Some help with drying/curing

[DankDoctor420]

All of my weed has been smokeable. Better than anything I’ve got from the dispo. But, the smell isn’t there. And it’s disheartening because I’m growing some badass plants that look and smell amazing.

I went through the same pain for years til I figured it out. If you jar too early you'll get the hay every time and lose terps. It's better to jar late than early. I've pulled buds out that been drying for quite some time in open air with my trim. I just leave it out and forget about it. The bud still taste good and smells like the strain should. So in my opinion it's better to over dry than under dry and jar. Get a 30 dollar wood moisture meter, I order mine on Amazon and I think it's made by general tools but any of those cheap 20 to 30 dollar meters will save you lots of headaches. Google "what moisture content is weed dry" and lots of articles are there to verify what I said between 10 and 15 percent is dry. Check the stems when you think there dry with the bend test. If the main stems crack instead of bend then check the buds. If they break off with ease like a weed stem should when it's dry then you know it's ready for the cure. At that point is where I would use my moisture meter just to make sure I'm not rushing things. If there between 10 and 15 percent moisture you can begin sweating out the moisture from the center of the buds for a day or two in brown paper bags folded. Then cure in jars or however you cure when 10 to 12 percent moisture and you'll never have to worry about mold or ruining your dank. You can leave them sealed at that point without burping. That will leave the bud in a state if 58 to 60 percent humidity in your curing.

 

[DankDoctor420]

I check the stems that the buds are connected too. The little metal probes are small and penetrate the stems nicely.

 

[DankDoctor420]

Also if you want the best fire. Look into Grove Bags for curing. You'll never go back if you try them. They are amazing and preserve trichomes better than any method of curing giving you the best tasting I don't work for Grove bags. Im just trying to help you if you want the best weed you can make. Keep your temp and humidity right. I have 2 different models of Levoit humidifiers which are awesome for grow tents. I don't work for them either. Just use both companies products and love there products.

 

[DDubs]

Crazy, I can't believe the buds are dripping at 50% rH. Your hygrometer is off or Temps in the room are super low. My last batch sat in bags for 11+ days before I put them in Grove bags. Be patient, a longer cure is better.

 

[Delps8]

All of my weed has been smokeable. Better than anything I’ve got from the dispo. But, the smell isn’t there. And it’s disheartening because I’m growing some badass plants that look and smell amazing.

You have to know that, eventually, I'm gonna get to the "But the glass is half full, right!*" doncha? ;-)

Reading through journals over the past couple of years, lots of growers, me included, have had grows that turn out really sucky. So if all of your crop is smokeable, that's a step up. And, if you're getting bud that's better than at a dispensary, that's really good news.

I do get it about having a great smell before harvest but then losing it during drying and curing. From the photo, Mary, the smaller plant, has had three "harvests. Two of them have a good, but not really strong, smell while the third has a faint smell of hay. No doubt, that's a "less than optimal outcome" but, I do have 221 gm of pretty good herb from that teeny little plant. So for this grow, I got a good yield that gives a good buzz but it doesn't have a great smell to it. Next time will be a different story, right?

The other plant, Jeff, is coming down this weekend. Weird morphology, eh? That's a 2' x 4' tent in a 20' x 25' garage and the entire garage has a heavy, sweet smell. Like you, I'd love to have that same smell in the dried and cured product. I'm not counting on it though. RH is in the toilet and, with only two previous harvests under my belt, I know that I'm not going to do it at the expert level but that's not a surprise because I'm a beginner.

I can prattle on about all sorts of examples that I've seen in my life and working careers but one "rule" from software project management (I've been a software engineer for 30+ years, including 3 at Apple) is that if you complete 80% of the requirements, you've got a successful project. Can you think of your grow along those lines? Add it up — you got a decent yield, it's a good smoke, and you gained a lot of knowledge about how to things better and cheaper and faster next time but you need to do a better job drying and curing. Take the win, do your "after action review", and do a better job next time.


*We all know that if the glass is half full that really means that it's just twice a large as it needs to be.

Same strain, same seed packet, both plants topped and LST'd. They're "Twins"! (And, yes, the heater is shut off.)

 

[Delps8]

Also if you want the best fire. Look into Grove Bags for curing. You'll never go back if you try them. They are amazing and preserve trichomes better than any method of curing giving you the best tasting I don't work for Grove bags. Im just trying to help you if you want the best weed you can make. Keep your temp and humidity right. I have 2 different models of Levoit humidifiers which are awesome for grow tents. I don't work for them either. Just use both companies products and love there products.

Agree completely.

I've got those pieces of equipment but, for my last "mini-harvest", RH went to single digits and I skipped one day testing the water %. I had a couple of ounces that were bone flippin' dry with a water level of 7%. I took a clipping from a younger plant (the big one in the picture that I posted, above) and added it to the Grove bags until the bugs weren't brittle. Does that "restore" the terpenes or just make the smoke less harsh?

 

[2budz]

Agree completely.

I've got those pieces of equipment but, for my last "mini-harvest", RH went to single digits and I skipped one day testing the water %. I had a couple of ounces that were bone flippin' dry with a water level of 7%. I took a clipping from a younger plant (the big one in the picture that I posted, above) and added it to the Grove bags until the bugs weren't brittle. Does that "restore" the terpenes or just make the smoke less harsh?

