Drying 7-10 Days, How??

Irish063 · Oct 21, 2017

I know it's all about conditions, but how on earth are people able to dry 7-10 days?
I'm in CO and even with a humidifier in my drying area they are still crispy in like 3 days. I mean crispy!
My rack is not completely sealed but I do have plastic around the sides and top. I have a small fan in there to circulate air.
Just curious. I had the same issue last year tried to change it a little but the outcome is not much different.

SatansTaint · Oct 21, 2017

Small , airy wispy buds dry fast. What is that you are growing ? If that is not a sativa, I would look at your overall grow , do some research and figure out how to get chunky healthy buds

DemonTrich · Oct 21, 2017

Mine gets dry in my sealed.75* 55%rh flower.room I use.to.dry in after harvest. Cut Thursday, jar on Monday. Then burp.for.3.weeks.

BudBogart · Oct 21, 2017

Get rid of the fan! Fans blowing on plants dry them very fast. Figure another way to slightly move the air or use the fan on low twice a day for one minute. Adjust if necessary.

SmithsJunk · Oct 21, 2017

First thing if you want a slow dry is not to trim the fan leaves. Make large cuts instead of individual branches. The more foliage and stalk, the slower the dry time. The stalk and buds will dry at the same speed and fans(leaves) will slow the process even more.

Spend $40 on a couple good usb fans with rheostats. My favorite is a 120mm Thermaltake static pressure computer fan converted to a desk fan. Use indirect flow either over or away from your buds. You can also use a a box or oscillating fan pointed away at a wall or corner using pressure to shift air around the room.

My little Thermaltake fan can be turned down so low it can barely be felt a foot away.

If you're in a cold environment like me and the buds are heavy like my Kush you'll need direct airflow for at least a few days. It would also be a good idea to have a hygrometer/temperature combo with an extension sensor for hanging into the midst of the plants while the display is available to be easily read.

Sativa buds are usually small and somewhat fluffy. It's hard to dry them slowly. Mine dried in 4-5 days with little airflow in 60-70F daytime temps.

I wash my buds in a dilute H2O2 bath right after cutting so they start off wet and I have to use direct airflow the first few hours at least to get rid of surface moisture. I think it helps extend the dry time by the use of the bath but I'm not certain.

I'll post some some pics of my setup. Probably won't be useful to you because I'm drying very dense Kush at around 45F. I'd say optimal drying conditions are around 65F and 48% humidity (just my opinion). I will shift my fans away and to static pressure at around 65-70% room humidity. Then tub them at around 40% room humidity and moniter with my hygro/temp extension. They'll probably jump to the mid 60%s in the tubs and I'll burp and shift them periodically until I'm comfortable they are dry enough to stay static.

You cant see it but my hygrometer reads 85%, hence the direct fans.

Westie · Oct 21, 2017

Food for thought. Post 177 on....a better box.
FYI. My DEhumidifier is working double time to keep the RH down due to the vegetation load!

https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/teamharold.87647/page-9

Irish063 · Oct 22, 2017

SatansTaint said:
Small , airy wispy buds dry fast. What is that you are growing ? If that is not a sativa, I would look at your overall grow , do some research and figure out how to get chunky healthy buds

Thanks. However, these are not airy wispy buds. Not bragging and not saying I know everything. Last year I had exactly that this they are definitely not. You can check out my grow diary if you want 4 strains 2nd grow.
That particular photo is strawberry kush and AK-48.

Irish063 · Oct 22, 2017

BudBogart said:
Get rid of the fan! Fans blowing on plants dry them very fast. Figure another way to slightly move the air or use the fan on low twice a day for one minute. Adjust if necessary.

Thanks. Good thought. I can put the fan on a timer.

Irish063 · Oct 22, 2017

SmithsJunk said:
First thing if you want a slow dry is not to trim the fan leaves. Make large cuts instead of individual branches. The more foliage and stalk, the slower the dry time. The stalk and buds will dry at the same speed and fans(leaves) will slow the process even more.

Spend $40 on a couple good usb fans with rheostats. My favorite is a 120mm Thermaltake static pressure computer fan converted to a desk fan. Use indirect flow either over or away from your buds. You can also use a a box or oscillating fan pointed away at a wall or corner using pressure to shift air around the room.

My little Thermaltake fan can be turned down so low it can barely be felt a foot away.

