Drying outdoors

[Gizmo]

You don't need a family tent to dry in, just a tarp slung over a rope or pole with the sides open.
If your buds didn't mold on the plant, then they wont mold while drying.
And don't forget the more they dry the less chance of mold, so there's less chance of mold on day 4 than on day one.

You need airflow to stop mold, and a way of preventing rain or dew from wetting the buds.
That's the main thing, and a tarp will prevent rain or dew from wetting the buds while at the same time the breeze can blow under it.

A family tent with a heater in it will get more humid than outside.

As for stashing your weed, a plastic container stashed under a bush and covered with leaves or branches is better than burying it from a mold point of view.
Buried weed tends to smell dank like a musty damp cellar in my experience.

you 're right the tarp will be enough an better than the family tent but im tempted to but a tarp on the soil too.
Hiding the weed under a bush is a bit risky IMO, i was hopping that if the herb is well dried and double vacuum sealed, put in several waterproof barrels and burried, it will make no problem of dank odor and especially not like a musty damp cellar, adter 6 months of hard works it will made me crazy

 

[Gizmo]

One thing I have found when you put a tarp over anything make sure the tarp is more horizontal than the traditional tent formation. When the sides of the tarp are pulled way down it holds in the humidity.

very good advice

 

[gorilla ganja]

There is a difference between drying/curing for flavor and security and speed.
Whole plants or large branches hung will obviously take longer to dry than trimmed buds spread out on a net or screen for airflow.
The more unwanted plant material removed before drying the faster the results.
Also 1 day in the hot sun can equal several days of covered, shaded drying.

Peace GG

 

[Purple Jungle]

I am in the same boat, I've been on the fence about drying outdoors for a while, but I am convinced. Been looking it up for the past few days, NEVER did I read something along the lines of 'mold fucked up my entire crop', I read more of 'never had issues'.

So my current plan is - wet trim on site, fill short fruit crates that could be stacked on top of each other https://img0.etsystatic.com/042/0/7279656/il_214x170.616145714_2jbh.jpg, have huge black nylon sheets hanging on wires on top to cover the gold from rain, make long tunnels out of crate-nylon structures and, for airflow, feed sun (or gas if necessary) warmed air flowing into one end of the tunnel and going out a chimney the other one.



Rereading that, it is such a high sentence, but I think it's comprehendable

 

[Purple Jungle]

Pf, I was definitely high as shit when I wrote the previous post, don't remember reading that AT ALL. I was pretty happy that I found such a great thread

So that part seems rather clear: I currently plant to trim most leaves while plant's in the ground, chop down to branches and hang (depending on weather and forecast could even sun dry to speed it up).

Now. Once bud is dry enough though.

How should I store large quantities? We're talking 150ish plants for trimming. Nylon bags that don't let air and funk out? Dumpster bags that allow some air in and out?
How funky would the bud be once rather dry? Still stinking up the neighborhood?
Once trimmed, what's the best way to cure it? Currently I am thinking these type of plastic boxes:

And how to store long term?

That's a discussion that would be amazing to have. These questions are seriously bothering me as I am quite quite invested in this. I will appreciate any input.

I am going for quality btw. Willing to sacrifice quality only if the weather is totally uncooperative.
And how true is it that the devil is really in the cure as opposed to method of drying?

 

[Purple Jungle]

There has been some good advice in here so far but I want to throw my two cents into the jar as well.

I've been growing here in Colorado in high desert environments for several years now and have learned a thing or two about drying and curing. With drying and curing you must first emphasize patience grasshopper! I leave the buds entirely untrimmed after chopping and hanging. I pull off the dead and dying big fan leaves though. I hang them like this as the leaves help slow the drying process down so you don't get that super dry, crispy exterior with the most core of the nugs. I let them hang for at least a week or so like this, again you want them to dry slowly. I admit that I use the snap test but only on the bigger sized stems as they will snap after the smaller ones. Once stems are starting to snap that's when I trim up everything and then throw the trimmed buds in paper grocery bags and I'll even write the strain and cut number on the bag to prevent mix ups. I think it's important here to keep the buds at only one bud thick in these grocery bags so nothing is being smooshed and is still drying evenly. I always keep the hanging plants and bags out of the way and not in direct sunlight as well while they are doing their thing. After at least two or three days in the bags they will be ready for mason jars. Time in bags is dependent on strain as they sativas will dry out a little more quickly than the thick, dense indica strains. You will get a better feel of how dry they are after they have been in the jars and you're burping the lids. Worst case I've placed the jars with the lids opened outside in a box in the sun before for a little while to heat them up and help dry them out too if they were just a tad wet while being in the jars. The hay smell will go away while curing in the jars and the nice sweet dank smell will come around as the chlorophyll breaks down.

