Curing Question - Does RH variate depending on the week?

I'm currently curing my bud and I am wondering how it works. The buds are sitting around 67-68%, and after I burp them I let them get back down to around 64-65%. After some time, the RH increases again. So my question is; should RH be different depending on the week?

For example, is it normal for RH to hover in the upper 60's during the first week, and as the curing process continues you should see a slow and steady decrease in the humidity level?

Since my jars get their humidity back up a short while after burping, I am wondering if the burping once-twice a day for the first week still applies?
or do I need to burp more often until the Rh is steadily 65% or lower? My concern is... how long can I keep the jar sealed at 68% RH without there being a concern for mold.

There is a lot of information about the ideal humidity levels, but nothing conclusive to indicate whether standard burping practices apply when there is a need for gradual reduction in the RH of the jars, or if they only apply once the RH is "perfectly" balanced (i.e. 58-65%)

Hope this makes sense, and thanks in advance!


P.S. I hope to self-regulate the humidity naturally, and after 3 months of curing I may introduce the boveda packs.

If your rh is rising so quickly you might want to take it out of the jar for a day or so
The humidity should be slowly dropping.

Star Dog said:

If your rh is rising so quickly you might want to take it out of the jar for a day or so
The humidity should be slowly dropping.

Click to expand...

it's worth mentioning that my initial RH after drying was around 50%, but I added fresh stems to the jars to increase it. Now that the RH has been up, I removed the stems but the humidity remains constant around 67%-68%.

parrajara said:

it's worth mentioning that my initial RH after drying was around 50%, but I added fresh stems to the jars to increase it. Now that the RH has been up, I removed the stems but the humidity remains constant around 67%-68%.

Click to expand...

Have you calibrated your rh% meter?

Some stem might add some moisture but I wouldn't expect it to be that much?

If you mix salt and distilled water to a paste (wet sand) put it in a zip lock bag and leave at 25c, after 2/3 hours it should read 70% iirc, double check with the figure with Google to be sure.

Star Dog said:

Have you calibrated your rh% meter?

Some stem might add some moisture but I wouldn't expect it to be that much?

If you mix salt and distilled water to a paste (wet sand) put it in a zip lock bag and leave at 25c, after 2/3 hours it should read 70% iirc, double check with the figure with Google to be sure.

Click to expand...

I have compared them with 6 other hygrometers and they all match. Three different brands and models.

I'm just curious as to weather or not it's normal to have 68% RH for 8 hours, burp and lower to 62%, then when it gets back to 67%-68% hours later, burp again. Something like that, until day by day the RH is lower and lower and reaches 62%ish.

parrajara said:

I have compared them with 6 other hygrometers and they all match. Three different brands and models.

I'm just curious as to weather or not it's normal to have 68% RH for 8 hours, burp and lower to 62%, then when it gets back to 67%-68% hours later, burp again. Something like that, until day by day the RH is lower and lower and reaches 62%ish.

Click to expand...

Yes that's what should happen, every time you burp it you lose a little moisture, that's providing the rh you're in is lower than the jar.
Otherwise you wouldn't be losing moisture you'd be taking it in, I think.

What’s the ambient humidity in the room your curing your jars ? Potentially that fresh air every time your burping could be of a higher humidity so could be enclosing damper air into the jars. Your also saying initially the reading was at 50% before adding the stems, so your buds must of been over dried and just adding moisture to the jar won’t technically cure your buds properly.

ZeeeDoc said:

What’s the ambient humidity in the room your curing your jars ? Potentially that fresh air every time your burping could be of a higher humidity so could be enclosing damper air into the jars. Your also saying initially the reading was at 50% before adding the stems, so your buds must of been over dried and just adding moisture to the jar won’t technically cure your buds properly.

Click to expand...

The ambient humidity is 50%. I followed the guidelines to check if they were dry based on the stem snapping, not breaking. There is latent moisture stored in the buds, so my believe is that the stems just helped bring that out of them. At this point, that is the only chance I have - so I have to go for it.

@Star Dog , thank you for confirming that for me

I did exactly as you did. Brought my jars up to 67-68%. Just jarred after a 7 day dry 55-60%, 60-65°.

I plan on burping them down to 62%, then down to 58%. How'd your bud turn out?