If you're in a cold environment like me and the buds are heavy like my Kush you'll need direct airflow for at least a few days. It would also be a good idea to have a hygrometer/temperature combo with an extension sensor for hanging into the midst of the plants while the display is available to be easily read.

Sativa buds are usually small and somewhat fluffy. It's hard to dry them slowly. Mine dried in 4-5 days with little airflow in 60-70F daytime temps.

I wash my buds in a dilute H2O2 bath right after cutting so they start off wet and I have to use direct airflow the first few hours at least to get rid of surface moisture. I think it helps extend the dry time by the use of the bath but I'm not certain.

I'll post some some pics of my setup. Probably won't be useful to you because I'm drying very dense Kush at around 45F. I'd say optimal drying conditions are around 65F and 48% humidity (just my opinion). I will shift my fans away and to static pressure at around 65-70% room humidity. Then tub them at around 40% room humidity and moniter with my hygro/temp extension. They'll probably jump to the mid 60%s in the tubs and I'll burp and shift them periodically until I'm comfortable they are dry enough to stay static.

View attachment 751756 View attachment 751757 View attachment 751758 View attachment 751759 View attachment 751760

You cant see it but my hygrometer reads 85%, hence the direct fans.

Great. Thank you. I did ended up having kind of a mix of single/double branches and several branches.

I wanted to try wet trimming this year but time wouldn't allow it so they are drying with the Dan leaves on and I will be dry trimming. As it turns out is think I like dry trimming better from the few things I did get to wet trim.

I had been trying to keep the room warmer but I think I will let it cool back down since I can't get the rh to stay steady.

That fan sounds pretty sweet. It can definitely go much lower than mine.

One of those in the photo is a kush (sativa dominant). The buds are pretty dense but not as much as the AK-48. I ended up having to toss one of the 48's due to mold but I think that originated from all the rain we had and it just wasn't showing signs yet.

I may have to invest in a new thermometer. The temp reads ok but I don't know about the hydrometer function of it. Not entirely sure it's reading accurately.
Interesting. I haven't seen those numbers before but I can get that pretty consistently. Much easier than I could 60f and 60rh.
I just bagged them earlier this year so they could retain some moisture that seems to be helping some.
At 3 days they are almost snap dry fan leaves and outer bud is crispy.

SmithsJunk · Oct 22, 2017

Irish063 said:
Great. Thank you. I did ended up having kind of a mix of single/double branches and several branches.

I wanted to try wet trimming this year but time wouldn't allow it so they are drying with the Dan leaves on and I will be dry trimming. As it turns out is think I like dry trimming better from the few things I did get to wet trim.

I had been trying to keep the room warmer but I think I will let it cool back down since I can't get the rh to stay steady.

That fan sounds pretty sweet. It can definitely go much lower than mine.

One of those in the photo is a kush (sativa dominant). The buds are pretty dense but not as much as the AK-48. I ended up having to toss one of the 48's due to mold but I think that originated from all the rain we had and it just wasn't showing signs yet.

I may have to invest in a new thermometer. The temp reads ok but I don't know about the hydrometer function of it. Not entirely sure it's reading accurately.
Interesting. I haven't seen those numbers before but I can get that pretty consistently. Much easier than I could 60f and 60rh.
I just bagged them earlier this year so they could retain some moisture that seems to be helping some.
At 3 days they are almost snap dry fan leaves and outer bud is crispy.

I've found the dilute peroxide bath (1 cup to 5 gal of water) to be a key component in a successful slow dry. It's just one thing less to worry about. Everyone around me has some mold, not me. I know it seems counterintuitive getting your flowers wet to protect them from something that grows on wet things but it works, and the sh*t that comes off of them, ick! I've tried washed and unwashed flowers from my Orange Creamsicles. There is a substantial difference in flavor quality and no difference in potency that I could tell. I was blown away at how clean they were too.

I admit, the Thermaltake USB desk fans are a bit pricey at $20 ea but they were the only prebuilt ones I found that had a fully variable rheostat control. The less expensive, non-computer case fans are off balance and very loud. I'm a computer builder so I know case fans and Thermaltake is at the top end of the spectrum. I exclusively use their cases and fans, with the exception of the most premium fans made by Noctua. Thinking of building static pressure arrays using 140-200mm Noctua fans which would make the drying room almost dead silent. At $30 a pop Noctuas are not a cheap endeavor but if white noise bugs you it's the best option.

redlife215 · Oct 22, 2017

65 deg and 55 60 percent rh

Irish063 · Oct 22, 2017

Tgats

Westie said:
Food for thought. Post 177 on....a better box.
FYI. My DEhumidifier is working double time to keep the RH down due to the vegetation load!

https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/teamharold.87647/page-9

a sweet set up. Didn’t have a chance to check it out last night.

