clockworx
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Things you will need : giant black trash bags
Giant paper leaf bags
A line to hang branches
(1) I pull all fan leaves off the plant while she is still standing(smaller indoor plants). Its much faster this way, larger out door plants get cut into smaller branches then plucked.
(2) I cut the plant into manageable large branch sections, at the same time I trim the bud leaves if they are not frosty or I want them to make another product otherwise I leave them on to become part of the finished buds. After doing this for a long time you will be able to trim branches like the Flash.
(3) I hang the branches on the line evenly spaced trying to keep buds of the same size next to each other. This is the air drying step and the key is DRY SLOW...this step is a big factor in how your buds will smell and taste so don't rush. The temp 65-70 humidity 50-60%...you should stay as close to those numbers as possible for a slow dry. If you use a fan in the room it should never hit the buds directly, only use it to keep the air moving, if the air is blowing on the buds the branches will dry to quick.
(4) in 10-14 days the buds will feel a tad crisp on the outside but the centers will still be plenty moist to continue the slow dry/cure. With my method the dry/cure are one swift step where drying smoothly turns to curing. When the buds are crisp I slide branches into groups, the size of each bundle depends on the size of bags being used (bigger the better).
(5) I pull the black trash bag up over the groups of branches and tie a loose knot at the top, at the same time push most of the air out. When done with this step you will have a drying line with a bunch of bags hanging and buds with the moisture being slowly pulled back out. Don't open the bags to check if they are moist again, just feel them thru the bag. This keeps you from losing the moisture inside the bags.
(6) when the buds feel crisp again you can do 1 of 2 things. (1) You can open the bags and let them air dry again and keep doing that on and off process, you will notice every round will require less time to dry and more time to be moist until you get to the point were you are ready to snip the buds off the branches and put them in jars. The buds will be tight but evenly moist and won't need to be burped if done correctly. Always check them the first few times you try this method tho, buds can be sneaky and fool you into thinking they are ready for jars. The branches will have a crisp snap sound but will not crack like a dusty dry stick. If you kept the bigger buds with the bigger buds and smaller with smaller then each group will dry evenly.
The number 2 option is using the large paper leaf bags to slow the process down even more. If using those bags the principle is the same but the paper bags bring the buds to an even moist and allows you to leave the buds inside longer and really slow things down....either way you will end up with finished buds that are nice and tight with zero damage and a DANK SMELL....when the buds get put into jars the smell will already be there but the taste will get sweeter with every passing day...