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A perfect cure every time
- Thread starter simon
- Start date
powderful
Member
Finally finished reading the entire thread and there is some great advice here.
I tried to go by the standard stem snap test and even dry trimmed a little branch early resulting in 70%+ RH in the jar so I decided to wait as no part of the stem on any of the stems snapped.
After 48hrs I decided the remaining buds felt too dry and had a crazy dash to jar a lot of green(8 hours straight working when I was supposed to sleep). At the end I was so exhausted that the last plant and a half wasn't trimmed of its sugar leaves just de-stemmed enough to jar.
Woke up 8 hours later to find the following measurements:
WW#1 un-trimmed jars: 52-54% RH
WW#2 trimmed jars : 50-53% RH
JackFlash trimmed : 52-54% RH
JackFlash un-trimmed : 58-59% RH
Now my question is should I leave the untrimmed alone without burbing or trimming since they are within the 55% and then just trim right before I want to smoke? Will the sugar leaves leave any flavour if left on while jarred?
Another point I have seen is the re-hydration of buds that have been recently harvested and if this will prolong the cure if it is inside the correct parameters. I understand if they dropped below 50% it might be a lost cause but maybe I am just on the line with some jars?
Would you just leave it at 50% or use some apple peel (or similar) to get it up to about 59% so that it doesn't feel too brittle and is smoother to smoke?
I'm using 6 wilfa HY-1 meters and they were all within 2-3% of each other and brand new when I started to dry.
I tried to go by the standard stem snap test and even dry trimmed a little branch early resulting in 70%+ RH in the jar so I decided to wait as no part of the stem on any of the stems snapped.
After 48hrs I decided the remaining buds felt too dry and had a crazy dash to jar a lot of green(8 hours straight working when I was supposed to sleep). At the end I was so exhausted that the last plant and a half wasn't trimmed of its sugar leaves just de-stemmed enough to jar.
Woke up 8 hours later to find the following measurements:
WW#1 un-trimmed jars: 52-54% RH
WW#2 trimmed jars : 50-53% RH
JackFlash trimmed : 52-54% RH
JackFlash un-trimmed : 58-59% RH
Now my question is should I leave the untrimmed alone without burbing or trimming since they are within the 55% and then just trim right before I want to smoke? Will the sugar leaves leave any flavour if left on while jarred?
Another point I have seen is the re-hydration of buds that have been recently harvested and if this will prolong the cure if it is inside the correct parameters. I understand if they dropped below 50% it might be a lost cause but maybe I am just on the line with some jars?
Would you just leave it at 50% or use some apple peel (or similar) to get it up to about 59% so that it doesn't feel too brittle and is smoother to smoke?
I'm using 6 wilfa HY-1 meters and they were all within 2-3% of each other and brand new when I started to dry.
In your place, I'd put a slice of apple in each jar, try to bring the rh up near 60% & hope I hadn't killed the cure. Take the apple out when you get there.
For the most part, sugar leaves smoke just fine. I think naked buds are a marketing feature.
powderful
Member
I have tried some apple peel for about 2 hours in the trimmed WW#2 and raised the RH to 55% in some jars after about 8 hrs after taking the peels out. I will keep doing this slowly to about 59-61% by changing the apple peel and letting the bud breathe a few hours between moisturizings to make sure I am not just making the outsides of the buds moist.
Luckily some of the WW#1 jars had elevated moisture content (59%) after letting the hygrometer stay in for about 12hrs so these I will just leave untrimmed until I want to smoke them or give some to friends.
The low humidity WW#1 is getting lemon peel for the same durations as the WW#2 buds and I will see how fast they hydrate the bud compared to each other.
Thanks for the advice
Luckily some of the WW#1 jars had elevated moisture content (59%) after letting the hygrometer stay in for about 12hrs so these I will just leave untrimmed until I want to smoke them or give some to friends.
The low humidity WW#1 is getting lemon peel for the same durations as the WW#2 buds and I will see how fast they hydrate the bud compared to each other.
