Trying to get it right ...

[RandomGuy00001]

It's almost that time, and i still haven't figured out 'the connoisseurs'' cure. Every time my herb gets too dry.

I was thinking, this time, as soon as the herb gets the slightest crispy on the outside to jar it. I can almost guarantee it'll sweat a little then and re hydrate the crispy parts.

I have normally been waiting on the stem to snap, and then jar it. But there is no more water left to re hydrate the outside.

any thoughts are welcome.

 

[bongoie]

I dry for a week ish , then cure burping in an attempt to get it right .
Are your curing jars airtight , not letting the moisture escape .
Orange peel rehidrates dry bud's if left in the curing jar overnight .

Hoping you get it Right
Bongo

 

[RandomGuy00001]

OK, I took a sample. After a manicure it weighed 50.2. 30% of that roughly 15~. After hanging it over night, it's down to 24. is my ghetto drying area gettin' 'er done too fast? I can still feel the water content in it, it isnt crispy at all just yet. I really dont want dust again this time

I was thinking about putting this sample in a jar at 18-19, and then letting the rest of the water go away more slowly. Is this too soon?

 

[RandomGuy00001]

The sample hit 15. The outside of the bud feels slightly crispy, the stem didnt snap in any way at all. It bent. I put it in the jar just now.

anyone wanna chime in? just to recap ..

never cured anything right, great at creating dust.
cut a sample bud(probably a week early) it was 50
let it dry to 15, it did this in 2.5 days, are my conditions to dry on this part?
jared it right now, gonna check on it in 12 hours

all input welcome.

--RG1

 

[sneaky101]

I know what you mean randomguy. Everytime I try and get that "snap" before putting it into jars, it all turns to dust...I feel your pain feeling like you wasted all that effort growing and not really getting to enjoy the fruits of your labor. This is how I do it, I know that not all will agree, but it works for me.

I usually dry individual stems and not the entire plant. If you cut the plant down like this it will cut down on the initial drying phase. I will hang the plants and let them dry for 2-7 days until you can tell they are getting dry, but not dry yet. The outer parts of the bud feel a bit dry, but if you squeeze the bud you can tell it is not. The stem will still bend, not break or "snap" Once I get them to this point I will jar them in jars with a rubber seal around the lid to ensure an airtight environment.

Now, here is where you have to be patient and diligent. From here, it will take about another week or so before they are really ready to smoke. I pull them out of the jar daily to inspect for mold and to dry the buds. The first few days I will let them sit out for anywhere from a few hours to half a day or so. At this point they may still feel a bit wet when you put them back in the jar, that's ok. As the days progress, you will start to keep them out of the jar for less and less time and you will feel the bud drying up. For me, they start to get more dense as well. After about a week or two (up to a month depending on how long you let them sit out each day), they will be completely dry and ready to be smoked (if you haven't already started trimming some off and to smoke) and this is when you will start to burp them. Just open the jar for 5-10 minutes daily and pull them out every few days to move them around. I like to let them cure for a month or two if I have the supply to wait. If I'm that lucky, at this time I vacuum seal as much up as I can and store it until needed.

As for the snap sound everyone tells you to listen for, I don't hear that until I am breaking it up to smoke I got tired of listening for it and smoking dust so I just do it this way now.

Good luck, hope this tutorial on my way to cure bud helps.

 

[RandomGuy00001]

Thank you so much for that man! You really do understand ... the dust .. bro it pisses me off.

I am not going to cut the entire plant this time. On the sample, as well, I only cut the branch. It was about 12 inches of cola, so i am hoping i get it right(coulda used a smaller one to ruin, ya know). Bud stops at the base of the branch, and i got 3 inches of 'dead stem' with no fruit on it. Usin that to move 'er around .. figure i can snip it off after the jar.

Also, you answered my next question(s) as well. Thanks for the breakdown, and i'll post again and let ya know what happened.

