but I had no choice.I wouldn't grind it all up if you are going to store it for a long period. Vac seal it and store it in a dark place like a safe.JMO


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## Wetdog

Food saver for the long term. I know for 3 years was still fresh and I bet it would go longer. But, it got smoked, LOL

If you haven't trimmed yet, leave the large fan leaves on. They will act as protection for the tricomes on the buds and sugar leaves. I trim them as I use the buds.

Wet


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## Killuminati420

Wetdog said:
			
		

> If you haven't trimmed yet, leave the large fan leaves on. They will act as protection for the tricomes on the buds and sugar leaves. I trim them as I use the buds.
> 
> Wet


them there is fightin' words! :argue:


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## niteshft

I got thinking, if I was that determined to store weed in as compact a space as possible, I would look into some kind of compactor rather than grinding so much up. Something that would compact smaller rather than large amounts at once. OH! How about regular vaccuum sealers. They use food grade plastic for thier bags and you can make the bags any size you want.


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## zem

niteshft said:
			
		

> I got thinking, if I was that determined to store weed in as compact a space as possible, I would look into some kind of compactor rather than grinding so much up. Something that would compact smaller rather than large amounts at once. OH! How about regular vaccuum sealers. They use food grade plastic for thier bags and you can make the bags any size you want.


hmmm... i like the idea of compacting small amounts just don't like the idea of plastic storage for years, glass would be better. i can press them in jars to compact them but then i would be messing the buds up, so i might as well grind them if i want to do that. i got 7 full jars now, really full as compact as i could fit them inside it without crushing so it's quite a stash. i think i will go with the beer fridge idea.


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## OGKushman

THC degrades in storage. It degrades faster in freezer...(?)

Only know way to store with having a minimal drop in quality is vacuum sealing using an inert gas such as nitrogen.


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## zem

OGKushman said:
			
		

> THC degrades in storage. It degrades faster in freezer...(?)
> 
> Only know way to store with having a minimal drop in quality is vacuum sealing using an inert gas such as nitrogen.


it degrades "faster" in freezer?? 1st time i hear that, i know freezer can cause trichs to break if it was still moist, but what about a refrigerator at 3-6C? i found a nice gadget  hXXp://www.pump-n-seal.com/pumpnseal.htm makes the vaccuming easy doesn't involve nitrogen though...


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## SensiStarFan

zem said:
			
		

> it degrades "faster" in freezer?? 1st time i hear that, i know freezer can cause trichs to break if it was still moist, but what about a refrigerator at 3-6C? i found a nice gadget  hXXp://www.pump-n-seal.com/pumpnseal.htm makes the vaccuming easy doesn't involve nitrogen though...


 
I am kind of ashamed to admit this, and would never admit it if I hadn't had a few drinks tonight, but I once had an ounce (this was a number of years ago), that I put into the egg compartment in my refrigerator (the little part that folds down over the eggs so you dont see into it when you open the fridge).  The long and short of the story is that I forgot about it (yea I know, I'm a pot head).  I found it almost 18 months later (which sadly reveals about how often I clean my refrigerator and that I never buy eggs or eat breakfast) and it still smoked great!  I would not put it into the freezer though, I heard freezing is bad for bud but I never checked out that information.

-SSF-


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## OGKushman

it degrades instantly .9%THC and .4 more over 30 days
18.22% control
from 18.2 to 17.6 storage for a month in dark cool place. 
from 18.2 to 17.3 storage for 8 hrs in freezer
from 18.2 to 16.9 storage for 30 days in freezer


more testing done every day. for complete results buy the book in jan2012!

my partner is gonna be mad at me for posting this


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## zem

so you're saying that my weed that's been harvested 2 1/2months ago stored in mason jars has degraded already? i thought the best weed is the weed that was cured for more than 1 month. anyway that's a very interesting experiment, your partner should have some stored in a fridge, and some vaccum sealed too.


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## Jericho

Lol Og i cant wait for this book to come out. 

Zem, best weed to smoke is weed that has been cured for a month as it is smoother to smoke, not because of the effect of the weed.


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## Wetdog

Killuminati420 said:
			
		

> them there is fightin' words! :argue:



Why is that?

Close trimming does make for pretty buds, but does leave a lot of resin glands exposed to get knocked off, squished and otherwise damaged.

A friend of my son is a purveyor of extremely high quality goods. He is also ADD or OCD or something and is constantly removing buds from his ziplock, inspecting them, putting them back and then repeating the whole process 15min later. Like right after he gets all the sticky off of his fingers. Try telling him that the sticky is resin glands he is knocking off with his fingers just results in a blank stare. LOL, he's got waaay more $$$ than good sense.

