Critique my curing method

sheckylovejoy

Well-Known Member
Hi. Looking to get the most out of my grow, and I'm finding that the scent of my crop is not as good as I'd like it. Please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong.
  1. Start by trimming off leaf and leaving the medium stems as much as possible
  2. Hang from a curtain rod in a small closet under the stairs
  3. I keep the closet at 70-72 degrees F
  4. I start the closet at 50% RH 1st day, then 55% 2nd-3rd days, and then 60% until the small stems snap
  5. I trim the flowers off the stems, and fill quart mason jars up 3/4 of the way, and pop in 62% Boveda packs
  6. Once a day for a month, I open the jars for an hour in the 62% RH closet.

Any help much appreciated
 

Dr.Nick Riviera

Well-Known Member
Hi. Looking to get the most out of my grow, and I'm finding that the scent of my crop is not as good as I'd like it. Please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong.
  1. Start by trimming off leaf and leaving the medium stems as much as possible
  2. Hang from a curtain rod in a small closet under the stairs
  3. I keep the closet at 70-72 degrees F
  4. I start the closet at 50% RH 1st day, then 55% 2nd-3rd days, and then 60% until the small stems snap
  5. I trim the flowers off the stems, and fill quart mason jars up 3/4 of the way, and pop in 62% Boveda packs
  6. Once a day for a month, I open the jars for an hour in the 62% RH closet.

Any help much appreciated
first thing I would look at is WHEN you harvest. Pulling to early will leave a lot of terps out. What you're using to grow with has a lot to do with it. then genetics has almost 90% of it.
 

sheckylovejoy

Well-Known Member
first thing I would look at is WHEN you harvest. Pulling to early will leave a lot of terps out. What you're using to grow with has a lot to do with it. then genetics has almost 90% of it.
They were pretty aromatic when I pulled them, and I used a microscope to check the trichomes which were all cloudy. I feel like the aroma is degrading.

NL5xHaze from seed, 75 days of flower
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
They were pretty aromatic when I pulled them, and I used a microscope to check the trichomes which were all cloudy. I feel like the aroma is degrading.

NL5xHaze from seed, 75 days of flower
I suspect given enough time of this all of the aroma degrades into a hay smelling bundle?
maybe do it for less time? consume when terpenes are at their highest.....thats what I do
 

sheckylovejoy

Well-Known Member
Definitely getting the hay smell a bit, but I thought curing was supposed to improve the scent. Anyway it's only been a week and I can already smell them turning a bit.
 

Dr Magill

Well-Known Member
Definitely getting the hay smell a bit, but I thought curing was supposed to improve the scent. Anyway it's only been a week and I can already smell them turning a bit.
"smell them turning a bit" like turning bad?? Curing should take the hay away unless they are still too wet to be cured
 

ruwtz

Well-Known Member
IMO this is by far the trickiest part and reliant on many factors, not least skill and intuition based on experience.

Definitely true that the first thing is genetics.

Then if they do stink at chop, the only significant factors that remain is your dry/cure, and this can be a real fight to get it down.

Dry too long and terps will evap, dry too quickly and you'll be left with dull hay. Under dry and you'll get musty smells and likely mold.

Lots of ways to skin this cat but as someone who has recently struggled with this and is now very happy with current results, for what its worth i'll share my process:

  1. chop main branches whole, leaving everything on including multiple colas + fan leaves
  2. hang dry in dark area, 68-73F @ RH50-60% with gentle, indirect fans - around 5 days
  3. trim down multiple branches into separate stems and into paper bags - 2/3 days
  4. trim leaves and de-bone buds from stem
  5. manicure and jar up for 3/4 week cure

Key points:

  • You want a nice slow dry period, a week is good for me. Watch those temps and keep buds spaced out to avoid mold (big wet colas are very prone especially if stacked together + warmth). Watch ambient RH very closely as this determines your dry time;
  • Paper bags help slow those final drying days, drawing moisture from the center of buds and rehydrating those crispy outsides without drying too far. Turning is important to keep this even and avoiding damp spots;
  • Leaving everything on the stem maintains good moisture content and avoids drying too quickly. Dry too fast and you've lost it;
  • At the point of trimming leaves should be crumbly and falling away, and quality buds will be crispy on the outside with a satisfying density and hardness.
With this method, by the time i'm going into jars they require very little burping, if any at all. The moisture content is right on and the lovely fragrance is there. I stick a humidity monitor in the jar to keep an eye on things; anywhere from 58-63% does the trick for me.

I dry whole lbs in a single jar; I want that whole product to "cook" together.

All this being said, I've had bud smell meh on the way in to the jar and a week later is really popping, so things do change once curing properly. Possibly strain dependent.

Not reinventing the wheel here and all of this has been said many times before, but i've had problems myself so wanted to share if it can help you.

Dry/cure really is its own skill set and is something you have to keep working on to get a feel for yourself. Many, many growers struggle to get this right, and whilst you can still produce quality stoney bud with poor fragrance, we all know that stink is what grabs your attention first and foremost. This is some sensual shit we're dealing with.

