humidity slightly high in jars--leave lid off or dump contents out?

This is my first crack at growing. Successfully raised and harvested 6 plants outdoors in the ground.

4 of 6 are dried and now curing in Mason jars (last 2 plants are still drying). Drying consisted of hanging branches upside down in a well-ventilated shed for a week followed by a second week hanging inside a room in the house with 50-60% r.h. and 60 degrees F temp.

I'm using small hygrometers inside the jars to monitor r.h. Don't have enough for every jar but try and rotate them every few days. 3 of the 4 plants curing are showing a r.h. of 64-67%. But the fourth is giving me readings of 70%--and this morning I saw 72% in a jar that had some larger buds in it. Everything gets "burped" once a day for 30 minutes or so but the plant with the high humidity I've been leaving the lids off for several hours each day.

Is that sufficient or should I dump out the buds and let them dry outside the jars for a few hours or days? Not seeing any signs of mold anywhere but my research indicates that 70% or higher readings is asking for trouble.

Thanks for any advice.

You got this, it won’t hurt to pour out the high humidity jar for a half hour. The other three jars sound perfect, don’t really need any burping for that last 2 or 3%, they’re fine imo.

Kerowacked said:

You got this, it won’t hurt to pour out the high humidity jar for a half hour. The other three jars sound perfect, don’t really need any burping for that last 2 or 3%, they’re fine imo.

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Thanks--guess I'll dump those jars (12!) out into a cardboard box or paper bag. I was thinking several hours or even overnight. You think just 30 minutes would do it?

Personal preference is nothing creeps above 60%. I find 58% the sweet spot. But between 55-60 is a good gauge. Ebay has cheap hygrometers if you need a bunch. They work great. Here’s a link. Did a quick search. Probably other deals out there too.

PagingMrHerman said:

Personal preference is nothing creeps above 60%. I find 58% the sweet spot. But between 55-60 is a good gauge. Ebay has cheap hygrometers if you need a bunch. They work great. Here’s a link. Did a quick search. Probably other deals out there too.

Small Indoor Temperature Humidity Meter Thermometers Hygrometer Digital LCD | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Small Indoor Temperature Humidity Meter Thermometers Hygrometer Digital LCD at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

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Assuming you're talking about final storage, not curing? Because the research I've done (including on RIU) indicates you want to start the cure above 60%.

And thanks for the link to the hygrometers--those look just like the 5-pack I got. By the time I get this last plant jarred I'll have several dozen jars so not really practical to put a hygrometer in each one. But hopefully monitoring a rotating sample from each plant I can gauge pretty well how things are going.

I dumped it out into a paper bag and left it sitting open overnight. Back in jars this morning...reading 68%. Might take 24 hours or so to really know.

Interestingly I'm finding some variation depending on which jar I test. Guess the ones with bigger buds are liable to be less dry.

Not seeing any signs of mold anywhere but am a little anxious. Of course being as this is my first try at growing, I've been a little anxious throughout the whole process. But other than a few challenges here and there things have gone very well so I should just relax!

Humidity is a poor judge, do they feel dry and do they smoke like dried bud? If yes your fine just jar and keep an eye on them. Sampling the product tells you a lot more in less time.

Over these years of harvesting, drying, curing weed, it's the drying that's critical in getting bud ready to be sealed.... De-contaminating by removing all small leaf to reduce any hay/chlorophyll smell/taste and controlling a passing breeze of a specific RH is ideal... I purposely dry in an active bathroom area where high humidity is normal...helps slow down drying. I hang dry in a prepared tote with control fans and trim a little more daily til trimming nuggs off stems and continuing dry in brown bags. A few days later, jar at 60-62%. I personally keep jars for vaping at 55% and combusting at 62. May be better with a bit of cure but seems none of mine makes it past the first full moon.
The only change I've made in years was adding brown paper bags to a certain dying cycle and I just believe it has added taste and immediate smoke-ability.

BBQtoast said:

Humidity is a poor judge, do they feel dry and do they smoke like dried bud? If yes your fine just jar and keep an eye on them. Sampling the product tells you a lot more in less time.

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Well, I stopped smoking years ago and pretty much quit vaping too last winter. Strictly edibles and tinctures at this time, so haven't really done a smoke test. At this point things seem under control, been rotating my hygrometers between jars just to make sure I'm not too moist anywhere. So far so good.

I did fine a little rot in 2 buds, it looks like a little botrytis from before harvest maybe that didn't get caught before. I remove the whole bud when I find that. But finding 2 small spots in almost 10 lbs. of harvest doesn't seem too bad.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Well, I stopped smoking years ago and pretty much quit vaping too last winter. Strictly edibles and tinctures at this time, so haven't really done a smoke test. At this point things seem under control, been rotating my hygrometers between jars just to make sure I'm not too moist anywhere. So far so good.

I did fine a little rot in 2 buds, it looks like a little botrytis from before harvest maybe that didn't get caught before. I remove the whole bud when I find that. But finding 2 small spots in almost 10 lbs. of harvest doesn't seem too bad.

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You don't need to cure just seperate the trichs, dry and store if not for smoking.

Bigger jars may help, are yours fairly small? I use the ones with the rubber seals, you can get decent ones at Wal Mart, Bed, Bath, and Beyond or the internet. I think they're gallon size, hold up to 4 oz of cured bud.

20 bucks on the internet, 5.99 at a retail store for a similar product. 3 liter I believe.

BBQtoast said:

You don't need to cure just seperate the trichs, dry and store if not for smoking.

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Separate trichs and store? Hmmm...say more about that.

Still want to know how to cure properly. A bunch of this is probably going to be given away--and I'll probably do the odd hit or two on the vape just to enjoy the full flavor.

Moldy said:

Bigger jars may help, are yours fairly small? I use the ones with the rubber seals, you can get decent ones at Wal Mart, Bed, Bath, and Beyond or the internet. I think they're gallon size, hold up to 4 oz of cured bud.

20 bucks on the internet, 5.99 at a retail store for a similar product. 3 liter I believe.
View attachment 4747557

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Interesting--I've been using Ball mason jars, half gallon and quart size. But those look good.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Separate trichs and store? Hmmm...say more about that.

Still want to know how to cure properly. A bunch of this is probably going to be given away--and I'll probably do the odd hit or two on the vape just to enjoy the full flavor.

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You can just take the trichs as hash or sift from dried bud then make other stuff six months later. It will have cured after that time. There's a lot of ways to get to the same point you need .