drying. How long is too long? need help dialing in dry room.

[redshift75]

So i built my drying tent and ive got it dialed in to where its taking about 14-19 days to hit the point to throwing in jars. My question is, is it too long? Originally before i dialed it in was taking about 7 days before i could jar. i started to notice the hay smell so went to extend it. The dehumidifier only runs now several times when required and my hvac system sensors do all the air cycling and keeps it near perfect RH i set it at ***assuming its not excessively humid that day. The buds themselves currently seem to be drying inside out. Where my first settings it was really drying outside of the buds cooking them. I know thats part of the goal is to not cook them dry

are there negatives from this approach? I've read lots of things about long drying and dry curing. So im not sure where that benchmark is. As this is my first time doing the whole cycle solo. I was never the person who did the drying/curing and i never really took the time to learn about it from them when i had the chance. I was the planter/grower guy in the team. The person i would ask for those questions is no longer with us. I know lots of people go with the "til you can snap a stem".

Im more interested in thoughts at that next level whens a good indicator or baseline. I like the flavors and i know that takes curing. But i remember enough to know it wasnt a 10 day process for the person either. I do understand that the one auto i was harvesting in stages is not a great indicator of the tent and how it will work with lots of buds. Which is why i want to get a baseline of how it should be dialed in now. Using the buds i have.

The last few jars i have packed i did one at 58% i did one when it was 61%. seems to be curing nice. maintaining humidty. I know they say to play around with it. I dont really ever plan to grow this strain again(blue dream). But the other strains for sure. I guess if i had to set a goal would be to preserve the most terps i can with the least degradation to flavor. Ive read so much information that in the end im more confused than when i started. I was reading about swings of high and low RH to help it uniformly dry out.


Im really just not sure what im suppose to be doing or what track im suppose to be on for it. do i want a short dry or longer dry? I understood how to build the drying room and such, just no idea how im suppose to set it up and run it. Maybe im over thinking? I do know for a fact im not good at drying or curing. I understand what im suppose to be going for, But not how to get there. I dont want to grow nice buds then have them end up one step away from oven drying. I did ask my neighbor and his are on the side of cooked more than i prefer. You can taste that hay flavor of fast dried uncured nug in his. Burns my lungs. So i dont want to listen to his advice on this particular subject.

Temps are usually 68-77 50-65%RH swings where ive been leaning on the higher side for the slow draw so im not cooking them. which was my first issue i came across(dehumidifier sensor was defective and when set at 60rh was going to 30rh *now fixed). Im able to program the dry tent to do just about any cycle within reason to the abilities of the equipment. So i could technically program any type of dry schedule i wanted. But have no idea what that is.

Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[MIMedGrower]

I find jar burping more of an art than science. The humidity guage is checking jar moisture not bud moisture. Flowers can be different density and dry differently. I burp jars by smell and feel of the buds.

As far as hang drying it also differs in time with different plants and runs but if you have it taking 2 weeks to dry enough for the jars that is very good slow drying.

Best weed i ever tasted was from an old mans outdoor that hangs in the barn like 2 months as a whole 14 foot plant. Then he cuts them up and trims and jars.

 

[redshift75]

I find jar burping more of an art than science. The humidity guage is checking jar moisture not bud moisture. Flowers can be different density and dry differently. I burp jars by smell and feel of the buds.

As far as hang drying it also differs in time with different plants and runs but if you have it taking 2 weeks to dry enough for the jars that is very good slow drying.

Best weed i ever tasted was from an old mans outdoor that hangs in the barn like 2 months as a whole 14 foot plant. Then he cuts them up and trims and jars.

I plan to build a humidor of sorts have all the cedar and room setup to do in winter. which will turn that into my dry and hopefully cure room. Thats kind of what i want to get to is the long cure. I wasnt sure if going any longer would be too much. Reason i put in jars is because it was already getting really dry as i was tuning in the system. I definitely went higher than is good in the beginning, I have this last stuff thats hanging down to about 65%. jar was just for reference - as its been in the jar for over 2 weeks and burped daily. I built a whole 5 gal bucket burping system for the bigger haul. I just want to make sure im not going too fast or risking any problems going too slow. I tend to use a moisture meter on the buds themselves to check the moisture. I think i just want to ensure i keep it above 55% RH and between 65%? just trying not to dry faster than needed.

Is their a max RH i should avoid? like dont go above a certain RH to ensure a good curing while avoiding mold potentials?

Thanks for the help

 

[redshift75]

I just took a puff on a popcorn nug and while they still need a few more days yet. The flavor between this and the first jar i filled with an oz. Even though that didnt cure and was dried faster. It actually tastes like blue dream and not hay! lol So i must be close to the right path.

 

[MIMedGrower]

I plan to build a humidor of sorts have all the cedar and room setup to do in winter. which will turn that into my dry and hopefully cure room. Thats kind of what i want to get to is the long cure. I wasnt sure if going any longer would be too much. Reason i put in jars is because it was already getting really dry as i was tuning in the system. I definitely went higher than is good in the beginning, I have this last stuff thats hanging down to about 65%. jar was just for reference - as its been in the jar for over 2 weeks and burped daily. I built a whole 5 gal bucket burping system for the bigger haul. I just want to make sure im not going too fast or risking any problems going too slow. I tend to use a moisture meter on the buds themselves to check the moisture. I think i just want to ensure i keep it above 55% RH and between 65%? just trying not to dry faster than needed.

Is their a max RH i should avoid? like dont go above a certain RH to ensure a good curing while avoiding mold potentials?

Thanks for the help

After 60% rh is when risk of mold increases.

 

[redshift75]

After 60% rh is when risk of mold increases.

So should what do you think a good spec is always 60 or under? i have max 65 but usually system kicks on at about 64.1 for air circulation. should i set it for 55-60 and just maintain that spectrum til they are dry? Im liking the slow higher side though.