The most effective way not ways to dry buds
- Thread starter wesman420
- Start date
There is no one answer to your question. Dr Dank says use a dehumidifier, I say never use a dehumidifier. Who's right? We both are, because we're talking of our individual gardens, our individual locations and our individual preferences.
Thanks i just wanted to get some clarification on just drying of the buds because there is a lot of bs out there. Idk if it's just me. I mean check out all the greenhouse seeds grows on youtube if you ever watch the end they cut all the buds off the stem right inside the flowering room. So does this makes there crop garbage because of the absence of a stem?
we got: hang dry, with stem
paper bag dry, or
box dry without
we got: hang dry, with stem
paper bag dry, or
box dry without
To sum it up in my experience the slower the dry the better the taste.
The use of fans depends heavily on the ambient relative humidity? in my area a dark room will suffice but then larger scale ops would require a dedicated drying room/tent and extraction.
With more details you would get more help, its a very "open" question.
Easy,
MrB
Edit: More stem = slower dry. There is alot of moisture in a freshly cut stem! Some trim wet, i trim dry cause im lazy and in no rush.
The use of fans depends heavily on the ambient relative humidity? in my area a dark room will suffice but then larger scale ops would require a dedicated drying room/tent and extraction.
With more details you would get more help, its a very "open" question.
Easy,
MrB
Edit: More stem = slower dry. There is alot of moisture in a freshly cut stem! Some trim wet, i trim dry cause im lazy and in no rush.
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You Da' Man! Most I ever had to trim was maybe 3Ks. Now days, less than 1/2 lb. This is a perfect example of how differing scenarios require differing methods.
While I usually water cure, I leave buds on stems either way as I find it more convenient to handle the harvest. Further, in an air cure, hung upside down, the moisture in the stems will prolong the dry, resulting in cooler smoke.
Dry trichomes are much more brittle than wet ones, so dry trimmed plants won't have as much THC as wet trimmed if all else is equal.
I agree, slower is better. I dry like Dr Dank too, dehueys and fans, but I'm usually doing pounds at a time. Still takes 4-7 days before it goes into tubs for curing.
Depends on the size of the crop and the ambient temps and RH.
Back when I did small crops I would use a giant food dehydrator from Cabelas to quick dry 4-5oz in 2-3 days. I'd still cure the same and the product always turned out great, but only after the cure.
I agree, slower is better. I dry like Dr Dank too, dehueys and fans, but I'm usually doing pounds at a time. Still takes 4-7 days before it goes into tubs for curing.
Depends on the size of the crop and the ambient temps and RH.
Back when I did small crops I would use a giant food dehydrator from Cabelas to quick dry 4-5oz in 2-3 days. I'd still cure the same and the product always turned out great, but only after the cure.
D
dunkybones
I dry my buds off the stem, on screens stacked in a rubbermaid tub that is vented with a fan and shoved under the table in the grow room. It typically takes 5-7 days, it's space-saving, and odor controlled. And it smokes FINE.
Air Dry Cure~:
I stack my buds inside a cardboard box (or stacked on newspaper) and layer on top of each "level", put a fan on it,
21-24 C, in the dark. (5-7 days) depending on humidity
CURE~: then place either AIR DRIED or WATER CURED buds into glass jars with airtight lids, (mason jars), remembering to "air out" the jars, once a day for about 1/2 an hour, for 1-2 weeks. These can then be kept for anything up to 3-4 Yrs especially if kept in a cool dark area. but I wouldnt reccomend a fridge as it might rehydrate the buds, or flavour them with foods in there : ).
Water cure ~:
place cut, wet buds, into enough water to cover them , weigh down the buds ,so none of them are above the water level, check/change water every 24hrs, for 4-6 days, dry as mentioned in Air Dry above (takes about 2 days)
hope that helps #
Peace D9
I stack my buds inside a cardboard box (or stacked on newspaper) and layer on top of each "level", put a fan on it,
21-24 C, in the dark. (5-7 days) depending on humidity
CURE~: then place either AIR DRIED or WATER CURED buds into glass jars with airtight lids, (mason jars), remembering to "air out" the jars, once a day for about 1/2 an hour, for 1-2 weeks. These can then be kept for anything up to 3-4 Yrs especially if kept in a cool dark area. but I wouldnt reccomend a fridge as it might rehydrate the buds, or flavour them with foods in there : ).
Water cure ~:
place cut, wet buds, into enough water to cover them , weigh down the buds ,so none of them are above the water level, check/change water every 24hrs, for 4-6 days, dry as mentioned in Air Dry above (takes about 2 days)
hope that helps #
Peace D9
i built a microcab in such a way that there is an 11" x 17" space in between my flowering and veg rooms. Because my cab is designed for perp of only a few small plants per week, the drying room doesnt need to be overly large. Best part is that my drying chamber is at the entrance to my cabinet's massive passive intake and uses the same carbon filter as the grow. Fresh air from outside the cab comes in, moves up through the drying buds and then down and through ducts into the veg and flowering rooms, and finally through the carbon filter and out the back of the cab.
It dries a small crop (to audible snap) in 3-5 days with no fans actually in the room with the drying buds and keeps temps in the low 70s the entire time.
I keep things on the stems until they go into the jars and even there I leave just enough stem to use as a little handle.
It dries a small crop (to audible snap) in 3-5 days with no fans actually in the room with the drying buds and keeps temps in the low 70s the entire time.
I keep things on the stems until they go into the jars and even there I leave just enough stem to use as a little handle.
Bretonston
Member
i like to trim litely hang dry for a few days then put in paper bags or jars until perfect
somebody041
Member
ive always trimmed after hang drying... never even thought about trimming before hang drying!
