Drying question - Please give me your experience

[tonyl50]

My wife dried for 48 hrs hanging, and then put in glass canning jars, and cured rest of time. But, still finding 50% of stems are still not snapping, but only bending. Bud look fine, and not moist, and she aired them every 12 hrs or so, to remove moisture. She says they are done, and doesn't want to make them too dry. Should the stems definitely all snap that are in the jars to be done curing, or are they OK as is?

Mainly, how long do you hang YOUR buds to dry? Do you wait till stems snap before putting in jars for curing, or just bend? Do your cure in jars till stems snap, and buds no longer become moist when closed, or can some stems not snap?

Your help will be much appreciated, as I have seen vids showing hanging till stems snap, then curing - verses vids of hanging for just a day or two, then putting in jars to cure with stems that just bend, and then opening and airing out jars until dry and stems snap. Just not sure which is right, so no mold forms. Please help with how you have been drying and curing. Very much appreciated.

 

[boroboro]

That's a timely question for me also. In the past I've usually harvested in late fall (outdoor) or mid-winter (indoor), and drying has always been easy in a heated, low humidity room. Now I'm drying my current harvest in the middle of a hot, humid summer. Going on 6 days drying, whole plants hanging in a room that's around 75 deg. F, 55% humidity. Even after 6 days they aren't nearly dry enough to put in jars yet.

Oh, but to answer your original question: I wouldn't consider sealing up in jars until the small stems start to crack when bent. But then again, I'm used to overdrying my meds a bit for my own use. My patients will get things dried and cured more normally, so I'm aiming for jarring and curing at around 60% humidity in the jars. I measure humidity in the jars with one of these nice little hygrometers:

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Humidor-CALIBER3-Thermometer-Hygrometer/dp/B0007W1EA6/

 

[Seamaiden]

My wife dried for 48 hrs hanging, and then put in glass canning jars, and cured rest of time. But, still finding 50% of stems are still not snapping, but only bending.

OH MY GOD! YOUR POOR WIFE!!!

Bud look fine, and not moist, and she aired them every 12 hrs or so, to remove moisture. She says they are done, and doesn't want to make them too dry. Should the stems definitely all snap that are in the jars to be done curing, or are they OK as is?

Mainly, how long do you hang YOUR buds to dry? Do you wait till stems snap before putting in jars for curing, or just bend? Do your cure in jars till stems snap, and buds no longer become moist when closed, or can some stems not snap?

Your help will be much appreciated, as I have seen vids showing hanging till stems snap, then curing - verses vids of hanging for just a day or two, then putting in jars to cure with stems that just bend, and then opening and airing out jars until dry and stems snap. Just not sure which is right, so no mold forms. Please help with how you have been drying and curing. Very much appreciated.

After hanging dry, put them in brown paper grocery bags to even out.

Now, that's where my buds remain until... But that is because the area where I store the product has a higher relative humidity, which usually stays in the 60%-70% range. Think "humidor" for good curing RH values.

Why do I do that? After losing over a quarter pound to mold in the jar, I will do my best to never make that mistake again.

Don't forget, you actually want the drying to take more time rather than less, because that drying time is just as important as that curing time in terms of a good, quality smoke. A week to ten days is how long I want my girls to take drying.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Xceptional]

4 days in a mid 70's room with the air circulation of the inline fan/scrubber inthe room and stems are snapping for me. after that i've done bags and jars i just will skip to the jars from now on.

 

[VAPOUR]

This is my method:

First i give the plants 72hours of darkness before the chop then i'll cut the plants at the base leaving all leaves remaining, Hang them upside down for 2-3 days then remove all fan leaves. Re-hang them for 7-10 days until budz feel dry but stems are still pliable this is when i manicure the budz and start the curing. You want the stems to still be bendable when you jar them this keeps the budz sticky throughout curing and keeps the smell there i found budz that get jarred when stems stap lose there smell i like the stems to snap once you've finished curing. Remember not to leave them jarred for 24hrs i give them no more than 10-12hrs. Just my opinion

peace

 

[BakedasBeans]

I remove all my fan leaves at harvest hang for 2 days then trim the remaning leaves off the branches and rehang for another 5 days or so and then they go in jars. The whole hanging process is done in a tent thats 65-70 degrees and 50% humidity

 

[Xceptional]

i chop everything up and it goes into the spinpro right at harvest. even colas get hacked down. all that big bud pretty crap just takes longer to dry. sure they are pretty but the buds by themselves hold their own and the bag appeal is still there.

 

[weed sucks]

i dont like dealing in time frames. 2-3 hours this 3 days that, its so irrelevant because everyone has diff temps/RH its dumb to take someones ideas in cali and try them in florida ya know?

i hang dry in the dark until i can grab a branch and by pressure squeezing it and feeling it crack. bending is too strain specific. i've had super thready like herijuana stems that feel like they crack in two days if you bend but like move a nug on the top and you can feel madddd moisture...., just because they're more rigid you know (sorry first toke o the morning if this doesnt make sense tell me). but once i feel them cracking under pressure i toss them in paper bags and based on how dense they are i'll leave them here until i can NOTICEABLY smell even a tint of flavor of the herb mixed and all the green is outta the stem i pop them in jars.

i've done it before and skipped the bag and that time is kinda crucial. not just in flavor/taste but in MOLD probability as well. drying longer is well worth the wait, i mean you've come this long lol i know this is the hardest week in your life lol

 

[chranotik]

48 hours is way too short, i think ideal temps should be 60-70 with 50-55% humidity with good air flow circulation. sometimes it takes 10 days or more for the stems to start snapping.. also you want to make sure they snap half way up the stem, that's when you know they're ready to start the jar curing process. then i just open them up everyday for like 30 mins to an hour to burp out the gasses.. never had mold issues.

 

[motherlode]

no way you should put your buds in a jar after 48 hours

 

[Blaze]

Unless you are drying at like 100+ degrees there is no way they will be done in 48 hours.

 

[Seamaiden]

Even if they were, the resulting product isn't going to smell or smoke as nicely as something that's taken a week to ten days to dry.

 

[tonyl50]

Thanks everyone! Super suggestions, and very very helpful. You all are great!