A perfect cure every time

[THC123]

Then you should go for the vacuum cure or the freezer method.

You can PM me for details because this thread is about Simon's method and I don't want to Hijack the thread. Come to think of it, I also have a thread dedicated to the freezer method in this section somehere, you can also post your questions there because I don't think you can PM under 50 posts.

I encourage you to divide your harvest in different batches and then try different methods so you have a reference, a side by side to help in your decision. Like I said I alays use multiple methods just to have variation. I am also jar curing now so it is not like I have something against jars, I just don't think it is the best method for me and my favorite strains combined with my preferred consumption method. Cannabis needs to be at different points for smoking pure, smoking with tobacco or vaping. The method of consumption thus influences the perfect moisture level for your cannabis combined with the strain you are using.

If I was smoking pure I would use the jar an vacuum method and then after some time I would freeze my cannabis to keep it at a perfect point. But I am a vaper mostly so I mostly freeze it at a certain wow point during hang drying without a real cure maybe just a quick sweat. Mind you I always have big outdoor and greenhouse harvests so I have to keep my weed tasty LONG TERM that is why I use the freezer. Because I vape I always do a short cure to retain the fresh terpenes. Aged cannabis sucks for vaping taste and effect wise.

If you still want to test jar curing I would just leave the sugar leaves on during the cure and just remove them before smoking. This way you have a larger margin for error as the terpenes will be better retained and also the stickyness.

 

[SuperBadGrower]

one thing than can change this is transferring to smaller jars
less air can help quite a bit

That's funny, I did just that the other day. I wanted to get less air and try to get the buds danking up that way. A lot of the guides recommend to leave enough air in the jars but I've come to think it is nonsense. I haven't had mold issues and I regularly use this as a general indicator for jars, my house, whatever: http://www.dpcalc.org/

There was enough air in my jars for the buds to roll around and be moved about.

Maybe packing it tighter when you are free from mold risk is better.

70 degrees is higher than optimum, would explain why it seems ready in 7 days.
55-60 for temp and humidity works best for drying and storage.

Thanks, I will try to achieve a better temperature too. I have read that terpenes are lost into the air at 70.

(About autoflowers and ruderalis)

Man, I completely, totally agree with you. And I think this is valuable information for many people. This bud I am discussing here is actually a photoperiod with genetics that I would judge as quite good. After the autoflower, my first grow, I vowed I will never grow that again (to each their own. I'm sure there are better auto genetics). These Critical beat the autos in every aspect except after they started losing their smell. The autos smelled like nothing and could be grown without carbon filter, but developed an amazing sweet scent in the jar.

Sorry for double posting. I can't edit my posts (yet?) or mark your guys' posts as helpful (yet?) which they all have really been.

 

[Ibechillin]

Fresh cut grass smell is different than hay smell, one is green and one is decomposing. Fresh cut grass smell is from freshly cut material and will go away shortly, Hay smell after drying is caused by improper drying and is a result of anaerobic fermentation.

Drying/curing is an aerobic process, The plant itself consumes chlorophyll through metabolic activity after it's been cut. Keeping stomatas open and facilitating gas exchange the plant is broken down through respiration and hydrolysis. You want to keep oxygen present so that aerobic bacteria can keep anaerobic bacteria levels in check until the buds are below a homogeneous 15% moisture content, at which point most strains of bacteria will not grow.

when this isnt allowed to occur it starts to ferment. Nitrogen, sugars, cellulose, starch etc breaking down anaerobically with the high moisture content causing fermentation. This releases ammonia (essentially formed from the nitrates not breaking down properly) and acids giving the foul odor. The most likely culprit of the hay smell is Staphylococcus Lugdenensis, which are facilitive anaerobes, meaning they can survive through aerobic respiration or switch to fermentation in anaerobic environments. In aerobic mode, their only byproducts are CO2 and water, but once they consume all the O2 in their immediate environment, they switch to fermentation mode and start producing exotoxins. You want to keep them well fed with O2 (air circulation) so they stay in aerobic respiration mode.

Trimming wet after harvest/before hanging reduces the surface area and moisture level in/on plants and branches reducing the possibility for mold to colonize when hanging/drying (and its easier/faster, no crispy shrunken bud leafs).

