ok quick question guys ] i have just harvested my crop and buds are hanging to dry but the buds are crispy on the outside but spongey, soft on the inside, the branches dont crack so still got moisture?? any ideas i have the buds hanging upside down in dark place , 37% humidity, temp around 20c/21c/69f no fans blowing anywhere near them im not sure whats the matter as this is my first proper harvest? oh yh and they have been drying for about 2 days cheers
Get a fan in there blowing air around. Not on the bud but to move air around. The humidity is low for drying and will dry them out fast that's why the outside feels crispy. It's only been 2 days. You need to slow it down. How much bud are we talking about? On average I would say mine takes 12 days or so to dry.
37% is very low. Do you have any major stems? Let them hang until tomorrow and start putting them in jars. Ideally 5 days is about the ballpark to slow dry. Mix the small dry buds with a few larger buds. Check out proper cure. A little moisture will be beneficial as you cure. They have a pretty awesome harvest and cure thread on this site. Too dry is not good and at your humidity I would recommend you buy some Boveda humidity packs at 62 or 65% max. Also if you get the packs they come in small, medium and large sizes. medium handles most of my sure jars.
And get a fan moving the air around. You don't want mold. Depends on how much bud you have drying for how long it will take but the slower the better. Have you checked out any of the harvest and cure threads? There's some good info there and the difference between some good smoke that smells and smokes good and is smooth starts now. The faster it drys the more it's gonna smell like hay and be harsh to smoke on.
i i have a fan which you put water into, that would raise humidity? i didnt check weight but 2 plants so 2oz dry i think i read the threads, should i put in paper bag after stem cracks or jar it up for cure..
I am a total newbie here and don't want to make it seem like I am an expert or anything so I will just tell you what happened my first time trying to dry and cure. I was told that the process takes anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks so I hung up some wet buds expecting a long wait. I had about 4 or 5 grams of loose buds detached from the stem (still wet) and maybe an eighth or a little less still on it. On the fourth day I noticed that the loose buds were dried to swaggy, brown shit. Seriously. This great looking bud (I have a picture of someone else's bud that looks practically identical to the stuff I had at this time. Picture attached.) went from big and green to compact, brown and brittle as hell. Be careful not to over dry your bud as it's a COMPLETELY irreversible process as far as the cure is concerned. You can re-hydrate it with a Boveda but I would highly recommend using those for ensuring the moisture content in your buds never goes below that which outputs a 62% relative humidity **INSIDE A SMALL ENCLOSED SPACE such as a jar**. They also have 65% RH packs (these 60% range packs are specially made for cannabis curing!!!!) but my sources tell me you want it a little bit lower than that as that is the max high range for the humidity you want in curing. In other words, you want it to be between 60 and 65% relative humidity inside the jar. DO NOT GO CHEAP ON HYGROMETERS!!!! It will not end well for you! It is said that even expensive, seemingly high quality hygrometers can be off by as much as 14%!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy a Caliber IV digital from Western Humidor. It is THE #1 hygrometer for cigar fanatics, though keep in mind that the people who mentioned the up to 14% disparity also say that pretty much all cigar hygrometers tend to be a little off when dealing in sub-70% humidity, as anything below that is apparently not of any interest to cigar people. All I can tell you about this is I have looked into reactions from cannabis growers and they 99% stand by this product so that's what I'm getting. Anyway, back to the curing story. So I put all the bud into a jar. A day or two later I pick out some and notice that it's SOAKING WET ALL OVER AGAIN! Hell, I'd say it was WETTER THAN BEFORE!!!! lol!!!! Thank god for my noticing or else I would have totally ended up with mold all over my still wet buds!!!!! This is the worst case scenario man. You do NOT want to fuck with that shit and if it happens don't be stupid and try to clip off moldy bits and try to find good green still in the buds.... Just throw that shit away and consider it lesson learned. Mold is very dangerous and it shouldn't be taken lightly under any circumstances. Serious health issues including disease and even death can occur from extended periods of mold exposure so why take a chance? So I believe I left it in the jar but kept the lid off for a couple of hours. Not entirely sure about this part. But basically, after letting it all dry some more and then re-lidding it I actually successfully cured the bud that was still on the stem!!!!!!! Always, always, always check the RH/feel of the bud to make sure it's not all wet and molding up in those jars! Edit: I want to mention that when your bud is really wet after whatever period of time is appropriate (I am unsure... mold can occur on wet, mold-food carrying surfaces in as little as 4 days I believe...) you probably want to take it out of the jar for the extra drying. The advice I got was above 70% RH and you have to take it out of the jar I think..... Not sure.... At a certain point closer to the cure sweet spot you can just leave it in the jar with the lid off a couple hours at a time or something. Source: GrowWeedEasy.com Second edit: My information says never let the buds dry until the stems snap before curing. That's too dry according to Grow Weed Easy. You want something in the middle... Remember: some degree of moisture is necessary for the cure to happen.
