Hay smell while curing?

[TamyLove420]

I am trying to get rid of that hay smell that sometimes accompanies drying buds. I am following the curing process that I have read from many websites...hang upside down in a dark place for 2 weeks with lots of ventilation, when the stems start 2 "snap" when I bend them I take the plant down and trim fan leaves and place buds in a paper bag for a few days, opening a couple times a day for proper ventilation, finally placing them in a jar for 2 weeks opening the jar a couple times a day to vent....well I have nearly completed the entire process barring about 3 days and have a light hay smell that is not desirable...what can or should I do?

Also, I was wondering for future reference what would happen if I let the buds dry in a paper bag? Or even laid them out on some cardboard untill they are COMPLETELY dry skipping the jar process, would I still end up with a hay smell? The reason I ask is because before I put the buds in the jar they had no type of hay smell whatsoever.

Thanks for any help = )

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

Check out this thread, it is the method I use and it works great.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=156237

 

[Yes4Prop215]

when you first jar the buds up its normal for them to have a light hay smell for a few days. patience is the key....after a good 2 weeks in the jars the smell really starts to come out. i have some nugs that have been jarred for over a month since harvest and it smells potent!!

 

[sman]

I too am experiencing this smell. So it is expected to have "hay/fresh-cut-crass" smell undoubtedly for a minimum of 2 weeks? Does EVERYONE experience this smell for the 1st few days?

 

[greenmatter]

Check out this thread, it is the method I use and it works great.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=156237

what the major said ..... the most foolproof curing method i have ever seen ..... takes all the guesswork out of the process

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

what the major said ..... the most foolproof curing method i have ever seen ..... takes all the guesswork out of the process

Double Yeah That.

 

[sman]

thank you for you help guys, but we understand the method. Our questions are about the hay/fresh-cut-crass smell.

1. does it always smell like this for the first couple weeks?
2. deos everyone experience this?
3. is it normal to expect the smell?
ect.
it's been 3 days of the actual curing process and its getting better and better.

sorry if i sound rude it's unintentional. I really need to know these

 

[TB Gardens]

whenever hay starts to onset for me its usually bad news. when i finish with beautiful smelling product it usually never loses the smell. when i finish with beautiful smelling product that then changes to hay during drying, well i have never had any luck getting the original smell back. im probably wrong, but i have been told hay smell during drying = drying too fast. once a certain RH its surpassed, it all starts going down the tube ;-\ .... and not the smoking tube.....

edit: even after long cures the hay smell would persist, for me atleast, it was all about jarring with a good smell to start with. a good cure has made hay smelling bud more mild, but didnt return the original smell.

this round i am doing The Perfect Cure Everytime method, and following Franco's drying method

 

[Yes_I_Am]

i jar up my bud just b4 the stems snap. it also gets a better small being left on the stem imo, ive had the hay smell but only from unflushed, put in a jar to early,damp weed.

 

[BlazingSaddles]

Double Yeah That.

I triple that read the curing sticky thread by Simon about curing. Im up to page 48 out of 70 and if you take the time to read through it you will learn everything u need to know about the perfect cure. Every question you can imagine about curing including yours has been asked and answered in those pages.

Sure you can get a quick answer here such as the reason your weed smells like hay is cos urve either overdried it before starting the curing process or its the other way round.. too wet when put into jars. Based on what urve said about your methods id go with the former and say you may have overdried your shit. A 2 week hang and dry is waaaaaay to long assuming your environment wasnt at any extremes one way or the other. Id say thats proly where the mistake has been made. Whether you can get rid of the hay smell is probably going to come down to how dry it is.. If its too dry theres nothing you can do it will not cure.. Bud needs moisture to cure properly this is why u need to read the sticky!

If you plan on growing in the future u owe it to your buds to take a few hours to read through this info.. trust me u wont be disappointed.. A few hours and u will be an expert thats how good this thread is.

Thats at least 3 people who have given you guys with the hay smell the keys to unlock your answer.. Horse to water etc..

Peace out
BlazingSaddles

 

[sman]

ok ok ok, thanks I guess we were just looking for a way to fix this anyway possible. I will begin reading the ENTIRE thread. I was just reading the main post and forgot that there are many pages following. DOH! -_-

too dry before curing = hay
my RH in the drying box was around 40%. While I know now that 65% is best RH. Next time will be MUCH BETTER

i only dried for one 24 hour period though. Small popcorn buds though.

