Long Period Drying in Total Darkness

[Jimster]

After my last grow, I got sick and I had to somewhat abandon my plants. They were ready for harvest but I wasn't around to take them down. They were grown under 2X HID lighting, with one MH swapped out with a HPS bulb. When I left them, the lights were off but the exhaust fan was running to prevent things from getting too damp or moldy. When I recovered enough, a few months, the plants were like they were when I left them, but they were goldish in color. The thing that I have neer noticed before was the aroma and taste. I had a Blueberry hybrid and it smells strongly like blueberries taste, and the taste is sweet and very smooth. All of the chlorophyll was eliminated but all of the flavors seem to have been very well preserved. After 2.5 months of drying like this, they are dry enough to pluck directly off the plant into the pipe, but they are also slightly moist, so they don't crumble into powder.
I have tried countless methods of drying and curing, but this one preserves the taste like no other method I've used over the years. If you have the chance to try it, I recommend it. The plants are in total darkness with temps right around 70 and medium humidity. The building has central air, so it is fairly dry. I never had Blueberry buds that actually smelled and tasted like Blueberries... sister plants dried in the conventional methods didn't taste like berries when dried like those dried 9in darkness with moving air.
FWIW, yeah, I know I haven't been on for a while... just took a break and had some medical issues... fodder for another day's discussion!

Jimster

 

[jguit]

I'm surprised that there was any moisture left after 2.5 months!

 

[ArrEll]

After my last grow, I got sick and I had to somewhat abandon my plants. They were ready for harvest but I wasn't around to take them down. They were grown under 2X HID lighting, with one MH swapped out with a HPS bulb. When I left them, the lights were off but the exhaust fan was running to prevent things from getting too damp or moldy. When I recovered enough, a few months, the plants were like they were when I left them, but they were goldish in color. The thing that I have neer noticed before was the aroma and taste. I had a Blueberry hybrid and it smells strongly like blueberries taste, and the taste is sweet and very smooth. All of the chlorophyll was eliminated but all of the flavors seem to have been very well preserved. After 2.5 months of drying like this, they are dry enough to pluck directly off the plant into the pipe, but they are also slightly moist, so they don't crumble into powder.
I have tried countless methods of drying and curing, but this one preserves the taste like no other method I've used over the years. If you have the chance to try it, I recommend it. The plants are in total darkness with temps right around 70 and medium humidity. The building has central air, so it is fairly dry. I never had Blueberry buds that actually smelled and tasted like Blueberries... sister plants dried in the conventional methods didn't taste like berries when dried like those dried 9in darkness with moving air.
FWIW, yeah, I know I haven't been on for a while... just took a break and had some medical issues... fodder for another day's discussion!

Jimster

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear you were laid-up Sick for 10 weeks. I've BEEN there, and nearly died a few times. I hope you do not suffer from any long-term effects. I sure do. Thank God I retired 14 years ago...I could never show up and put in a full Day now. Too old & decrepit lol. Broken back, liver cancer/transplant, Stroke, Gadzooks!

Anyway: You just may have stumbled onto something, in terms of "The Best Way To Cure Your Buds".....I've currently got (4) Blue Amnesia Autoflowers nearing maturity, and I just might try (what you did), maybe with one of them. Just turn out the lights, leave the fan on and come back in two months' to ten weeks' time. I would have thought that the plants would do better, cut & hung up with their heads down....but maybe you triggered some special 'response', by what you did. I trust that now, you're going to pull them down & Jar them to finish curing? Leaving them there forever, they'll dry out too much. Take notes on what you do, for posterity!

