drying my harvest

[Hondaguy]

ok now when the buds go in the jars they should be dry correct. i no people say when the stems bend but i have put buds in the jar at that point an always get hay so ive been letting the buds dry a little more they are not powder but if i take a bud out of the jar the little sugar leafs brake off but if i squeaze a bud its like a rock dont hear any cracking But if i put a bud in a plastic bag the smell seems to change better smell. I cant see the buds still being wet. ive also tryed the humidity packs by boveda but think they make the stuff to moist. Also have a problem with the weight of the flowers seems like an half looks like a z why is this buds a super dense. myabe im letting dry to much not sure

 

[Aladeen OG]

boveda packs simply help already cured weed stay within humidity range, it will not cure your weed for you.

the easiest most simple way is the hydrometer method. get a caliber 3 or 4, like 20$. put all your nugs in a jar/tupperware/whatever and throw in the hydrometer. give it a little bit to adjust and settle, like 2-3 hours.

if the hydrometer reads-
70+ - your shit is way wet and it shouldnt have even been in the jars. keep hanging. if youre in a super dry place you'll start getting crunchy on the outside, throw em in a paper bag, it will help regulate the moisture to the outside of the nugs while still drying the inside.

65-70 - still too wet, take out and try

60-65 - prime "burp" zone. once you get to about 63 or so, start throwing the lid on for a few hours a day. take it off and let the air recirculate, then pop the lid back on. this will continute to suck the moisture out of the inside of the nugs towards the out, evenly distributing it, which when opened and burped will disperse a lot of said moisture. keep doing this for a week or so

55-60% - prime cure zone. most people will say 52% or so, but i hoard my nugs, and i like to open a fresh jar and let it dry a litttle as i smoke it, id hate to open a jar to crispy dust. keep nugs sealed in jar ( i still keep the hydrometer in there to be safe) and just check it. i allow fresh air every couple days for the first week or two, then you can seal away or start curing! or be commercial status and start sellin it then!~

50-55% - keep nugs in jar with lid close in hopes you havent gone below 50%. keep that shit above 50.

49% or lower - your nugs are too dry, there is no putting moisture back into them, learn from the mistake and try better next time.


****your environment has everything to do with a curing process too. so 80 degrees, too hot, 40% RH, it could be a lot worse but could be a little more ideal.

 

[caregiverken]

Got the rhythm up to 55 60 and temp is about 68. 70*

Thats pretty much the RH and temps I work with,
And I can hang my whole plants for 7 to 10 days before getting some stem snap \

at 60% RH and 68 degrees, I could probably leave em for a couple weeks..And do sometimes
RH can change fast so i gotta watch close

But Im still trying to figure this shit out myself

 

[caregiverken]

One thing ive learned....
Real good buds are easier to dry than larfy airy crap ...lol

 

[Seamaiden]

Sorry Aladeen, but for me 60%-65% is prime curing zone, the lower zones are for drying. I did away with jars YEARS ago because who has time to burp hundreds or thousands of jars? ;)

 

[Aladeen OG]

i dont think we are talking commercial here, lol i hope not if he has ? on how to dry a crop.

20$ gets you a case of quart jars. i have no problem twisting 10 lids off for a few lbs. i do have a very efficient and un-beatable drying/curing/keeping method but i dont post it online, people can jack that shit and make a product, and it will hold for years. but i feel 65% is still way too moist for a cure for me....i prefer in the 56 range.

 

[Seamaiden]

Either way (I'm not commercial, I just grow a lotta weed) the jars can be a great way to ruin bud if you don't stay on top of it. I've found that 65% is too moist only for a very few strains, and since it was commercial growers who taught me how to do it, and it works, that's what I go with. I have found that curing and leaving the product at 56% can lead to dry, crumbly buds and a LOT of shake, a good bit of which is also comprised of broken trichomes. I get zero shake.

 

[Hondaguy]

thanks guys for all the help going to try something new this round. I think the problem is the bud is never getting to cure have a hygrometer rh is 50% after letting the buds sit for 24 hrs. And the stuff is so light compared to other stuff. so what am i doing letting them dry to much not sure the smaller stems snaped but the main and the bigger stems craked and bent. I guess its a fine line just really makes me mad that i cant get it right but im sure one way or another i will.

 

[Hondaguy]

seen a vid on youtube the other day about flushing an if done right you get a white ash now i did flush the plants but i cant get that white ash its like grayish an some of its black. In that vid the ash was like white and when he dumped the pipe out it was like a cig ash how do i get that kind of ash guys. do i flush till yellow?

 

[Aladeen OG]

seen a vid on youtube the other day about flushing an if done right you get a white ash now i did flush the plants but i cant get that white ash its like grayish an some of its black. In that vid the ash was like white and when he dumped the pipe out it was like a cig ash how do i get that kind of ash guys. do i flush till yellow?

sounds like you didnt flush enough. every strain depends, there is no correct answer to that, but some plants will go full autumn colors once you start leeching out the nutes.... i have a few that just stay green but barely fade too.... all depends on strain and grow, but if you're getting black ash you didnt flush properly or its still way too wet

 

[KUSHPILES]

I do something that may help you out here. I like to evenly distribute the humidity within the flowers before they go into jars or c-vaults. Dry the plant whole until the stems snap. I dry it until I can shake the plant and many of the exposed fan leaves fall off by themselves. I then clean the buds up proper and put all the buds into a garbage bag for 18 hours or so with a hydrometer, some people call this "sweating" the buds. Get them as close to 60% humidity as you can in the garbage bag. This re distributes the humidity evenly through the buds. After this the buds will feel more moist, and you may need to spread them out and dry them more, or sweat some more if they are still a little too dry. After a few times you can nail it perfectly and then start the cure right after "sweating" the buds.

Smell is all in the drying/curing process. Drying the plant whole helps jumpstart this process i'v noticed, and after sweating the buds properly then jarring them, you will have a great smell in a week or two, that will change over the weeks. This method should leave you with nice, evenly dense buds with a great aroma.