Drying at high humidity, low temperatures

Kubrius

New Member
I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on drying at lower temperatures and higher humidity to extend the drying time. I read a few places that mold can't grow at less than 60 degrees, and I can't find anything 'reputable' that says otherwise. I'm wondering if drying a plant with smaller buds that is mostly trimmed already in a 50 degree area, with 70% humidity would help to slow down the dry, while being cold enough that the mold can't affect it. At the 'normal' 60/60, buds of this size would be dry in a week. As I was wondering this, I thought to myself, if this works, is there any reason not to slow the dry time to 3 or 4 weeks on larger plants? I wonder if it would eliminate/reduce the need for curing? Curious what other people's thoughts are on the matter. Please stay on topic. We've all heard a thousand different methods on how to dry/cure, so I don't think anyone is interested in how you do unless it somehow relates to the topic at hand or is somehow unique and different. Mainly I want to know, has anyone tried this? What's the lowest temperature you have had plants mold at? What's the longest you've ever taken to dry a plant? Is anyone aware of any danger at all, besides mold, of taking too long to dry a plant? Thanks in advance.
 

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
There are some really long threads on drying in refrigerators, maybe not here, it might be another forum but they are interesting. Obviously, mold is a huge issue, and I would never dry at such a high RH, be very careful and make sure you have good air circulation in the room, and inspect the buds carefully. Be sure to break them open and check the insides for mold with a scope too.
 

OutdoorOpps

Active Member
Don't, you can up RH easy, but is not so easy to low RH, I have right now one sativa almost ready to cure and another one still alive (around 2 weeks more maybe less to chop), and all I can tell you is avoid RH, I dryed autos with almost zero RH and high temps in the spanish sumer, and I love to dry in sumer just hanging the entire plant without trim and adding some water in a bucket in the room if I need to, easy and no worries, winter is a pain in the ass wondering every day if there are already some mold, a nightmare.
 

Kubrius

New Member
There is air moving, and yes I've seen the countless threads on drying in freezers/refrigerators, but that's not the same at all because they both moderate the humidity. I don't think there's a way you could use either of those to produce the long dry I'm talking about. Of course I'm keeping an eye on them too, just was wondering if anyone else has done this before. 12hrs and they look and feel like they were just picked still. The high RH is on purpose to slow the dry, and so far so good. I haven't been happy with the results of the 'recommended settings' (60/60) with smaller buds. They dry too quick and are more harsh than the larger ones off the same plant. There's a noticeable difference in near identical looking pieces of bud. There's got to be a better way.
 

OutdoorOpps

Active Member
You can do whatever you want with your harvest, its yours!

But curing is mandatory, curing is when the nice oils "grow" covering all the nugs from inside to outside, so even if you can dry and eliminate chlorophyll and all drying, you still want to cure it to achieve a more homogeneous bud potency wise and flavors/smells.
 

Kubrius

New Member
I agree that curing is helpful, and I will absolutely cure this batch. I've been growing for 25 years though, and methods have improved greatly through the years, so I am not inclined to believe there isn't a better way yet to be discovered. The whole idea behind curing is to allow the plant to use those sugars, starches, nitrates, minerals, and chlorophyll (to make those "nice oils," and reduce inert matter, making it better and cleaner) before they become dried into the bud. In theory, if we could dry it slow enough, it seems like it could all be done with the dry, and I wonder how it would compare. It seems like it would be better, if you could do it right, because the outside would never completely dry and get reconstituted like you do before curing. It would have to dry slow enough to all dry together, inside and out (the outside dries slow enough that the moisture can leech out of the inside at the same rate). This is all dependant on being able to extend the dry time to a month or more without mold (or bacteria?).
 

OutdoorOpps

Active Member
My english sucks, and I cant say all I want to say, feels to me like I'm using so much words and still cant say it all :(

I dry in low, high RH, and with low and high temps, I havent tent so there is no temps/RH controled, just winds and a place made for dry/preserve cereals. In a well controled place you could try/research with low risks. Fast drying always seems to me to give a more woody flavor, long drying time (14 days or more in my corner of the world) taste much better (in the way that taste more natural/original) but need more... carefull curing, and longer curing time too

peace
 

CatHedral

Well-Known Member
I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on drying at lower temperatures and higher humidity to extend the drying time. I read a few places that mold can't grow at less than 60 degrees, and I can't find anything 'reputable' that says otherwise. I'm wondering if drying a plant with smaller buds that is mostly trimmed already in a 50 degree area, with 70% humidity would help to slow down the dry, while being cold enough that the mold can't affect it. At the 'normal' 60/60, buds of this size would be dry in a week. As I was wondering this, I thought to myself, if this works, is there any reason not to slow the dry time to 3 or 4 weeks on larger plants? I wonder if it would eliminate/reduce the need for curing? Curious what other people's thoughts are on the matter. Please stay on topic. We've all heard a thousand different methods on how to dry/cure, so I don't think anyone is interested in how you do unless it somehow relates to the topic at hand or is somehow unique and different. Mainly I want to know, has anyone tried this? What's the lowest temperature you have had plants mold at? What's the longest you've ever taken to dry a plant? Is anyone aware of any danger at all, besides mold, of taking too long to dry a plant? Thanks in advance.
Mold will grow and fruit in my 38 degree fridge.
 

