How to preserve smell and taste during drying?

greenops · Nov 26, 2011

I've read all the articles and posts i can find on drying and curing.

With that information i tried several theories on my first two harvests of my young grow career.
1st was 1 x Skunk1 and 3 x AK48 indoor, 2nd was 2 x AK48 outdoor. All soil.

I let the buds hang til they snapped (6-7 days), some just before they snapped (5 days), some just til the outside felt crispy (2-3 days).

On selected buds i tried the paper bag method.

Once done with drying, the buds would loose their smell. I thought ok, curing will bring it back.

In jars I followed the "perfect cure tutorial by Simon" (burping til 65%RH.)

Been curing my buds for 3 months now and the buds still have no taste nor smell whatsoever.

The indoor and outdoor grew under different conditions but same result, so the only thing i can think of is that the buds might have dried too fast. Temps during drying were 22-24C (1st harvest). That might have been too warm. Room humidity was 40-60 % for both harvests.

I'm currently 4 weeks away from my next harvest.
This time i will be able to lower the room temps during drying but due to winter the rH will also be much lower, like 30-40%.

Please let me know how you dry your buds to keep that dank smell they had before the chop?
I'd also appreciate all the tips on how I can bring out the best possible flavor and aroma?

Thanks a lot!

MissGreenDreamz · Nov 26, 2011

your skunk got no funk!

sorry to hear, 3 months and no smell? sounds like you are following all the curing steps but growing crappy herb *edit*
crappy strain not crappy grower

. although I'm sure some folks would also love to get their hands on your no-smell bud. Try some new cuts!?!? ~mgd

greenops · Nov 27, 2011

I'm no pro but i was pretty pleased with my grow, the buds looked delicious, ripe (amber/cloudy ratio), yield was decent.

Smell was dank, especially my outdoor up to harvest day. I couldnt stop sticking my nose in there. After each day of drying, the smell got milder and after a while in the jars, the smell is completely gone.

I'm growing Amnesia Lemon now 4 weeks away from harvest. They already look very frosty and big so I dont wanna do the same mistakes.

I found the following info on www.francogrow.com which I havent tried yet:

The temperature and the humidity must be constantly controlled and adjusted, and the air exchange exactly calibrated to the desired volume. In an ideal situation, you want to let most of the moisture evaporate from the bud in the first 3 days, and then the process should slow down. In the first three days, a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 55% will ensure that the buds get to roughly 30-40% water content. From this moment on, the temperature should drop a few degrees down to 18 Celsius and the relative humidity should rise to 60% to slow down the drying process. This allows the chlorophyll and other substances to leave the buds through evaporation with the water. If the drying is too fast the chlorophyll will stay, and the smoke will have a bitterer taste, and a green aftertaste. The volume of air exchanged in the room is also critical. Do not exceed 10% of the total volume every hour, or it will be too fast. Use a timer and an open/closed duct-fan to regulate air intake and extraction. In total, the drying process should take around 10 to 14 days for a perfect taste.

I will def do this on my next harvest. But I'd appreciate everyone else' take on this...

greenops · Nov 27, 2011

I used cut the individual branches at the main stem and roughly manicure the buds before hanging them dry.

Would cutting the whole plant at the base and hang them un-trimmed improve my chances of keeping the smell?
I know that some growers get good smelling buds just by cutting the buds and manicuring them before drying them on drying racks... so i dunno??

THC123 · Nov 27, 2011

i think drying them with all the small leaves on in a cool place preserves the smell best

but also with simon's method the buds smell great after a month

maybe they are still too moist?

greenops · Nov 27, 2011

no, they are def dry. after some time in the jar they seem to get too dry, as the buds start to crumble when squeezed.

What temps and humidty do u dry your buds?

Headbandf1 · Nov 27, 2011

As with all aspects of growing - drying and curing has IDK how many components.

1. Drying room Temp 68- 74 f
2. Complete darkness
3 Plenty of air movement
4. Sugar leafs can be on or off
5. Follow all advice in Simons thread

Many ways to do it but doing then all at once surly will never come out right. Work on one method and always mindful of temp and light

growpunk · Jun 5, 2012

im in my 1 st harvest and i got a question .. buds feel dry but the stems are still bending its been 3 days drying. normal temps and humidity.. do i just leave them there hanging till stems snap or what .. do i jar them now to cure or ..

mattkilla420 · Jun 5, 2012

growpunk said:
im in my 1 st harvest and i got a question .. buds feel dry but the stems are still bending its been 3 days drying. normal temps and humidity.. do i just leave them there hanging till stems snap or what .. do i jar them now to cure or ..

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

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

green356man · Jun 5, 2012

i use Simon's method religiously!!!!! So simple and after a month the smell and taste are out of this world!!!!! Single best move i've made.

Hammerhead · Jun 5, 2012

its takes 5 days min dry time before I destem my buds and start the jar cure. I do not trim anything from th eplant before that. I have noticed that green smell taste when the plants are trimed before there dry.

PetFlora · Jul 8, 2012

green356man said:
i use Simon's method religiously!!!!! So simple and after a month the smell and taste are out of this world!!!!! Single best move i've made.

I could not find a link to Simons tech on that site. Can you provide a link to Simon's method?

:tiphat:

John Deere · Jul 8, 2012

PetFlora said:
I could not find a link to Simons tech on that site. Can you provide a link to Simon's method?

It's a sticky at the top of this forum. Click mattkilla420's link above.https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=156237

siftedunity · Jul 9, 2012

Hammerhead said:
its takes 5 days min dry time before I destem my buds and start the jar cure. I do not trim anything from th eplant before that. I have noticed that green smell taste when the plants are trimed before there dry.

agreed.if you hang on the stalks untill properly dry you should be good. paper bags imo dry the bu to quick and are not needed. thats my opinion ive never had dud smelling bud before.

mack 10 · Jul 22, 2012

Hammerhead said:
its takes 5 days min dry time before I destem my buds and start the jar cure. I do not trim anything from the plant before that. I have noticed that green smell taste when the plants are trimed before there dry.

i trim straight away and get no green smell, i have the opposite prob, my buds stink too much...Crazy how what works for one(in one location) might not work for someone else(in another locale) mack.

supermanlives · Jul 22, 2012

if my buds didnt smell i would save a fortune in baggies. everything i got reeks and people want it triple bagged. some have airtight containers

Behind_The_Mask · Jul 22, 2012

simons method works well and is pretty foolproof

praisehim. · Jul 22, 2012

hang longer. no need to paper bag. take off the fan leaves. then trim before turkey bagging.

Kronikal_kiwi · Jul 23, 2012

I gotta say, I have this exact same problem.

It's definitely not strain related as I'm growing some good strains, that stink during flowering. I always trim all the small leaves off the bud before drying, but as my plants are so big I cant hang plants whole and I usually trim all the buds off stalks, then put them in drying racks/nets and it takes roughly around a week. Then the smell is gone and even after a good cure the smell doesn't return!

Would love to know how to fix this?

Could it be because I use chem's rather than organic?
I grow in Coco with Canna nutes.

mack 10 · Jul 23, 2012

^try leaving them on the branch,instead of debranching.when the branch will bend and nearly snap,but is still pliable ,then cut the stems and jar them, no lids for first few days, depending on moisture level's. Takes practice, you will get a feel for it.

How to preserve smell and taste during drying?

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