I trim a couple dozen lbs every 2 weeks and never had a mowed lawn in the room.

heres what i do:

Trim wet, rh ~60%, decent airflow ~500cfm, no light, temps 65-73°f, Hopefully this takes roughly 10-14 days before outside of buds becomes dry. Do not let any part of the bud become dry. if this happens to soon; up rh, lower temp, and/or decrease air flow. When drying is complete, Jar for minumum of 16hrs to get moisture back to the tips. You can now add boveda packs and or "burp" for 30 minutes and give airflow to the bud. Airflow is very important to the cure but so is maintaining 55-60%rh

After 2 weeks drying and 1 week "cure" i start to sell or taste test

i burp every other day for 2 weeks then weekly for 2months... then its good to go head stash

Source:

https://www.rollitup.org/t/grassy-smell-during-drying-stage.913094/

 

[THC123]

Thx for this! It is all in the smalles details, I will try this with my next harvest!

The drying process is just as crucial as the curing! I also prefer drying around 60% RH cuz the buds stay sticky that way and won't dry out, if the outsides dry out I find the taste and quality goes down. But I am dependant on my climate and the RH often fluctuates as much as 10-15 sometimes 20% during the drying process. This has a big impact on the end product


The only thing I am worried about when putting a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the same room, is that the air won't mix well and that the dehumidifier will fuck things up as I have had bad experiences with dehumidifiers.

I will try it nonetheless and post my results!

The tricky thing is keeping the drying conditions stable when you are just a home grower. And using both machines is not the same as a climate controlled room which I really would like to have drool

 

[Jellyfish]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]That's been on my mind the most. I think, after day 7, I deemed it ready for jarring, but the RH shot up to 70% quite quickly. [/FONT]

There's your problem right there.

Leave them hanging for a couple more days up to another week. **EDIT- If you have already knocked the weed down to fit in jars, just lay it out on newspaper for about the same amount of time. Be sure to look at them and turn them every day.


Either way, they will seem too dry to recover, but when you eventually re-jar them, they will recover most of their moisture.

I went through the same thing a couple years ago. It's hard to NOT jar the weed when it feels dry. But you have to push through with faith. Give them another few days.

I have NEVER ruined a batch by leaving it hanging for too long. But I HAVE ruined weed by taking it down and jarring it too soon.

Good luck!


EDIT: I edited this slightly from my original post, because I got a lot of positive feedback on it. I also want to say to anybody that reads this- Don't trim it in any way when you harvest your plant. Just cut it down at the base, and hang it upside down whole.

Doing this has improved my curing more than anything else.

 

[Ibechillin]

Terpenes ars volatile organic compounds and solvents (some plastics not good to store in), that quickly evaporate naturally. Any time you smell weed, you are smelling terpenes that were oxidised/evaporated/lost. Trichomes are where the terpenes are concentrated, damaged trichome heads cause rapid oxidation/loss of both terpenoids and cannabinoids. Humidity below 59% causes trichome heads to become brittle and destroyed easily. Boveda did a test where they took 2 glass jars of weed and only placed a 62% humidity pack in one of them to compare terpene loss after 6 weeks of sealed storage, jars were shaken lightly once a week but never opened. The jar without the Boveda pack had lost 15% more terpenes end result. The humidity packs help keep the trichome heads from becoming brittle for better preservation.

Terpenes evaporate into the air space left in the storage container after sealing also, which is why you get that dank whiff when you first open it. For long term storage it might better to fill jars fuller leaving less air space after properly dried.

Optimal storage conditions are Dark, ~50F degrees, humidity between 59% - 63% to preserve optimal color, aroma, flavor, potency, texture.

I have NEVER ruined a batch by leaving it hanging for too long. But I HAVE ruined weed by taking it down and jarring it too soon.

^Great addition!

 

[SuperBadGrower]

Thanks so much everyone. I feel like I am equipped with much more knowledge now. I will definitely try jarring again and take into account these suggestions. I'll be especially sure not to jar it too moist. THC123, I will drop by in your thread, undoubtedly I have already come across it before during my evenings spent reading here .

Ibechillin, those blurbs of information were very enlightening. Jellyfish & burmese, what you wrote resonates with me. I was quick to let the buds dry out in the air again after noticing they were at 70% RH, but probably could have kept them out longer without re-jarring. I now guess that jarring buds (depriving them of fresh oxygen) too long from 70% → 65% might cause this kind of anaerobic fermentation that may degrade the bud. In my case it would have been preferable to go from 70 to ~55-62 in one session in a favorable environment, essentially prolonging the "drying" phase, rather than doing it in steps and jarring up, 70→68→67→etc. I never had any strong hay smell but the dank smell definitely changed and diminished.

What Igrowone & THC123 wrote about difference between curing methods for strains is very interesting and might well be a factor too. Trying different methods is something I look forward to.

