Drying... Exhaust on or off?

Just finishing up my first run through, and things look wonderful. I am in the procces of cutting all the plants down, a very exciting and beautiful experience to be a part of. I grew 29 Sour Diesel plants, and I am starting to dry them. I am drying in the room the herb was grown in... it's dark, has a dehumidifier running to keep the r/h at around 50% and the temps are hovering at 65-68. I will also have an oscilating fan kept about five feet away from the first row of plants hung from rope. Should I leave my exhaust on during this proccess? I have a six inch Vortex, and also have a fan dimmer...so I can dim the fan as well. Curious what you guys think. I know that good ventilation is the key to preventing mold, and keeping a good r/h of course, but I am curious if drawing new air into the room is as beneficial as having an osilating fan? If I recall corrently, you dont want a fan pushing air directly onto your plants while they dry as it will speed the proccess up too much. Any experiences are highly appreciated. Cheers!

Sounds nice! I would just use the dehumidifer on a low setting if it has that ability. Maybe a small fan on a very low setting as well, but prob. not really needed.

What about running the exhaust for the grow room? ie CPU fan running off 12V.

What do you mean? Should I only have a very small amount of exhaust on right now? I have the exhaust fan at 3/4 strength pulling air out of the room and replacing it with air from outside the room. I then have an osilating fan about four feet from the plants on "breeze" mode which rotates from low to medieum at times. Is this too much ventilation...is that what you mean? Thanks in advance.

naw its not to much ventilation as long as the humidity is low and the lights are off ur good.

Sweet, yeah my lights are definitely off and I have a fan about four feet away from the plants on low. Should be good. I figure this process will take like 3-4 days depending. Sorry to post such an obvious question, I have worked so hard on my grow, done loads of research every step of the way..and then someone on the another board I'm on (who seems to know his shit) said having the ventilation on is a terrible idea. I think he may not know exactly what hes talking about on this one.

I would keep the ventilation on, but not have a fan blowing on them. A fan blowing on them will dry them too fast. I think ventilation is key to keep out mold.

btt said:

I would keep the ventilation on, but not have a fan blowing on them. A fan blowing on them will dry them too fast. I think ventilation is key to keep out mold.

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would it hurt to put some sort of dessicants in the room? or will it speed the process too much..

EmaSe said:

would it hurt to put some sort of dessicants in the room? or will it speed the process too much..

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hmmm.. i have never heard of anybody doing that... sounds like a good idea.. I just bought some for my camera case.. I shoot a lot in humid countries...

iloveyou

Not sure what dessicants are...can you elaborate. I have the exhaust on 50% strength now, and an oscilating fan about four feet away, pointed up...so it doesnt hit them directly... its also on low so I think I'm doing an alright job...def. dont want them to dry too too quickly as it will taste shitty if so

My relative humidity though set at 55% on the d/h keeps dropping to about 47%. This is a tad on the low side eh?

btt said:

I would keep the ventilation on, but not have a fan blowing on them. A fan blowing on them will dry them too fast. I think ventilation is key to keep out mold.

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Btt i agree and disagree with you, yes keep the ventilation on, but i would also keep a fan on low, because it dry's the outerlayer first, then when the outerlayer is dryed put them in plastic ziplock or paper bags, and open them 2-3 times daily. this way your buds stay evenly moist. the moisture from the inside gets slowly sucked back into the dryer part of the bud, and opening the baggy gives it fresh air so there is no mold build up.

TillthedayiDIE420 said:

Btt i agree and disagree with you, yes keep the ventilation on, but i would also keep a fan on low, because it dry's the outerlayer first, then when the outerlayer is dryed put them in plastic ziplock or paper bags, and open them 2-3 times daily. this way your buds stay evenly moist. the moisture from the inside gets slowly sucked back into the dryer part of the bud, and opening the baggy gives it fresh air so there is no mold build up.

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Got ya for sure. I am a newbie myself, but I am going to make damn sure that they are ready to go in the bags before I move them out of the room. Just have heard too many stories of people having great first grows, and ruining it by putting them into bags/jars with little patience. I just went in there, barely any difference nearly 24 hours later (dehumidifer set for 55, but its staying at 47) so I am guessing those bitches might be in there for around four days.

Cut down my first grow (29 plants total) Monday night and they have been hanging in there since. I trimmed off larger fan leaves before they were hung, and just took a peek to go in there. Decided to try to start trimming some of it, and I felt like it was a tad too dry, that I was almost ripping the leaves out rather than a nice cut. Now, they have been in there almost three days, I am curious when they should be put into the paper bags. What things do I look for in it to know it's ready to be moved? I assume at that point I will trim the herb as it will be nice and dry (though everything shrinks when it's dry so who knows if it will be easier) and then place it into paper bags and begin the curing proccess. Anyone...Bueller?

So I had hung up a single plant on Saturday to dry, and I took her down today and trimmed her up all nice. The stems did not "cracK" as described in alot of articles but it was easy enough to trim as they wernt soaked. Since they are not too dry, I threw them on a window screen back in the drying room, will rotate buds. How do I know when it's the right time to get them out and put em in paper bags? The buds should be able to crack solidly right?

3 days away from harvest myself. You are spot on with your drying methods. Just keep things monitored and you will be fine. Great job!

i am drying mine in the attic and MOLD is on a few buds these plants were hung for 4 days in a house trailer we snipped the buds off the stock and transported it home i have been drying in a container for 3 days and it still won't cut and burn i have taken it out of the container and it is on cardboard on the floor with a fan rotating is it all lost can the mold be stopped