question about drying

[sir relaxalot]

my wife and i are both medical users and we have a grower he always puts out great quality stuff.this is our first medical harvest and he gave us the entire plant to hang dry and cure ourselves.its blueberry for sure but the smell from the room and in the room is hay or grass.the have been hanging for 3 days now and no change .we kept a good amount of the fan leafs on and haven't trimmed off yet ,when u smell the buds themselves they smell great.would this b because of to little humidity,or to much ventilation the temp is between 65-73 can any one help oh i also have a small fan bringing air in but not on then directly and they seem they might b drying to fast to me but not sure...

 

[STEVELO]

Clean the fan leafs it will let air to the nugs. I think it is easyer to cut the leafs off the when its still wet cut all untill your nugetts are left on the stems. Whem stems break in half its time to cure but you can smoke it then steve

 

[MileHighChic]

I would cut off all the fan leaves and let it dry for at least 5 to 7 days total. Then trim the buds into a glass jar, let it cure and open it up daily to let it breath for an hour or two. It is ready to smoke right away but the flavor gets sweeter and smoother as time goes by.

 

[sfzoo]

yeah, trim the fan and water leaves while they're wet. it's easier. there are differing opinions on whether to leave the water leaves on there....but i don't think it matters all that much.

 

[thc4sim]

Curing your weed well, takes almost as long as it does to grow!!
dont get me wrong,
i know you can smoke it after a week but it will taste like ass,
compared to leaving it a few weeks, that's where you get all the amazing tastes and aromas!!


:icon_cookie:

 

[MADISM]

The hay smell is coming from not enough ventilation. You need more air exchange, this is why when you put it in jars to cure after it has dried you need to burp-fart the jars often or you will get the hay smell.

 

[paco666]

i believe 3 days in, that smell is a good thing..... chlorophyll leaving the bud perhaps.... :anim_52:

 

[onlytoken]

I know this likely does not pertain anymore... but how did the drying go along? In an open (dark) room, as long as the plant is hung and the air is moving, with the assistance of a fan, drying is fairly simple. Regular room temps will suffice (between 68-78 degrees), indirect air circulation with a small fan on the floor keeps the air fresh... and it always helps if there is some sort of a/c duct on the ceiling, bringing in fresh air. If not, it helps if the door is left slightly cracked, or if there are cracks in the closet door to let air seep in. By now the curing should be going well... It's been about 20 days or so since the plant was chopped (assuming it was the 16th of Sept.), meaning that the plant is obviously dried and in the jars, well along its way to a good cure.

By now the buds should be almost fully dry when opening the jars to check them... and I'm sure the aroma has developed into something more pleasant than chlorophyll/hay smell. Drying too fast often leaves a stronger hay-like aroma, but without forced air or heat this usually isn't an issue. Just continue opening the jars several times daily for the first week when they go in the jars, usually laying the buds out in open air for about an hour. After the first week, opening the jars daily will suffice, every three days or so taking the buds out and set on a table to air dry for about thirty minutes to an hour. Do this until stems inside of the thickest buds are solid, and snap when bent... you will hear a crack. After the second week in the jars, it is usually safe to leave them for a few days at a time without opening the jar, only if the stems prove to be dried within the thickest buds.

If buds are wet when opening the jar, ensure that you remove the buds from the jar for at least thirty minutes, until the outside leaves have attained the crispy texture, losing the wet feel that they had within the jar, before returning them to the jar... this will ensure that mold does not form. Finally, when the buds have achieved this dry texture when opening the jar after a 4 or 5 day waiting period (usually the third or so week of curing), it is generally safe to just remove the lid of the jar and let some of the humidity release from the jar for about thirty minutes, then resealing it. Every other time the jar is opened it is good to spill the buds out on to a table top, and rearrange the buds back into the jar, to ensure that the buds at the bottom of the jar are not retaining more moisture than the buds towards the top.

By this stage, it should probably be the fourth or so week into curing, at which one wants to wait about one week before opening the jar (if a 4 or 5 day test proves no wet texture or humidity on the walls of the jar). If after this one week of waiting period proves that the buds are capable of maintaining a dry texture, one will want to seal the jar for the long curing process, which ideally will last at least one month.

I find that buds picked freshly from a plant, and vaporized or quick-dried produce the most prominent THC, soaring up-high. After two to three weeks in the jar, weaker strains begin to exhibit a stronger high (whereas stronger strains will be potent straight after harvest), as the THC cures into CBD's, etc... By the fifth week or so after drying the plant and placing it in to the jars, most strains begin to exhibit a true testament to their potency potential. By the second month of curing, the buds move towards a more characteristic high, exhibiting its intended high, i.e. medicinal stone, racing up high, psychedelia, creativity, chattiness, etc. Towards the third month flavors truly begin to shine, and into the fourth month of curing buds take on an acquired stoniness. Towards the fifth and sixth month, I feel that most strains begin to lose much of their high, as well as stoniness, but complex earthy aromas and flavors shine... and the smoke achieves an incredible smoothness.

