HEMP STEMS: HOW TO USE THEM?

Cannabis buds have always been the star of the show, mainly because they contain large amounts of cannabinoids such as THC and CBD. However, all parts of the cannabis plant can be put to good use, including the often neglected stems. In this article, we'll give you tips on how to use the stems to get the most out of your cannabis plants.

A little about hemp stems

Cannabis plants are made up of many parts. The stems are the part of the plant that serves as a support for the flowers and leaves. The structure of the cannabis plant is made up of a main stem, which resembles a tree trunk, from which individual branches and smaller stems grow. Hemp stems contain minimal amounts of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

What to do with hemp stems?

After harvesting cannabis buds, you may be wondering what to do with the leaves, stems and other parts of the plant. All parts of the cannabis plant can be put to good use.

However, before you can process the cannabis stems in any way, you need to decarboxylate them. Decarboxylation is the process that activates the cannabinoids in cannabis and occurs when cannabis is exposed to high heat or light. To decarboxylate, spread the stems evenly on a baking tray and place them in an oven heated to 110°C for 60 minutes. After decarboxylation, you can use the stems in a variety of ways. Below are some of them.

Brew tea

One of the quickest and easiest ways to use cannabis stems is to brew them into a tea. To make tea, crush about one teaspoon of stems. Pour the crushed stems into a tea strainer and let them steep in boiling water for about 10 minutes. You can enhance its flavour by adding a little lemon juice, honey or sugar. This tea is especially popular in the autumn and winter months, when you need to warm up and perk up at the end of the day.

Make your own hemp butter

If you have a lot of stems, you can use them to make hemp butter. However, hemp butter made from hemp stems will be much less effective than if you made it from hemp flowers. To make hemp butter, you need to keep a ratio of 4 grams of butter to 4 grams of stems. Melt the butter in a pan first and then add the stems. Let this mixture cook for about 45 minutes or until the stems turn golden, then strain them. Store the butter in the refrigerator or process it immediately.

You can use hemp butter just like regular butter. For example, if you want to make biscuits and the recipe calls for regular butter, you can add hemp butter instead.

Make topical products

Hemp and CBD are becoming increasingly popular ingredients in the cosmetics world, and you can make these products yourself at home. In addition to moisturizing your skin, creams and ointments containing hemp can help care for your muscles. Hemp products can be used to treat many different ailments, such as acne or joint pain. Coconut oil is recommended for topical preparations. Add the decarboxylated and crushed stems to this oil and let it infuse for a few days. After leaching, strain out parts of the stems to create a coconut oil infusion for immediate use. You can mix in a little beeswax or a few drops of your choice ofessential oil into this infusion.

Make your own mulch

Another practical use of the stems is to make mulch out of them. This will protect the soil beneath the plants while ensuring that the plants are able to retain as much rainwater as possible.

Make your own paper

Another interesting way you can use cannabis stems is to make paper.

Simply use a blender to mix equal amounts of hemp stems and plain paper and add enough water to combine the mixture. However, be careful not to dilute the mixture too much, as this can cause the paper to crumble. Once the mixture has formed a mass with minimal lumps, pour it evenly onto a flat surface. Let the mixture stand for at least 24 hours. Then carefully peel off the paper and hang it to dry completely.

Use hemp stems

As mentioned earlier, people often focus only on the buds and neglect the other parts of the plant, however, cannabis plants have other useful parts that are worth making use of. The stems are one of them. They can also be used to make teas, tinctures, butters and other products. We hope we have shown you how versatile cannabis plants are with this article. So before you get rid of the stems, remember this article and make the most of your plants.

Before you decide to process your hemp stems, visit our online shop and get some of our hemp products. Try our hemp tea or hemp butter!