I'll be back with some updates later... now it's time to start getting ready for the next drying/curing adventure

 

[White Beard]

Ohhh, my bleeding sinuses....

Ohhh, my bleeding sinuses....

I'll agree with that. Here in Denver, the humidity is often very low indoors in the winter. So when burping the drying room, it'd be easy to over dry, lose the cure, unless there was a very large quantity of MJ in the room.

For me the first time through, once the buds got near dry, containers ~ half full gave me very good control as I eased the humidity down into the desired range...

Denver? DRY???

 

[PaulieWaulie]

Indoors in the winter. But I think that is the case most places indoor in the winter, as that cold air is brought inside and heated its RH drops. For me its around 40%

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Hey Douglas, do you still get good smells at 55-60% RH?

You can often 'taste' the terpenes when you break open a flower. I'd say yes.

 

[Aspenou812]

Just remember at 55% it’s all over... no curing will happen if you dip below 55% RH that will stop the curing process.. I like to keep buds at 62% and smoke them at 55% rh

 

[Aspenou812]

I would also strongly suggest that y’all get solid meters... learn how to keep them calabrated and keep them up. The use of chemical R/H stabalisers shouldn’t be used because you don’t need to use meters anymore... Knowledge is Power... your buds and friends will Appreciate your efforts.... not saying you can’t use them. But experance with both now and I can say the use of real good meters is my preferred way to cure and store.. it just gets better and better when you know how to finish your buds off...

 

[Jellyfish]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] it just gets better and better when you know how to finish your buds off... [/FONT]

So true. Curing is trickier than growing in my opinion. This thread is how I learned to jar cure. I'm going to be checking out some of the other curing methods suggested by THC123 as well.

 

[Aspenou812]

So true. Curing is trickier than growing in my opinion. This thread is how I learned to jar cure. I'm going to be checking out some of the other curing methods suggested by THC123 as well.

I apply this same method with 5 gallon buckets with Gama Seal Lids, two pounds at time... Jars just don’t hold enough to be effective for me... the buckets are food grade... it’s not just for jarring small amounts... and works the same... that’s why I’m so insistently saying to use the meters all the time... the packs just won’t cut it with two pounds or more...

 

[White Beard]

Aspenou812, I wanna be like *you* when I grow up: so much weed I need BUCKETS!

 

[micek]

Hello everyone[...]

Hei superbad,



this happened to me sometimes in the past.
I'm pretty sure it has to do with the ambient RH being HIGHER than the one in the jar. This way, opening the jar makes things worse instead of letting the buds sweat.


Anyways, i'm into freezer curing and storing lately. As an hobby grower, my priority is minimizing the risks!



My 2c.

 

[Dirt Bag]

Didn't read all 263 pages, but enough to see a pattern of negativity toward Boveda I feel is misplaced. This product is to curing cannabis what timers are to indoor growing. It should have been invented by Ron Popeil for it truly is the "Set it and Forget it" of curing. If you're not using them it's either because you're cheap, uneducated, or have stake in the competition... Which by this thread is apparently tedious, manual labor.
The beauty of science is that it works whether you believe in it or not. - NdT

 

[Ibechillin]

The beauty of science is that it works whether you believe in it or not. - NdT

Sadly Pseudoscience works the same way, and dunning kruger aint helping much either...

 

[redlaser]

I apply this same method with 5 gallon buckets with Gama Seal Lids, two pounds at time... Jars just don’t hold enough to be effective for me... the buckets are food grade... it’s not just for jarring small amounts... and works the same... that’s why I’m so insistently saying to use the meters all the time... the packs just won’t cut it with two pounds or more...

In drier environments I’ve found the Gamna lid seals need to be caulked to the bucket in order to slow down moisture loss. And even when caulked are not as “sealed “ as other methods.

This is in an environment where humidity is 20% on average and the buckets were kept about fifty degrees

 

[White Beard]

Didn't read all 263 pages, but enough to see a pattern of negativity toward Boveda I feel is misplaced. This product is to curing cannabis what timers are to indoor growing. It should have been invented by Ron Popeil for it truly is the "Set it and Forget it" of curing. If you're not using them it's either because you're cheap, uneducated, or have stake in the competition... Which by this thread is apparently tedious, manual labor.
The beauty of science is that it works whether you believe in it or not. - NdT

For some odd reason, this reminds me of an article I read in Reason years back, which made the argument that Windows being the most installed OS was therefore proved to be the best IN FACT....

If you want to dry until 65% then drop a boveda pack in the jar and call that cured, I’m sure many will agree with you.

As I have not tried it, I couldn’t possibly comment.