Help when drying stuff smells like hay

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TheBadChoice

TheBadChoice

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Iinteresting
I should also add since I forgot lol a lot of the strain I grow like for example my last one g14 has “”mold resistant genetics or as it stated so idk if that changes anything but figure it would be a good side note to add.
 
GrowHobo

GrowHobo

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Given that, with your temps, I'd say bump the humidity up if you can so long you can provide adequate air flow. 70F @ 65% RH should get your dry time ~10 days. You'll still lose some terpenes, but it won't be as bad, and you might want to evaluate your cure process. Here's what I've found makes for reliable results (I spent the first 10 years of growing in the desert, I get it):

  • Hang dry till the stems crack but don't break. 5-7 days.
  • Chuck buds off the stems, into paper bags. Burp the bags daily based on feel. If the buds feel wet, twice a day. Continue till they're crispy outside, but spongey feeling. Average 5-7 days.
  • Into jars. Burp daily for five minutes. Kick the buds around a bit. Terpenes should start expressing themselves after a week or so. At this point they're ready for use.

Where I was, average day temps were 100F+, RH averaged 30% year round. Using a paper bag while the buds were still relatively wet in the middle was absolutely vital for a good, usable product within a month's timeline.
This guy explained it perfectly.
 
B0ssD0ss

B0ssD0ss

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Take toitalls add them to ya cannabis not the powered kind all natural no taste and adds moisture to ya buds then put it back in cure useing glasss bottles jar them burping like a baby try that
What's toitalls?
 
GrowHobo

GrowHobo

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I’m sure he means tortillas lol. Use bleached flour not corn if you do it.
 
DuckDog

DuckDog

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Anyone ever dry in a fridge? Is it possible or feasible?
I do. Granted, I've only harvested one plant, but easy as can be. I'm in deep south, hot as hell and twice as humid, tent still full, cant dry in the house, so only option was dorm size beer fridge. 45% temp, 50-60% humidity. Worked like a charm. Everything in paper bags, 10days drying, taking out and shaking once or twice a day, hit 67% then jarred, one week of burping perfect 61% constant for past two weeks now. Great color and smell. Theres a great thread on it on 420 magazine forum. Lots of folks doing it,,called the low and slow method. I can send ya the link if you want to read up on it.
 
DuckDog

DuckDog

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Heres my everyday jar,,rest is in masons curing.
20210509 182143
20210509 182223
 
B0ssD0ss

B0ssD0ss

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I do. Granted, I've only harvested one plant, but easy as can be. I'm in deep south, hot as hell and twice as humid, tent still full, cant dry in the house, so only option was dorm size beer fridge. 45% temp, 50-60% humidity. Worked like a charm. Everything in paper bags, 10days drying, taking out and shaking once or twice a day, hit 67% then jarred, one week of burping perfect 61% constant for past two weeks now. Great color and smell. Theres a great thread on it on 420 magazine forum. Lots of folks doing it,,called the low and slow method. I can send ya the link if you want to read up on it.
Yeah we may be in the same state. I'm far south myself, and my last run was coming off of winter down here so was much cooler then normal but again still not the smell I'm shooting for. Sucks to spend all this time growing and caring for these ladies to habe a hiccup at the end of it all. If love that link to that article as well. Thanks for chiming in.
 
DuckDog

DuckDog

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Yeah heat and humidity is a bitch here for growing in a non climate room. Winter/spring was perfect for me this year. But not sure I can use the room in the summer.

Heres the short version, few variables but still same ideas. About 1/2- 3/4 down the page


Heres the original, long, old thread and has been refined by others since. It's a long read but lots of info and modifications along the way.


I used the condensed method of the 2nd link (page link takes you too) with paper bags. I think that's the simplest way to go, maybe not best but simplest for me.Can take awhile to dry if you pack it full and it can definitely be a slowwwww drying process. Some folks go 3 weeks. Haha, but thats what you want and it really turned out great for me. Some use rice balls after 10 days to drop the last bit quicker. Most of mine hit 67%- 70% in 10 days. Jarred and burped it to 62% at that point in the house. I cut all my bud down to reasonable size before fridge though, & wet trimmed it all. I wasnt concerned with the "monster size buds ego" as I was with even drying.
 
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DuckDog

DuckDog

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Quick note,,the link to the long version takes you somewhere in the middle of the thread but right to a condensed simple version someone posted. That's the method I used with paper bags, not jars, and didnt wash and hang dry. Read both pages the links send you two then use one, the other or combination that works for you. Just make sure temps in fridge are not cold enough to freeze condensation or use a frost free fridge.
 
Mostlymooses

Mostlymooses

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I got tortillas, orange peels, but haven't tried them. I have had a grow or 2 since and things have gotten better with
C. Trial and error.