Wet


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## ronnie77

You will need glass mason (or fruit canning) jars with sealable tops. Place the DRY buds inside and seal. Store the jars in a cool dark place, the fridge if you need to. Keep an eye on your bud for mold. If the bud was completely dry going in, you should be fine. Its been reported that the bud will actually "cure" better using this method, producing some sweet smellin buds! 
And can be stored for a longer time.


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## 4u2sm0ke

OGKushman said:
			
		

> it degrades instantly .9%THC and .4 more over 30 days
> 18.22% control
> from 18.2 to 17.6 storage for a month in dark cool place.
> from 18.2 to 17.3 storage for 8 hrs in freezer
> from 18.2 to 16.9 storage for 30 days in freezer
> 
> 
> more testing done every day. for complete results buy the book in jan2012!
> 
> my partner is gonna be mad at me for posting this


 

I dout it will get published..:rofl:  all speculation  IMO..

I have Budds in my freezer now for 4 months..and the Hash I make from it will be BOMB!!!!:lama:...I dont think Im gonna see any diffrance...:spit:


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## niteshft

4u2sm0ke said:
			
		

> I dout it will get published..:rofl: all speculation IMO..
> 
> I have Budds in my freezer now for 4 months..and the Hash I make from it will be BOMB!!!!:lama:...I dont think Im gonna see any diffrance...:spit:


 
For hash making that was fine, that wasn't the issue. For smoking, alot of trichs will get knocked off and settle on the bottom of the bag/jar, along with all the frosty ice that built up from the sweat of the buds.


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## zem

I have some 3 year old weed in the fridge and freezer as well as outside. IME temperature fluctuation causes the most oxidation on the buds and the buds that are out get darker and weaker faster. The fridge and freezer are working good. The buds look as good as new. I only stored crisp dry weed in freezer to prevent damage and humidify it once it comes out and before I use it.


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## Bongofury

Trimmed buds on the stem that have been dried and cured, then into a sealed jar with 62% bovida packs, in a cardboard box set in the corner. I open the jars once in a while and take a wiff.  That's what I learned here a few years ago. Works for me.  mmm mmm good.


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## Aksarben

I have a few grams in canning jars, and also quite a few fresh dried buds in Folgers coffee container that was emptied.  How well does storing in empty coffee cans/jugs  work?   I work at our winery in the lab and have access to all kinds of Nitrogen in a 300# nitrogen tank near my titration set-up.    I made beer a few years ago and learned that hops have a shelf life as well for flavor, but the bittering in there still is useful.  I store some in the refrigerator and some in the freezer.  They say they definitely have a shelf life and I would think it would be the same with buds.

I have read that nitrogen and/ or  vacuum sealing kept in cook dark location (safe, dark cellar, etc)  are best choices for long term.


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## Vtfarmer

Been outdoor growing for decades, I’ve found that dried  buds stored in sealed jars stored in a cool dark place degrade after about 12-18 months. Weed becomes darker, flavor fades, and worst of all,  buds becomes harsh and unpleasant to smoke. Perhaps suitable for tinctures or other meds but NOT for quality smoking. To maintain potency, flavor and mildness, freezing is the only way I store weed now. Buds are dried in a warm dark attic. I dry buds to a 90%dry stage leaving a small amount of moisture to prevent buds from excessive crumbling.   The buds are then carefully  packed in double layer  ziplock bags  with excess air carefully squeezed out of the bags before sealing . Double bagging is necessary to prevent freezer burn. 2 year old buds stored in this manner still have a wonderful aroma, potency is good and flavor is great. Freezer is kept at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.


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## Hippie420

Yep, that's the ticket. I even go as far as to triple bag weed. Hash just gets wrapped in 1 or 2 gram chunks in tinfoil that is then stuck in Ziplocs. I've got stuff that's at least 6 years old that still have a great flavor and slaps me silly.


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## WeedHopper

Vacuum seal and into the freezer.


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## ROSTERMAN

WeedHopper said:


> Vacuum seal and into the freezer.


I have stored weed in double bags Vac sealed after large stems have been removed (stems poke holes)
Then into deep freeze, had weed at the bottom over 5 yrs old still smoke fine, sometimes the burn smell, smelled even better
Lets call it the room appeal   LOL


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## WeedHopper

I call it a long cure.


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## BuddyLuv

if you are a grower why would you save weed for 3 years.. just grow some fresh shit.. cant imagine smoking weed that old..


