Trimming and Drying for FLAVOR?

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growsince79

growsince79

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That’s cool. I’m still trying to sift through all the BS when it comes to drying and curing. For instance... with my test branches (so I don’t F up my whole harvest) I took the advise of “DON’T JAR TOO EARLY!” “ WAIT FOR STEMS TO SNAP” blah blah blah.... fucking wrong! It was a 10 day dry, nice and crispy but with some deep inner give when squeezed, jarred and burped for the past 11 days. The sativa never tightened up, is still too green looking, dry but not crumbly, still tastes like chlorophyll. I am sure it’s because I let it dry out too much before jarring. HOW THE HELL IS CHLOROPHYLL GOING TO BREAK DOWN IF THE BUD IS SO DAMN DRY THE STEMS SNAP????

I wonder if this is one of those cases I hear about where other growers spread misinformation because their main goal is to sell sell sell.

OR.... everyone that waits until stems snap is drying in a crazy humid environments like a natural 65-70% RH not 38% RH with a humidifier on full blast just to bring it to 50-60% like in NY winter months.

I must’ve let these test branches dry out too much. I took one bud and jarred it while it was still pliable, not crunchy on the outside, but sorta dry, stems were stiffer but still bendy not snapping at all and I jarred this one but. It tightened right up in a few days. I haven’t smoked it yet but I can just tell it was jarred with the proper moisture content....which is WAY MORE than what most people have advised. Including articles.

Can anyone in dry ass Northeast US states confirm? Do you guys jar them before stems snap and they are still very pliable with a good moisture content?

I will admit that the OTHER strain I seemed to over dry has amazing smell....just doesn’t come through in taste.

Thanks for letting me express my frustration 😊
I'll try to explain one last time. If you wait for the main stem to snap, the bud will be too dry. If you can break the individual nugs off, its ready to jar. The top of the plant will break off before the bottom larf; you may need tools for that. It's not rocket science.
 
Dothraki

Dothraki

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It takes a while to get things right and there's always room for improvement but here are things that greatly helped me.

In my experience buds that are not 'tight' (if not genetic) were grown incorrectly. Whether that's not enough light, too much light. too hot, feed error or harvesting too early. In my case it was usually harvesting too early. I made this mistake many times. These days i harvest on the more ripe side of things. This GREATLY improved smells, taste, density and everything else.

Over-fertilizing will also make your bud taste like shit. Start tapering your fertilizer down around mid/late flower but obviously don't starve your plants. This is assuming you're in hydro/soilless, I'm not a soil grower.

Stem snapping is just a guide and it does work but also takes a bit of feel. If your buds are underdeveloped and fluffy (not tight), they're going to dry out quicker than a bud that has fully matured and ripened properly.

If you're drying at the correct temp and RH, it'd be pretty hard to over dry your buds. At least that has been my experience.

Nothing is going to make incorrectly grown/harvested bud taste good. Genetics play a large part as well.

I'll also add.. Bud that has been jarred too early and not allowed the time to properly dry will also taste like shit.
Sativas are not dense flowers. Density should be judged based on the strain and how the flowers develop. I can say that the sativa I grew is as dense as the genetics would allow. I really don’t think the way it was grown is any issue at all. Density, terpenes, cannabinoid content, covered in trichomes etc. It’s really the whole stem snap thing. Doesnt the curing or chlorophyll and sugars breaking down come to a stop when the buds are dry? How would it cure if it was devoid of most moisture needed for that process to continue?
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Sativas are not dense flowers. Density should be judged based on the strain and how the flowers develop. I can say that the sativa I grew is as dense as the genetics would allow. I really don’t think the way it was grown is any issue at all. Density, terpenes, cannabinoid content, covered in trichomes etc. It’s really the whole stem snap thing. Doesnt the curing or chlorophyll and sugars breaking down come to a stop when the buds are dry? How would it cure if it was devoid of most moisture needed for that process to continue?
At 12% buds will break off and finish curing in jars.
 
jguit

jguit

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I can say that the sativa I grew is as dense as the genetics would allow. I really don’t think the way it was grown is any issue at all. Density, terpenes, cannabinoid content, covered in trichomes etc.
You got it all figured out on your first grow? Impressive.
 
growsince79

growsince79

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This
Sativas are not dense flowers. Density should be judged based on the strain and how the flowers develop. I can say that the sativa I grew is as dense as the genetics would allow. I really don’t think the way it was grown is any issue at all. Density, terpenes, cannabinoid content, covered in trichomes etc. It’s really the whole stem snap thing. Doesnt the curing or chlorophyll and sugars breaking down come to a stop when the buds are dry? How would it cure if it was devoid of most moisture needed for that process to continue?
Dude, your grow had more issues than readers digest. I've been trying to help you but I'm done. You're just too stubborn to teach.
 
