Best way to tell buds are ready for jar ?

[Anonymous_grower]

So I’ve been doing a lot of research on drying and curing as this is my first attempt, seems like there’s a lot of opinions when it comes to stem snapping or just bending when buds feel crispy to cure, just curious on some of your guys way of doing it ? I harvested this one on Monday today is Friday and it’s dried with a constant temp 75 and 55-60% humidity the buds feel pretty crispy on outside and some leaves crumble but when squeezed still feel a bit sticky But not really wet and stem doesn’t snap just some resistance then bends, I figure it’s best to jar sooner than later as you can always dry a bit longer if needed ? Any advice ?

 

[MIMedGrower]

When they say stems snap they mean the little stem through the buds. I was always confused about that in the beginning and was bending branches.

And if you jar the buds just check them in 6 hours and feel if they are wet. If even moist lay out on screen or in paper shopping bag a day or 2 and try again. No harm can come unless overly dry too fast.

 

[Beachwalker]

So I’ve been doing a lot of research on drying and curing as this is my first attempt, seems like there’s a lot of opinions when it comes to stem snapping or just bending when buds feel crispy to cure, just curious on some of your guys way of doing it ? I harvested this one on Monday today is Friday and it’s dried with a constant temp 75 and 55-60% humidity the buds feel pretty crispy on outside and some leaves crumble but when squeezed still feel a bit sticky But not really wet and stem doesn’t snap just some resistance then bends, I figure it’s best to jar sooner than later as you can always dry a bit longer if needed ? Any advice ?

Congratulations on your first grow, looks great! Fill up a jar with medium sized Buds and put a hygrometer in the jar and leave it sealed for 5 or 6 hours and you'll get a pretty accurate reading good luck

 

[Anonymous_grower]

When they say stems snap they mean the little stem through the buds. I was always confused about that in the beginning and was bending branches.

And if you jar the buds just check them in 6 hours and feel if they are wet. If even moist lay out on screen or in paper shopping bag a day or 2 and try again. No harm can come unless overly dry too fast.

Gotcha yeah I was bending the main stems aswell, I’m trying to avoid over dry as I’ve read that’s harder to fix and will leave then smelling like hay even with a cure so rather safe than sorry, thanks

 

[Anonymous_grower]

Congratulations on your first grow, looks great! Fill up a jar with medium sized Buds and put a hygrometer in the jar and leave it sealed for 5 or 6 hours and you'll get a pretty accurate reading good luck

Thanks! Will definitely give that a try with a couple and see what happens, much appreciated

 

[redshift75]

i have a wood moisture meter and one of these. --->wood moisture meter for cigars gives full RH<--


one of the best ways to go short of a desktop moisture analyzer.

 

[Anonymous_grower]

i have a wood moisture meter and one of these. --->wood moisture meter for cigars gives full RH<--


one of the best ways to go short of a desktop moisture analyzer.

Will look into that, thanks!

 

[quirk]

I smoke test at various stage and it's ALWAYS smoothest at 10-15% flower moisture content. Personal preference.
I do verify with an analyzer.

 

[redshift75]

I smoke test at various stage and it's ALWAYS smoothest at 10-15% flower moisture content. Personal preference.
I do verify with an analyzer.

I smoke test as well. But im not sure if i can officially call it a test as much as smoking it and saying something like "yeah thats some good shit, almost ready".
or "darn drying too fast".

yeah i tend to like to pull at 11-12%(on the wood moisture meter, not cigar rh meter) I have noticed different strains give different readings. Relative to how they read when you put them in a jar. Have to go slightly by feel that most probably learn as they use the meter. like many things in cannabis is not really a set line from strain to strain is my tip for new growers who may get a meter. Dont be afraid to put the nugs back on a screen for an hour or two to dry a little more if you were fooled by the reading on the meter after seeing the RH in a jar(*after settling). then take notes on each strain. Dont be afraid to experiment. Thats the beauty of some of these tools. Helps give you the ability to tune aspects and control it throughout the process. You can try several readings in different jars and see how they all end up curing.

I personally find setting goals like that helps me decrease the urge to blaze my gear prematurely. Get to really enjoy the end results. Then when i do smoke in stages like quirk said i take notes about the flavors, aromas, effects. You may find 60%rh at 4 weeks had a better profile than 58% or vice versa. Which lots of that for me is personal preference. Where you may like it finished will vary from me and so on, so forth. Which is the biggest benefit to growing and harvesting your own. Which is where these little tools really help you hit that mark. These tools may $20 you to death. But big picture they are worth it.

this is my first year where im my own dryer/curer. So i know what i want as the end product. more the journey to get there is what im figuring out.

 

[CocoFun]

The guy who said throw a couple buds in a jar with hydrometer, wait 6 hrs, check buds, great tip. I will add, do it in a small 6-8 ounce jar. Gives an accurate reading as a "full jar". REMEMBER, you can always remove moisture, you can NEVER get it back. The broveda packs only add, keep moisture to the air, not the sticky stanky sweet Buddha. Too wet, always better than too dry.

Beautiful first grow, congratulations, now smoke it!

 

[Natep]

I don’t wait for stems to snap. I hang for two weeks at 60% rh and as cold as possible or as close to 60 as I can get. Then I clip of the nugs into a trimming bowl. Ten spins each direction then into jars.

 

[Lonnieglj]

So I’ve been doing a lot of research on drying and curing as this is my first attempt, seems like there’s a lot of opinions when it comes to stem snapping or just bending when buds feel crispy to cure, just curious on some of your guys way of doing it ? I harvested this one on Monday today is Friday and it’s dried with a constant temp 75 and 55-60% humidity the buds feel pretty crispy on outside and some leaves crumble but when squeezed still feel a bit sticky But not really wet and stem doesn’t snap just some resistance then bends, I figure it’s best to jar sooner than later as you can always dry a bit longer if needed ? Any advice ?

I too am harvesting my first plant. I did the first plant for 5 days. The stem didn't snap but bent in half without breaking. I've noticed hay smell coming from that jar. That one was an auto that didn't get bigger than 15 inches and the yield was less than impressive. My photo harvest I waited until the stem snapped which started on day 5 with the smaller branches that shriveled up a lot. Over the next 4 days the bigger branches began to snap. I did leave all the sugar leaves on it and just removed fan leaves. The bud itself stores moisture. The sugar leaves pretty much pulled off unless you were closer to the muddle of bigger denser buds. Waiting longer definitely paid off. I thought it was dry on the 1st plant but think I jarred it to quickly. I have to burp it more often. The other is curing nicely barely have to burp and no hay smell. I am a newbie. That's just what I went through. The stuff that cured longer is stickier and smells great.