Yes, this is a good journal for you to hold onto. Lots of good info.
60°/60% is the general rule. Yes, low and slow. Low temp/slow dry.
If you want to get even more precise you can buy a 2 pin wood moisture meter and it will tell you what the moisture content of your flowers are.
I was taught how to dry and cure from hippies up in norcal initially but since then I've modified their process to coincide more with actual science. Some of their findings were spot on, some were right but for the wrong reasons and some were just wrong. I also looked at other industries that rely on drying for their products to see what they did. I learned how the Germans like to dry their hops and why for beer(hops and weed flowers are very similar) along with how the Cubans dry their tobacco leaves and why. Gave me great insight into how to use both sources of information to put together a process.
You must be talking about Grove Bags. I've only used them once but I like them. When I was taught how to dry and cure, we were told to use large jars to cure which is what I've used for years. This time around I used the Grove Bags and can say that they did what they said they would. I guess where things tend to go wrong is when people try and use them to dry thinking that because the bag will maintain a 60% humidity level they can just stick them in the bag and they'll dry down to 60%. Most of the time what they get is a bag full of mold.
To use Grove Bags correctly you have to stabilize the humidity first meaning the dry portion of the process THEN you can stick them in the bags and let them maintain that level without them getting any drier.
This last run I pulled around 5lb. I dried them to 62% and stuck them in 1lb bags. By the time I got to the 3rd pound the flowers had been sitting in them, untouched, for around 4 months. When I opened the bag the flowers were peaking and the taste and high were a notch above the same smoke I had been smoking previously with a shorter cure time.
I typically don't buy from dispensaries for that exact reason. I get that the product gets tested and all but there are as many crooked labs as there are cultivators. If I grow my own I know exactly what went in it. Besides....growing is fun!!!
Day 43 of flower means you're in week 6 of flower going into week 7. Photos usually take around 10 - 12 weeks to fully mature.
i dont doubt its happening in AZ at certain dispensaries, but the state is really pissy about making sure testing is attached to the product before it even makes it to the store. I never see any product going out illegally here. But i do know the farm is always doing shady shit, so it reallt wouldnt surpirse me if what you said happens in cali is also happening here. Just isnt happening at the dispensary i work at.