 

[paco666]

mr. token.... ^^^ good read... thnx

 

[pliscan]

Getting ready for curing myself and very thankfull for the info Token

 

[afatsoweezer]

here's something about harvesting/curing that I found on mandalaseeds.com, which might help many:

"• How can I tell when to harvest?

The general consensus among growers is that the trichomes don't have to be clear, cloudy or amber in a certain percentage to be ready for harvest. You just have to go on your personal choice of more amber if you require a more couch lock stone, or more clear and cloudy if you require a more heady high. The trichomes are one indication, but even more importantly is watching the flowering growth. Once it makes a significant drop it's time to start harvesting the ripest looking buds/plants. Our harvest dates are a good milestone. We start counting from the day the 12/12 light cycle begins and our flowering times in the strain details are known to be very accurate. You should not let your plants flower considerably longer than the times indicated unless you want to increase CBD-CBN% for medical reasons.

Clones tend to ripen faster than seed plants.

Sativas like Satori and Kalichakra can ripen from top to bottom; the flowering parts closer to the light source will be riper than those in the shade for example. Consider harvesting the tops in that case, and letting the light pass through to the other buds so that they can catch up. In progressive harvesting don't wait too long to start with the first batch of harvested buds. If a strain such as Kalichakra has a max. 75 day flowering period you need to deduct at least 5-6 days from this period for the start of your harvest, so that the bottom shoots have time to catch up and are still harvested within the preferred time frame for best THC levels.
We go by bud growth since our strains retain clear/cloudy trichs far into flowering. Our preference is to harvest before flowering comes to a dead end... as in no fresh pistils at all. This retains the balanced high and max. potency.

• What is the best method for drying and curing?

To prevent bud mold spreading in your crop we advise to trim the buds from larger leaves and stalks straight after harvest. It is less work intensive and prevents damage to the trichomes to trim the buds while they are still fresh. If you like to preserve the large head buds they can be hung from a line after trimming. The small to medium trimmed buds can be spread out on any type of screen that promotes air passage such as mosquito mesh, simple meshed curtains, etc. Cheap plastic trays that can be connected to form towers with the bottom laid out with mesh work great. You can also spread out the mesh on a clothes dryer stand. A handy product for drying are the inexpensive and space saving hanging baskets sold at grow shops.

Even though the buds are lying flat out, if they have been trimmed properly they will retain a nice oval shape after drying. There is no need to turn them over while drying. Avoid any unnecessary handling so that the outer coating of resin is not rubbed off (most of the resin is contained in the bud however). Dry the buds at room temperature and normal humidity. Make sure the temperature does not drop too much to prevent mold. In case it does use a heater and small oscillating fan in the room to keep a good climate. Small to medium buds are usually dry enough for curing after 5-7 days. Larger head buds hung to dry require up to 12 days. Test the progress of drying by bending them. Even if the outside feels dry there is still enough moisture inside. Stems should be quite dry but still a bit bendable/supple. This is a good stage to start the curing process.

The most common mistake growers make during curing is that they pack the buds into airtight containers. The second mistake is to fill the bags/containers to the top. When you first pack the buds into a bag or container fill only ¾ of the space. One of the best methods to cure buds is to use household zip-lock bags for storing vegetables. These are aroma-neutral and allow a minimal exchange of gases through the bags since they are not completely impermeable like glass for example. Cardboard boxes and paper bags are an alternative but they have certain disadvantages, such as that the buds might dry to quickly in them.

The first week of curing excess moisture will pass from the inner core of the buds to the outside. You can tell the difference because the dry surface of the packed buds is suddenly considerably more moist again from absorbing the escaped humidity when you open the bag/container a day later. In an airtight environment there is no possibility for this moisture to escape and for the necessary exchange of gases required for a good curing process. During curing the gases and moisture escaping from the buds need to be vented and fresh oxygen should be available. For this reason, the bags/containers with the buds should be opened for a few minutes every 2-3 days. Gently rotating the buds from the bottom of the bag to the top assists in an even drying and curing process. This is quite difficult to do in glass jars but a simple procedure with zip-lock bags.

Curing normally takes 6-8 weeks. After the first two weeks it is not necessary to open the bags/container every few days – once a week will suffice. Buds can also mature beyond the regular 2 month period and gain in taste and potency. For extended curing they should be stored in a zip-lock bag in a cool, dark place. When the curing process is completed the buds can be stored in airtight packaging such as glass jars for long-term storage if required. "