Harvesting Plants in New England 10-15% RH (sometimes lower if running heat alot)

Boston Brian

Active Member
As the title says.. im alittle worried about my current situation.. I have ruined harvests in the past with mold and then by drying way to fast.. these are the best plants i have ever grown and just want to nail this harvest BADLY.. Currently my 5x5 flower tent is at 33% RH and i keep my 2x4 veg tent at 51% but thats by running a humidifier 24/7 in the veg tent... Need some ideas here guys.. i cannot use the flower tent because i have multiple stains in there and some plants will be finishing before others.. its week 7 in 2 days.. .. if i HAVE too i can use the veg tent and put the 9 ladies in there i guess under some extra QB i have and just keep them under 24/7 light in the middle of the room.. id rather not... i also have a LARGE cabinet under my massive fishtank thats about 5 feet wide 3 feet deep and 3 /12 feet tall.. its wooden but was thinking of maybe also using that area keeping the door cracked and a small small fan on low moving some air around inside.. but again that doesnt solve the low RH.. i have had a humidifier also running outside the veg tent inside the room both tents are in constantly on high and that only keeps the room RH at 20-21%. so thats running 2 humidifiers thats one inside the veg tent that does get pulled outside the house and the other just inside the room.. Please i need some ideas guys... im trying to time this correctly cause i work snow storms and we are due for a buncha little ones this week so im thinking at the end of the week i will chop a few so i can be here to monitor but i just need some ideas... i heard running the humidifier inside the tent is a bad idea.. and i do not want to risk getting mold..
 

Boston Brian

Active Member
should i re-route the ducting from the veg tent to just dump inside the room? to try and raise the rooms rh abit???
its also supposed to rain/snow alot this week im hoping by waiting until the end of the week MAYBE the RH will jump abit when the rain comes??
 

Boston Brian

Active Member
Invest in a inkbird temp/humidity controller

I run a humidifier and heater in my room while drying.
I would most definitely buy that was already looking at... may i ask if you dry in a tent? or do you use the whole room? if it IS ok i will use the humidifier inside the cabinet or tent and use an inkbird or a timer to allow the unit to come on for 10 min or so every half hour or just use the inkbird to control the rh and have it shut off.. both tents use AC infinity units so i can also keep airflow going and under control by the RH
 

bk78

Well-Known Member
I would most definitely buy that was already looking at... may i ask if you dry in a tent? or do you use the whole room? if it IS ok i will use the humidifier inside the cabinet or tent and use an inkbird or a timer to allow the unit to come on for 10 min or so every half hour or just use the inkbird to control the rh and have it shut off.. both tents use AC infinity units so i can also keep airflow going and under control by the RH
Whole room

I set my exhaust to level 1 so it always stays exhausting a little, then set my inkbird to what I want my humidity and temps and it takes care of the rest.

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PizzaMan5000

Well-Known Member
I have "speed dried" in ~20-30% at 60f, cut buds from stems day one, jarred at the first bit of hay smell. The taste was fine. I was smoking it on day 4. The stems balanced the moisture out, and the cure was normal after that. The stems would still peel.

In arizona, I had 10-15% humidity 80f and dried in a wooden box. Using the box to TRAP moisture, and just opening the box a couple times per day. The box was a buffet made of really nice smelling wood. The cured product was fantastic.
 

Boston Brian

Active Member
I have "speed dried" in ~20-30% at 60f, cut buds from stems day one, jarred at the first bit of hay smell. The taste was fine. I was smoking it on day 4. The stems balanced the moisture out, and the cure was normal after that. The stems would still peel.

In arizona, I had 10-15% humidity 80f and dried in a wooden box. Using the box to TRAP moisture, and just opening the box a couple times per day. The box was a buffet made of really nice smelling wood. The cured product was fantastic.
thats awesome! I just ordered the inkbird.. so now that does open up more options for me.. i have a closet outside my room that goes under my split stairs in the front of the house... rh outside this room is 30% now with the inkbird i can use that closet with a humidifier in the way back under the stairs hang the plants in the front and have alittle fan in there blowing under them.. i THINK this will work.. throwing a few RH meters in there now with a humidifier on max just to get a few readings but super pumped on the inkbird.. i had a gift card for amazon so i basically stole the thing!
 

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Invest in a inkbird temp/humidity controller

I run a humidifier and heater in my room while drying.
Why a heater?

Cold temps are better for drying

Im in New England as well. I use a humidifier in the winter and dry in the basement and shut the heat off. Gets 60% and 60F easily enough.

In the summer I use an AC keeps room 60% and 60F
 

PizzaMan5000

Well-Known Member
I don't think being super dry is a huge deal if the room is cold, which I'll guess a cold dry room is easy for you.

In winter, I set directly over my dehumidifier. It's never over 65f. The room is 30%, I'm guessing the outlet air is 20%? My point is, in a cool room with a direct breeze, it still takes a couple days to have a combustible product (not fully cured obviously). This is only about 50% faster than say 60% at 75f; taking 4 days. The difference is, I chop from the stems on day one in winter.

I think weed that's dry enough to jar 48-60hr from harvest in a sub 60f room tastes pretty darn good.

I used to hang dry in summer for 3 days, then spread out in pizza-like boxes in a frost free freezer, changing boxes and thawing daily. Would have sellable weed in 7 days.

None of these are ideal, so please don't flame. I'm just saying that high volumes of cold dry air are decent for a quick but not instantaneous cure. As soon as it smells like hay, jar it. The terpenes seem to return after a few hours in the jars.
******I would NOT hang dry in 15% humidity if above room temp. If your house is wood burning, and 90f.... Yeah don't hang in that. It will permanently smell like hay.
 

bk78

Well-Known Member
Why a heater?

Cold temps are better for drying

Im in New England as well. I use a humidifier in the winter and dry in the basement and shut the heat off. Gets 60% and 60F easily enough.

In the summer I use an AC keeps room 60% and 60F
It’s -50 here currently
 

bk78

Well-Known Member
Why a heater?

Cold temps are better for drying

Im in New England as well. I use a humidifier in the winter and dry in the basement and shut the heat off. Gets 60% and 60F easily enough.

In the summer I use an AC keeps room 60% and 60F
I got this bro, thanks for your plethora of knowledge.
 

Boston Brian

Active Member
I got this bro, thanks for your plethora of knowledge.
my 2 inkbird units are arriving wednesday super pumped about that... my large closet that also has a storage clawl space i have set some RH meters inside.. looks promising.. 64f and around 28-30% ... can use the space heater to boost to like 70ish maybe without drying air to much and the Humidifier and dehum on the other inkbird to control RH...

Lower temps, means i want a slightly lower RH in the area right? due to the fact colder air cannot hold as much moisture?
 
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