--RG1

 

[Godless]

What is the RH of your drying room? You really want it to be above 50%. My tip is to leave the fan leaves on when you chop them - they hold a lot of moisture and will slow the drying process.

 

[opt1c]

i dry with the entire plant; i feel leaving the vascular structure intact is beneficial to the curing process. i will put a humidifier and dehumidifier in my drying room to get the relative humidity around 60%; higher and you'll risk mold, lower and it dries too fast

i let the plants hang until the fan leaves start to feel crinkly in my hand; after that i'll chop the plants up into branches and place in paper bags; fan leaves and all; i'll leave the paper bags 2/3rds full with the tops rolled over and let them sit for 2 weeks; this is the cure

after that you can take out the branches and trim them; i'll remove the large fan leaves first and then keep the good trim separate for bubble

using this method i've had plants in a tent for 2 months where people would complain that the buds felt too wet upon getting them; an hour in a drier climate and they were perfect

you can also rehydrate buds with fresh fan leafs or a piece of lettuce in a pinch if they dry out too much; this is ok once they've cured but you want to make sure that initial drying is slow

 

[RandomGuy00001]

What is the RH of your drying room? You really want it to be above 50%. My tip is to leave the fan leaves on when you chop them - they hold a lot of moisture and will slow the drying process.

this time of year, right between 30-35.

i dry with the entire plant; i feel leaving the vascular structure intact is beneficial to the curing process. i will put a humidifier and dehumidifier in my drying room to get the relative humidity around 60%; higher and you'll risk mold, lower and it dries too fast

i let the plants hang until the fan leaves start to feel crinkly in my hand; after that i'll chop the plants up into branches and place in paper bags; fan leaves and all; i'll leave the paper bags 2/3rds full with the tops rolled over and let them sit for 2 weeks; this is the cure

after that you can take out the branches and trim them; i'll remove the large fan leaves first and then keep the good trim separate for bubble

using this method i've had plants in a tent for 2 months where people would complain that the buds felt too wet upon getting them; an hour in a drier climate and they were perfect

you can also rehydrate buds with fresh fan leafs or a piece of lettuce in a pinch if they dry out too much; this is ok once they've cured but you want to make sure that initial drying is slow

The reason we don't want to dry to fast is cause ... too fast locks in the chlorophyll and doesn't let it degrade?

I cant do anything about my RH, not this run atleast. Since my RH is 50% of what it should be, I am without a doubt drying to fast. Will putting it in jars/bags sooner help it "slow dry", or does drying stop and curing start at that point? Thanks

 

[opt1c]

bagging it will help; i'll let it hang for a couple days before bagging it... i'm in a 30% rh natural environment too so i know what u deal with; how i learned to use the humidifier

ur right on why too fast is bad; also drying too fast makes it light; burn fast; taste harsh; and not rehydrate in a more humid climate

u can get em cheap and like bed & bath and beyond with one of those 20% off coupons; don't have any dehumidifiers though; also maybe a bucket of water with a fan on it might work (toss a mosquito dunk in it to b safe)

 

[RandomGuy00001]

Anyone else having the same issues i was moaning about? Read everyword .. this _will_ get u close.

Thank you, Sneaky101.

--RG1

I know what you mean randomguy. Everytime I try and get that "snap" before putting it into jars, it all turns to dust...I feel your pain feeling like you wasted all that effort growing and not really getting to enjoy the fruits of your labor. This is how I do it, I know that not all will agree, but it works for me.

I usually dry individual stems and not the entire plant. If you cut the plant down like this it will cut down on the initial drying phase. I will hang the plants and let them dry for 2-7 days until you can tell they are getting dry, but not dry yet. The outer parts of the bud feel a bit dry, but if you squeeze the bud you can tell it is not. The stem will still bend, not break or "snap" Once I get them to this point I will jar them in jars with a rubber seal around the lid to ensure an airtight environment.

