5 Ways To Use Extra Weed

Having too much weed certainly isn’t the worst problem to have. As a backyard grower, you’re likely to end up with a surplus at harvest time. So, what are you going to do with all that extra weed?

Each plant yields at least a quarter to half a pound of bud (112–224 grams). That’s why you’ll probably cultivate more weed than you can smoke. Sure, you could store your excess for later, but they won’t be as green and fresh and will lose their potency over time.

Keep reading to discover five ways to utilize your extra bud, whether you recently harvested a haul or have an excess of weed for some other reason.

 

1. Make Concentrates

Many weed cultivators use cannabis trimmings to produce handy cannabis concentrates and extracts. Using a range of methods, cannabinoids can be transformed into concentrates like bubble hash and rosin.

 

Bubble Hash

Bubble hash is an inexpensive, simple and chemical-free way to use extra weed. Also known as ice water hash, it uses super cold temperatures to break trichomes off of buds, which you then collect to form hash.

To get a small amount of potent hash, start off with at least an ounce of flower. Gather the rest of the gear:

• two 5-gallon pails
• bubble bags (a set of mesh bags, each with a different fineness—the finer the bags, the more refined the bubble hash)
• ice cubes
• water
• a large wooden spoon for stirring

Soak the buds in ice water in a 5-gallon pail for 20+ minutes, then stir your concoction. Pour the mixture into a set of bubble bags in your other 5-gallon pail. Pull them out one by one to further refine the trichome mixture. Enjoy dabbing with your DIY bubble hash!

 

Rosin

Rosin is another superb chem-free concentrate to make at home. Using heat and pressure, you make it by pressing buds between heated plates and collecting the hot oil.

Make rosin in the comfort of your own home with a curling iron and parchment paper by squeezing buds until they crackle. (Otherwise, actual rosin presses exist, but they cost $250-500+.)

Simply scrape off a bit of rosin with a dab tool, place it in your favourite dab rig and enjoy.

 

2. Whip Up Some Cannabutter

Edibles are ideal for consuming weed without smoking or vaporising. Edible kitchen staples like cannabutter can replace normal butter to create cannabis-infused baked treats or stir-frys.

Gather the ingredients:

• 7 to 10 grams of weed
• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup of water
• cheesecloth

Follow these four easy steps:

1. Grind your weed
2. Decarb it by heating it at a low temperature for about 30 minutes
3. Simmer it in butter and water for two hours
4. Strain it through the cheesecloth

This process enables the THC to bind with the fat in the butter. Alternatively, make cannabis coconut oil in the same way by substituting coconut oil for the butter.

You can also use a Magical Butter Machine to make cannabutter.

 

3. Make a Topical Salve or Cream

The nutrients and cannabinoids in cannabis are beneficial when applied topically. To make a cream, lotion, or salve with your extra weed, follow these steps.

1. Decarb and grind the plant material to activate the cannabinoids
2. Make a cannabis-infused coconut oil as explained above
3. Add ingredients to your mixture like vitamin E or essential oils
4. Add the infused oil to a store-bought lotion or combine it with beeswax to create a salve

 

4. Tinker with Tinctures

Weed tinctures are magical and discreet. Simply put 2-4 drops under your tongue for an immediate effect. Making this product requires some patience, but it’ll last you a long time.

Create weed tinctures by soaking bud in a high-proof ethanol alcohol like everclear. Use an ounce of weed per 750 ml bottle of alcohol (or roughly 3.5 grams per 3 fluid ounces).

Decarb your weed, then soak it in a glass jar with the alcohol for a few weeks and shake it once a day. Strain it through a coffee filter and, voila, you’ve made your first weed tincture!

 

5. Roll a Cannagar

A cannagar is an all-cannabis cigar. Using a special mould, compress 2-3 grams of ground weed around a skewer and then roll it with hemp or cannabis fan leaves, blunt wrap or rolling papers). Let it solidify for at least half an hour, then pull out the skewer to enable airflow.

The process creates a potent modern-day “Thai stick” that lasts for hours. Gather a few friends to help you smoke your deliciously dense cannagar!