Snap test is that the best way to confirm

[dogg91702]

Good afternoon,

I cut one plant last Saturday and one Sunday. I am at day 6-7, is snap test the best way to confirm its ready to trim and jar? The buds are soft, not really crispy, they do not smell like hay, the aroma is there after touching on my fingers, I do smell tge plant outside the tent. Is there another detail to check beside the snap teat? The branches are not snapping yet. Thanks

 

[GasPlease]

I used the snap. Its important to check multiple branches and its the smaller branches that will snap. If you had to pick I think its better to start cure a little wet rather than overly dry. Once the buds are curing the drier buds and the wetter buds will balance each other out hopefully landing in that sweet spot of 60ish rh%.

 

[GasPlease]

Like that last pic and the bud in your fingers. that stem should snap fairly easy when dry.

Edit: almost kinda just pop off.

 

[dogg91702]

Like that last pic and the bud in your fingers. that stem should snap fairly easy when dry.

Got it, ok but the longer the better dry right? Or is a 7-8 day dry enough even if the stems dont snap?

 

[GasPlease]

It can be different by strain but my hay smell mostly went away towards the end.

 

[GasPlease]

Got it, ok but the longer the better dry right?

Yes.

 

[dogg91702]

It can be different by strain but my hay smell mostly went away towards the end.

Cool, yeah the hay smell is not noticeable anymore but there is an aroma from the tent

 

[dogg91702]

Yes.

Thank you

 

[GasPlease]

Glad to help.

 

[Hossgrows]

There's so many way to skin a cat.
And so many variations of drying techniques, that it's difficult to say.

Kinda depends on your geographic location, come drying time. I dry outside in my barn no less than two weeks. Whole branches.

I also prefer dry trimming over wet. Once buds are trimmed, I keep them in closed, cardboard boxes in a cool dark place.( Turning the buds occasionally ) Once I can run a bud through my grinder without it gumming up, I will either vac pack or jar them, depending on the yield.

Smoke on... farmers.

 

[THCosmic]

If you want to be very accurate, you can purchase a moisture meter. Then when the buds are at 10% to 15% moisture, they are ready for long term storage.

Otherwise, the snap test is a pretty good indicator. I start with the smallest buds and attempt to snap them off the branch. They should snap off cleanly when ready. If the small buds snap, but require you to tear them off the branch, then it needs another day or 2 before done.

The sugar leaves will usually all be dry and crispy, making trimming much easier. You can also do a snap test on the sugar leaves of the largest buds. If you can pluck them off with ease, it is another sign of the hang dry being finished or close to finished. Essentially it is still the small branch snap test, hehe.

 

[dogg91702]

There's so many way to skin a cat.
And so many variations of drying techniques, that it's difficult to say.

Kinda depends on your geographic location, come drying time. I dry outside in my barn no less than two weeks. Whole branches.
View attachment 2562967


I also prefer dry trimming over wet. Once buds are trimmed, I keep them in closed, cardboard boxes in a cool dark place.( Turning the buds occasionally ) Once I can run a bud through my grinder without it gumming up, I will either vac pack or jar them, depending on the yield.

Smoke on... farmers.

Do you use a humidifier and fan?

 

[grayoldnproud]

Like @Hossgrows said, all kinds of cats. You can also use the dry matter weight method. Weigh several stems at harvest or just after wet trim, if you wet trim. Or wet buds or however you dry. Monitor their weight and when it's reduced to about 15% of the original it's going to be pretty dry. It's a little more tedious but it works. I do this for livestock forage because they can eat more since they aren't taking in so much water content and have a better feed efficiency. My hay meter won't work because the probes are way too long.

 

[dogg91702]

If you want to be very accurate, you can purchase a moisture meter. Then when the buds are at 10% to 15% moisture, they are ready for long term storage.

Otherwise, the snap test is a pretty good indicator. I start with the smallest buds and attempt to snap them off the branch. They should snap off cleanly when ready. If the small buds snap, but require you to tear them off the branch, then it needs another day or 2 before done.

The sugar leaves will usually all be dry and crispy, making trimming much easier. You can also do a snap test on the sugar leaves of the largest buds. If you can pluck them off with ease, it is another sign of the hang dry being finished or close to finished. Essentially it is still the small branch snap test, hehe.

Thank you

 

[orggrwr]

A good way to accurately test the moisture of buds is to put a few in a small jar with a hygrometer.

 

[dogg91702]

A good way to accurately test the moisture of buds is to put a few in a small jar with a hygrometer.

What am I looking for when I do that? Is there a certain humidity to watch for?

 

[THCosmic]

What am I looking for when I do that? Is there a certain humidity to watch for?

You aim for 60% humidity after 24+ hours in the jar. Most hygrometers have a 3% margin of error, so a 60% reading will put you in that sweet spot range of 57% to 63%.

Edit: make sure to monitor it more than once per day. If the humidity is too high, you can form mold easily. Standard burping applies when humidity is too high. Humidity too low, you can rehydrate with many different household goods, like bread, lettuce, tortillas, etc.

 

[orggrwr]

The buds are ready to jar at around 60% . If the hygrometer reads anything over 65% they need to hang a little longer. I like to jar when they are a little on the moist side and use bovida packs until the humidity is steady at 58 to 62% then remove the packs. It works if they are a little dry also but not as well.

 

[Hossgrows]

Do you use a humidifier and fan?

I use two small fans to circulate the air around the floor, never directed at the limbs. Then a fan in the upper loft drawing into the vent.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

We don't use the snap test, but we have tried several methods. We wet trim and dry on a rack in a tent, so we can watch the tent humidity on the tent's controller. We also sample some buds by putting them in a jar with a hygrometer. Lately, we've been weighing the buds wet and dry. They're usually about right when the dry weight is 30% of the wet weight.