A PERFECT DRY is more important than a good cure. Here is how to do it.

Just read this on a different forum. I did not write this but its exactly how I dry and feel the same exact way. Figured this would be easier than rewriting it and making the same exact point in different words.

-So here it goes-

To end up with a perfect harvest every time after a successful grow you must have a perfect dry. Curing is simply the slow even removal of moisture from the buds and is over rated. Drying is by far the most important stage of harvesting. A good cure will do very little to improve a improper dry. This is the easiest way to harvest a cannabis plant for maximum potency and flavor. And its simple. All you do is hang the ENTIRE plant as a whole.

The reasons we hang the plant as a whole is to get a slow consistent dry through out the whole plant. This occurs by cutting the whole plant and allowing the cells to continue to transport moisture and sugars through out the entire plant. At harvest outer cells dry and inner cells transport moisture to the outer cells. By trimming your plant at harvest this process does not take place. The moisture quickly evaporates out of all the cuts you just made, the cells rapidly die and the end result in a un-even dry that requires a precise cure.

Yes, it is true. After you harvest your plant it is still alive for quite some time and the cells continue to transport moisture and sugars through out the entire plant. They do this to try to prolong the life of the plant. Cells are composed primarily of moisture and die as soon as they dry.

Many commercial growers would prefer a easy method of harvest, trim, and dry. This is fine but it creates a more difficult cure and more cure time is required for maximum potency. If not done correctly this can result in a harsh tasting product with little flavor or even tasting of hay, grass, or alfalfa. Trust me there is a FINE LINE.

You can get the best most consistent harvest by cutting the plant as low as possible at the base or you can just up root it. If you choose to up root it and dont want debris getting on your end product then put the roots in a grocery bag and twisty tie it around the bottom of the stalk. Try to keep flowers from touching as much as possible with good air circulation. I do this by hanging the plants upright by their cola's just as they were growing. Most of the leaves dont fall over the buds and it helps to make the trim easier because trimming is slightly more difficult drying this way. Temps should be around 65-75 degrees with air circulation and or ventilation. Dont let the temperature over 90 degrees because this will degrade thc. Humidity is ideal at 50-60%. Drying this way temperature and RH aren't such a big deal because the outer cells live and transport moisture all over. But slower is better. You just want to watch temp and RH mainly to prevent mold. This is your plants most vulnerable time to mold. Flowers should be keeps out of direct light because this is said to degrade thc also. It is the ultra violet radiation in light that degrades the thc so a dim light is not going to hurt. I use complete darkness or a green light to not disturb the plant in its final days. For about 2 days the plant is completely alive in complete darkness and stressing her ass off. Producing resin trying to catch pollen in her last days of life. Seem to increase potency and ripeness. Basically like a 48 hours dark period before harvest. This is more effective on certain strains mostly having white strain heritage.

After at least 10 days or when the product is smokable you can take the plant down and trim it. The stem should bend with a little snap and not crack when you take the plants down. It doesn't necessarily need to snap cleanly but is fine if it does. I have read that this could possibly take up to four weeks. In my environment its around 10 days. I am always in a hurry and I feel 10 days is the least amount of time you should go with out trimming. So 10 days works for me. It is very difficult if not impossible to over dry this way (lose flavor) so if you feel like you want a dryer product then leave them hang longer. I have never over dried a plant this way. A longer slower dry is a better dry. I personally feel that 4 weeks is to much time for mold to potentially grow. Once you pull and trim your plants your product will already have a substantial amount of flavor but will continue to increase through out the cure. Drying this way gives plants a partial cure as they are distributing the moisture all over. Curing is simply the slow even removal of moisture and is not a science. Just put them in jars. When drying this way there is NO need for R.H meters or any of that crazy non-sense juggling during the cure. Just put them in jars and open them once in a while. Like every other day or once a week. Whatever, it DOES NOT MATTER. Everyone makes curing harder then it should be by drying improperly. Dry properly and you will be smoking quality product way before anyone that cures properly.

 

I also disagree with the whole not throwing a hygrometer in the jars but 10 days really isn't that far off from dry time with this method. I just did this on my harvest 3 weeks ago and went 8-9 days and I could've gone another day or two. I also disagree with curing not being as important.

And yes people will swear on the chop and trim method and yes it works. Theres nothing wrong with doing it that way, as long as your buds aren't dry and ready for jars in 3 days. Then you may want to consider this.

I'm currently starting this method again with a G13 Purple Haze I just chopped today.

