Drying In Low Rh

[Onetwothree]

I live in the northeast where we are blessed with super humid summers and skin-cracking dry winters. I'll be harvesting my first crop in about two weeks and I'm more than a little concerned about my drying conditions. I have a small closet (about 2x6) to dry in and the RH is at 31%.

I recently chopped two small branches for a test run. I trimmed the branches and hung them on a clothes hanger in the closet. Needless to say, at 31% RH they dried out pretty quickly...but MUCH more quickly than I thought, at about 30 hours they were crisp to the touch. I've got them in jars now and they have the dreaded "dry hay smell" that I read comes from drying too quickly. Really big bummer, because on the plant they have an amazing fruity, berry, sweet fuel nose.

So...what's a fella to do? I could buy a humidifier with an RH control, but I'm a little worried that my closet is going to be too small and throw the humidifier sensors all out of whack. Any ideas, or has anyone successfully dried in similiar conditions? Should I maybe wait to trim until after the drying process? I heard that is a pain, but if it means a slower (read better) dry, than I'm ok with it. Any and all advice is welcome as always.

 

[We Solidarity]

I would imagine your humidity would rise if you put a bunch of plant matter in there to dry out correct?


I would recommend the dry trim- if the air is too dry the outside of the bud dries too fast when it's wet trimmed and the inside stays slightly wet (like, 4-8% more moisture than the outside), which can make an amazing cure and add weight if you know what you're doing but can also mold out your weed if you don't.

Leaving the leaves on helps pull moisture from the center of the bud and slow the drying down on the outside of the bud, which results in a more even drying process that's better for drier climates.

Its your call. Either way, make sure you stuff your hangars. My hangars usually weigh 1/4-1/3 lb dry, it looks scary at first but they shrink up and when they get smaller it definitely helps keep them from getting completely dry.

 

[We Solidarity]

As far as the rh level, I've dried in all sorts of environments and in houses I never checked rh values and always got great smells... The one thing you don't want to do is dry at cooler temps because that's when botrytis likes to colonize.

Some strains miss the boat though even if they reek in flower. Hopefully all the strains don't do it.

Also I've definitely had that happen trying to dry a tester branch, I dry like tobacco farmers do just cluster it up tight but still in an open space with airflow.

 

[Seamaiden]

Ah, now see, my experience is different in that regard to lower temps. As long as the RH isn't too high, you can dry in rather low temps (45*F-55*F) without concern about mold. Keeping drying RH in the 50s is key, again in my limited experience.

 

[Onetwothree]

You guys rock. I'm probably gonna bite the bullet and buy a humidifier and see what that does for the rh in the closet...if it's totally whack I can always return it.

I think you're right though, when I have a bunch of buds in there (guessing close to a pound dry) as opposed to the two small branches, it's gonna jack the humidity up quite a bit.

@Seamaiden my temps in the closet are around 61 degrees (this is a spot in the house we don't use, hence the free closet and low temp) do you think that would be alright to keep around 50% rh?

I hope this makes sense. I'm a bit toasty from a beer fest in my little town. Much obliged.

 

[Seamaiden]

Yes, I think it should be alright at 50% RH.

 

[Dutch420grow]

You might try the bagging technique. you hang branches on a clothes hanger for a few days until the outside of the plant feels crispy. Pull a large garbage bag up over them and tie the top off to seal it. Make sure the bag is big enough to allow plenty of room as not to squeeze them tight together. After a day or so the plant will get moist feel back to it. Take the bag off and start the proceedure over again. The drying to moisture times will get shorter as you do this over a few days. This should help slow down your drying time to get a smoother dry.

 

[stanklungs]

It's a pain ain't it. If you have a basement dry down there. Especially away from baseboards or furnace. Your temps and rh should be more stable and easier to control.

 

[Onetwothree]

It's a pain ain't it. If you have a basement dry down there. Especially away from baseboards or furnace. Your temps and rh should be more stable and easier to control.

I do have a basement...I was thinking about drying down there. Only problem is its cooooooold. What's the minimum I should let the temps drop while drying?

 

[fishwhistle]

I dont think id use a humidifier,like WS said humidity will go way up when you have more plant material in there.My conditions are as dry or dryer than yours and the only thing i use is a small fan off in the corner on low blowing straight up from the floor to ceiling for air movement,i have a dehuey in the room but it only comes on if the room is packed or in the very beggining.

 

[Onetwothree]

I dont think id use a humidifier,like WS said humidity will go way up when you have more plant material in there.My conditions are as dry or dryer than yours and the only thing i use is a small fan off in the corner on low blowing straight up from the floor to ceiling for air movement,i have a dehuey in the room but it only comes on if the room is packed or in the very beggining.

Right on. Do you trim before or after you hang to dry?

 

[Seamaiden]

Trim after you dry, especially if you have a lot of plant material. That's my opinion on that. It allows you a lot more flexibility in that regard. Also, fish is right about the circulation, definitely keep the air moving as that goes a long way towards preventing mold.

I do have a basement...I was thinking about drying down there. Only problem is its cooooooold. What's the minimum I should let the temps drop while drying?

That's what I LOVE about using my basement. Keep the RH at an appropriate level and the coldness gives you a great cure. Mine gets easily as low as 45*F.

 

[Onetwothree]

Much obliged as always, Sea. The basement it is!

 

[ArcticOrange]

You might try the bagging technique. you hang branches on a clothes hanger for a few days until the outside of the plant feels crispy. Pull a large garbage bag up over them and tie the top off to seal it. Make sure the bag is big enough to allow plenty of room as not to squeeze them tight together. After a day or so the plant will get moist feel back to it. Take the bag off and start the proceedure over again. The drying to moisture times will get shorter as you do this over a few days. This should help slow down your drying time to get a smoother dry.