Thanks for the advice
Remember the meter can be off calibration. If you have more than
one meter, place them all in one jar and check your readings.
A few percentage points either way can be frustrating. Also
remember that some brands recommend against the salt test and
a proper solution pak is required to set calibration.
Great thread.
one meter, place them all in one jar and check your readings.
A few percentage points either way can be frustrating. Also
remember that some brands recommend against the salt test and
a proper solution pak is required to set calibration.
Great thread.
I think that getting down around 60-65% RH def inhibits mold. Once you get to anything under 70% the risk of mold is apparently greatly reduced. Dunno about 67%, but weed cures fine at 65%. When my jars hold at anything between 60-65% for 24 hrs, I add a 62% boveda pack & I'm done. Doesn't seem to make any difference in that range. The boveda packs just put a floor under the RH. The ones that started at 65% settle lower as they're opened for extractions.
It's important to realize that the RH reading in a sealed jar will vary somewhat with the temperature, because it's relative to how much moisture air will hold at a given temp. If the temp in your curing area runs a little wild like mine, expect low readings when it's warmer & high readings when it's cooler, if not by a helluva lot.
I want to try Simon's method in the refrigerator just to see if steady low temps work better. Dunno that it will.
good points
Yes. Don't make any adjustments until you know where the RH is going to settle. Too high can show quickly. You really need the 24 hours to be sure on too low.
Yep. RH readings will rise over 24 hrs as moisture escapes into the jar from deep within the buds. That's particularly true with dense material. I go to the jars initially when I know it's still too wet in order to keep the outer areas hydrated, even out moisture content. Then back out for more drying time, back in until RH settles in the right range. Gentle compaction when loading a jar decreases volume of each bud & raises the density for slower drying when they come back out for more dry time. A few back & forth cycles lets me ease down to the right RH w/o it running away from me & getting too dry.
I think that the danger of mold varies by locale & even by the particular space being used. Mold spores are literally everywhere in the atmosphere at varying concentrations. It's generally not a looming threat here in Denver, so my methods reflect that. I think that there's always *some* mold in bud, just at a very low undetectable level. When alive, the plant is constantly fighting it. Once harvested, there's no fight possible, so it's important to bring the moisture content down to an inhospitable level before the geometric population growth gets much of a start. Bud grown in moist air will naturally have more mold at the beginning of the process, I think, even if it is undetectable, so it doesn't have nearly as far to go before it is detectable. This fable illustrates the point-
http://mathforum.org/sanders/geometry/GP11Fable.html
Starting on square 2 or 3 is a lot different than starting on square 9 or 10, even if both have undetectable mold colonies.
It's also going to find a more hospitable environment in dense bud with lots of tight nooks & crannies where the RH is actually higher than the surrounding air due to plant transpiration.
For personal growers, the whole process is a flying by the seat of the pants art form because we can't control all the variables. I think that big growers can if they want to go to the trouble by creating tightly controlled environments with constant temp & RH adjustment, even computer controlled cycling of conditions to obtain the results they want.
N
NoSocSlic
Just shooting in to say a quick thanks to Simon. I'm on my second harvest. I used this guide the first time and I am again now. Tons of people really appreciate your break down of the process. Especially new growers who want to do things right... so thank you Simon.
I agree just to bump this thread.
Do-B-Hittin
New member
This thread is the reason I am proud of my herbs... thanks to all who have contributed.
where do you keep your Rh at?
Ive been wanting to do something like that to control the rate of drying,
I don't want it to dry so fast.
right now i hang the limbs and in 3days they have to be put into something, but there's still too much moisture in the stems.
I'd like a small room or plastic off a 10x10 area where i can leave them hangin for a week or more for a very slow dry
N
NoSocSlic
I am going to be looking at the same thing this winter. rh is great here in the summer but come winter time its in the low 20's... great for flowering but horrible for drying.