I overdried a Moby Dick I harvested. Threw it in a jar with some fan leaves and got moisture back into them. They have zero smell in the jar but once it goes into my grinder it stinks my whole bedroom up. Smokes really well.
Thanks for your previous post. I also have a background in CS but moved away from it to be more active (standing desks only did so much). I’m OCD and a little bit of a perfectionist so this probably wasn’t the best “hobby” for me to take up lol. I haven’t harvested anything yet that wasn’t decent. The dispo weed here is strong, definitely takes care of the business. It’s all just very dry and turns to dust. Kills your lungs and throat. Plus the labs here have said 90% of what they test fails for chemicals and heavy metals. I’ve done enough dumb things to my body so I pass on that stuff these days.

 

[2budz]

My moisture meter was supposed to be delivered yesterday. It’s been pushed back to Monday due to the weather. I’m scared to death the GSC I have drying is gonna get to dry. Is it better to trim and jar for cure while it has a little to much moisture, or risk letting it over dry and wait for the meter? I haven’t opened the bags to check on it but plan on doing so tonight.

 

[Delps8]

I overdried a Moby Dick I harvested. Threw it in a jar with some fan leaves and got moisture back into them. They have zero smell in the jar but once it goes into my grinder it stinks my whole bedroom up. Smokes really well.

Good to know. I've had to do that, too, but haven't smoked any of that bag yet.

Thanks for your previous post. I also have a background in CS but moved away from it to be more active (standing desks only did so much). I’m OCD and a little bit of a perfectionist so this probably wasn’t the best “hobby” for me to take up lol. I haven’t harvested anything yet that wasn’t decent. The dispo weed here is strong, definitely takes care of the business. It’s all just very dry and turns to dust. Kills your lungs and throat. Plus the labs here have said 90% of what they test fails for chemicals and heavy metals. I’ve done enough dumb things to my body so I pass on that stuff these days.

Thanks for the reply - I try not to "preach".
Re. CS and not active - software is career #3 for me. When I graduated from collated, FORTRAN was the hot language and the IBM 360 was going strong.

"I’m OCD and a little bit of a perfectionist so this probably wasn’t the best “hobby” for me to take up lol." Same here for the first part and it's getting more so as I get older. The advantage of that is that it means that process is an inherent part of how we think. That helps in term of problem identification and problem resolution right? So focus those strengths on solving the problem that you hit with your last grow. "the" is in italics because that is the only place where you fell down. Go read some journals, as in "I never bothered to buy a pH pen" or "didn't think I needed a water chiller here in Key West…". One of my goals for my next grow (which won't start till next week!) is to keep the helicopter on the ground; "helicopter" as in "helicopter weed grower". I got to thinking that I might be a bit over the top when I mapped the standard deviation of my PPFD readings.

"It’s all just very dry and turns to dust. Kills your lungs and throat." - yup. When I started smoking again (2010 timeframe), I went the vape route. Much easier on the lungs but, now that I think of it, what about just rehydrating with a piece of apple, banana, etc.?

"Plus the labs here have said 90% of what they test fails for chemicals and heavy metals."
Agree - no bueno on the heavy metals. I'd bet that things are pretty clean for legal sales here in the People Republic of CA. What state are you in?

"I’ve done enough dumb things to my body so I pass on that stuff these days."
Dude, that's a life well lived! I've got stents, titanium hips, pins, scars, and a slight limp…all the good stuff!

Bah, it's 2 PM already. Time to get outside and make some vitamin D.

 

[2budz]

Good to know. I've had to do that, too, but haven't smoked any of that bag yet.


Thanks for the reply - I try not to "preach".
Re. CS and not active - software is career #3 for me. When I graduated from collated, FORTRAN was the hot language and the IBM 360 was going strong.

"I’m OCD and a little bit of a perfectionist so this probably wasn’t the best “hobby” for me to take up lol." Same here for the first part and it's getting more so as I get older. The advantage of that is that it means that process is an inherent part of how we think. That helps in term of problem identification and problem resolution right? So focus those strengths on solving the problem that you hit with your last grow. "the" is in italics because that is the only place where you fell down. Go read some journals, as in "I never bothered to buy a pH pen" or "didn't think I needed a water chiller here in Key West…". One of my goals for my next grow (which won't start till next week!) is to keep the helicopter on the ground; "helicopter" as in "helicopter weed grower". I got to thinking that I might be a bit over the top when I mapped the standard deviation of my PPFD readings.

"It’s all just very dry and turns to dust. Kills your lungs and throat." - yup. When I started smoking again (2010 timeframe), I went the vape route. Much easier on the lungs but, now that I think of it, what about just rehydrating with a piece of apple, banana, etc.?

"Plus the labs here have said 90% of what they test fails for chemicals and heavy metals."
Agree - no bueno on the heavy metals. I'd bet that things are pretty clean for legal sales here in the People Republic of CA. What state are you in?

"I’ve done enough dumb things to my body so I pass on that stuff these days."
Dude, that's a life well lived! I've got stents, titanium hips, pins, scars, and a slight limp…all the good stuff!

Bah, it's 2 PM already. Time to get outside and make some vitamin D.

State is OK. We have a very flawed legal cannabis system here. And to many growers. I think there’s something like 8500 legal grows. More than all other legal states combined.
Growing the plants I seem to be pretty good at. It’s once they’re harvested I’ve struggled. Low RH. Over drying. Under drying and getting a hay smell.