I second this, if you notice your whole crop going dry too fast id use the bag method. It has been discussed in more detail in the growfaq if im not mistaken.

 

[shemshemet]

Try using simple techniques to raise RH.

Dry wet clothes in same area! (unless you use really pungent detergent). Lay out bowls of water underneath the drying buds. Mist walls near drying buds (do not mist buds!!)

 

[fishwhistle]

Right on. Do you trim before or after you hang to dry?

After,I use a dry trimmer now but ive done it alot of different ways.

 

[Afghi]

I live in the northeast where we are blessed with super humid summers and skin-cracking dry winters. I'll be harvesting my first crop in about two weeks and I'm more than a little concerned about my drying conditions. I have a small closet (about 2x6) to dry in and the RH is at 31%.

I recently chopped two small branches for a test run. I trimmed the branches and hung them on a clothes hanger in the closet. Needless to say, at 31% RH they dried out pretty quickly...but MUCH more quickly than I thought, at about 30 hours they were crisp to the touch. I've got them in jars now and they have the dreaded "dry hay smell" that I read comes from drying too quickly. Really big bummer, because on the plant they have an amazing fruity, berry, sweet fuel nose.

So...what's a fella to do? I could buy a humidifier with an RH control, but I'm a little worried that my closet is going to be too small and throw the humidifier sensors all out of whack. Any ideas, or has anyone successfully dried in similiar conditions? Should I maybe wait to trim until after the drying process? I heard that is a pain, but if it means a slower (read better) dry, than I'm ok with it. Any and all advice is welcome as always.

I have the same problem as you do. I have never had a problem in any of my grows with needing a dehumidifier, but i do use a humidifier. I also live in the east, southeast Canada, and i have always needed the help of a humidifier as my rh will sometines be as low as 25-30 %. I have had issues in veg because of my low rh, before i added my humidifier. If you can manage to get by without issues during your veg period you will still want the humidifier when it comes to drying in the end. You don't want your plant's drying in 3 or 4 days, i always found the quality and sometimes the smell suffer when you dry too fast. I bought a really nice used humidifier for a little under $200 and it was well worth it. When i dry my plant's i set my rh to about 60 or a tad higher, high enough that the plants won't dry to smokable standards, and let them stay there for a few days and i slowly lower the humidity. I like to have my plant's hanging for atleast 10 to maybe 14 days. I find setting at about 55 % rh finishes them off and brings them to the perfect texture where i can jar them after about 2 weeks, then i usually leave them in the jars with the tops off for a couple days if needed, if they aren't quite ready for the tops to be on in jars, then i burp them for as long as they need it. Using this method i have got my drying and curing down to almost perfection so that when i do finally seal them up they have the perfect texture where they are dry enough to not ever worry about molding in the jar, but still nice and tacky and not so dry that you can crumble them with your fingers. With your situation i would definitely suggest getting the humidifier, it was one of the best investments i made for my grow. There is nothing worse then puttiing all that effort into your grow then have it dry up in 4 days and smell a bit like hay or be dried a bit too much and crumble to dust when you pinch a bud. I guess setting at 60 or may e 62 rh for the first 3 or 4 days then lowering to 55 for the remainder would be a safe place to start when you do your first attempt at drying with the humidifier, you will figure out what suit's you best after a couple times. Good luck

 

[Onetwothree]

I have the same problem as you do. I have never had a problem in any of my grows with needing a dehumidifier, but i do use a humidifier. I also live in the east, southeast Canada, and i have always needed the help of a humidifier as my rh will sometines be as low as 25-30 %. I have had issues in veg because of my low rh, before i added my humidifier. If you can manage to get by without issues during your veg period you will still want the humidifier when it comes to drying in the end. You don't want your plant's drying in 3 or 4 days, i always found the quality and sometimes the smell suffer when you dry too fast. I bought a really nice used humidifier for a little under $200 and it was well worth it. When i dry my plant's i set my rh to about 60 or a tad higher, high enough that the plants won't dry to smokable standards, and let them stay there for a few days and i slowly lower the humidity. I like to have my plant's hanging for atleast 10 to maybe 14 days. I find setting at about 55 % rh finishes them off and brings them to the perfect texture where i can jar them after about 2 weeks, then i usually leave them in the jars with the tops off for a couple days if needed, if they aren't quite ready for the tops to be on in jars, then i burp them for as long as they need it. Using this method i have got my drying and curing down to almost perfection so that when i do finally seal them up they have the perfect texture where they are dry enough to not ever worry about molding in the jar, but still nice and tacky and not so dry that you can crumble them with your fingers. With your situation i would definitely suggest getting the humidifier, it was one of the best investments i made for my grow. There is nothing worse then puttiing all that effort into your grow then have it dry up in 4 days and smell a bit like hay or be dried a bit too much and crumble to dust when you pinch a bud. I guess setting at 60 or may e 62 rh for the first 3 or 4 days then lowering to 55 for the remainder would be a safe place to start when you do your first attempt at drying with the humidifier, you will figure out what suit's you best after a couple times. Good luck

Thanks for all the info sir! Yea, I buckled down and bought a humidifier, drying in the 30% range was just not an option after I put so much time into the grow.

 

[shemshemet]

Anything is better than nothing! Great decision!

 

[malamus]

up in CO it's pretty dry also. if you're feeling adventurous I find bud washing to both solve the low RH problem and simplify the trimming process. I just chop whole branches, remove the largest fans and wash, then dry trim a week later.

can't dry out too fast when it was soaked in water