How to dry individual Buds now that Ballasts are gone

St. Phatty · Dec 22, 2018

I used to use Ballasts to dry bud, to get it from normal dry weight, to CRISPY-dry, so it can be crumbled into powder. :woohoo:

That worked real well for 20+ years, in the winter. Then parking a bud in the sun for a few hours, does the job in the winter.

This year, I have no ballasts. Switched to LED's.

I was desperate for some crumble dry bud, so I made a little contraption on the stove.

The pan is on Low heat, as in Warm, the first setting. I put some aluminum foil in it and parked 3 buds there. The buds are protected from any major heat, I don't want to damage the THC.

The goal was slow-heating, so I don't destroy anything.

I just want it to crumble into powder, because I like smoking dry powder. It burns better than when I cut up a normal dry (but not brittle dry) bud.

Does anybody else like to smoke crumble dry bud ? :tiphat:

Carraxe · Dec 23, 2018

When I was in need I used to turn on the gas oven for some minutes at low temperature. Just to feel it like warm. After that I turned it off and I put some grind bud in the tray, over an aluminum foil. In some minutes I had the bud dry. If it wasn't enough I'd do it again.

thailer · Dec 23, 2018

maybe you could check out some of the lower humidity level Boveda packs that are below the typical 62 boveda? I heard one person likes to use the 58 Boveda and they even go lower than that. i'm sure you could find a crumble bud level and it would suck the moisture right out of it. you could keep one in a jar and it would lower the bud moisture to a certain point without going to far and could keep it there for storage.

St. Phatty · Dec 23, 2018

I have Calcium Nitrate in the garage (fertilizer).

That's a super desiccant. In a pinch I could use that.

But the pot on the stove, with the layer of alum. foil, worked real good.

Been getting much better hits, without lung-busting or coughing.

The unfortunate litmus test is helping with tooth pain - and it does that.

Smoking a Blueberry Headband/ Blue Widow cross that was very Lime when picked. After a month in the bag it smells pure Skunk #1.

I thought there might be some gadget that people have that is commonly warm but won't overheat the weed. Like a wireless charger or something.

positivity · Dec 23, 2018

All LEDs produce heat like a ballast. Throw it on the driver (ballast) or on the fixture itself. It'll get crispy

I guess you don't roll joints...rolling a joint with dry powder isn't my idea of a good time. Enjoy that crispy nug, each to his own.. haha

If you're really serious about crispy nugs just put all your weed in the oven. No sense in doing one at a time

hush · Dec 23, 2018

If I were you I would just go get a basic $8 food dehydrator from Walmart. Seriously.

Gry · Dec 23, 2018

I need to clean my stove top.
I use the microwave and wet paper towel
for a quick dry.

Surprised you don't have a hopper for cannabis attached to
the power supply on your computer.

St. Phatty · Dec 23, 2018

Gry said:
Surprised you don't have a hopper for cannabis attached to
the power supply on your computer.

It's dusty. Yeah there's heat there.

I have an LED grow light, the kind with the Purple-ish overtone. It has 6 COB lights and produces a little heat. Might be turning that one on in a few weeks. It should slow-dry bud OK.

I made some panel lights with a 15 watt LED every 6 inches. So a 24x36 panel is about 400 watts. That grow-panel can't dry anything. I had buds sitting on top in a cardboard box for about 2 weeks. They just wouldn't get crumble-dry.

Just to be clear, they need to be lovingly slow-dried - so you don't lose anything.

Anyway, I find smoking it that way, in a water pipe, is the most buzz with the least lung-busting.

When I was younger I smoked joints and yeah the crumbled bud is not something you want to inhale.

Douglas.Curtis · Dec 23, 2018

I like my cannabis flowers to be very terpene rich and sticky. I keep my flowers jarred at around 55% Rh.

It keeps it just wet enough for rolling joints in dry air. By the time I finish rolling the joint, it's the perfect moisture for lighting and smoking slowly.

In comparison, super dry flowers have lost a lot of terpene content. I prefer the richly complex and smooth flavors and aromas these terpenes provide. It's really a lot like breathing a fantastically delicious meal.

The smoke should be soft, very cool in temp and be difficult to tell how big of a hit you actually took.

Even the last hit in the bowl should have a delicious exhale you want to bite.

St. Phatty · Dec 24, 2018

Douglas.Curtis said:
In comparison, super dry flowers have lost a lot of terpene content. I prefer the richly complex and smooth flavors and aromas these terpenes provide. It's really a lot like breathing a fantastically delicious meal. The smoke should be soft, very cool in temp and be difficult to tell how big of a hit you actually took. Even the last hit in the bowl should have a delicious exhale you want to bite.

I only dry them that last bit, in the hours or day before I consume them.

I agree, the smoke should be like breathing air, in terms of not making you cough.

I only ever take one hit.

There's definitely a difference between the dry powdered bud and the more humid bud I was smoking. I simply get a much better high off the powdered bud - when it's dried the way I'm describing - very slowly right before smoking.

Unfortunately I have tooth pain to test that on. The scissor-cut bud was simply not doing the job.

From the sound of it, I am losing some terpenes.

Anyway, off to the morning's first smoke while the stock market is doing its Christmas Eve gyrations.

dufous · Dec 24, 2018

Could it be that the powdered bud is simply more concentrated? You get a better high because you're smoking more bud?

St. Phatty said:
I simply get a much better high off the powdered bud - when it's dried the way I'm describing - very slowly right before smoking.

St. Phatty · Dec 24, 2018

dufous said:
Could it be that the powdered bud is simply more concentrated? You get a better high because you're smoking more bud?

Good chance.

