This Is Why Your Weed Smells Like Hay..
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The reason your weed smells like hay is because it was recently harvested and still has chlorophyll in it. Once the plant dries out completely the chlorophyll will break down and the hay smell will naturally go away.
When people start growing weed they’re usually focused on growing big, dank, delicious smelling buds.
And if you’re doing it right, you’ll definitely be able to smell that distinctive marijuana scent. (Check out carbon filters if you want to make sure nobody else can smell it).
But you might notice that right after you harvest your plants and start to dry/cure your buds, they have a distinctive hay smell.
Don’t worry. Your weed isn’t ruined.
That beautiful dank smell will come back in a few weeks.
How to Avoid the Hay Smell
If you want to avoid the hay smell issue entirely, the best method is to dry your plant as slowly as possible after you harvest them.
This helps preserve the terpenes which are what give the plant that wonderful smell.
When you buy/grow good weed and it has that beautiful aroma, it’s caused by the terpenes which have very distinct odor profiles.
The problem with ‘hay smelling weed’ is that the chlorophyll in the plant is overpowering the terpenes so that becomes the dominant smell.
When you first cut down your weed plant and harvest the buds, that’s step 1. At this point, your weed probably smells delicious.
The second step is to throw it in a mason jar so it can cure. This is step 2.
This step is where the hay smell usually comes out and once you’ve gotten to this point, it’s too late. The only solution is to wait.
To really avoid your weed smelling like hay you have to back up to the harvesting stage and change how you dry your weed out.
Exact Instructions To Avoid Your Weed Smelling Like Hay
Great smelling weed comes from great drying and curing.
It’s really tempting to harvest your plant and smoke it as soon as you can.
But like all good things, it takes time.
So to dry and cure your plant properly, YOU MUST follow these steps. Deviate from them at your own risk 🙂
The optimal conditions for drying and curing your plant are:
- 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit
- 60% relative humidity
- Complete darkness
- Fan gently moving air around without directly blowing over the buds
- More time
One of the biggest things you can do to avoid the smell of hay in your freshly chopped bud is to let it dry for as long as possible.
When you dry too quickly, either by having high temperatures, low humidity, or fans blowing directly on the weed, you’re preventing the chlorophyll from breaking down and leaving the plant.
When the chlorophyll gets trapped inside of the plant it leaves a strong hay smell and the only thing you can do then is wait it out.
What If I Don’t Have A Fan/Total Darkness/60% Humidity?
I get it. I grew weed in my basement in a grow tent and it wasn’t exactly the perfect environment.
If you don’t have the exact conditions I just listed out, then you can adjust by drying for more time.
Time heals all wounds. And bad smelling weed.
If your humidity is too high or you don’t have a fan to help dry your weed, just give it more time.
The longer it dries and the more slowly the water content inside the buds drops, the better your weed will smell.
How Long Until My Weed Stops Smelling Like Hay
So you harvest your buds and throw them in a jar to cure.
A couple of days go by and it smells like hay.
A week goes by and it still smells like hay.
So how long does this last for?!
The good news is that the hay smell will go away.
But depending on how quickly the weed was dried and cured will affect how long the hay smell lingers.
Typically the hay smell in cured weed will go away within 2-4 weeks.
It’s very rare for the smell to linger past a month but if it does, just keep waiting.
Eventually, it will go away and you’ll be left with dank, glorious buds that are ripe and ready to smoke.
How Can I Get Rid Of The Hay Smell More Quickly?
Here’s the deal:
The hay smell is because of the chlorophyll that is inside of your cannabis buds.
So there’s no secret to getting rid of the smell other than time.
But what you can do is cover up the smell.
So if you have some good weed you’re ready to smoke but it smells like hay, you can do a couple of different things to cover up the smell and make it smell more like some dank you’d pick up at a dispensary.
Option 1 – Orange Peel
This one is a classic.
Just throw a little orange peel in there with the weed and your weed will pick up a nice citrus smell.
Option 2 – Pine Needles
Same idea as the orange peel.
Take something that smells great and put it in with your weed.
Let it sit for a few hours and you’ll have a nice piney nose on the weed that will make it more pleasant to smoke.
Can I Smoke Weed That Smells Like Hay?
Yes, smoking weed that smells like hay is perfectly fine and you will still get high.
The hay smell comes from chlorophyll and there’s nothing wrong with smoking chlorophyll.
It does have a slightly harsher smoke to it than properly cured weed so it isn’t as pleasant to smoke but it does the job just the same.
Professor Cannabis
Yo, my name is Chad. I grow dope weed (haha) and want to help you do it too. I started growing a few years ago when it was legalized in my state and now I can help you avoid all of the mistakes I made!