Irish063 · Oct 22, 2017

SmithsJunk said:
I've found the dilute peroxide bath (1 cup to 5 gal of water) to be a key component in a successful slow dry. It's just one thing less to worry about. Everyone around me has some mold, not me. I know it seems counterintuitive getting your flowers wet to protect them from something that grows on wet things but it works, and the sh*t that comes off of them, ick! I've tried washed and unwashed flowers from my Orange Creamsicles. There is a substantial difference in flavor quality and no difference in potency that I could tell. I was blown away at how clean they were too.

I admit, the Thermaltake USB desk fans are a bit pricey at $20 ea but they were the only prebuilt ones I found that had a fully variable rheostat control. The less expensive, non-computer case fans are off balance and very loud. I'm a computer builder so I know case fans and Thermaltake is at the top end of the spectrum. I exclusively use their cases and fans, with the exception of the most premium fans made by Noctua. Thinking of building static pressure arrays using 140-200mm Noctua fans which would make the drying room almost dead silent. At $30 a pop Noctuas are not a cheap endeavor but if white noise bugs you it's the best option.

Thanks. I have thought about washing my buds but haven’t read much on it to make an informed decision. I Wonder if it would have helped save that one AK bud. The mold was pretty bad so I don’t think it was from the two days it was in the bag. Who knows. As a preventative measure it would be nice to help make sure no others get mold on them. I still have a few that are finishing up so I might try it on them.
How long do you dunk for? A couple seconds? At first it does seem counterintuitive but the persoxide creates an oxygen rich environment spnit kills most things.
Surprised it doesn’t remove any trichromatic though.
Yeah, the little that I have read most people were surprised how much was on their buds.

God to know about the fans. Luckily a little white noise does not bother me.

SmithsJunk · Oct 23, 2017

Irish063 said:
Thanks. I have thought about washing my buds but haven’t read much on it to make an informed decision. I Wonder if it would have helped save that one AK bud. The mold was pretty bad so I don’t think it was from the two days it was in the bag. Who knows. As a preventative measure it would be nice to help make sure no others get mold on them. I still have a few that are finishing up so I might try it on them.
How long do you dunk for? A couple seconds? At first it does seem counterintuitive but the persoxide creates an oxygen rich environment spnit kills most things.
Surprised it doesn’t remove any trichromatic though.
Yeah, the little that I have read most people were surprised how much was on their buds.

God to know about the fans. Luckily a little white noise does not bother me.

*Bathe only freshly cut bud*

Wanted to make sure to put that out there so there's no mixups. Test for yourself. Try it out on one bud. Take pics of the same spot before and after. The only difference I saw was super clean trichs, no lost capitate stalks or resin. Also, after they're gently dunked in the solution for less than 5 min and gently rinsed with low pressure and a rain shower watering head, they're very crisp. Like fresh vegitables, if your using cool, but not cold water. Ice cold water will cause the stalks to release for bubble hash. There will be cloudy water but it seems like the residue of the H2O2 using oxygenation to cook off the nasties. Saw no resin in the water. I would have thought oxidisation would effect everything negatively but I've seen absolutely no evidence to support that presumption.

In my limited experience (this is my first grow, but I'm a seasoned trimmer) using roughly 40F water, they don't go limp as quickly after the dip when they become "fresh vegitablised". The cooling of the buds by the cool water created a refrigeration effect as water evaps from the fans. It was cooler in my drying room than outside and my fans (leaves) didn't go completely limp for 3 days. I had one branch break off a few days early and the cooling effect even slowed it's drying time. The more moisture you can safely place on the buds the longer the refrigeration effect lasts. Sterilised buds and water are excellent for this purpose. Not even a chance of mold unless they are cross contaminated. It caused a secondary harvest in the same room that had gotten a little too dry to have it's moisture safely restored as well.

I've found no drawbacks.

Good harvesting.