Just remember heat and light are both known to degrade thc, i have just finished a little drying room. depending on your ambient air temps you can rig it to a split intake for your main cab, takes care of air circulation.
Agree with you on the diesel mind you, if your growing it you need odour control for the harvest!
MrB
ItsAllOver
Devil's Advocate
- Cut off main branches and just tear off the trichome-less fan leaves with your bare hands. Throw em away
- Cut branches down to sections that you can easily hold between two fingers without fatigue.
- Trim off large sugar leaves, then trim off the small ones (single-bladed and tiny multi-bladed leaves) This way, you can leave some leaves on the buds, which will slow the overall dry time, which results in better smelling buds much more quickly. Definitely do the vast majority of your trimming while the buds are wet to avoid losing too many trichs. It's also much easier to trim leaves that are sticking out from the buds like they do when fresh. Dried leaves tend to curl down toward the buds, making a clean trim without damaging the product much harder to achieve. Also, this is the reason you trim off the tiny leaves from the very beginning, because the mid sized leaves are much easier to remove at a later, more dried state.
- Hang/lay the buds however you wish. Humidity in the room should be 30-35 IME. If you need a dehumi to achieve this, use one. It's not about "always use a dehumi" or "never use a dehumi" but use one whenever the humidity is too high! Sheesh.
- When buds have just turned dry on the outside, put them in brown paper grocery bags until the stems 'just about snap' Keeping your buds at a uniform size will allow you to have uniform dry times, and will make things much easier. You will also not be selling your customers too much stem weight with the huge colas, which is a plus for them and should make you feel like a good person.
- Trim off the remaining sugar leaves as you are throwing them in jars.
Leaving some leaves on the buds has allowed me to go from chop to sellable product in as little as 2 weeks as opposed to the 4 weeks otherwise required when I did a full trim immediately after chopping the plants. This is a major plus, IMO. Sure, the THC goes through changes for quite a while after this, but I like getting to the desired aroma/flavor as quickly as possible, and I believe that the quality of my effect does not increase greatly with a longer cure. Curing is mostly about flavor/aroma...
Hope this helps.
Peace
- Cut branches down to sections that you can easily hold between two fingers without fatigue.
- Trim off large sugar leaves, then trim off the small ones (single-bladed and tiny multi-bladed leaves) This way, you can leave some leaves on the buds, which will slow the overall dry time, which results in better smelling buds much more quickly. Definitely do the vast majority of your trimming while the buds are wet to avoid losing too many trichs. It's also much easier to trim leaves that are sticking out from the buds like they do when fresh. Dried leaves tend to curl down toward the buds, making a clean trim without damaging the product much harder to achieve. Also, this is the reason you trim off the tiny leaves from the very beginning, because the mid sized leaves are much easier to remove at a later, more dried state.
- Hang/lay the buds however you wish. Humidity in the room should be 30-35 IME. If you need a dehumi to achieve this, use one. It's not about "always use a dehumi" or "never use a dehumi" but use one whenever the humidity is too high! Sheesh.
- When buds have just turned dry on the outside, put them in brown paper grocery bags until the stems 'just about snap' Keeping your buds at a uniform size will allow you to have uniform dry times, and will make things much easier. You will also not be selling your customers too much stem weight with the huge colas, which is a plus for them and should make you feel like a good person.
- Trim off the remaining sugar leaves as you are throwing them in jars.
Leaving some leaves on the buds has allowed me to go from chop to sellable product in as little as 2 weeks as opposed to the 4 weeks otherwise required when I did a full trim immediately after chopping the plants. This is a major plus, IMO. Sure, the THC goes through changes for quite a while after this, but I like getting to the desired aroma/flavor as quickly as possible, and I believe that the quality of my effect does not increase greatly with a longer cure. Curing is mostly about flavor/aroma...
Hope this helps.
Peace
drying, curing
drying, curing
variables:
bud-% water at cutdown, density, amount of pre-dry trimming.
dryroom-%humidity, light, temp
1) Flush for last 2 weeks before harvest, withhold watering last week after last flush.
2) trimming depends on your preference and/or state rules (ie. wa requires all med marijuana be hung as single plants). The less you trim prior to drying, and the denser the buds, the longer it will take.
3) Drying room: <25% humidity, <20deg C, smell neutral, low air flow, complete darkness, do not crowd buds.
I trim the plant, then harvest and hang upside down for 7days. Stem should not be flexible, should "snap" over, but not break. Cut off stems, then place in curing jars (ie. mason), and shake, open 1-2x/day for 1 hr for 3-5 days. End weight should be ~25% of cutdown weight, and humidity should be uniform. Smell should be smooth and somewhat sweet.
Every op and every strain is different, so folks have to work around different issues.
Good luck and remember, it's easy to rehydrate bud, VERY hard to remove mold!
drying, curing
variables:
bud-% water at cutdown, density, amount of pre-dry trimming.
dryroom-%humidity, light, temp
1) Flush for last 2 weeks before harvest, withhold watering last week after last flush.
2) trimming depends on your preference and/or state rules (ie. wa requires all med marijuana be hung as single plants). The less you trim prior to drying, and the denser the buds, the longer it will take.
3) Drying room: <25% humidity, <20deg C, smell neutral, low air flow, complete darkness, do not crowd buds.
I trim the plant, then harvest and hang upside down for 7days. Stem should not be flexible, should "snap" over, but not break. Cut off stems, then place in curing jars (ie. mason), and shake, open 1-2x/day for 1 hr for 3-5 days. End weight should be ~25% of cutdown weight, and humidity should be uniform. Smell should be smooth and somewhat sweet.
Every op and every strain is different, so folks have to work around different issues.
Good luck and remember, it's easy to rehydrate bud, VERY hard to remove mold!
