Ok so we all have our own idea on drying...and that it needs to take between 5 and 12 or so days for this process. Then we have our little process for getting the bud stabilized and into jars. Now the next main step in not ruining your precious flowers is the cure. There are many questions people have about this process, mainly because there is a lot of "theory" out there and everyone has "their own way" kind of thing. Now my idea on curing is to let the bud sit in a mason jar at about ~68 degree, dark room for 30 days un-opened. Does it matter if the jar is opened?? Is it really an anaerobic bacteria that is processing the sugars to smooth and sweeten the smoke?? Does the potency actually go up with the cure??(I know the cough does for sure, but there are not extra trichomes...) Should we be curing out trim before storing it??(I just dry mine out so it wont mold and jar it up) Good clean discussion here blades!! Let's go!! P.S. Feel free to add more questions!! And if you haven't already...you should read the no-till thread, pinned at the top of this forum.
Good idea for a thread, I don't grow but I will admit I have tossed bud thats been in storage for too long. Guess its due to gasses building up? Idk really, definitely will being watching this thread, to expand my knowledge.
Thanks for stopping in dank!! Hopefully there will be some experienced blades stop by and weigh in on the topic.
Definitely still dialing my cure in. I use boveda 62s, but not until I've really had time to let the buds burp most of their moisture out. I believe the importance of keeping the jar closed is to avoid a dry crumbly possibly harsh burning herb. I am not sure what the process is for breaking down the sugars in the plant, and my experience is that potency doesn't change a whole lot to me between the first week in the jar and 30 days later, if anything it's smoke is smoother and the flavor and aroma is better defined. I have dark colored jars that I use, and keep my jars in a room that varies temps between 60-80 but not often 80 unless it's a super hot summer day. I like the questions, I would like to see a scientific breakdown of the cure process in a closed jar though. Maybe some research later if I don't get distracted Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
i trim dry and jar and check the RH, if its in the zone i throw in a boveda62 or two depending on the jar size and thats it. i have jars that i havnt even burped and they are doing great. being lazy i like to keep things simple
It seems the boveda packs are very popular. Thanks for a quick run down from you both! Your methods seem to coincide with what I do, or at least try to do. I do not use any humidity packs(yet) and have been lucky enough not to forget and leave my bud out too long between burps. I actually did not burp this round but once. So do you all feel like when you crack another jar(I only open one at the time) open that the curing stops? Or does the curing continue as long as the humidity does not get below 55?
I'm very interested in this as I'll be harvesting for my first time soon and would love to get the best dry and cure possible! Any tips on specific drying and curing processes that you blades would recommend? Pm your methods if it's not much trouble what size boveda packs should I get for what size jar?
i have a question since ive never been down this road. Refering to the "no burping for a whole month". Did u mean right after the one week dry then straight to the jat for a whole month? Wouldnt that cause mold? As far as ive read the bud is still wet after one week from harvest. Correct me if im wrong. Thanks edit sorry just read it says "unopened". check that link though
heres a gem Worth reading and worth asking more questions. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1082009...
This dry winter is kicking my drying ass... Things get too dry too quick and I have to slow it down... I don't know the science but someone's gonna drop it in here soon I'm sure... I've never used bovedas but everyone loves em..... The cure makes smoother more flavorful smoke for sure... Some have said their thc % rose 7% after a 2 month cure per lab test... I don't know all the variables surrounding those particular samples....
ok ill break it up, this is what works for me its just the method i use but certainly not the only one. after harvest i remove only the big fan leaves and hang the whole plant as is. you want to have about 60% RH in the area you are drying, less is ok just means it will dry faster. if its much more (above 65%) id think about a dehumidifier. oh and make sure you have some airflow, you dont want to blast the plants just make sure the air isnt standing. a fan blowing on a wall nearby seems to work for me. when the bud is crispy to the touch that usually means its ready for trimming. i trim over a 90 micron sifter tray i got at a cooking supply store, this way i get any lose trichomes that fall during the trim. then i place the buds in a jar with one of these caliber iv hygrometers (they come in 2 shapes): if the RH is between 55%-65% ill throw in a boveda pack, close the jar and as far as im concerned im done. if its above i will put it in a paper bag for a day untill it reaches the right RH. i dont bother burping when using boveda as i have found it is not needed. i put about 2 or 3 8gram packs in a 1/2 gallon jar. leave it alone in a dark cool place and thats it.
I wet trim, trimming fan leaves to the floor and everything else over my 220 that sits on top of 160/90/45... Then I hang whole branches in a well. Ventilated spot until stems snap or crispy buds to touch, then trimmed off the branches into smaller nugs and into a plastic bin where it all evens out moisture wise before jarring up, a burp or two and then leave it alone... I would like a hygrometer but I don't have one... We also dry our trim and jar it before making dry hash, we don't worry about the cure until after its hashed... Then we keep that cool cold and it improves over the next week... Werd
@thatguy1234 I use a Caliber IV RH meter and make sure it is not over 65% and stabilized for at least 24 hours. If it is above 65%, I usually give the bud a few hours outside of the jar. Thanks for the link! @ iggytree If you need to raise the humidity in the room, use a cooking pan or something that will hold water with a large surface area. Put it in front of a fan and voila, you have a ghetto humidifier. I used this trick not too long ago because of the dry weather. Good note on drying your trim and jarring it too. That is what I do as well. @Sc00byD00bie Great tip on the trimming screen from a cooking supply store! I never thought of that!
If you live in the 'States, comparison price/shop here before repurposing specialized kitchen equipment for a trimming tray. It might be a lot cheaper, and you most definitely will have a wider range of choice when it comes to the mesh size of your sifting/trimming tray... http://www.poconoscreen.com/prod-18-1-143-11/20-x-... If your not too rough with your material during/after trim, the 110 mesh should separate the grand majority of green material and most of your capitate stalks. Down the road when/if you start producing a lot of trim material and fluff, you can invest in a few more screens to go full tilt with dry sifting... https://forum.grasscity.com/harvesting-processing-... <span style="color: rgb(192, 80, 77);">@ Scoob'</span>- Do you know the mesh'/screen size of your trim tray? Is it a flour sifter?
its 90 microns, dont know what its actually meant for i just saw it while shopping for curing jars and grabbed it.
For those needing a conversion factor: http://www.showmegold.org/news/Mesh.htm 88 micron = 170 mesh PW
yeah i got some nice clean blond kief when trimming. too bad i was an idiot and thought it would be a good idea to roll it together with the finger hashi had on my umm, fingers... what a mess, lol!
I trim on a stack of poconos screens...220/160/90/45... We just figured out the other day what we we've been f'ing up the whole time making dry hash... We were thinking we should push good stuff through the screens... Instead of letting the bad shit fall through and keeping the clean on top of the screen............. Now it's clean at 120-70 depending...