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Malawi Style Cob Curing.

Hombre del mont

Dr of Stupidity
I would pay special attention to those cobs just in case. Big humidity swings like the one you described are really inviting to mold and other funghi, even more so than constant high RH. Do you usually have powdery mildew problems with your green house plants?
We don't have a green house but if squash plants are left out they get some PM.

I've seen quite a few people on here making cobs without a vac bag and I did it once myself 35yrs ago, so I know it's doable. I think providing my material is on the dry side to start with all should be good.
 

funkyhorse

Well-known member
Hi guys
I live in Landraceland, it is a natural place with very high biodiversity
This is wetlands. With western genetics this is a PM festival, so I try to use genetics that are PM and mold resistant as high jungle weed ganja which is native from these kind of environments
I am bricking plants that are PM and mold free and I try to grow this kind of plants
Nothing is inmune. From 6 Northern Thailand landrace girls 2 of them make PM and I guess they will be the worst high of them as it happens. They behave different than the rest, they keep flowering when the rest of the family is growing leaf, so I think I will cull those
This canary brick is Koh Chang/Thai Stick x Ohz90 and Purple Haze x Meao Thai PH pheno mixed. Bith plants were pm and mold free and it shows in the brick
I have another brick going with a lot more bud made from Seedsman Haze x Ohz90 from MadMac crossed with a Northern Thailand hermie girl and it is 3 plants in one bark mixed with different organoleptic properties
The only way to discover what is best is trying it and trying it again.
The best weed I smoked all my life was brick weed lightly seeded
Thanks to Master Tangwena I learnt that was all fermented weed.
I would like to smoke the same I smoke in the 80s and I think this is the only way to get it back is through fermenting the proper weed for fermenting.
I am not biased, I try everything, my environment is difficult for modern weed
Malawi and Lebanese from Ace make PM. I am growing some genetics from a defunt seedbank called Hortilab and it is all PM. I had PM on one of my Zamal girls but I keep trying.
This beautiful super sour skunk from Hortilab is a PM galore
Sss top shot.jpeg

But New Caledonia are making it much better at the greenhouse, if you dont try it is impossible to know
New Caledonia (2).jpeg

So for me it is easy, nature shows me the way. The plants that dont mold and dont make PM are usually the best high in my environment. And making bricks from those plants I am not going to have mould nor PM in the brick. Very few strains left that can cope with high humidity, modern breeding it is all afghan in the mix
 
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funkyhorse

Well-known member
I would like to clarify a thing or two
I tried last year different methods,all of them involving banana bark
Best result was the most simple one, the one just wrapped in the bark
I tried fermenting with bark on the yoghourt maker, I tried wrapping the weed with the bark with a layer of nylon and a layer of masking tape, same like brick is wrapped in many landrace places and I had bad results, a lot of mold and rot
I dont have vacuum machine and in Landraceland vacuum machines were not used except when they were packing the weed in cans. And the best weed I smoked in my life was fermented without use of any vacuum machine so it is a matter of experimenting until you find the correct strain and the correct way to do it
I think experience helps because I know how it should look like or how a certain landrace strain should smoke because I have smoked it for many years and handled real brick in real life in its place of origin so I think it helps advancing faster

What inspired me to search this cure is paraguayan brick weed of old. But I am seeing different bricks people show and to my surprise, mexican brick looks very similar too. South East Asian brick is different. I think the similarity between mexican and paraguayan is because both bricks are hidden buried in the ground. And while in the ground, they might ferment or not but acquire some added smells and tastes not to the palate of everybody.
The preparaquat weed of the 20th century in SouthAmerica certainly fermented. Paraguayan end of 80s was like gum, like rubber. It was very difficult to smoke, it was so sticky and hard to keep lit. In southamerica ganja is smoked pure without any tobacco like europeans do. 3 tokes of that shit rubbery shit got you tripping balls 3 hours easy

I am learning here the african way and I am adopting the banana bark and becoming a big fan of it, so simple and effective!
So I think the best way to do this is to amalgamate knowledge and try to grow and do what is best for our local environments. In my case I need to grow PM, rot/mold and bug resistent strains because I live in Bugland and it is full of any kind of living entities in the form of bugs you dont even imagine how diverse they are. Aphids rule here, I better get some aphid resistent weed. Most of the modern western weed is bred in indoor labs, it is not an easy task to find what I need and like

So in order to start amalgamating knowledge, I leave you guys here some articles about the way paraguayans do it
These first 2 articles are in portughese so Tangwena's wife can read and the next 2 are the same article translated to spanish. Sorry guys, no english version at the moment but google translator is your friend
I clean the bricks out of stick and most of the seed. You dont get high from smoking the stick and smoking seed will give you only headache. Premium paraguayan brick style sift bricked on pure african traditional way. Thank you 21st century for allowing this marvel to happen


This article is about how paraguayan brick is born

Spanish language versions


Have a nice day and enjoy the dossier
 

Ur Humbl Nr8tor

Well-known member
Veteran
Sounds like you’ve got the mind and the means to try out your plans, funkyhorse. I know you know of Ace and their OTH leaning plants seems like they would be very well suited for your climate. I already had a vacuum contraption and sous vide machine as I love to cook. I also have a bit of a scientific background and mind. So with those skills and machines, it seems like the first cob almost makes itself. Also allows me to potentially cob some plants that just wouldn’t work in your environment.