Would love to see such things studied in research

e.g. setting up a machine that reproduces the abilities of the human lung, including the ability to inhale.

Then measure the THC & other cannabinoid content, and tyrcene, everything that is relevant to studying psychoactive medications.

Then set that machine up to smoke pot all the different ways people smoke pot.

But I don't have to go that far to answer that question, just be motivated enough to pack a bowl, 1 or 2 or 3 different ways, and then tap it out, and weigh it.

I call it complete combustion, because the whole bowl is afire & alight.

Putembk · Dec 24, 2018

Wow, I have Never artificially dried my bud. I have heard, don't know, that it affects the taste and flavor. The buzz is fine but a slow cure brings out the best in the overall quality of the smoke. I hang them for seven, bag them for two and jar them for....the longer the better up until 6 months.

I guess if you are desperate your desperate otherwise I wouldn't do that.

positivity · Dec 24, 2018

It's all preference, but I find you can have everything.
Dried just right. Grown just right. It won't be too dense, it'll break up easily, still naturally very sticky, odiferous to the maximus. You wouldn't consider drying it to a crisp.
But getting there while easy for some, I've seen many good growers fail...in the details. Egos are normally too sensitive to even go there.
But, this is the net. And it's the subject.

I can appreciate an easy bud to break up though. Have it dust up easily for a pipe hit...
But not really a preference for me as I prefer joints

St. Phatty · Dec 25, 2018

Putembk said:
Wow, I have Never artificially dried my bud. I have heard, don't know, that it affects the taste and flavor. The buzz is fine but a slow cure brings out the best in the overall quality of the smoke. I hang them for seven, bag them for two and jar them for....the longer the better up until 6 months.

I guess if you are desperate your desperate otherwise I wouldn't do that.

Hang them for 7 days or 7 weeks ?

Well it would be interesting to pack each other a bowl. Do you use a waterpipe or bong or anything like that ?

I'm pretty sure if we packed a bowl for each other we would both catch a good buzz.

Because I'm doing the final step at low low heat it takes about 3 hours for the buds to go from pliable to crumble-dry.

It is such a ritual. For me it also involves cleaning the pipe. Also, if I wanted to share the less dry bud, I think it would burn & draw better in a bigger bowl.

I use a brass plumbing adapter with a stainless mesh, for the bowl.

Putembk · Dec 25, 2018

To answer your question Phatty. I cut a plant down and prep it for a dry trim. I cut off all fan and the larger sugar leaves. I hang them upside down with the buds still on the branches until the branches snap when you bend them. Usually around 7 days in a sealed room with the humidity between 50 to 60%. Then I de-bone them and do a dry trim. I continue to dry them by placing them into a paper sack for a couple more days. They seem dry on the outside but not in the middle. Then into jars. I pop the lids until the buds no longer feel spongy. Then the real curing begins. This process takes 3 to 4 weeks.

IMO. There is three important things in growing pot. The strain, the way you grow and a proper dry/cure.....each is as important as the other.

Again IMO....if you don't cure properly your product will certainly get you high just without the taste or smell.

St. Phatty · Dec 26, 2018

One of the things I like about drying & crumbling is that I don't have the minor heartbreak of finding 2/3 of a seed in my bud. No big deal, just something that happens if I scissor-cut a bud.

They are lightly seeded.

I am curious what percentage humidity they are in the bag.

They were -

Hang dried for about 8 days with ventilation and some heat.
In sealed bags for 2 or 3 days, just because I like to give them some time sealed once they're mostly dry.

Then I open the bags and let them breathe. So at this point they've been sitting there breathing for about a month. I pull buds for personal consumption from any one of those bags.

There is some moisture. If you bend a bud at the base, the stem may or may not break. Enough moisture so that the stems are not brittle.

Now I'm curious what the moisture is in the bags.

I found these things, sort of like Litmus paper but for humidity not pH.

https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Premium-Humidity-Indicator-Reusable/dp/B01974FX42

Looked up "cheap moisture meter", to see if maybe there is a meter I can put in the bag with the buds and then just read it through the plastic.

Found meters for measuring the moisture in wood.

Douglas.Curtis · Dec 26, 2018

Digital hygrometers are very inexpensive these days. Under $20 will get you a few, and they're usually within 1% accuracy of each other.

Putembk · Dec 27, 2018

Old school here. Stoned as a mo-fo right now. will give you Jose's step by step when more mentally capable. If you don't know Jose Cervantes....google

Putembk · Dec 27, 2018

Been trimming all day and just finished. Perfect time to explain what I mean by bags. So, I harvested Jackie O 7 days ago. The buds hung in my dry/cure tent humidity starting at 60% and I slowly bring it down to 50%. Today I pulled them out and de-boned them from the stems. I did a dry trim where you just have to touch the sugar leaves and they break off. I trim really close....no sugar leaves period.

Once that is done I put them in a paper sack for a couple of days. By now the buds will feel really dry on the outside but the inside will still be very moist. At this point I move into jars. Object now is to let them slowly marry the inside (wet) with the outside (dry).

As I stated earlier this is old school. I don't need to know what the humidity is at this point. I becomes a spongy/crispy thing. The buds will be dry when first putting them into the jars. After some time the buds will become spongy. Time to burp the jars and get them crispy again. I can do this in the dark and totally by feel.

This process goes on until the buds stay dry but not to the point of dust. The buds should bounce back when you squeeze them. Once you can leave the jars closed the curing process really gets going.

After about 3 weeks the smell comes back and you have well cured product which is ready for....what every it is you do.

The smoke should be cool and not burn your throat and taste and smell like the breeder intended.

How to dry individual Buds now that Ballasts are gone

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