I am going to start my first grow here in the next couple days I am just trying to get my process in order. I am working on my curing strategy. My plan is the following. Once I am ready for harvest, I am going to cut the buds and trim them up. I will then throw them in a paper bag for 4-7 days depending on how juicy the strain is. This should get a nice dry on the crisp to the outside. I will at this point throw the buds into mason jars and leave them for a couple days. I will burp the jars every couple days until I get them to where I want them and seal them up until I am ready to smoke them. The only extra idea I had was put a small piece of paper in the mason jars and replace it every time I burp the jars. Will take the paper out once I get to where I want them humidity wise. What about on those piece of paper putting some vanilla extract or other extract. For the purpose of flavoring the final buds, as well as helping to dry out the buds? Will using a paper bag effect the taste of the bud since only being in it a short time? (heard it drains the taste to dry in a paper bag. Also have heard to leave the branches on the buds when you take them and start drying them this will draw additional THC from the branches. When I put in mason jars I would cut the extra and only have buds in the jars. Any ideas to help improve the process? I am using the paper bags in the beginning because I don't have a closet to put them in.
A cardboard box works as well as a closet. I just stood one up, open on both ends and draped a thick cloth over it just so it wasn't sealed completely. This is also handy because you can fasten hooks and string to the inside to hang the bud. I'm not sure about using anything to add flavour to the bud, it sounds logical but I've never heard of anyone doing it, so there must be a reason. Maybe someone knows otherwise /: I can see the part about leaving the stem on being a myth. From my understanding THC is produced in the resin glands of the plant, and nowhere else. I've think people only more plant matter only to elongate the drying period. Lots of people use paper bags in the post-hanging stage of cure, but I've never heard any mention of it effecting the taste. I have however heard that drying the bud too fast might make it lose some flavour, perhaps that's the cause, and not the bag directly? My suggestion, if you are in no hurry to smoke the bud, then try to follow the instructions in the harvest and cure guides in the Harvesting and Processing Marijuana forums as close as possible. The information there would be a collaboration of years worth of experience, it would produce the best results. Improvise if you need to, but don't compromise if you don't have to =^x^= Best of luck with your grow!
The paper bag step is usually for after the buds have hung in the open for a few days first. But, I suppose you can try it. I don't think that alone will dry them fast enough but you'll find out. Remove as much stem as possible since that holds a lot of the moisture. Be mindful for the first weeks you have the buds in jars. If moisture develops quickly in the jars due to damp buds you'll get rot fast.
You can dry buds in a paper bag, but it may not work as well as hanging/laying out on racks. If you use paper bags don't put too much in each, keep buds loose, and stir them gently every day. Another good thing to do is get some boil-in-bag rice, put one rice bag (uncooked) in each paper bag to help draw out moisture. Don't confuse drying and curing -- your thread title asks about drying but your post talks about your "curing strategy." They are two distinct steps that do different things, both are important. Jars for curing is good, just burp them at least once a day, maybe twice a day for the first week or two. Don't let them sit in jars for a few days between burps during cure, especially at the beginning.
Upon further reading and suggestions in other forums, I think that I will be making a box drying unit. With strings between to hold the buds. Might hook up to my ventilation back into the grow box to take the smell back through my carbon scrubber. Then cure with the Mason Jars.