Old school bricked bud was always such a fuss. An ounce could have some really delicious high potent buds and then other buds would have PM or worse, full blown mold on them. And all the seeds…We didn’t care back when I was a teenager. We’d smoke it all the same.
 

sneezydog

Well-known member
Thank you funkyhorse for this!
Its good to have word from the vacseal free folks.
I have made great cobs without vacuum technology, they dry slowly on their own without the need for opening and drying as the sealed ones do.
The initial fermentation drives out any extra processes and oxygen as the green materials are broken down. The smells after are obvious what is happening inside. The only mold i have ever had on a well initially sweated cob was surface mold that was easily wiped away.
I have done banana bark and noticed it was different from the corn cure. It has a more slow, even release of moisture, with the thick pad of bark. This is the best part of curing without a bag, i think.
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
I would like to clarify a thing or two
I tried last year different methods,all of them involving banana bark
Best result was the most simple one, the one just wrapped in the bark
I tried fermenting with bark on the yoghourt maker, I tried wrapping the weed with the bark with a layer of nylon and a layer of masking tape, same like brick is wrapped in many landrace places and I had bad results, a lot of mold and rot
I dont have vacuum machine and in Landraceland vacuum machines were not used except when they were packing the weed in cans. And the best weed I smoked in my life was fermented without use of any vacuum machine so it is a matter of experimenting until you find the correct strain and the correct way to do it
I think experience helps because I know how it should look like or how a certain landrace strain should smoke because I have smoked it for many years and handled real brick in real life in its place of origin so I think it helps advancing faster

What inspired me to search this cure is paraguayan brick weed of old. But I am seeing different bricks people show and to my surprise, mexican brick looks very similar too. South East Asian brick is different. I think the similarity between mexican and paraguayan is because both bricks are hidden buried in the ground. And while in the ground, they might ferment or not but acquire some added smells and tastes not to the palate of everybody.
The preparaquat weed of the 20th century in SouthAmerica certainly fermented. Paraguayan end of 80s was like gum, like rubber. It was very difficult to smoke, it was so sticky and hard to keep lit. In southamerica ganja is smoked pure without any tobacco like europeans do. 3 tokes of that shit rubbery shit got you tripping balls 3 hours easy

I am learning here the african way and I am adopting the banana bark and becoming a big fan of it, so simple and effective!
So I think the best way to do this is to amalgamate knowledge and try to grow and do what is best for our local environments. In my case I need to grow PM, rot/mold and bug resistent strains because I live in Bugland and it is full of any kind of living entities in the form of bugs you dont even imagine how diverse they are. Aphids rule here, I better get some aphid resistent weed. Most of the modern western weed is bred in indoor labs, it is not an easy task to find what I need and like

So in order to start amalgamating knowledge, I leave you guys here some articles about the way paraguayans do it
These first 2 articles are in portughese so Tangwena's wife can read and the next 2 are the same article translated to spanish. Sorry guys, no english version at the moment but google translator is your friend
I clean the bricks out of stick and most of the seed. You dont get high from smoking the stick and smoking seed will give you only headache. Premium paraguayan brick style sift bricked on pure african traditional way. Thank you 21st century for allowing this marvel to happen


This article is about how paraguayan brick is born

Spanish language versions


Have a nice day and enjoy the dossier
Amazing resource man love those purple hued cured buds.
I wasn't able to copy the pic so I used my phone to snap a couple of pics reminds me of Africa.
We used to score buds like that dry cured in fat loose cobs very potent and aromatic.

IMG_2118b.jpg
IMG_2117b.jpg
 
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iTarzan

Well-known member
Ur Humble so after 7 days you unwrapped them and let them dry for an hour. Then you rewrapped them and you said they are in the cure. Are you now letting them at room temperature or are they back on heat?

I had mine on 104 for a couple days. Opened and wiped dry and air dry for an hour. Then rewrapped and back on 104 for 6 days. Opened up and only 2 needed to dry but let all of them open for an hour but the moister ones are open on heat paid to dry for their hour. No mold was observed. The pic of all 4 is bottom Cobb 14 day dry stems still bendy leaves had crunch. 3rd down 10 days dry more bendy leaves less crunchy but some crunch. 2nd one down was dried 2 days. Very bendy, leaves wilted but soft. Top Cobb was hung one day and, well you know how it was..fresh.

Now I have them all rewrapped. Do I leave them in dark at room temperature or do they go back on heat mat?

DSCN3583.jpeg
DSCN3584.jpeg
DSCN3585.jpeg
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Ur Humble so after 7 days you unwrapped them and let them dry for an hour. Then you rewrapped them and you said they are in the cure. Are you now letting them at room temperature or are they back on heat?