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## WeedHopper

Why not. Don't wanna grow the same strain again but great to have some later down the road. I know lots of peeps who like having several different strains put away for later use. A lot of us cant grow several strains at one time. 
So putting it away is Kinda like having a wine cellar,,except its Weed.
And the shit i vacuum seal and put into the freezer taste pretty damn good. Dont taste old but To each his own.


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## ROSTERMAN

BuddyLuv said:


> if you are a grower why would you save weed for 3 years.. just grow some fresh shit.. cant imagine smoking weed that old..


Sometimes you grow too much LOL
I have tried to give it away and could not at times, hard to believe
I am guilty of the put it down and make oil later and just never finding time to do the reductions.


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## vtweed

It is a plant and sometimes you have a crop failure for whatever reason.  I had powdery mildew and lost a crop.  I glad to have my previous years overgrow, and many friends who helped through.  Good storage is prudent.


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## ROSTERMAN

I always keep my eyes open for a tin can canning machine always fun to have on hand.(closed cans ) need warrants to open the cans
If John Law finds them  Good place to hide gold and jewels too


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## JoseyWales

OGKushman said:


> THC degrades in storage. It degrades faster in freezer...(?)
> 
> Only know way to store with having a minimal drop in quality is vacuum sealing using an inert gas such as nitrogen.


So do you vacuum the jar before you pressurize nitrogen. I'm an old HVAC guy. I think Mason jars like vacuum, not sure about pressure.


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## WeedHopper

Tell my weed that bullshit. I never notice any degradation from freezing my weed.


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## mean4green

zem said:


> and what about grinding it before vacum and storage? it will be great to have it compact



I would not grind it. Keep the buds intact.
Vacuum pack is not required but if you can go for it.  Put bags in another container (cardboard box, anything) and freeze it. It will last for years!!

Happy Packing


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## mean4green

previous poster said:

THC degrades in storage. It degrades faster in freezer...(?)

*****************************
Bad info regarding freezer.

Freezer is best way to store long term.

Heat, air, light (especially UV light) degrades da buds...

Dawn is coming over the eastern horizon  - time for W&B!!!!

later


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## WeedHopper

The main thing is,,if you freeze your weed make sure you are gentle with it when taking it out of the freezer and let it thaw first before handling where you don't disturb the Trichromes and cause them to fall off. Once its thawed you are good to go and its as fresh as it will ever be considering your other options of storage.


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## zem

So I have to empty the freezer for an hour or 2 and now this got me worried about how much damage this will cause. For one time the temperature will fluctuate to well above freezing then go back down to below freezing. Do you think I should worry much about that? My other option is to freeze some bottles and move them to a cooler with frozen bottles inside but I am not sure if that's worth all the effort and i guess it would require a lot of ice to achieve freezing environment inside the cooler. Any advise appreciated, thanks.


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## WeedHopper

All ive ever done is kept my seeds in a cool dry place.


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## Bubba

I have some WW seeds I originally were bag seeds. I grew them, was told to save a male (which started showing pollen bags earlier) and cross it back on itself to "stabilize" the strain. Then grew those seeds.

When I moved, I froze them. Almost 10 years later I thawed 5 and placed in wet paper towels. All 5 popped just fine.

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Bubba


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## WeedHopper

Got to get me some WW one of these days.


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## zem

Oh I guess I didn't make it clear, I meant I got some mj stored in the freezer, so how bad would it be for the buds to go through that temperature fluctuation for once?


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## zem

Bubba said:


> I have some WW seeds I originally were bag seeds. I grew them, was told to save a male (which started showing pollen bags earlier) and cross it back on itself to "stabilize" the strain. Then grew those seeds.
> 
> When I moved, I froze them. Almost 10 years later I thawed 5 and placed in wet paper towels. All 5 popped just fine.
> 
> Surprise, surprise, surprise!
> 
> Bubba


Yes I have popped seeds after 14 years freezing and they still popped


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## Bubba

Oddly, I have read somewhere, warning against freezing.  I doubted it, as obviously they freeze in nature of course.  I guess if the power went out and it thawed, then refroze, MAYBE moisture could form ruining the seeds?  Worked for me anywho.

Bubba


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## WeedHopper

Svalbard Global Seed Vault - Crop Trust
					

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a fail-safe seed storage facility, built to stand the test of time — and the challenge of natural or man-made disasters.




					www.croptrust.org
				



.


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## ROSTERMAN

I store em in rice in airtight small mason jars in freezer.
Been 8 yrs maybe I will pull some out


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## zem

zem said:


> Oh I guess I didn't make it clear, I meant I got some mj stored in the freezer, so how bad would it be for the buds to go through that temperature fluctuation for once?


So anyone ever defrosted frozen buds then froze them back again? Did it ruin the buds in any way?


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