jguit

jguit

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Anyone can grow weed that'll get you high. It's the rest that takes skill and practice.
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Anyone can grow weed that'll get you high. It's the rest that takes skill and practice.
IMO its all about genetics. You got the right stuff, dry and cure doesn't matter too much. The best dry and cure won't make bad weed good.
 
jguit

jguit

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IMO its all about genetics. You got the right stuff, dry and cure doesn't matter too much. The best dry and cure won't make bad weed good.
Wont argue with that but even if you grow out excellent genetics like a n00b, the results will be lackluster at best, n00bs may vary! haha
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Wont argue with that but even if you grow out excellent genetics like a n00b, the results will be lackluster at best, n00bs may vary! haha
Gotta disagree with that. Here's a plant that grew by itself in horrible conditions and made top shelf smoke. In the mornings, I could smell it 50' away.
 
Dothraki

Dothraki

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Now is the part where you say “gotta flush that shit bro”.... I love how everyone has their different conflicting methods yet cant explain why or how it works for them, if you assume it IS working for them. So tell me this...how can you judge based on stem moisture when bud structure is so vastly different for each strain? They will all absorb and redistribute moisture from the stem at different rates.
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Now is the part where you say “gotta flush that shit bro”.... I love how everyone has their different conflicting methods yet cant explain why or how it works for them, if you assume it IS working for them. So tell me this...how can you judge based on stem moisture when bud structure is so vastly different for each strain? They will all absorb and redistribute moisture from the stem at different rates.
Study post 62 and 68.
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Now is the part where you say “gotta flush that shit bro”.... I love how everyone has their different conflicting methods yet cant explain why or how it works for them, if you assume it IS working for them. So tell me this...how can you judge based on stem moisture when bud structure is so vastly different for each strain? They will all absorb and redistribute moisture from the stem at different rates.

Lol. Yeah it’s dry as fuck in the winter time here.
28% here, this is the first year using a humidifier. Now I can set it at 60 and hang it forever or until I decide to trim.
 
FuriousStyles

FuriousStyles

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Why do you burp jars?

Cause your herb is not dry.

You got chlorophyll problems, I feel bad for ya son,
I got 99 problems and chlorophyll aint one....hit meh.
 
jguit

jguit

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Gotta disagree with that. Here's a plant that grew by itself in horrible conditions and made top shelf smoke. In the mornings, I could smell it 50' away.
All that says is that mother nature can grow a plant. A n00b can easily fuck that up! LOL.

That's awesome though.
 
Dothraki

Dothraki

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Why do you burp jars?

Cause your herb is not dry.

You got chlorophyll problems, I feel bad for ya son,
I got 99 problems and chlorophyll aint one....hit meh.
No. When you burp jars you are getting fresh air and oxygen required for the enzymes to break down chlorophyll and sugars. It also allows the bud to dry evenly and slowly. Try it. You might realize there’s a lot more potential to the buds you’ve been smoking.
 
Dothraki

Dothraki

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All that says is that mother nature can grow a plant. A n00b can easily fuck that up! LOL.

That's awesome though.
I would argue this... noob or not, it takes knowledge and understanding. Obviously there are tons and tons of myths and bullshit methods used to grow, harvest, dry and cure. Most of them are from longtime growers, whereas if a “noob” has a better understanding he can grow a better plant all else being equal. It’s not like playing an instrument where you need to learn muscle memory. Noob or not, actions are taken, the plant responds. But with so much misinformation out there I would hardly say that experience growing means you’re doing it right, even if your buds come out well, maybe they could‘ve been much better.

As for drying, does anyone know at what temps & moisture levels the enzymes stop working to break down chlorophyll?
 
growsince79

growsince79

9,065
313
I would argue this... noob or not, it takes knowledge and understanding. Obviously there are tons and tons of myths and bullshit methods used to grow, harvest, dry and cure. Most of them are from longtime growers, whereas if a “noob” has a better understanding he can grow a better plant all else being equal. It’s not like playing an instrument where you need to learn muscle memory. Noob or not, actions are taken, the plant responds. But with so much misinformation out there I would hardly say that experience growing means you’re doing it right, even if your buds come out well, maybe they could‘ve been much better.

As for drying, does anyone know at what temps & moisture levels the enzymes stop working to break down chlorophyll?
You must have missed this horribly grown plant. Best tasting bud I had in years.
The truth is very little I do will ever affect the quality more than a couple % points. On the other hand, quantity is greatly affected by what I do.
 
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