Milky Weed

Well-Known Member
I’ve been told when drying a bud, it’s very important to reduce the wetness quickly in the first few days, then go for a slower more even dry. When the buds are still 70-80% wet after chopping that’s where mold thrives.
 

buckaclark

Well-Known Member
There is air moving, and yes I've seen the countless threads on drying in freezers/refrigerators, but that's not the same at all because they both moderate the humidity. I don't think there's a way you could use either of those to produce the long dry I'm talking about. Of course I'm keeping an eye on them too, just was wondering if anyone else has done this before. 12hrs and they look and feel like they were just picked still. The high RH is on purpose to slow the dry, and so far so good. I haven't been happy with the results of the 'recommended settings' (60/60) with smaller buds. They dry too quick and are more harsh than the larger ones off the same plant. There's a noticeable difference in near identical looking pieces of bud. There's got to be a better way.
What you are proposing likely will work with airflow.I dried some at 68-70% Rh and it was 16 day dry on smaller Sativa buds.They felt like fresh for a couple days ,then the small leaves started to dry as the process contunued.Just be mindful this is a gamble.GL
 

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
My 2 cents... We've done grows without an H203 generator, and got mold during drying (proven by lab results at 35,000 CFU's).. We've also now do grows with an H203 generator and have labs come back with "Non Detected" on Microbes. I feel like if you're going to get mold, you already had it at the chop. We dry at 65 degrees, 60%RH for 1 week, then drop the RH to 55 for another week. No mold. So... IF you have no mold going into the dry, you're prob safe at these levels.
 

Kubrius

New Member
Well, in that unheated attic, it's been 12 days so far, and I'd estimate the plants to be about halfway dry. They are drying very uniformly. The tips of the leaves and the small buds are still not crisp. Still no mold. So far so good, and I think I'm past the 'dangerous' part. If it was going to mold I think it already would have. Humidity is down to 58% or so now.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
You can do whatever you want with your harvest, its yours!

But curing is mandatory, curing is when the nice oils "grow" covering all the nugs from inside to outside, so even if you can dry and eliminate chlorophyll and all drying, you still want to cure it to achieve a more homogeneous bud potency wise and flavors/smells.
Curing is not mandatory. Terpenes degrade over time they do not increase. Curing is only a thing with people on cannabis forums and has become some must do process. A slow dry is all that's needed. I use 3 month old weed for making dry ice hash. It's peaked in terpene content as soon as it's been slow dried. It's all downhill from there. There is no "Oil Grows" going on during curing. There is a mellowing out as terpene degradation occurs.
I like it fresh. I've done the curing process stuff and frankly I don't understand why people bother with it. It does not make the weed stronger. Some people apparently like it mellower after the terpenes have degraded. That's fine if that's what they like. But to say that weed undergoes some magical process that increases potency and smell is not backed up by science. In fact science shows the opposite.

The belief that you have to cure your weed is similar to the belief that calmag is a required additive by many when it's not.
 

OutdoorOpps

Active Member
Curing is not mandatory. Terpenes degrade over time they do not increase. Curing is only a thing with people on cannabis forums and has become some must do process. A slow dry is all that's needed. I use 3 month old weed for making dry ice hash. It's peaked in terpene content as soon as it's been slow dried. It's all downhill from there. There is no "Oil Grows" going on during curing. There is a mellowing out as terpene degradation occurs.
I like it fresh. I've done the curing process stuff and frankly I don't understand why people bother with it. It does not make the weed stronger. Some people apparently like it mellower after the terpenes have degraded. That's fine if that's what they like. But to say that weed undergoes some magical process that increases potency and smell is not backed up by science. In fact science shows the opposite.

The belief that you have to cure your weed is similar to the belief that calmag is a required additive by many when it's not.

Sorry, I can't agree with you, but at this point (after harvest) I think cannabis is like cooking, everyone have their own recipe, and thats nothing bad in all.

peace
 

Kubrius

New Member
Curing definitely is 'necessary' on the typical 2 week 60/60 dry that is 'recommended' by many, if you want the smoothest smoke possible. Some people like that burn in their throat, and coughing their lungs out (it absolutely adds to the high, I get it), but many, myself included do not, or at least certainly not at the cost of flavor and smell. While you are right that terpenes do degrade with time (quite slowly, if stored properly), the plant does undergo chemical (not magical, true) changes until the plant has been thoroughly dried (the end of the curing process for those who cure). This is absolutely backed up by science, and there is a very noticeable flavor and smell difference between cured and uncured weed (assuming a 2 week dry). What I'm attempting to do is increase the drying time, with the reasoning that these processes would work even better if the outside of the buds weren't dried and reconstituted (sweating/curing). My buds are obviously drying, but after 13 days, even the very tips of the leaves, though curled now, are not crispy at all. I expect that it will take a month or so to dry, and I'll put it in a jar when it's done, and "cure" it by opening it to smoke some. If you did not have good success curing, and you have issues with premature terpene degradation, I might examine the environment you keep your weed in. Ideally you want complete darkness 65-67 degrees F, and in an air proof container (glass jars work well, ziploc bags not so much). These 3 things are crucial to having/keeping good weed.
 

Kubrius

New Member
OK, so they were fully dried yesterday, after 20 days. I smoked a joint with a buddy to sample it, and we forgot it wasn't cured. That initial harshness was gone. It will still need some curing, but it's definitely smokeable now. I'd put it about the same as a 2 week dry + 2 week cure. Beautiful smell and taste.
 
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