This isn't the be all end all of drying/curing but I have found that this works best for me. The most important thing again is patience and you will only learn more and more with each harvest and subsequent cure.

[from another thread]

 

[Hasselhoff1337]

Looking good, I wonder if the slower drying will effect the taste/smoothness. I would love to try this next year as my drying site isn't the most convient.

I've done the desiccant lined container with small amounts, but it was done indoors, in a basement. Basically I took some silica gel (the little purple desiccant balls) and put the buds right on top of it in a closed gladware container. After 4-5 days the stems snapped and it smoked ok.

I only dried my tester buds this way but it turned out pretty good. It seemed like the smell was absorbed into the silica gel as these samples didn't have nearly the smell of the slow dried, but the taste was there for sure, with little to no harshness.

I'd imagine that doing a larger amount than probably 4 oz would be a huge PITA.cI’ve also done this with a few ounzes and had the same result. Doesnt smell a lot but it dried in a week and smokes great. At 2-4 days it smelled crazy still, so might be an idea to just semi dey them.

Also agree, it’s a pain for huge quantities I’m guessing. I could do maybe 2 ounces at a time in a 40l container.

Edit: not sure why half my post dissapeared but oh well. I have tried this drying box technique and it works. I dried about 1-2 ounces and it took a week to fully dry. Did lose some smell, a week wqs probably too long. Smokes gr8 though!

 

[pipeline]

Check out these, they make them special for cannabis. Keep in mind the ones for cannabis are designed to preserve the terpenes at a certain relative humidity. They have several options though. May need a lower RH packet to dry them in a box.

I dry like this oudoors under tarps on a rope.

 

[Hasselhoff1337]

Check out these, they make them special for cannabis. Keep in mind the ones for cannabis are designed to preserve the terpenes at a certain relative humidity. They have several options though. May need a lower RH packet to dry them in a box.

I dry like this oudoors under tarps on a rope.

Very cool! Where did you get em?

And yeah true I might’ve needed more salt in there. I used the salt ppl put on roads to melt ice. And the hole I used to get the water out was a bit poorly drilled as well hehe.

You live and learn and this year I’ll do better I’m sure!

 

[pipeline]

Boveda for Cannabis | Humidity Packs for Weed

Boveda's humidity packs for weed are the best way to store cannabis. Our 2-way humidity control ensures you'll never worry about stale cannabis again.

store.bovedainc.com

Sorry about that forgot to include the Bovida link. Here you go!

 

[St. Phatty]

I recommend doing just a sample outdoors before you commit your whole crop.

Condensing humidity is very interesting to watch, but you will not enjoy if it damages your plants.

 

[pipeline]

Good point, need to watch the weather and have at least a few good drying days before any rain shows up. Also cold and high humidity will slow down growing. This is how they dry tobacco only it has sides with slots. It works out well for a slow dry, and remoisening overnight.

I jarred a couple jars one evening, and it was overly dry. The humidity increased over night and remoistened the flower and preserved the terpenes much better when the rest of the plants were jarred. Take note of moisture, you want a little bit so they are still soft to the touch.

I try to lean toward dry so they don't have a chance to mold. Have to be careful drying them down that much because it allows the terpenes to be lost. So wait until morning when they are rehydrated to jar. Avoid jarring when dry and crunchy.

 

[St. Phatty]

I did a controlled burn today and didn't bring any dry wood like I usually do.

The burn site had enough dry wood, partially because it faces Southwest and is about a 45 degree grade - it directly faces the sun, so the wood tends to be drier, even mid-winter.

If you can build a fire at a site without bringing your own dry kindling, it's a sign that that micro-climate is drier.

I think I could do a decent job drying weed there, if I needed.

It sort of provides the same info as a humidity meter, which I figure needs to be protected from the rain.

Even if you have a tarp up, it's the moisture that comes in the air that is a killer, for bud - or not.

 

[pipeline]

Yeah certain areas stay wet longer, some dry out better. I dry at the garden for convenience, but it also has good south exposure and airflow. As long as you have some sunny weather, humidity is usually under control pretty well. Dew and rain are the big sources of excess moisture.