Freeze dried flower?

I was talking with a buddy about curing flower last night. Everyone I know that makes concentrates is using freeze dryers for their flower to keep the terps and it seems like freeze dry is the best way to make high quality concentrates.

My question is- does anyone freeze dry their flower if they aren’t making it into concentrates and just using the flower to smoke? Any benefits or disadvantages? Just wondering if investing in a freeze dryer to dry flower is the way to go now too? I’m trying to have the highest quality and potent homegrown that I can. I don’t have issues with my dry/cure process, but if I can improve it by investing in a freeze dryer, I might look into it a little more closely. Thanks!

Midwestgorillagrower said:

I was talking with a buddy about curing flower last night. Everyone I know that makes concentrates is using freeze dryers for their flower to keep the terps and it seems like freeze dry is the best way to make high quality concentrates.

My question is- does anyone freeze dry their flower if they aren’t making it into concentrates and just using the flower to smoke? Any benefits or disadvantages? Just wondering if investing in a freeze dryer to dry flower is the way to go now too? I’m trying to have the highest quality and potent homegrown that I can. I don’t have issues with my dry/cure process, but if I can improve it by investing in a freeze dryer, I might look into it a little more closely. Thanks!

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People are using freeze dryers mainly to dry out bubble hash not to dry their flower. Freeze drying takes out all the moisture and will result in dry brittle buds. I have heard of a modified freeze dryers that are being used for drying flower but those differ from the ones people use to make concentrates.

Midwestgorillagrower said:

I was talking with a buddy about curing flower last night. Everyone I know that makes concentrates is using freeze dryers for their flower to keep the terps and it seems like freeze dry is the best way to make high quality concentrates.

My question is- does anyone freeze dry their flower if they aren’t making it into concentrates and just using the flower to smoke? Any benefits or disadvantages? Just wondering if investing in a freeze dryer to dry flower is the way to go now too? I’m trying to have the highest quality and potent homegrown that I can. I don’t have issues with my dry/cure process, but if I can improve it by investing in a freeze dryer, I might look into it a little more closely. Thanks!

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I use a freeze dryer for my flower and it preserves terpenes, dries/cures fast and smokes great.

jcdws602 said:

People are using freeze dryers mainly to dry out bubble hash not to dry their flower. Freeze drying takes out all the moisture and will result in dry brittle buds. I have heard of a modified freeze dryers that are being used for drying flower but those differ from the ones people use to make concentrates.

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Are the modified freeze dryers only diy or is there a brand you know of?

curious2garden said:

I use a freeze dryer for my flower and it preserves terpenes, dries/cures fast and smokes great.

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Do you measure the water content or stop the process early so the end product isn’t crispy?

Midwestgorillagrower said:

Do you measure the water content or stop the process early so the end product isn’t crispy?

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The act of sublimation ruptures the cell membrane so the moisture will equalize when you pull it out, so it doesn't matter in my experience. You can take it to 0 and it equalizes to environmental humidity on exposure. If you watch your FD you can pull it at 13% stem moisture which equates to 60% in the bud in the jar/bag. I've also been running mine above 500 mTorr so I pull virtually no terps off. But when I've run it closer to 50 I couldn't tell any difference. The plants look and smell just like they did prior to freeze drying.

Some people purchase Scientific Freeze Dryers which contain a digital bleed valve to get finer control of your mTorr and has finer control software but the base hardware is the same. I have this one:


I linked the contest so you can try winning one if you'd like. I love mine.

curious2garden said:

The act of sublimation ruptures the cell membrane so the moisture will equalize when you pull it out, so it doesn't matter in my experience. You can take it to 0 and it equalizes to environmental humidity on exposure. If you watch your FD you can pull it at 13% stem moisture which equates to 60% in the bud in the jar/bag. I've also been running mine above 500 mTorr so I pull virtually no terps off. But when I've run it closer to 50 I couldn't tell any difference. The plants look and smell just like they did prior to freeze drying.

Some people purchase Scientific Freeze Dryers which contain a digital bleed valve to get finer control of your mTorr and has finer control software but the base hardware is the same. I have this one:

Win a free freeze dryer | Harvest Right™ | Home Freeze Dryers | Freeze Dried Food Storage

Enter to win a free home freeze dryer from Harvest Right. No purchase required. Win and start freeze drying food today.

harvestright.com

I linked the contest so you can try winning one if you'd like. I love mine.

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So right after your cycle you take your flower and store it in an ideal environment and retains the moisture and fluffs back up? What settings are you using for flower?

jcdws602 said:

So right after your cycle you take your flower and store it in an ideal environment and retains the moisture and fluffs back up? What settings are you using for flower?

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This is the cycle I'm currently running right now.