This will be your biggest teacher. I would trust this more than anything else, any random person on the internet can tell you something about your weed but time and experience will always show you more.
 
DreamwalkerJ

DreamwalkerJ

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Hey guys I need help. I'm on my 4th grow and have issues with drying my medicine and it smelling like hay. My medicine smells amazing before I cut to dry but once it starts drying it smells like hay.

I put it in large cardboard boxes because I have to turn over my tents for the next batch.

I know the slower the better and need to be around 60° and 50-55 rh. Hard to say exactly where my temp and rh is at but I keep it relatively cool in my home around 68° and my rh in my home is around 50-55. My wife grows carnivorous plants and the multiple hygrometers around the home keep those numbers pretty constant.

Any info will be much appreciated. I have a good crop that will be coming down in a few more weeks and want to avoid this hay smell and keep the fragrance of my medicine as it is while it's still alive.
Hey man congrats on the harvest. That hay smell CAN be normal during drying but once you cure everything well itshould smell good again. The only other thing i know of that can make your weed smell like hay is using too much nitrogen. Too much N will definitely do it. If you flushed for at least a week OR you lowered your ppm for the 2nd last week (like around 200-250ppm) and then plain water for the last 3 days. If you did either of those then it shouldnt be N+, just dry and cure properly and every day it cures it will smell better and better. Either way, there is nothing you can do now except dry and cure properly. I hope this helps. Happy growing
DwJ
 
MilkyTrichomes

MilkyTrichomes

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When are you experiencing the hay smell? A couple days after chop or after a few months in jars?

Fresh grass cutting/hay smell is common (and normal) right after harvest. It'll persist until a week or two into cure, and full terpene profiles won't return for at least a month. I don't like the idea of a cardboard box, there's no air circulation and you're asking for mold issues. Your temps are fine, not ideal, but fine.
I’d ditch the cardboard box and get some air slightly circulating. Patience is a growers best friend. I’ve had hay smell also but it stunk up as I cured. I think my plants were over fertilized/unflushed and that was a big contributing factor.
 
Og_punkgenetics

Og_punkgenetics

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Hey guys I need help. I'm on my 4th grow and have issues with drying my medicine and it smelling like hay. My medicine smells amazing before I cut to dry but once it starts drying it smells like hay.

I put it in large cardboard boxes because I have to turn over my tents for the next batch.

I know the slower the better and need to be around 60° and 50-55 rh. Hard to say exactly where my temp and rh is at but I keep it relatively cool in my home around 68° and my rh in my home is around 50-55. My wife grows carnivorous plants and the multiple hygrometers around the home keep those numbers pretty constant.

Any info will be much appreciated. I have a good crop that will be coming down in a few more weeks and want to avoid this hay smell and keep the fragrance of my medicine as it is while it's still alive.
The ideal way to dry and cure cannabis is at 60° and 60% humidity long-term dry. It's probably because it's drying too fastIt's probably because it's drying too fast. A good dry time is 12 + days at 60/60
 
B0ssD0ss

B0ssD0ss

595
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Take toitalls add them to ya cannabis not the powered kind all natural no taste and adds moisture to ya buds then put it back in cure useing glasss bottles jar them burping like a baby try that
I tried this and it worked amazingly. Insane.
 
lvstealth

lvstealth

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does the hay smell go away after a month? or does your weed disappear before the end of cure?

for your next try, hang the whole plant (sans big fan leaves), in your closet from a coat hanger. point a fan at the floor or wall, not on the plant, just move air, no wind. check it after 3 days, then after 5, then daily or more. you want buds to feel crunchy, the bigger leaves that are left will look brown and crunchy and have sort of formed around the buds. take one bud, put it in a jar with a humidity guage. at the end of 2 hours, if it is less than 65% you can start your trim. buck it into a paper bag, over the next few days shake the bag gently a few times a day. take one out and check the humidity, at 62% put it into Grove TerpLoc Bags. forget it for a month or two.
 
SwoleGrow

SwoleGrow

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Yeah we may be in the same state. I'm far south myself, and my last run was coming off of winter down here so was much cooler then normal but again still not the smell I'm shooting for. Sucks to spend all this time growing and caring for these ladies to habe a hiccup at the end of it all. If love that link to that article as well. Thanks for chiming in.
Hello neighbors!
Gotta love our weather,nothing like it lol
 
lvstealth

lvstealth

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i just harvested my first grow. 5 plants, one at a time as they matured. i noticed the one that was the earliest was the most hay smelling one. the one that was the most mature had/kept the best smells. that seemed to make more difference than how or how long i dry/cured them. on all, i smoked some as soon as it was dry enough, and that one tasted better from the start, and a lot better as it cured. i had 2 of the same strain and the one that was older when chopped had the sweet taste the description said it should.
 
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