Struggling with the dry/cure

J

JDMase

Well-Known Member
So I left my buds for roughly 5-7 days (started chopping and into jars on the fifth and finished by the 7th) they felt absolutely crispy on the outside.
The bud composition is slightly airy, I put this down to high temps and humidity fluctuations.
I have 4 quart sized mason jars, and some that are around double that, and two zip lock bags as I ran out of jars.
After 12 hours all the smells seem to have gone and some have turned into that grassy hay smell. Squeezing does bring some of the smell out but it's very slight.

Have I over dried? Will the smells increase over cure time? Am I worrying over nothing and micro managing?

Should I just leave everything sealed up?

I can attach picthres but im not sure what anyone wants to see.

Im using those cheapy round humidity gauges, they are reading roughly 75% one was 85% and another was 99%. Ive never calibrated them as I assumed they come calibrated and im not sure how to do it myself.

Thanks guys.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
You HAVE to have a proper way to measure your harvest RH. If you stay " guessing " you will NEVER get it right.

Shitcan those meters ... They are worthless..... Sounds like those lizard / turtle meters.

Go to walmart .... Spend $7 on this meter.
image.jpg
Put your buds into a Brown paper bag ( grocery store ) WITH METER.
Roll top closed - ( just to close .... NOT CRUSHING your buds ) like a big ass lunch bag.
Leave closed and stored somewhere cool and dark. Allow a few hours so meter to adjust to RH of enclosed bag.

BAG WILL ALLOW " SLOWER " drying and still breathe. !!!!!!!!!!!

image.jpg


Every once in a while ( keeping closed ) " roll " bag around gently to mix buds around.
After some time open bag and read meter. It will give you a pretty accurate idea of where RH is.

For me once i hit about 70% ... I begin to jar. Then burp jar daily for a week.
If you are still close to 62-65% you are in the range needed.
If you OVERDRIED from the beginning , you are TOO LATE . The curing will have stopped and can not be restarted. No bullshit way of rehydrating buds will be as good as PROPERLY curing bud. No tortillas in jar , lemon peels , or other methods to add moisture BACK will give you anything good. Curing is the most important part of the grow ..... Fuck that up and your work was for nothing.

Once curing .. Resist " trying " uncured bud .. Its harsh and nowhere as good as finished cured bud. At a minimum ... 2 weeks You could sample ( as long as it has been curing AT TARGET RH for some time. 4 weeks is my first smoke ... It gets better as it ages.

Last thing ... Make absolutely sure you harvest when they are ready. ( triches )
If you cut them too early ( shitty buzz , racy , wont burn well , hay smell ).

image.jpg
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
Yeah those cheap RH meters with the spring are very inaccurate. You need a digital one. BTW putting plant material in a mason jar at 60-65% RH is not actually curing, it's just drying at a slower rate. Tobacco is that RH in its final state, meaning AFTER it's cured and ready for sale. It's cured at 72-75% RH. I never actually tried that, because I don't cure or dry at room temp, just too slow. Mold may result, I don't know. I cure at 100 F for 4-5 days in a container with the lid slightly cracked. It cures and then dries, no mold whatsoever. I could do it at room temp if I didn't mind waiting for 2 weeks just for the yellowing phase and another 6 for curing, and if I didn't mind mold popping up unpredictably.
 
Last edited:
J

JDMase

Well-Known Member
Budzbuddha said:
You HAVE to have a proper way to measure your harvest RH. If you stay " guessing " you will NEVER get it right.

Shitcan those meters ... They are worthless..... Sounds like those lizard / turtle meters.

Go to walmart .... Spend $7 on this meter.
View attachment 3876034
Put your buds into a Brown paper bag ( grocery store ) WITH METER.
Roll top closed - ( just to close .... NOT CRUSHING your buds ) like a big ass lunch bag.
Leave closed and stored somewhere cool and dark. Allow a few hours so meter to adjust to RH of enclosed bag.

BAG WILL ALLOW " SLOWER " drying and still breathe. !!!!!!!!!!!

View attachment 3876050


Every once in a while ( keeping closed ) " roll " bag around gently to mix buds around.
After some time open bag and read meter. It will give you a pretty accurate idea of where RH is.

For me once i hit about 70% ... I begin to jar. Then burp jar daily for a week.
If you are still close to 62-65% you are in the range needed.
If you OVERDRIED from the beginning , you are TOO LATE . The curing will have stopped and can not be restarted. No bullshit way of rehydrating buds will be as good as PROPERLY curing bud. No tortillas in jar , lemon peels , or other methods to add moisture BACK will give you anything good. Curing is the most important part of the grow ..... Fuck that up and your work was for nothing.