Initiate ENTIRE thread reading NOW

 

[forty]

i have a hunch that hay smell appears with inconsistent rh levels while drying. i live in an area that gets fog... have had a few batches that were in the process of drying (not jarred yet) and they were doing great, perfect smell. on a few occations the batch would be near dry and the fog would roll in, rh went way up. the next day buds smelled like hay.

i think if the buds are drying at a consistent rh level, then rh increases and buds re-moisten from the atmosphere they start smelling like shit. so a nice even consistent rh during drying is key imo.

i have since added a dehuey to the drying room set at 60% to prevent hum to rise too much during drying and have not had hay smell since. it's also very important not to jar up too soon which will also have negative smell affect and once you do jar or seal up, lots of burping first few days and you should be good.

 

[BlazingSaddles]

i have a hunch that hay smell appears with inconsistent rh levels while drying. i live in an area that gets fog... have had a few batches that were in the process of drying (not jarred yet) and they were doing great, perfect smell. on a few occations the batch would be near dry and the fog would roll in, rh went way up. the next day buds smelled like hay.

i think if the buds are drying at a consistent rh level, then rh increases and buds re-moisten from the atmosphere they start smelling like shit. so a nice even consistent rh during drying is key imo.

i have since added a dehuey to the drying room set at 60% to prevent hum to rise too much during drying and have not had hay smell since. it's also very important not to jar up too soon which will also have negative smell affect and once you do jar or seal up, lots of burping first few days and you should be good.

Hey Forty,

How high was your RH rising to when the fog came in?

Interesting point about inconsistent RH levels.. You might be onto something here.

I wonder what Simon says about this.. I do think your probably right though as common sense would dictate that more consistent temp and RH levels during drying stage would be optimal.

@ Sman, hey man i totally understand when we have problems we need answers now.. Rather than be directed to a 70page long thread hahaha. In this case though i think it was definitely the best thing to do though.. I hope you are reading it and i hope it helps you as much as it has helped me. A couple hours of reading and you'll be an educated expert (in theory) for life! Obviously to become an expert in the practical side of this curing method we all need to practice it a few times before we can truly become "experts"

All the best guys / girls

take care
blazingsaddles

 

[Yes_I_Am]

ive noticed with the skumk no1 i have is the more it smells while drying the less it smells when im smoking, and vise versa. i can tell when it needs taking down b4 i look at it, due to the smell. ive just got used to working with this strain as its one of 3 i have atm.

 

[BlazingSaddles]

ok ok ok, thanks I guess we were just looking for a way to fix this anyway possible. I will begin reading the ENTIRE thread. I was just reading the main post and forgot that there are many pages following. DOH! -_-

too dry before curing = hay
my RH in the drying box was around 40%. While I know now that 65% is best RH. Next time will be MUCH BETTER

i only dried for one 24 hour period though. Small popcorn buds though.

Initiate ENTIRE thread reading NOW

Oh and sman a word of caution.. I noticed you mentioned 65%RH for drying.

Now i think theres a difference between optimal RH range for drying when you hang and then theres another optimal RH range for when you are curing in jars.

The point here is PLEASE do not confuse the two as im quite sure these should be different. I would hate for someone to airdry @ 65%RH and get mold, which may happen. For air drying i was under the understanding that 40 - 55% was about the optimal range.. So therefore if thats correct your 40% RH in the box would be fine. It may have just been the period of time you left your buds to airdry for was either too short or too long but the RH is fine there IMO. I have buds hanging also as of last nite and my RH is approx 56%.

If your interested to know for sure i would ask Simon in his sticky thread then you'll get a far more accurate answer then i can give.

Just thought id mention it anyway, hope it helps

blazingsaddles

 

[qbert]

whenever hay starts to onset for me its usually bad news. when i finish with beautiful smelling product it usually never loses the smell. when i finish with beautiful smelling product that then changes to hay during drying, well i have never had any luck getting the original smell back.

This is my experience. It gets better with curing, after a couple weeks jarred most anything smells at least better.

But everything I've had that smelled of hay at the beginning never got that dank.

Everything dank has smelled fairly dank from the beginning and only gets better with time.


Smell is genetic. Sometimes you get girls that just don't got it.

 

[forty]

Hey Forty,

How high was your RH rising to when the fog came in?

Interesting point about inconsistent RH levels.. You might be onto something here.

i'm not sure, been 6-7 yrs ago now but i think it's safe to say it could have jumped from 50% to 70%. i'm lead to believe that drying should be slow and constant, in other words, if hum rises enough to stop the drying process and actually reverses (buds re-moisten) this is when hay funk comes on.

if the OP's plants are hangin for 2 weeks i'd say there is definitely room for some rh swings in that time frame... and if i left my 4oz plants hangin for 2 weeks they'd be crispy and overdried for sure. i'm drying at 55-60% and 70f, they take around 8 days.