Adventures in low-tech drying and curing

[Richard1234]

Hey folks, let's share some tips and tricks.

 

[Richard1234]

I don't have a tent or a humidifier or nothing so I hung them in a wardrobe.

At a guess the inside temperature ranged from roughly 15°C/59F to 25/77 with humidity around 35%, give or take 5-10%.

Using the snap test (stalks will break rather than bend) it took approximately 10 days to dry with some (mainly the smaller) buds being ready at 8 days and others (mainly the larger ones) nearly there at 12 (lil' bit rough guestimate as I originally noted the date wrong, I'll do better next time).

For reasons unrelated to the topic I've only harvested approximately 30% of this first plant (unknown strain, btw).

When first harvested I'd trimmed only the larger fan leaves but being a one man operation I've gotten a jump start on the trimming (pictured).

 

[Richard1234]

These buds went into the jar a lil' early so, as and when the humidity crept up to 65% I decided to decant and let them air for a half hour or so.

I did that a couple of times and it seems to have stabilised quite nicely.

 

[Richard1234]

Did you know these things are unreliable?

At least, these no-name brands I have are shockin'!

Someone here (Gnick, maybe) shared a tip: I lined mine up, let 'em settle and found that there was up to 12% variation .

Of 18 units I managed to get about 10 that were reading within' 4% of each other.

A very handy tip, indeed!

 

[Richard1234]

My low-fi operation...

More adventures to follow.

 

[Richard1234]

Did you know these things are unreliable?

At least, these no-name brands I have are shockin'!

Someone here (Gnick, maybe) shared a tip: I lined mine up, let 'em settle and found that there was up to 12% variation .

Of 18 units I managed to get about 10 that were reading within' 4% of each other.

A very handy tip, indeed!

Worse than I remembered: 20%!!

 

[Richard1234]

Worse than I remembered: 20%!!

I will try this calibration method and keep youse posted.

 

[Richard1234]

As you can see, the readings dropped considerably in the few moments it took me to scratch the deets down.

I'll let them settle and repeat with the same four units, see if we can't get comparable readings, ay?

Ay.

 

[Richard1234]

I left them out overnight to fully stabilise (pic 1), demonstrating again how grossly variable the readings on these things are.

I did the towel trick a second time (pic 2) and at least got vaguely comparable readings.

Reckon I'll go another run, record the averages and use the results as guide when curing. Though (bugger it!) I also reckon I'll order in some higher quality ones and ditch these blasted things asap.

For interest's sake I have another experiment I wish to run using a Thermo-pro as a touch stone (I have a single unit on order).

Stay tuned for that one, too, BearWater

 

[Richard1234]

In the mealtime...

I've harvested the other 2/3 of the plant (unknown strain) that made up the first batch.

I've installed a fan and will keep the light out this time (learning, learning ).

 

[Richard1234]

Ps I've trimmed off a bunch of the larger fan leaves already... might this be advisable? No? Or perhaps it makes lil' difference?

 

[Richard1234]

Interesting.

Individual units appear reasonably self-consistant over the three towelling sessions.

Next I'll try the salt method

 

[Richard1234]

Righto. Let's burp this jar and exchange these random ones with the recently "calibrated" and have another look-see in 24hrs or so

 

[Richard1234]

Bugger this for a laugh (it's not funny!).

I went to the local hydro shop and got this (much-more-complicated-and- expensive-than-necessary-cause-it-was-the-only-thing-they-had-that-would-do-the -job) BALDR device and the Terp-Fresh hydropack thingo. They had the Boveda packs but only the single ounce ones so, I had to get this much larger than necessary one ).

Without decanting (and airing out) these buds, I'm just gonna pop the sensor in for a few hours and see what comes of it...

 

[Budtirement]

What a drag. What with inaccurate hydrometers and size mismatched hydropaks it looks like your experience with "high tech" curing has been plagued with equipment issues so far. How's a grower supposed to learn and evaluate?
I'm don't want to imply anything about the path your walking but...
For a "low tech" curing approach comparison you could set aside a jar filled 3/4 with just weed. Burp it every day. By burping I mean open the jar, pour the buds out onto a large sheet of paper, take a bud and feel it with your fingers, squeeze it or break it open, smell it and put back in the jar and seal. After a few weeks you will feel the buds get drier, you will experience the process, and can go to burping once or twice a week. After a month burp the jar every few weeks just to check how it's doing and at least once a month until it's gone. After six months compare this method to hydrometers and hydropaks and see if you still feel high tech surveillance is necessary or if your own senses are perfectly suited to the task. You might just find low tech has the tools you want and you might enjoy it more too. I love being up close with the buds as they cure and getting resin on my hands.
The picture is Blue Cheese, a year old, still a little moist, smells amazing and does the trick. No tech involved.

 

[Richard1234]

Thanks heaps, Bud. Much appreciated.

I've got what is (supposedly) a reliable and simple to use hygrometer as well as a more suitable sized hydropack on the way and I reckon I'll mix in your own methods to compare, as you say.

I s'pect it's a good idea to learn the tech-free method even if I end up using the gear, anyway. It's fairly obvious to me now that the tech can't be relied upon 100%, so tuning my own senses I will be able to get a more accurate reading of where things are at at any time.

Once again: much appreciated.

 

[Richard1234]

Hiya, folks.

I tried the "salt method" (as per the You Tube link below) but I'm not convinced i performed the test correctly.

Regardless, I've had an upset at home so will have to put a pin in the experiments and come back to them at a later date.

I did come across this Boveda calibration product (pictured), though.

Also apologies, because of the upset at home, I likely won't be posting many further details of my "adventures" (maybe next year) because I absolutely need to prioritise my time for other concerns.

Thank you once again for your interest, your tips, and your moral support(!).

I'll be back (and you might see be around on the forum occasionally, also).

Bless yas.