Once curing .. Resist " trying " uncured bud .. Its harsh and nowhere as good as finished cured bud. At a minimum ... 2 weeks You could sample ( as long as it has been curing AT TARGET RH for some time. 4 weeks is my first smoke ... It gets better as it ages.

Last thing ... Make absolutely sure you harvest when they are ready. ( triches )
If you cut them too early ( shitty buzz , racy , wont burn well , hay smell ).

View attachment 3876047
Click to expand...
Thanks for the details method there man, I have considered the paper bag method and I haven't actually thought about looking up how to do it in detail, is it easier than hang drying then? This I assume eliminates the need? Probably a better option for me tbh!
Put the buds in a bag in a cupboard is better than hanging them all round my bathroom.
 
J

JDMase

Well-Known Member
BobCajun said:
Yeah those cheap RH meters with the spring are very inaccurate. You need a digital one. BTW putting plant material in a mason jar at 60-65% RH is not actually curing, it's just drying at a slower rate. Tobacco is that RH in its final state, meaning AFTER it's cured and ready for sale. It's cured at 72-75% RH. I never actually tried that, because I don't cure or dry at room temp, just too slow. Mold may result, I don't know. I cure at 100 F for 4-5 days in a container with the lid slightly cracked. It cures and then dries, no mold whatsoever. I could do it at room temp if I didn't mind waiting for 2 weeks just for the yellowing phase and another 6 for curing, and if I didn't mind mold popping up unpredictably.
Click to expand...
Ive also not heard of this drying method eitber, is it a well known one? Meaning, are there videos or tutorials on how to do it? Or is it as simple as you make it sound.

I worry about heat drying them out too quickly for me to catch and then wasting my bud.
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
JDMase said:
Ive also not heard of this drying method eitber, is it a well known one? Meaning, are there videos or tutorials on how to do it? Or is it as simple as you make it sound.

I worry about heat drying them out too quickly for me to catch and then wasting my bud.
Click to expand...
It's not well known. I adapted it from tobacco curing and found it worked well. It's just a matter of figuring out the best way to maintain 100 F temperature and minimal ventilation for a few days. You'll notice that the smell changes after the first couple days. It smells like cured weed instead of like BHO. Then you can dry it however you want. I also dry at 100-125 F but you could just dry at room temp if you wanted. It only takes 2 days at 100 F and high humidity to change to cured smell and color.
 
J

JDMase

Well-Known Member
BobCajun said:
It's not well known. I adapted it from tobacco curing and found it worked well. It's just a matter of figuring out the best way to maintain 100 F temperature and minimal ventilation for a few days.
Click to expand...
Could probably do that in the cupboard with my boiler in, gonna put a thermometer in there and see what we got.
 
cannabisweedPotNerd

cannabisweedPotNerd

Well-Known Member
Budzbuddha said:
You HAVE to have a proper way to measure your harvest RH. If you stay " guessing " you will NEVER get it right.

Shitcan those meters ... They are worthless..... Sounds like those lizard / turtle meters.

Go to walmart .... Spend $7 on this meter.
View attachment 3876034
Put your buds into a Brown paper bag ( grocery store ) WITH METER.
Roll top closed - ( just to close .... NOT CRUSHING your buds ) like a big ass lunch bag.
Leave closed and stored somewhere cool and dark. Allow a few hours so meter to adjust to RH of enclosed bag.

BAG WILL ALLOW " SLOWER " drying and still breathe. !!!!!!!!!!!

View attachment 3876050


Every once in a while ( keeping closed ) " roll " bag around gently to mix buds around.
After some time open bag and read meter. It will give you a pretty accurate idea of where RH is.

For me once i hit about 70% ... I begin to jar. Then burp jar daily for a week.
If you are still close to 62-65% you are in the range needed.
If you OVERDRIED from the beginning , you are TOO LATE . The curing will have stopped and can not be restarted. No bullshit way of rehydrating buds will be as good as PROPERLY curing bud. No tortillas in jar , lemon peels , or other methods to add moisture BACK will give you anything good. Curing is the most important part of the grow ..... Fuck that up and your work was for nothing.

Once curing .. Resist " trying " uncured bud .. Its harsh and nowhere as good as finished cured bud. At a minimum ... 2 weeks You could sample ( as long as it has been curing AT TARGET RH for some time. 4 weeks is my first smoke ... It gets better as it ages.

Last thing ... Make absolutely sure you harvest when they are ready. ( triches )
If you cut them too early ( shitty buzz , racy , wont burn well , hay smell ).

View attachment 3876047
Click to expand...
Hey can you show a picture off the bud in the paper bag before you start cureing after being dried please and thank you
 
Indacouch

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
image.jpg
Before cure
image.jpg
Same bud after curing for a few months ......and I have some of this still in jars atm as well ........I start my cure on the wet side using the paper bag method before going into final cure container .....GL
 
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