 

[Dirtbag]

After my last grow, I got sick and I had to somewhat abandon my plants. They were ready for harvest but I wasn't around to take them down. They were grown under 2X HID lighting, with one MH swapped out with a HPS bulb. When I left them, the lights were off but the exhaust fan was running to prevent things from getting too damp or moldy. When I recovered enough, a few months, the plants were like they were when I left them, but they were goldish in color. The thing that I have neer noticed before was the aroma and taste. I had a Blueberry hybrid and it smells strongly like blueberries taste, and the taste is sweet and very smooth. All of the chlorophyll was eliminated but all of the flavors seem to have been very well preserved. After 2.5 months of drying like this, they are dry enough to pluck directly off the plant into the pipe, but they are also slightly moist, so they don't crumble into powder.
I have tried countless methods of drying and curing, but this one preserves the taste like no other method I've used over the years. If you have the chance to try it, I recommend it. The plants are in total darkness with temps right around 70 and medium humidity. The building has central air, so it is fairly dry. I never had Blueberry buds that actually smelled and tasted like Blueberries... sister plants dried in the conventional methods didn't taste like berries when dried like those dried 9in darkness with moving air.
FWIW, yeah, I know I haven't been on for a while... just took a break and had some medical issues... fodder for another day's discussion!

Jimster

Nice to see you around @Jimster! It's been a few tics... happy to see you took some time off, it sounds like you needed it.
Sounds like you stumbled upon an awesome little trick there. I'll test it myself later on, I have a plant that I left whole, roots Intact in the rockwool down in the growshed. Been a couple months.. I should go take a look.

 

[Moshmen]

After my last grow, I got sick and I had to somewhat abandon my plants. They were ready for harvest but I wasn't around to take them down. They were grown under 2X HID lighting, with one MH swapped out with a HPS bulb. When I left them, the lights were off but the exhaust fan was running to prevent things from getting too damp or moldy. When I recovered enough, a few months, the plants were like they were when I left them, but they were goldish in color. The thing that I have neer noticed before was the aroma and taste. I had a Blueberry hybrid and it smells strongly like blueberries taste, and the taste is sweet and very smooth. All of the chlorophyll was eliminated but all of the flavors seem to have been very well preserved. After 2.5 months of drying like this, they are dry enough to pluck directly off the plant into the pipe, but they are also slightly moist, so they don't crumble into powder.
I have tried countless methods of drying and curing, but this one preserves the taste like no other method I've used over the years. If you have the chance to try it, I recommend it. The plants are in total darkness with temps right around 70 and medium humidity. The building has central air, so it is fairly dry. I never had Blueberry buds that actually smelled and tasted like Blueberries... sister plants dried in the conventional methods didn't taste like berries when dried like those dried 9in darkness with moving air.
FWIW, yeah, I know I haven't been on for a while... just took a break and had some medical issues... fodder for another day's discussion!

Jimster

Glad to see your well again ! And def glad to have ya back.

 

[Jimster]

Nice to see you around @Jimster! It's been a few tics... happy to see you took some time off, it sounds like you needed it.
Sounds like you stumbled upon an awesome little trick there. I'll test it myself later on, I have a plant that I left whole, roots Intact in the rockwool down in the growshed. Been a couple months.. I should go take a look.

Thank you for the roses! My kidneys are shot and I do Peritoneal Dialysis every night. It involves pumping 2 liters of fluid into my abdomen (In the Peritoneal cavity... where your guts reside) and pumps it back out 90 minutes later. This is repeated 5X every night. Anyhow, the fluid goes in/out thru a small hose that sticks out of my belly. This catheter, as it's called, is designed to sit right around my bladder. I went on vacation and the machine that does the pumping in/out started to have problems. It turns out the machine was OK, but the catheter "migrated" to my upper right abdomen, near my apendix. It became tangled up in my intestines and caused a pocket to form and become infected. If it had burst, It would be the same as having a perforated bowel or burst appendix. The worst part was the lack of knowledge about my type of dialysis in the hospitals. I went almost 2 weeks without dialysis before I finally got a stopgap measure to fix me up for hemodialysis. I had surgery to reposition the catheter and the infected pocket was flushed out, followed by tons of antibiotics. *WHEW* What a crazy June and July! Please excuse the graphic description, but I know we both share some issues.
Anyhow... back to the unusual drying and curing method. The humidity is high enough to keep things from drying out too quickly but the buds can almost be picked and put directly into a bowl. The retention of the flavor or aroma was what suprised me. The buds smelled like you stuck your nose into a bag of blueberry bubble gum. The buds weren't tight as they dried while upright, but they weren't all droopy either. Check it out if the one in the shed is still not too dried out.

