Drying question

[DankDoctor420]

When are your buds dry and ready to cure? I always seem to jar too early and get hay shit weed or jar too late and get harsh weed. So I learned to do a whole plant hang with no leaves trimmed off. Now I'm drying in a 4x4 grow tent before I just hung in a 40 percent humidity basement which was too low and dried them too fast but the temps weren't horrible but I got a ac now to get it even colder to slow it down and preserve those terps. Temp 61 to 62 degrees controlled by a portable air conditioner. Humidity set to 55 on my Levoit humidifier using ro water, it stays between 50 and 60 humidity in my dry tent. I got a hurricane clip on fan circulating air but not blowing directly on my plants. A 6 inch ac infinity fan and ducting up top sucking air out and pulling fresh air in from the bottom port I have open on the tent. But when is the bud consider dry and ready to cure? And how often you burp your jars or grove bags or tubs? I'm close to being on stem snap but not break in half. Smaller buds are starting to come off with no stringy material when I pluck them off. I don't want to mess up another harvest. Please help. Any advice I'll take.

 

[DankDoctor420]

Some say when the buds pop off without a string but a little bend left in bigger stems. Others say when bigger stems crack but don't break. Who is right or are they both or what method do you use? I harvest when all cloudy trichs. I start the flush for 2 weeks in soil when I see some ambers starting before I harvest.

 

[St. Tom]

hi bro ive hung dry lots but my favourite way is brown paper bags I never get a hay smell also regarding when your buds are dry enough to keep in jars your going to need some RH meters as I want mine at around 62 rh to be jar or grove bag ready as I've used both over the years but the grove bags are my all time favourite also this may help you out https://autoflower-portal.net/dry-cannabis-buds-brown-paper-bags-truth/

 

[DankDoctor420]

But how do you know when the buds are ready for curing? Which method or methods do you use to test if they're ready to jar?

 

[Perpetually Automatic]

Give the buds a gentle squeeze, if the small sugar leaves are so dry they feel spiky you’re probably getting close. Trim, jar with hygrometer inside, wait 24 hours and see where you’re at. If your over 65% take them out of the jars and put them in paper bags for a few hours then put back in jars and check again. If they’re under 58 get something in there to rehydrate them a bit, (freshly cut fan leaves work well). If they’re between 58 and 64 I’d say your in the sweet spot and you can just start burping a couple of times a day for a few minutes at a time til you get to where you want to be.
If your using grove bags I believe you can just stick them straight in there after the trim(when sugar leaves are crispy) and they will regulate themselves… unsure though as never used them personally.

 

[CannabisMingus]

Short answer: jar and cure

Starting day 5 I jar a few buds in a smaller mason jar w/ hygrometer. When it drops to 65 RH I grove bag it. I keep a hygrometer in the GB for 2x weeks and if it rises, take the buds out for 4-6 hour increments until RH stabilizes. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

 

[olegren]

Some really good advice here. I can sympathize with your plight: My drying area conditions were much the same, and I still don't have my environment as stable as yours. It sounds like you've put a lot of work into it, and I'm sure it will pay off for you.

In addition to the insights others have shared, check this thread out: https://www.autoflower.org/threads/the-time-we-all-work-so-hard-for-achieving-the-perfect-cure.204/

I've been focusing a lot on drying/curing lately, and I keep going back to that thread. There's tons of wisdom to be had in it.

 

[EP3]

You will get there. I find it stinks at chop, dries with less stink, jar it, burp it and give it time. The longer I cure the better it seems, to me anyway.
Hope you get to where you want to be.
EP3

 

[olbobcat]

I dry it in paper bags or hang dry. Your bigger buds are going to less dry and small ones drier. When the small bud stems snap andthe larger crease I move them into turkey bags with 62% beveda packs if I am dry for flower. I am usually doubling up on packs. I also put a small hygrometer. I probably have 25 of them. The small buds will rehydrate slightly and the bigger ones will dry out more. Check them daily by opening the bag and moving them around carefully and then sealing them back up. After a couple of weeks, they should be stable and at That point, you can jar up or move to a more permanent container and open once a week. How long you cure is what you have to decide.

 

[mdabber]

A slow even dry with sweat will help get ready for cure

To dry in a paper bag

1. Take fan leaves off all parts containing no resin. Cut down into final bud sizes. Like how you would want it in the jar.

2. Place bud into paper bags only one layer on the bottom you want moisture to be able to escape and you don't want to squish buds. Fold bag down 2-3 times seal shut with clothespins etc. Place on wire rack or open drawer something to allow airflow on the bottom cardboard box etc. All of this with 60-68f. Gently shake bag every 24 hours to mix the buds so they can evenly dry. After 6-7 days you should be good to trim then jar to cure.

3. Or on day 5-6 if you want to do a sweat to remove more core moisture and to get a slow even dry take all the buds you have even from multiple bags if same strain of course and place in a bag all on top of each other touching to slow down dry. Buds will hold shape at this point. Leave in paper bag flipping every 24 hours not on wire rack anymore on flat surface. Once you flip open the top which was the bottom and let breathe for 20min. Do this for a week or two then on to step 4. You can skip this step but don't leave your jars sealed for long periods of time because you could get mold because you don't have the right humidity. you do not want to lose the core moisture or you will ruin the cure you need some moisture to keep the flavor Intact. So it's a fine line you don't want bone dry dust.

4. Trim buds to your liking and into mason jars for 2 to 3 weeks. If you sweated don't worry about burping too much. Save trim for sift edibles etc. As bud ages of kept in right conditions gets better and smoother.

5. Vape smoke etc lol.