So after it finishes it's dry/cure cycle I put it in a vacuum bag, open in one of my Koolatrons set at 60 F and 60% humidity. This was the plant from yesterdays cycle below:

curious2garden said:

This is the cycle I'm currently running right now.
View attachment 5390423
So after it finishes it's dry/cure cycle I put it in a vacuum bag, open in one of my Koolatrons set at 60 F and 60% humidity. This was the plant from yesterdays cycle below:
View attachment 5390424

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You mind if i shoot you a dm on thT system, im very interested in something that’ll help take the guess work out

Billytheluther said:

You mind if i shoot you a dm on thT system, im very interested in something that’ll help take the guess work out

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Sure my inbox is always open please do. I'm looking at adding a digital bleed valve just have other priorities to get done first.

I would like to learn more about this too.

Hot Diggity Sog said:

I would like to learn more about this too.

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Me too, that's why I finally broke down and bought one to try it. It works on a different principle from how we traditionally dry/cure. It's fun and so far gives great results. Here's the 3 cups 4 ounces of water it pulled off my last plant during the cycle:


At above 500 mTorr there's no terpenes. When pulling 50 mTorr there's terpenes but I never noticed a loss off the plant but I don't like pulling on it so hard so I softened it until I have no terpenes in the removed water.

curious2garden said:

Me too, that's why I finally broke down and bought one to try it. It works on a different principle from how we traditionally dry/cure. It's fun and so far gives great results. Here's the 3 cups 4 ounces of water it pulled off my last plant during the cycle:

View attachment 5390495
At above 500 mTorr there's no terpenes. When pulling 50 mTorr there's terpenes but I never noticed a loss off the plant but I don't like pulling on it so hard so I softened it until I have no terpenes in the removed water.

Click to expand...

So you go right from harvest into the freezer? I assume you do a full trim, or at least a partial trim? How long is it in the freezer?

I have the same Harvest Right freeze dryer, and love it. I can take an outdoor plant, cut down to down, throw into my electric TrimPro, bud wash and onto the trays for freeze drying. I lower my tray temp to 55f myself and extra dry time varies on if I’m full on my trays and if it’s Indica or Sativa. My tent Sativas take less time with their structure and usually add 10-12hrs of extra dry time, my thicker denser Indica buds will usally take 16-17hrs extra. Still I’m pretty much smoking my buds 24-30hrs later. I do recommend after they come out, that you place them in cardboard box for a few hours and helps reintroduce some moisture into the buds. Still the taste and smell can’t be beat. Just gave some of my past summer grow to my security guy at work, and the smell/taste is what he couldn’t get over. Shared with his wife, sister and brother-in-law and all enjoyed very much he said. Huge improvement over my old paper bag drying method.

Malawi bud after freeze dried. The others are of my Slurricane in, out and in the box

Hot Diggity Sog said:

So you go right from harvest into the freezer? I assume you do a full trim, or at least a partial trim? How long is it in the freezer?

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Yes, after I chop I run it through my trimmer. Then it's either directly into my pre-chilled freeze dryer or into my chest freezer for holding until there is space in my freeze dryer. I'm running a live path. From the moment it's chopped it's handled quickly and frozen then freeze dried into a steady state and flower is rehydrated to the % I'm interested in or stored prior to rehydration. Then it's smoked or pressed.

If I'm planning on making bubble hash I put it in my chest freezer then into my bubble bags for processing and then process the bubble bag returns in the freeze drier. It looks like golden sand when it's done. Then press it. Below is my first test press of Live Rosin. The terps are out of this world and when I open the jar I still get them stinking up the room.

This is amazing info from both of you. Thank you!

I use a freeze drier for my flower. It made my end product better and reduced trim time greatly. After bud are dried put in a bag and shake a little. No more hours trimming!

Jermb420 said:

I use a freeze drier for my flower. It made my end product better and reduced trim time greatly. After bud are dried put in a bag and shake a little. No more hours trimming!

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Re-hydrate in glass jars using boveda packs. I use the 58's and it takes a couple of week to re-hydrate.

curious2garden said:

This is the cycle I'm currently running right now.
View attachment 5390423
So after it finishes it's dry/cure cycle I put it in a vacuum bag, open in one of my Koolatrons set at 60 F and 60% humidity. This was the plant from yesterdays cycle below:
View attachment 5390424

Click to expand...

That’s the part I missed. I tried freeze drying some but didn’t place them in a humid area to retain the moisture and they stayed crispy. Thanks for sharing your settings. I got a batch coming down in a couple weeks and I will be trying it with some of that.

Jermb420 said:

Re-hydrate in glass jars using boveda packs. I use the 58's and it takes a couple of week to re-hydrate.

Click to expand...

I have a dedicated space for drying and curing and I have full control over both temp and humidity. Would it be acceptable to let them rehydrate in an open air environment at say...62 degrees F and 58% Humidity? Or would they really need to be in a closed container to prevent excess oxidation?