 

[iffey]

Glad you're hear and healthy/almost healthy to bring this to a discussion. Goods wishes from here on.
But let me ask, what is/was you method of growing? Soil I'd guess. and you before you left were hand watering daily when needed?
2.5 months is a long time to take u the space as a 'trial' run at a 'better' harvest. Those good things though do sound enticing.

 

[smokedareefer]

Nice to see you around.

 

[ArrEll]

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear you were laid-up Sick for 10 weeks. I've BEEN there, and nearly died a few times. I hope you do not suffer from any long-term effects. I sure do. Thank God I retired 14 years ago...I could never show up and put in a full Day now. Too old & decrepit lol. Broken back, liver cancer/transplant, Stroke, Gadzooks!

Anyway: You just may have stumbled onto something, in terms of "The Best Way To Cure Your Buds".....I've currently got (4) Blue Amnesia Autoflowers nearing maturity, and I just might try (what you did), maybe with one of them. Just turn out the lights, leave the fan on and come back in two months' to ten weeks' time. I would have thought that the plants would do better, cut & hung up with their heads down....but maybe you triggered some special 'response', by what you did. I trust that now, you're going to pull them down & Jar them to finish curing? Leaving them there forever, they'll dry out too much. Take notes on what you do, for posterity!

I have done what you did (minus being called away sick): I just removed (2) Blue Amnesia Autoflowers from my tent, and put them in a rarely-used Walk-In Closet to dry. I did not touch them....just put them there, on their drip pans. I've got 48 hours to change my mind, as I have also read about giving the plants 24-48 hours total darkness, before harvesting. Supposed to force the plants to exude more Trichomes in a last-ditch effort to survive & reproduce. So in 48 hours, I may pull one out & cut it up, hang it to dry. Or not. I am intrigued by what you did, and really want to try it myself.

I still have the two largest plants in the tent, so.....no matter what - I'm good.

I always agonize over my Trichomes....does THIS look "ready"??? Very little Amber, but mostly Cloudy and Distended caps.

 

[Dirtbag]

Thank you for the roses! My kidneys are shot and I do Peritoneal Dialysis every night. It involves pumping 2 liters of fluid into my abdomen (In the Peritoneal cavity... where your guts reside) and pumps it back out 90 minutes later. This is repeated 5X every night. Anyhow, the fluid goes in/out thru a small hose that sticks out of my belly. This catheter, as it's called, is designed to sit right around my bladder. I went on vacation and the machine that does the pumping in/out started to have problems. It turns out the machine was OK, but the catheter "migrated" to my upper right abdomen, near my apendix. It became tangled up in my intestines and caused a pocket to form and become infected. If it had burst, It would be the same as having a perforated bowel or burst appendix. The worst part was the lack of knowledge about my type of dialysis in the hospitals. I went almost 2 weeks without dialysis before I finally got a stopgap measure to fix me up for hemodialysis. I had surgery to reposition the catheter and the infected pocket was flushed out, followed by tons of antibiotics. *WHEW* What a crazy June and July! Please excuse the graphic description, but I know we both share some issues.
Anyhow... back to the unusual drying and curing method. The humidity is high enough to keep things from drying out too quickly but the buds can almost be picked and put directly into a bowl. The retention of the flavor or aroma was what suprised me. The buds smelled like you stuck your nose into a bag of blueberry bubble gum. The buds weren't tight as they dried while upright, but they weren't all droopy either. Check it out if the one in the shed is still not too dried out.