I had mine on 104 for a couple days. Opened and wiped dry and air dry for an hour. Then rewrapped and back on 104 for 6 days. Opened up and only 2 needed to dry but let all of them open for an hour but the moister ones are open on heat paid to dry for their hour. No mold was observed. The pic of all 4 is bottom Cobb 14 day dry stems still bendy leaves had crunch. 3rd down 10 days dry more bendy leaves less crunchy but some crunch. 2nd one down was dried 2 days. Very bendy, leaves wilted but soft. Top Cobb was hung one day and, well you know how it was..fresh.

Now I have them all rewrapped. Do I leave them in dark at room temperature or do they go back on heat mat?

View attachment 18777710 View attachment 18777711 View attachment 18777712
Nice range there my friend love them all.
No more cooking thats plenty now just dry them so they feel dry to the touch and reseal them to cure.
On the moister ones I would dry them weekly until they stabilize, moisture content should be low for storage or they will over ferment they all look great now you dont want any more changes just aging.
They dont need to be in the dark to cure or age store at room temps once the moisture is removed they stabilize and just age nicely.
 

RottyRzr

Active member
Ive been reading through this thread and planned to try making a cob or two when my plant is harvested. I am puzzled however when I read of those that chew on the cob and get high. I thought weed had to be decarbed before THCA gets converted to THC in order to get high. How can this happen with the cobs when Im not seeing the temperatures required for this to happen?
 

Taima-da

Well-known member
Ive been reading through this thread and planned to try making a cob or two when my plant is harvested. I am puzzled however when I read of those that chew on the cob and get high. I thought weed had to be decarbed before THCA gets converted to THC in order to get high. How can this happen with the cobs when Im not seeing the temperatures required for this to happen?
Magic.
That or our understanding of orally active ganja is incomplete.
 
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Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
Ive been reading through this thread and planned to try making a cob or two when my plant is harvested. I am puzzled however when I read of those that chew on the cob and get high. I thought weed had to be decarbed before THCA gets converted to THC in order to get high. How can this happen with the cobs when Im not seeing the temperatures required for this to happen?
Dont believe the bullshit you have been told by people who have doctorates in science but have never had enough experience in the real world outside the laboratory.
The cannabis scene is full of people with phd in nothing but fantasy.

Find out for yourself and then you will no longer believe everything you read on the internet my friend.
The oil made from good cobs is also highly active without de carbing.
I call bullshit on this whole decarbing thing and a lot of other crap I read from so called experts.
It makes me laugh some of the fantasy I read that people swallow as gospel just because it came from someone in a lab coat.
This is easy to fix and you can make up your own mind.

I'm sure some science minded person will come up with a scientific reason why it works.
After all if its not scientifically proven we cant be getting high can we ha ha.
 

revegeta666

Well-known member
Ackchyually, to be fair I don't think any respectable scientifically - minded person would claim that we know everything about the cannabis plant. It is a very complex plant and we only just got started discovering the most basic aspects of its chemistry. Mostly because of it having been illegal for so long. There surely is a scientific explanation for everything related to the plant, we just have to accept that we don't know it yet and that's where the integrity of a scientist should lie. Looking to the evidence humbly and empirically, and away from the hubris and self importance that is sadly so prevalent in this hype driven cannabis world.
DpQ9YJl.jpg
 

goingrey

Well-known member
Ive been reading through this thread and planned to try making a cob or two when my plant is harvested. I am puzzled however when I read of those that chew on the cob and get high. I thought weed had to be decarbed before THCA gets converted to THC in order to get high. How can this happen with the cobs when Im not seeing the temperatures required for this to happen?
High temperatures are not needed to decarb weed. They just make it happen faster. Lets not forget the couple of days in a warm place and couple of months at room temp.

In addition to time, the fermentation itself also decarboxylates THCA. Decarboxylation is the loss of CO2 (literally what it means). Possibly the chemical reaction is similar to when sugar is fermented into alcohol and CO2?

Here is what the science says:
THCA-A slowly decarboxylates to form THC during storage and fermentation and can further degrade to cannabinol.

Most likely other orally psychoactive compounds are also formed during the process.
 

dilettante

Active member
Hello cobbers. I promised you some pictures.

100_4021.JPG

100_4015.JPG


Some stayed this light green color but most faded quickly. I made 16 small cobs. 4 to 10 g. Some were almost dry enough to smoke. The later ones were pretty wet after just 2 days drying. All popcorn buds.

I kept adding to the warm box at 36 °C, so some stayed there for 11 days, some for 4 days and the last one just for 24 hours. This one is the only one that developed visible condensate in the bag. It smelled the strongest when opened.

I decided to switch off the heating and keep them at room temperature from now on. I will take all cobs out of their bags for inspection and dry for a day.

Fun project so far. The bigger and juicer the cobs, the more fun it is.

This is the last one I made:

100_4036.JPG
100_4038.JPG

100_4039.JPG


Made from this:

100_4031.JPG


I wish everybody happy curing.
 
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