My dry & cure diary for newbies….:

[Bullmark69]

Hello all, let me start by letting everyone know that my knowledge and experience falls well below that of some of my fellow growers on this site. But I thought I would make my current harvest public and maybe some of the newer farmers can learn a few things.
The drying/curing of the harvest is critical for the end result to reach full potential. Lots of growers, myself included, have devoted a lot of time and energy to a grow, only to botch the drying and either ruin their buds with mold or have them smelling like hay. So getting this right is important.
Here goes:
I have 1 plant, a photoperiod from an S1 seed (from a clone). Strain is White Truffle x Okie. This plant finished a full 2 weeks faster than anything I’ve ever grown….be trust me, it’s in a good window. Grew it under a HLG 320rspec led. Medium was KokoBop amended with a few different dry organics.
I like to dry without removing any leaves but the same principles hold true for both wet & dry trimming.
I cut the individual branches and hang them in my grow space.
Also, I weigh each branch every day and chart how much weight it’s lost.
Day 1—I chopped the plant a few hours ago. Ended up with 12 different branches weighing 1036grams. I estimate that my yield will be 160-180grams of dried & manicured buds. This plant was only about 26” tall. The strain generally produces smaller sized buds, but the density is high.
They are currently drying in my grow closet. The conditions are 63F & 60%rh.
That will bounce around a little but I want to keep it as close to 60f/60%rh as possible.
I have my exhaust fan running 24/7 and a small oscillating fan on low that’s blowing a light breeze under the hanging buds.
The pics kinda show all the details.
Tune in if you like and I’ll update daily.
Because the buds are smaller, I’d like the drying part to take 9-10 days. After I’ll seal them up to redistribute the moisture…..but that’s down the road. Thanks

 

[Bullmark69]

Hello again…..not sure if this harvest/dry/cure diary was a good idea or not. It could be said that it’s kinda like watching paint dry….except with pot.
Regardless, I’ll post the details. I’ve been able to keep the temps right at 63F and the RH has bounced between 57-62% for the most part. I weigh each day and keep track, mostly out of boredom. But once the daily weight loss gets down to only 1 or 2%, I know it’s time to seal up the buds to sweat and redistribute that internal moisture outward.
The daily weights below:
Day 1 (immediately after chopping)- 1034.6grams
Day 2 (after 24hrs)- 810.7grams, 21.6% lost daily & total.
Day 3 (after 48hrs)- 655.1grams, 19.2% daily loss, 36.7% total.
Day 4 ( after 72hrs)- 525.0grams, 19.9% daily loss, 49.3% total.
Day 4 was today, so tomorrow morn I’ll weigh and report back.
Based on past drying, things seem to be going fine. I didn’t hang the whole plant, instead broke it down into 12 different branches. Also, I didn’t do any wet trimming except for a handful of dying leaves. I think leaving most of the leaves on the plant helps prolong the dry and I’ve had better luck preserving the smell doing so.
Thanks for tuning in…..if anyone is actually reading this….

 

[Bullmark69]

Ok I’m back. I figured I’d wait until something happened worth mentioning.
The buds have been drying all week. The conditions have been fairly stable and ideal….temp has stayed 61-63F and the RH has slowly moved back and forth between 57% and 60% as my dehumidifier cycles through.
The weight loss has been slow and steady as you’ll see below. The figures show the total weight in grams each day and the percentage of total weight lost:
Day1-harvest- 1034.6g
Day2 24hrs drying-810.7g ..21.6% total
Day3 48hrs drying -665.1..36.7% total
Day4 72hrs drying- 525.0g..49.3% total
Day5 96hrs drying- 435.2g..57.9% total
Day6 120hrs drying- 367.7g..64.4%total
Day7 144hrs drying- 325.8g..68.5%total
Day8 168hrs drying- 303.7g..70.6%total
A few of the smaller buds seemed like they may be ready to be sealed and have the moisture redistributed, so I jarred some.
I went ahead and trimmed off the big fans and any excess stem but did leave the nuggets attached to some stem. I ended up jarring 51.6grams, which weighed 77.5 prior to being trimmed.
I realized about 2 hours after sealing them, that I was probably a day too early. 4 hours after sealing the jars, the hygrometer read 69%… I prefer to catch them around 63-64%, leave them sealed a day or two, then open back up and dry longer.
But this will still work fine. The moisture should move from the center of the bud outward and tomorrow I’ll open the jars and lay the buds out for an hour or two. I’ll repeat this process until I feel they are ready to store and smoke.
The aroma is some of the best I’ve ever grown…..super pungent dank, a skunky grape crossed with a Hobo’s morning breath.
U can see how I have the buds loosely arranged in the jar. U don’t wanna stuff the jar full and press the buds together…..
I’ll report back as I finish drying.

 

[Bullmark69]

I thought I’d Include a close up, thru the jar, to show how frosty things looked. This strain burns better with a small amount of sugar leaf remaining. The sugar leaves are totally covered in trichs, so it would be a shame to waste it.