An American Dream - White Picket Fences and Marijuana in the So Cal Sun

Line time has ranged from 24 hours to almost a week.. Depends on conditions but I use the feel test on the line hanging stuff.. dry till the buds are just starting to get stiff.. you can always lay it back out on a window screen if it's soaking wet in a few hours closed up..  To wet=good  To dry=bad..
 
Always error on the side of to wet.. you can always dry more.. you absofreekinglootly can NOT recover from an over dry.. this I learned over and over time after time the very hard way thus showing I didn't really learn it at all till now.. I can NOT stress this enough..
 
Unless you leave it unopened for an extended period of time I don't think we have a mold risk.. I've not detected any hint of it so far.. and with my minimum twice a day rotation of the stacks and flipping the bag contents I don't anticipate any..
 
I really don't have a daily schedule I can point at and say there you go yet.. It's still more of a feel for thing along with WTH does the humidity gauge say this morning ??  7 10 and 14 days in the can have all been done now.. I tend to still go slower and longer..
 
 The actual feel of the bud when slightly compressed tells me about where it is as far as drying.. more or less time out of the can.. I want it a bit more limp then stiff if that makes any sense.. back and forth right at that point the 1st few days.. Watch your humidity gauge and feel what is going on.. Mornings are your best read after being closed all night.. takes a can several hours to stabilize and get a true reading..
 
1 to 2 humidity points drop per day near as I can figure is my general target.. Current just tossed in the can reading are usually right around 80% I'll run them in and out of the can 3 or 4 times a day that early.. flipping the bags contents enough that things dry evenly.. Again it really depends on external humidity levels..
 
Cutting back the open time but continuing to stir the bags as things get dryer.. as the mid 60s are reached they spend almost no open time and just get bags contents flipped over once a day..
I may even add a wet cola or a damp rag to help hold things in the 65% range a few extra days..
 
Keep in mind the ground rules change almost every day as your outside humidity changes.. temps rise and humidity drops.. On cool overcast high humidity days the bags stay out for hours at a time.. On hot dry days when temps soar  and humidity plunges in the garage a few minutes may be enough
 
Any suitable container will work from a Tupperware or mason jar for real small loads to a Rubbermaid tote or like my trash cans.. Air tight isn't required just mostly air snug..
 
Little tricks I learn along the way.. some strains feel far dryer at the same humidity level and I'll tend to run them lower in the stack.. 1st out 1st in rules on the stack keeps an even rotation of bags as I empty the can and restack twice a day as a rule.. run your densest buds near the top of the stack as things get dry..
 
Keep asking as needed .. this is an ongoing work in progress and your questions make me organize my thoughts on the dry and cure so it's a good thing.. I don't mind at all.. New name Tj ?? that is you isn't it ??
 
Ordered a second full brick of the 60 gram Boveda 62% humidity packs
http://www.bovedainc.com/store/  I've found the bricks online for 10 bucks less and free shipping..
 
Mr. S had yet another procedure done to look in his lungs.. can't recall the name of this one just now.. another good report and the cultures are looking promising so the antibiotics are dialed in as I think I understand it.. he remains sedated..
 
Looking out my front door as it were.. 10 seconds after I took this he nabbed a small crab for breakfast
 
Damn I've become quite the Dry Ice Kief bitch.. the trim batch I made a few days ago turned out to be unfit for my consumption.. nasty stuff.. Yesterdays 160 micron Train Wreck and G13 Diesel Quality Bud based Kief is much more like it.. Damn WTH do I do with the Trash Can full of trim/popcorn/low grade garbage ?? it's frigging useless to me..
Dump it out on the lawn on gardener day seems the best solution.. Let him mow it up with the grass..
 
Started the day with some G13 Diesel Kief.. not to bad.. that was at 5am.. just sampled the Train Wreck @ 8am.. Yes Sir.. that's the ticket.. That's the stuff I've been looking for.. wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Enjoying some Train Wreck Kief
The Current Clone Zone
This little bastard was tented in a leaf on one of the just planted Northern Lights Time to start BT treatments
RHSC
Train Wreck looking full despite giving up 10 cuttings
Super Silver Haze #1
Purple Haze
SSH #2
Northern Lights #1
NL #2

 

Red Headed Step Child x3
Purple Haze x2
Northern Lights x3
Super Silver Haze x4
Train Wreck x10
This Train Wreck cutting I pealed back the wool on to see if she actually rooted.. small nubs is all I see
White Widow #1 in her last moments.
I put this the best of the TWs in used FFOF and under the lights of box 2.. with 10 cuttings I figure I can risk one
RHSC the parent..
WW down and up as it were
 
With White Widow now down the girls left to harvest is down to 3 now.. Tahoe OG Kush, Sour Diesel and the re-bloomed stump of Purple Haze

 

94 degs and 44% humidity .. I lowered the tray  8 inches but it really didn't help all that much.. never did get under 90 all day even with the door open..
The Bosses agent inspects my work..
The 2 Northern Lights clones
Tahoe OG Kush she's looking a little neglected so I cleaned her up after this shot
Sour Diesel still looks really good. very few lost or turned fan leaves
More of the stick and single leaf cuttings are eating the single nub of a leaf left as they push out new growth
Can 1 this morning.. getting a bit to dry to fast again so I put t trays of the just harvested White Widow in on top
Can 2 although wetter still also got 2 bags of WW to moisten thing up again..
Not liking the way the bottom pair of bags deforms in the cans I fired up the hot glue gun and made a couple of floors..