Now, here is where you have to be patient and diligent. From here, it will take about another week or so before they are really ready to smoke. I pull them out of the jar daily to inspect for mold and to dry the buds. The first few days I will let them sit out for anywhere from a few hours to half a day or so. At this point they may still feel a bit wet when you put them back in the jar, that's ok. As the days progress, you will start to keep them out of the jar for less and less time and you will feel the bud drying up. For me, they start to get more dense as well. After about a week or two (up to a month depending on how long you let them sit out each day), they will be completely dry and ready to be smoked (if you haven't already started trimming some off and to smoke) and this is when you will start to burp them. Just open the jar for 5-10 minutes daily and pull them out every few days to move them around. I like to let them cure for a month or two if I have the supply to wait. If I'm that lucky, at this time I vacuum seal as much up as I can and store it until needed.

As for the snap sound everyone tells you to listen for, I don't hear that until I am breaking it up to smoke I got tired of listening for it and smoking dust so I just do it this way now.

Good luck, hope this tutorial on my way to cure bud helps.

 

[simon]

My post from another thread:

When I started out, the typically suggested curing methods seemed somewhat arbitrary. After a good deal of research and experimentation, I began using cigar hygrometers to measure the RH inside the jars. This model, in articular, is accurate and consistent: http://cgi.ebay.com/Caliber-III-Dig...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad64a56ac

I don't use this method much these days, as I'm used to gauging the product's moisture content by hand, if you will, but once in a while, when I don't have the time to keep an eye on thing, the hygrometers come out.

If anyone is interested, I can go into more detail.

Simon

 

[SuperConductor]

Go into more detail man i'm interested.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

i dry with the entire plant; i feel leaving the vascular structure intact is beneficial to the curing process. i will put a humidifier and dehumidifier in my drying room to get the relative humidity around 60%; higher and you'll risk mold, lower and it dries too fast

i let the plants hang until the fan leaves start to feel crinkly in my hand; after that i'll chop the plants up into branches and place in paper bags; fan leaves and all; i'll leave the paper bags 2/3rds full with the tops rolled over and let them sit for 2 weeks; this is the cure

after that you can take out the branches and trim them; i'll remove the large fan leaves first and then keep the good trim separate for bubble

using this method i've had plants in a tent for 2 months where people would complain that the buds felt too wet upon getting them; an hour in a drier climate and they were perfect

you can also rehydrate buds with fresh fan leafs or a piece of lettuce in a pinch if they dry out too much; this is ok once they've cured but you want to make sure that initial drying is slow

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\


There in lies the secrets. ( yes multiple)

Up here in the high mountains with a RH of about 15% - it can be tricky. I use a closet to hang the plants - sometimes using a water pail to add humidity in the closet.

Bud density has a huge influence too - -smaller airy buds from floro lights can over dry in a heartbeat or two.
Phat bud has a inner moisture that can wick back out.

Re-hydrating can ----- improve crunchy bud, but don't count on it fixing anything.

Practice.

Then practice some more.


-- and in between - read up a lil - that usally uncovers little nuggets of info that were there befor but dammed if they sunk in until I read them the forth or fith time,,,,.

Sounds like you have a great grasp of the princables - and taking the time to study and research,, it gets easier.

On the flip side - it's a pretty good hobby when you cam smoke your misteakes. (and it's not all green leaves! lol)

When I had a little smaller grow - I used to hang the branches in a pretty good sized speaker box with string "clothes lines" strung inside the box

The cardboard will slow the drying and the lowerd airflow helps too - but you have to watch for mold with thick buds. This method takes a little practice too, but easily can double the drying time with practice.

Sounds like you have the thinner and airy-ish type buds - might need to jar them earlier - then check FREQUENTLY - when they get moist - removefrom the jar and let them dry some more and repeat. - count on two, three or four lil airing time outs - - again the goal is don't let them dry too quicky and avoid mold.

 

[simon]

Go into more detail man i'm interested.

I started a thread.

Simon