Good luck!
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Drop a hygrometer into your jar and see what it reads at. My buds smell very strong at harvest, smell decreases as they dry, and then the smell comes back as RH in jar drops below 60%. I think the peak aroma comes out around 58% for me.

If your jars are still above 65% RH you can expect improvement, if already below 60%, you might not get improvement.
 

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
When I jar with 62% boveda packs, burp weekly and only do it twice. Then they stay sealed for storage.
I'm thinking about swapping out the 62 for a 55 for long-term storage (after the second burp). Does anyone else do this?
 

sheckylovejoy

Well-Known Member
IMO this is by far the trickiest part and reliant on many factors, not least skill and intuition based on experience.

Definitely true that the first thing is genetics.

Then if they do stink at chop, the only significant factors that remain is your dry/cure, and this can be a real fight to get it down.

Dry too long and terps will evap, dry too quickly and you'll be left with dull hay. Under dry and you'll get musty smells and likely mold.

Lots of ways to skin this cat but as someone who has recently struggled with this and is now very happy with current results, for what its worth i'll share my process:

  1. chop main branches whole, leaving everything on including multiple colas + fan leaves
  2. hang dry in dark area, 68-73F @ RH50-60% with gentle, indirect fans - around 5 days
  3. trim down multiple branches into separate stems and into paper bags - 2/3 days
  4. trim leaves and de-bone buds from stem
  5. manicure and jar up for 3/4 week cure

Key points:

  • You want a nice slow dry period, a week is good for me. Watch those temps and keep buds spaced out to avoid mold (big wet colas are very prone especially if stacked together + warmth). Watch ambient RH very closely as this determines your dry time;
  • Paper bags help slow those final drying days, drawing moisture from the center of buds and rehydrating those crispy outsides without drying too far. Turning is important to keep this even and avoiding damp spots;
  • Leaving everything on the stem maintains good moisture content and avoids drying too quickly. Dry too fast and you've lost it;
  • At the point of trimming leaves should be crumbly and falling away, and quality buds will be crispy on the outside with a satisfying density and hardness.
With this method, by the time i'm going into jars they require very little burping, if any at all. The moisture content is right on and the lovely fragrance is there. I stick a humidity monitor in the jar to keep an eye on things; anywhere from 58-63% does the trick for me.

I dry whole lbs in a single jar; I want that whole product to "cook" together.

All this being said, I've had bud smell meh on the way in to the jar and a week later is really popping, so things do change once curing properly. Possibly strain dependent.

Not reinventing the wheel here and all of this has been said many times before, but i've had problems myself so wanted to share if it can help you.

Dry/cure really is its own skill set and is something you have to keep working on to get a feel for yourself. Many, many growers struggle to get this right, and whilst you can still produce quality stoney bud with poor fragrance, we all know that stink is what grabs your attention first and foremost. This is some sensual shit we're dealing with.

Good luck!
Thanks, this is very helpful. My very first crop years ago I lost about a 1/3 to mold and I've been anxious about that since. I probably dried too fast
 

sheckylovejoy

Well-Known Member
Drop a hygrometer into your jar and see what it reads at. My buds smell very strong at harvest, smell decreases as they dry, and then the smell comes back as RH in jar drops below 60%. I think the peak aroma comes out around 58% for me.

If your jars are still above 65% RH you can expect improvement, if already below 60%, you might not get improvement.
I do have little humidor hygrometers in there and they're all at 62
 

sheckylovejoy

Well-Known Member
When I jar with 62% boveda packs, burp weekly and only do it twice. Then they stay sealed for storage.
I'm thinking about swapping out the 62 for a 55 for long-term storage (after the second burp). Does anyone else do this?
OK, I'll slow down on the burping maybe. I store long term in vacuum sealed jars with both Boveda and oxygen absorbers. Years ago I was looking into long-term storage and I wound up on the prepper sites, which is where I got the idea for the oxy-absorbers.
 

ruwtz

Well-Known Member
OK, I'll slow down on the burping maybe. I store long term in vacuum sealed jars with both Boveda and oxygen absorbers. Years ago I was looking into long-term storage and I wound up on the prepper sites, which is where I got the idea for the oxy-absorbers.
Can't say 100% but I have the 62% large Bovedas and felt that maybe they were taking away some of the smell.

I have a big unused box of them just gathering dust now.
 

sheckylovejoy

Well-Known Member
Can't say 100% but I have the 62% large Bovedas and felt that maybe they were taking away some of the smell.

I have a big unused box of them just gathering dust now.
I am starting to think that myself. I think I'm going to pull them.
 

backtracker

Well-Known Member
I found a bud today that has been on a drying screen in a dark cold shed since October the trics are in perfect shape it's still pliable the smell is still there and the smoke is smooth and taste like grapefruit, a great cure and I didn't do anything.
 
Top