 

)(*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*() fracking Santa Ana WIND event.. smoking HOT and DRY.. never dropped under 70 degs all night..
 
I'm afraid of what I'll find this morning at the grow.. Thankfully everybody of any size is harvested but for the Tahoe OG Kush.. And I'll do a takedown on her if she's thrashed when I get there..
 
I just hope the new kids didn't get the crap beat out of them over night.. RHSC will have been the most exposed.. if she's not beat to death I'll try and move her into the garage.. the 6 kids in the ground will have to continue to suffer..
 
AKKK White Widow #1 is hanging in the garage.. If humidity is really down to 10% or so she'll have to come off the line this morning and get placed in the can if she's not gone crispy already.. SON OF A.. I have to get gone..

 

Things are not as bad as I feared with the house protecting most of the back yard from the brutal stone dry wind..
 
Train Wreck
Super Silver Haze #1
Purple Haze leftover
Northern Lights #2
NL #1
SSH #2 and PH
White Widow as I feared was very dry on the small popcorns so after stripping it all from the branches I put the entire mass into the mold maker.. my nearly airtight Styrofoam shipper.. It should bring the whole wad to the same humidity level fairly fast..
Picked up the pair of them at Lowes for 8 clams each.. New patio SIPs, I have the rest of what I need to construct them
 
Walk for the cure (breast cancer) has been passing the rusty van all morning..
 
Mr. S the hospital grudgingly admits is improving slightly day by day.. lowered levels of diuretics used to keep his lungs from filling and they are dropping his assisted oxy levels.. but still remains sedated.. on.. can you guess the drug ?? propofol

 

RHSC close up are my suspicions confirmed ??  
RHSC again
White Widow after 12 hours in the mold box wet as a limp rag so I tossed her out into 6 paper bags and that spent the morning out and in just 3 hours was feeling stiff again so into can # 3 as it's very fresh and the other cans are well along their way
I used a window screen and from the amended super soil pile filtered some material that looked like mostly EWC and mixed that with an equal amount of small size perlite..
Finding side roots on one of the Northern Lights cuttings I started the transplanting of cubes to 3 inch cups the other 6 cuttings being Train Wreck cuttings showing roots on some surface.. mostly bottom roots 1/4 inch long.. Bringing the total to 8 out of the cloner so far..
Out under the tree for the day
Northern Lights #1
NL #2
Added a damp rag to can #2 so both will gain some humidity in the period of ultra dry humidity..
Tahoe O.G. Kush is really looking toasted  with colas bending under the extreme weight and she's soon for harvest
Sour Diesel is still looking really good..

 

I really have been to busy to take an accurate count of what things are actually weighing in at .. I've done a couple of test weighs and just weighed Mr. J's Tahoe OG Kush @ 160 grams and it filled my usual 3 in tall shopping bag during dry/cure but was tighter smaller buds then a lot of mine is and is a tad more weight per mass.. most of my bags run 100/125 grams..
 
I'm scared I'm losing a strain.. My Purple Haze clones 1 died early.. the 2nd has mold on the stem and is turning toes up and the 3rd looks toasted from the dryness.. I put the humidity dome back on for the night.. I'm afraid the plant I took the 3 cuttings from is well advanced into flower.. I'll probably try again tomorrow with a few more cuttings.. Take the lowest most branch..
 
On the plus side unless I'm very wrong about what I'm looking at RHSC is really RHSS

 

Can 3 full of White Widow #1
Can 2 has WW #2 and a couple other strains
Can 1 has 4 strains I think currently and all got a damp rag assist during this several days of ultra low humidity
Yesterdays tray with a few additions
Todays tray for a total of 20 what appear to be viable clones.. I'll still watch the solo Purple Haze clone but it's doing ok so far..
RHSS
Purple Haze
PH again.. she is the furthest along
Both Northern Lights sport nice adult central stalk fans
NL #2
NL #1
PH
 
SSH #1.. remember this plant? it was the one I attempted to just bruise the top of and did a FIM and snapped her.. she never did catch up.. from leader to a distant dead last.. I should have held her back for summer school and delayed her transplant to the 5 inch pots.. she wasn't root bound then and wasn't when I pulled her from the 5 inch and it all shows now in her much smaller stature then all her sisters.. Including both the other accidently butchered tops I cooked.. They stayed equal root masses to the rest of the group.. It's just to hard to slow down just one plant yet..
 