Irish063 · Oct 24, 2017

SmithsJunk said:
*Bathe only freshly cut bud*

Wanted to make sure to put that out there so there's no mixups. Test for yourself. Try it out on one bud. Take pics of the same spot before and after. The only difference I saw was super clean trichs, no lost capitate stalks or resin. Also, after they're gently dunked in the solution for less than 5 min and gently rinsed with low pressure and a rain shower watering head, they're very crisp. Like fresh vegitables, if your using cool, but not cold water. Ice cold water will cause the stalks to release for bubble hash. There will be cloudy water but it seems like the residue of the H2O2 using oxygenation to cook off the nasties. Saw no resin in the water. I would have thought oxidisation would effect everything negatively but I've seen absolutely no evidence to support that presumption.

In my limited experience (this is my first grow, but I'm a seasoned trimmer) using roughly 40F water, they don't go limp as quickly after the dip when they become "fresh vegitablised". The cooling of the buds by the cool water created a refrigeration effect as water evaps from the fans. It was cooler in my drying room than outside and my fans (leaves) didn't go completely limp for 3 days. I had one branch break off a few days early and the cooling effect even slowed it's drying time. The more moisture you can safely place on the buds the longer the refrigeration effect lasts. Sterilised buds and water are excellent for this purpose. Not even a chance of mold unless they are cross contaminated. It caused a secondary harvest in the same room that had gotten a little too dry to have it's moisture safely restored as well.

I've found no drawbacks.

Good harvesting.

Awesome!! Thanks for the clarification and explanation. Yeah I almost wondered if I could do it on dried bud but then thought about it for a second and realized it was probably only for fresh cut.
I wouldn’t have guessed that long. Up to 5 mins, crazy.
Hmmm, I may have to think of someway to simulate the rain shower first rnthe rinse. I’m on softened well water. The smell of supper plus the salt wouldn’t be the most appealing.
We use refillable water containers from the store for drinking.

Is the 1C:5gal ratio just so you can fit longer branches at once? Could you do a smaller batch but keep the same ratios?

SmithsJunk · Oct 24, 2017

Irish063 said:
Awesome!! Thanks for the clarification and explanation. Yeah I almost wondered if I could do it on dried bud but then thought about it for a second and realized it was probably only for fresh cut.
I wouldn’t have guessed that long. Up to 5 mins, crazy.
Hmmm, I may have to think of someway to simulate the rain shower first rnthe rinse. I’m on softened well water. The smell of supper plus the salt wouldn’t be the most appealing.
We use refillable water containers from the store for drinking.

Is the 1C:5gal ratio just so you can fit longer branches at once? Could you do a smaller batch but keep the same ratios?

.5-1 cup per 5 gal, same ratio any sise. I let my last harvest soak up to 20 min. Didn't hurt them at all that I can tell. I actually filled my bins with it after mixing in a fiver. Then used a shower type end to rinse after dumping the H2O2 bath. Just be gentle and you should be fine.

If you are not using hose water you can use a watering can with the shower type end. That'd be enough to airrate and gentle the flow.

Irish063 · Oct 25, 2017

SmithsJunk said:
.5-1 cup per 5 gal, same ratio any sise. I let my last harvest soak up to 20 min. Didn't hurt them at all that I can tell. I actually filled my bins with it after mixing in a fiver. Then used a shower type end to rinse after dumping the H2O2 bath. Just be gentle and you should be fine.

If you are not using hose water you can use a watering can with the shower type end. That'd be enough to airrate and gentle the flow.

View attachment 752740

Sweet. Hadn’t thought about that. I tried it out tonight on a bud and ended up putting plastic wrap over the top and poked some wholes in it. Seemed to work well enough for the rinse (RO water)

SmithsJunk · Oct 25, 2017

Irish063 said:
Sweet. Hadn’t thought about that. I tried it out tonight on a bud and ended up putting plastic wrap over the top and poked some wholes in it. Seemed to work well enough for the rinse (RO water)

I also try to aerate the H2O2 bath. To the best of my understanding, highly oxygenating water makes it a better cleanser. (Also good for the roots of plants when they're growing.)

Irish063 · Oct 27, 2017

SmithsJunk said:
I also try to aerate the H2O2 bath. To the best of my understanding, highly oxygenating water makes it a better cleanser. (Also good for the roots of plants when they're growing.)

So the wash almost seemed to bring out the trich's even more. It also kind of intensified the part that had some problems but the part that was green and healthy stayed that way.
It's very interesting. I only soaked it for 2 1/2 mins. It was dry on the outside yesterday so I put it into a zip lock. Ill post some pics later. They are on my phone. It's easier to just post them directly from there.

Irish063 · Oct 27, 2017

Here are some before and after shots no flash and with flash

Drying 7-10 Days, How??

Drying 7-10 Days, How??

Irish063

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