Man that sounds intense, I can't even fathom. But I'm happy it's keeping you around!

 

[mysticepipedon]

I never thought about the darkness of the place I hung my plants, but I guess I've always dried them in the dark.

I think what is key here is that it took so long to dry. It was probably in the curing zone for moisture content for a considerable time.

 

[GreenMtnGuru]

Jimster - glad to hear you are staying positive and your health is improving. Was thinking I used to see you a fair amount around here.....

Your plants have undergone what is known as “brown-bushing”. Leaving the rootballs intact and alive but depriving the plant of light and water. It is said (anecdotally) that this slow-dries, cures, and enhances the natural breakdown of oils found in the plant matter. The moisture inside the plant takes a long time to dissipate, and the plant processes continue with no light to fuel photosynthesis. Where potency may be slightly altered or compromised (some strains more-so than others), the plant will most definitely exhibit traits that cannot be attained by a standard dry-and-bag. One story I heard described how a certain tribe wouldn’t utilize cannabis until it had turned that golden tone on the plant, well after the plant finished its normal life-cycle. PS: I tried to try it outdoors last year - left a couple ounces on a plant until December 10th (crazy snowstorm) - totally different outcome than my October 21st harvest.

 

[Mrb53]

Remember Acapulco Gold...and how GOLDEN the bud was? Well, that is due to them drying directly where they are planted, then harvested. The Mexicans did not come and cut, hang, trim...all the care we provide today. IT was a bulk crop and they mowed it down after it was cured. Later on, our wonderful Gov (US) decided to spray them with TOXIC chems....
This method of harvest is much like how wheat is harvested. It does NOT cure at the same rate, thus ROUNDUP made its fortune for Monsanto...
I have AG growing in the yard and except for the darkness, the dry is pretty much the same. I let them GOLD out on the stalks, take the stems I want and grind and puff. I do not cover them becasue a few stems continue to bud while others move to the ready stage....I found the taste much more developed then when I cut, trim, dry, cure. I loose a bit of potency but the FLAVOR IS THERE as is a SMOOTH DRAW...

 

[iffey]

That toxic chemical.... Paraquat was its' name..
Recently have been seeing ambulance chasing law groups advertising on TV want to 'get you money' if you're the victim of 'paraquat' poisoning.

 

[Jimster]

I have had these buds for decades, but they were usually the result of me being lazy and not picking off all of the leaves. The chlorophyll is consumed by the still living buds, so there is really no "colors" in the bud because all of the chlorophyll and other colored compounds are used up by the plant, since it has no food to produce via photosynthesis. I think the trick here is the combination of nearly zero chlorophyll levels and a cool, slow dry while still in the ground. Removing the plants from the soil/medium will allow it to dry too quickly. These have been drying for a few months. It is the color of old school real hash... and tastes like it a little bit too if allowed to dry for even longer. I judge the "doneness" by crumbling a bud. If it breaks up, then it is ready, if it just sort of rolls around without breaking up, it isn't quite ready. Of all the different methods I have used for drying and curing, this one maintains the best aroma, even a year later! If you think about it, the method mimics the natural cycle for these plants and there is little that can degrade the terps and stuff hiding in the buds.

 

[Jimster]

That toxic chemical.... Paraquat was its' name..
Recently have been seeing ambulance chasing law groups advertising on TV want to 'get you money' if you're the victim of 'paraquat' poisoning.

Paraquat... reminds me of the 70s when the USA were supposed to be spraying pot fields with it. I never knew anyone who had any problems, but it is a spooky chemical.

 

[ArrEll]

Paraquat... reminds me of the 70s when the USA were supposed to be spraying pot fields with it. I never knew anyone who had any problems, but it is a spooky chemical.

Yep. I remember it well. That's when I stopped buying any "lids". Mexicans were cutting down the crops immediately after they had been sprayed, and selling it anyway.