Spent all morning cleaning WW #1 from the hasty take down off the line I did to beat the plunge in humidity.. All the 12 inch stalks I left made airing a bit messy.. all cleaned up now
I'd already cut the rounds and I glued up a 3rd floor for can 3
All 20 of the now planted clones spent the day in the shade out of the boxes
 
C17.. Always cool.. If a bit louder then the regular commercial stuff.. 4 engines are fairly rare..

 

ebay seller.. I buy a Brick of 20 at a time.. this is the best deal I've found so far.. free shipping but it's only a few miles.. arrives within 2 days
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brick-of-Boveda-62-Humidor-2-Way-Humidifier-Humidipak-20-Packets-NEW-GIFT-/330883222626?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160
 
let me know if you find a better price...
 
I place a 60 gram pack of the 62% in the 1/2 gallon jar before filling.. My product is at or just a point or 2 above 62% when I jar it and nearing 2 weeks off the plant and so far I've found little need to burp in the conventional sense.. some I've opened after a week.. some 2.. some longer.. I'm still to new at using them to offer in depth long term advice.. but I can tell you they insure your stash like nothing I've seen ..
 
Cigar collectors use them to store very expensive smoking items.. why shouldn't we ??
 
While cigars are best stored at 69% wasn't it nice of Boveda to make a 62% pack that just happens to be the exact humidity cannabis likes to be stored at..
 
On the subject of drying, curing and storage.. Mr. R who grew 6 of the 8 twin copies of all the Kush strains had 3 of his plants drying during this Santa Ana wind event.. we'll see just how bad the damage is but he fears they got crispy dry..
I advised a plastic drop cloth and a humidifier to try and hydrate them before attempting to move them as I fear they'll powder.. He still has 3 to harvest but this would be a serious blow.. smokable but not up to par..
 
I hustled my own White Widow off the line and into cover as well as adding wet rags to both slow dry cans to combat our 14% humidity for 3 days.. The few buds I had out to roll with turned to crumbly dust in the 1st 12 hours..
 
This is exactly why I dry like I do.. When humidity plunges it can take just hours to wipe out months of hard work..

 

Tray 1
Tray 2
Tahoe OG Kush.. tomorrow if Mr. J comes I'll take her down
Sour Diesel still looking ok
Purple Haze
RHSS
SSH from the 1st of Oct
RHSC also the 1st
What's left in the cloning tray.. I think just the 2 will survive.. the rest are wait and see..
RHSS
The finished support plates for the 20 gallon SIPs
Most of the cut and notched support bottles
Assembled with the 5 slit side wicking cups and the air screen in place along with the notched bottom fill pipe
Overflow hole drilled just below the support plate also vents the water chamber.. This one is finished..
Our little family of assorted size SIPs
I wasn't sure yesterday but today there is no mistaking some new growth on SSH-1-oct.. No growth yet from the other bright green clone from the 1st and that's  RHSS

 

Toss it all in a 33 gal lawn sized trash bag or 2 with a wet paper towel if you have to.. try and keep it hydrated..
I've had to watch close and add a wet towel as needed.. I've just kept all 3 Trash cans in the high 60s low 70s during this spell of super low humidity.. Just to hard to try and regulate a good dry right now.. when they have dipped down to 65 over night I'll toss a damp paper towel in and bring them back up to 68 by the next morning..
 
Even the White Widow I just took is getting a little towel assist tonight and she was still real wet just 24 hours ago.. I left her out about an hour as she was still wetter then I like.. to long I think I should have tried 30 min.. No joke that's how fast things are drying.. I simply can't take my eyes off of it while it's out of the can..
 
Once it's down in the mid 60s and stable I can jar it or just keep cycling the can contents and watching the meter.. I haven't tried placing a few packs in a can and weighing down the lid overnight yet.. I should..
 
Hay Smell .. ahh yes.. dammed if I'm real sure just whowhatwhenorhow causes it or exactly what your smelling.. I've chased threads until I'm blind looking for cause and effect.. Ethylene gas ?.. Chlorophyll ? outgassing bla and more bla.. the results are still out.. But my longer dry seems to negate it .. I sure don't smell anything like mowed grass clipping when I open the cans in the mornings.. It's just smells like wonderful strains of weed..
 Repeated Google searches mostly come back with to fast a dry as your answer.. Some threads say it's a normal part of curing and will fade after a few weeks of regular jar burping..
 
This whole slow dry thing got started when my now very ill friend commented that my not long jarred weed smelled like mowed lawn clippings to him.. Off I went on the Quest for the Holy Grail of Curing.. And the rest of the story is on this thread..
 
To update Mr. S's condition.. Still in ICU, Still sedated, Still forced ventilation, Now He has a rash we suspect is a reaction to one of the antibiotic cocktails they are using.. Blood work looks good, lungs improving.. They still can't wean him off the breathing assist.. Respiration count shoots up when they try..