A good solid drying/curing plan is as follows: 1.Hang them until they are dry to the touch. 2.Remove from stems into jars (something air tight) and cover. 3.Then next day, remove the lid for 24 hours. 4.Put the lid back on and wait another day. 5.At this point, it should not be getting "wet" from keeping the lid on. If it is wet again, leave the lid off for another day. 6.Burp the jar (remove the lid) daily for about an hour for 2-3 weeks. After that, you should be good.
Hang your buds with all the foliage still attached next time. This will slow down the drying process. Remember that drying time will also depend on how big/dense your buds are. Fluffy buds will go bone dry in just a day or two. Large dense nugs with leaves still attached can take up to a week to dry.
I'm usually drying 8 to 12 oz at a time in a cabinet that has a carbon filter and an online fan. The fan is on a speed control and I adjust the speed down little by little as the buds dry. I do a mostly wet trim that takes off the fan leafs and bigger tips of the other leafs. If you need to slow it down leave the leafs on for the first few days. When the branches snap not bend I do a final trim and jar up. After 12 hrs I open the jars check the buds. If they are soft leave the jar open a while. 10 to 20 min. Then 12 hrs later check again. And repeat the first few days to a week depending on how wet ur buds are. You may need to open more frequently depends on how wet your bud is on the inside like with fatter nugs. After 4 weeks or so you will notice the buds have slightly different shade to then an will smell great and smoke even better. With only a couple ozs the smaller buds will be dry in 5 days or so. If any of them have any size to them they will seem dry but they are not dry on the inside and that moisture will have to wick it's way out. You will find 100 different ways to do this. I personally will not use a paper bag as the smell from the bag seems to carry with the bud but that just IMO. Find a way you like and tweak it till it fits your preference. I'm no pro but. I know my way will get great results.
they are dry to the touch, kind of crispy? but stems dont snap the buds were pretty dense when i trimmed them but now they are soft like marshmallow and crispy on outside?
Its really dry here in the winters. I dry in a tent and need to run a humidifier outside of it so they don't dry to fast. I'll leave the plant whole or at least only cut it into a couple "chunks" for lack of a better word, leaving on pieces of the main stems
Don't want them to snap. That moisture is what you need to regulate the buds during curing. If they are all dry you may have gone too far and this ends up producing harsh flavors. MP had the best technique posted for a great smoke. try some now and then 2 weeks later. Again do not forget to burp. I also move the buds around for the first week or two. Some at the bottom may be sticking or very moist. I will pull them to the top and put the top buds to the bottom. i also have a set of popcorn buds that seem to dry out a bit faster. i will add them to the more moist jars. No rule but works for me.
How much longer do you think they will last? The way you describe them I would start now. Another option is to get the driest pop corn buds and start with them. See how they handle over night in a jar. You can use the big stems to help hydrate if they are too dry.
If you have a low RH (I do too 30%), you want to get them into jars asap. You can slow the moisture release with the jar by burping (popping the top) it less and/or for less time. When I say dry to the touch, use your lips (there is no spot on your body capable of reading moisture like your lips) and hold the bud up to your lips. If it feels dry, jar it. If not, leave it. The key to a good cure in our dry environments is as soon as they are dry to the touch, that we jar them to slow things down from there. They will just dry too fast in the open air. Don't have fans blowing on them, but air circulating is imperative for the process.
I would suggest you get a small table fan and place the fan so that it is LIGHTHLY circulating the air around the buds. That prevents mold and a more even drying process. 2 more days should do it. Good luck to you bro.
i was thinking tmoro i should jar them up tomorrow before all the moisture has left the buds, or i can add more moisture to the air and leave for 2 days, idk i will see
Do NOT add moisture! You can accumulate mold that way. There is nothing wrong with buds that are crispy on the outside. Perhaps jarring them up would be your best option. Good luck.