From my personal experience the smell has always held up through the whole drying process when using this method. Versus chopping and trimming where it smells "green" or hay-like right after you chop and trim.

You don't have to rely on curing to bring back the smell when using this method. The smell will be there before they ever hit the jars. The jars only help intensify it.

 

[quote name='"ohspyro89"']I'm just not sold, and I think people should look at both sides. If chopping your plant immediately is convenient for you, then do it.

I hung a plant exactly how it's being described and it got that hay smell for a few days. It came around.[/quote]

Oh I agree, you must look at both sides. Whatever is most convenient for you is what you should do. They only real downside I've noticed from waiting to trim is the extra time it takes to trim after the leafs are dry. Also keep in mind that smell has a lot to do with genetics.

I'm not saying the chop and trim method is wrong or sucks. I'm just saying it's a lot harder to mess the smell or taste up when waiting a week or so to trim. Most people wouldn't even make it to a week drying if they chop and trim. 3-4 days has seemed to be the average dry time the more I look around here, especially from noobs. And those are the people that are relying on the cure to bring back the smell, which in all honestly doesn't always work. Most of the time once the smells gone, it's gone...

 

I'm just curious as to why you, like a lot of people, are so set on not waiting to trim.. Sure it's easier to cut fresh sugar leafs then dry ones but what other real benefits have you seen from chopping and trimming the plant right away?

Not trying to be a dick just looking for more than the old "it's easier to trim while wet" line.

Nothing great comes easy...

 

The trichomes lost are minimal. I don't notice losing any more than I would normally handling dry buds. I hang my plants during the trimming process and actually handle my dry untrimmed product as little as possible this way.

You probably lose just as many when you cut wet as everything is still very sticky when wet. Brushing your sticky gunked up scissors against a bud will most surely result in lost trichs.

Ever notice having to clean your scissors about every 15 mins when your trimming. We all know the stuff your cleaning off is trichomes, and those were all lost during the trimming process. Leave the plant COMPLETELY intact, fan leafs and all, for the best results with this method.

Point being, you lose no more trichs then your normally would trimming right after you've chopped.

 

And I don't mind losing the hairs either way. They make absolutely no difference in the final product. Strictly bag appeal. In all honesty you essentially want to harvest after most if not all pistils have receded back into the calyx. Most of my final product has barely if any hairs. The G13 Purple Haze I harvested today probably is the hairiest I've ever harvested. But it's a sativa and I chose to harvest early in the window to bring out the high thats in it's genetics. I chopped with only about 10% amber showing, most people growing sativa's chop when all trichs are cloudy.

 

[quote name='"GD90"']I was just thinking - would it be ok to trim off the sugar leaves and then still use op's method of hanging the whole plant, or would that fuck it up?

At my first harvest I chopped and trimmed the buds and hung them to dry - and they dried in like 3-4 days... but after a few days in the jar , they tasted very sweet and smelled great... at least imo compared to bud that I buy... maybe growers around here just suck [/quote]

If your going to try this method, for best results you must leave the plant COMPLETELY untrimmed. Sugar leafs and fan leafs and all. A lot or most of the moisture is held in the sugar/fan leafs. The point is to slow it down as much as possible and leaving as much moisture on the plant as possible.

And getting good results without using this method CAN net you just as good of smoke. The point of this method is it's wayyy harder to mess it up or over dry it and result in shit tasting weed.

 

In some of my first grows before i started hanging them whole I would hang them in a small walk in closet with a temp of 70f and an RH of 55-60% and would still have plants dry out in 3 days. And because of the size of the closet and the position of the AC vent in there I didn't even need or use a fan. Never had an issue with mold. Knock on wood lol

Yes temps and RH are important and definitely contribute to a good, proper dry. But even with perfect temps and RH you can still have plants over dry too fast.

 

Also keep in mind your average grower isn't hanging multiple 6' plants weighing pounds...your average grower is hanging 2'-4' plants that can be hung whole just as easily if broken down.

 

[quote name='"GD90"']

My concern is , won't the sugar leaves dry out completely then?
I mean that would mean they would go to waste , plus wouldn't it be a pain to get them off after?[/quote]

The leafs themselves dry out yes. But the trichomes are left on the dried leaves for you to do whatever you normally would do with.

And as far as it being a pain. Thats debatable. I don't think it's necessarily a pain but it does add some time to the trimming process. Not as much as you'd think. But if it means having a better smelling product or maybe not even better but less likely for me to screw up all those months of work, then the extra time was worth it.