^^^This:
65F and 65%RH with air circulation
With these conditions the manicured buds are appropriately dry and ready to begin curing after 7 days.
- BT
Snook have a delve into Simons article on curing:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=156237
Good Luck,
- BT
I shoot for 65F and 65%RH with air circulation in pitch black
Hummm.. 7 days.. I been running whole plant, rugh trimmed at 72F/65RH for 10-14 days then, trim finer to branch level then into brown paper bags till the go into glass (dem glass jars is a PITA to burp, clankety clank), maybe 2-3 weeks.. then 2QT mson jars. they always seem just right for vapeing and a tiny bit too damp for rolling joints (leave the ground bud out for 15-30 minutes for rolling). but maybe I have something to learn here.. I'll listen.. if it makes sence, I'll try it.
I shoot for 65F and 65%RH with air circulation in pitch black
Wow, that is low and slow! Do you uses a humidifier or a dehumidifier? Or both? How do you maintain the 65%RH?
Yes it is low and slow!! I have moved to wet trim in a trimming machine and doing that will cause the buds dry WAY to fast if you don't control the environment compared to just hanging a whole plant to trim later. Before I got to the 65/65 sweet spot I was drying in 3 days and I had no smell or taste really compared to my old method. I use a dehumidifier, and I do NOT use an actual humidifier. (although some people do)
Here is what I do:
In the corner of my room, I'll hang a drying rack for the smaller trimmed buds, and I have a few lines hung to use hangers for the colas. All of these get a full wet manicure at the time of harvest.
Then I place the dehuey on the floor underneath it, and a fan oscillating next to that aiming UP and AWAY from the hangers and rack so no direct air hits the buds. I then place a hygrometer on every shelf of the drying rack and hang a few off the hangers. This is CRUCIAL because then I can monitor exactly what is happening EVERYWHERE and can make fine adjustments. I use around 10 of the hygrometers. (these hygrometers are later used in the curing bins to ensure an accurate cure)
In my rooms, I have two extraction fans with carbon filters. One that comes on with the flowering lights to keep the temps down, and one that runs 24/7 to keep negative pressure on the room so I don't leak smell. During the drying phase, I do not use the large fan at all, and I block off the passive intake vents from the smaller fan so it pulls far far less air out of the room. This allows the build up of humidity from the drying buds. If I didn't have the dehuey, the RH will climb to over 90% in under an hour. Then I set my dehuey to 70%. (on my dehuey, setting is to 70% on the machine will actually keep the air at a fairly steady 65% per all the other meters).
Now.. to keep the air around a cool 65F I have to find the sweet spot of blocking my intake vent. See, if I block too much of the vent, the extractor fan doesn't pull enough wet air out of the room, and my dehuey has to work constantly. If its on constantly, it will heat up the room to even 75F or higher. So I try and find the sweet spot so the air being pulled out by the extractor fan is just enough to where the dehuey just kicks on sometimes leaving the air cooler. (does that make sense?)
Few things, in the winter time when there isn't much water in the air, I will fill up a few short buckets or bowls with water to sit under the rack near the fan. This passively adds some water to the air. If I need more water, I will drape a small rag out of the bowls or towel out of the buckets to help speed up the evaporation. This works just fine to help slow the drying down some. If the air is really dry, I have little sections of reflectix that I will fashion into walls around the corner of the room. This makes a smaller rooms worth of air to keep in the sweet spot of 65%.
Also, you can fine tune areas that may be getting a little more or less. For instance, if the hanging buds are a little drier than the buds in the rack I will push them all closer together crowding them. IF they are wetter, I spread them out more allowing more air movement.
Another thing I do to add a little more water to the air (if needed) is I will leave all of the leftover branches from the trim under the rack so the sticks can all dry out also. Ultimately I will burn them so they need to be dried out anyway.
I hope this is clear, if not feel free to ask
taged