Drying Washed Bud

[HashGirl]

I can't find an answer to this by searching the forum, so...

How do people dry wet bud that is loose and not hangable? I've been putting them on a towel but then the leaves are next to impossible to remove, in my experience. Does anyone use/do anything different?

 

[Azimuth]

I have a multilevel hanging rack, but you could spread them out on paper bags from the grocery store or something. Some people use newspapers, etc.

 

[SmokingWings]

I lay them on a window screen. I noticed them being moved to the trash after someone started a home renovation and they were looking like new. They were smaller than the usual window screen and I took them figuring one day I would have a use for them.

I put each of the screens over a larger sized new plastic pot and dump the entire harvest on top. Then a small fan is blowing air over the area but not directly on these buds. The idea is to move the air in that area around without blowing directly on the weed and possibly causing it to get to dry before I make it back to check.

I know what you mean about the buds sticking to a towel and so far the screens have not caused this same sort of problem.

No screen and I would be trying to put these loose buds over a newspaper with the fan moving the air around. The buds seem to dry within 24 hours after a good soaking & washing so it should work even if the "wet" buds are just recent harvesting and not necessarily from a washing.

 

[Hash Hound]

I used a small salad spinner then on to a screen

 

[HashGirl]

Thanks, guys. These are all excellent suggestions but I think I'm going to go with Azi's suggestions as my lazy meter says it's the easiest.

 

[Azimuth]

The bud washing process can sometimes make them dry out faster afterwards for some reason so keep a weathered eye on them so they don't go too far before you jar them.

Don't know if it has something to do with the washing process or just that they're in smaller pieces that makes them dry faster, but don't just assume it'll be on your normal schedule. ask me how I know

 

[Emilya Green]

A friend of mine from the old school kept insisting that the very best way to get the very best product, is by hanging the entire plant intact while it dries. So after more than a decade of wet trimming, washing and then hanging by branches and small groups, I tried it.

Before I get into that, when I would wet trim and wash, hanging the dripping buds in a room with a fan strongly moving the air the first day, seemed to be the best strategy. Individual buds that had fallen off or branches too small to hang would be put in a drying rack in the same room. I would typically run the fan for 24 hours, and then turned it off to slow down the drying process. Even then, typically in 3 days, best 5 days if the humidity was high, the branches would be dry enough to separate the buds from the branches, and move to the paper sack stage. I never could get a "mythical" 7 day or more dry in that first stage without getting too dry.

So after being able to compare the final product from my friend harvested from the same plant, both wet and dry trimmed, and then when he explained to me that the dry trimmed product had dried in a 65% RH room for 2 weeks before trimming, I was convinced to try it. I was amazed at what happened, and how much better and easier it was to take a little more time with the process and let mother nature help.

On my last 4 harvests, I chopped the entire plants, or in one large case, I split it in two, sort of accidentally. These were all successfully washed using a 5 gallon bucket and the bathtub, and then they were hung to dry. Again, for the first 24 hours I simply put a bath towel underneath them and let them drip and air dry with good fan action. Then off with the fan and on with the 65% RH humidifier.

I was going for that crispy feel when you squeeze the buds. A week into this, I noticed that all the large leaves that I normally would have immediately trimmed, had curled down around each bud, encasing it in its protection, and holding in some of the moisture. I attempted to pull one set at this 1 week point, and it was still a bit early. The outside protective leaves quickly stripped away leaving a still very moist bud inside. The strip trim was easy and snipping the buds off of the branches essentially cleaned them, but I still ended up going to the paper bag stage to dry them out a bit more before I could go to curing.

The next batches I waited. Two weeks in this 65% room and they probably could have gone longer! Trim and clean was a breeze and most of the unwanted stuff just fell away as I snipped off a pile of the buds directly from the branches. It took 15-20 minutes per plant, and I was done! I really didn't have to do any of what I would normally call trimming and I found that I really like dry trimming the best. Not only that, but after working with the plants for a while outside of the drying room, they dropped from 65% down to 63% or so by the time I got them into the jars! Perfect! From drying room to curing room, with the least amount of hassle.

So that is my advice these days... go for the longer and better, slow dry. The entire process from harvest to jar is much simpler and less prone to mistakes. Yes, it takes a little longer, but there really is a special magic that happens when those outer leaves fold over to to protect the drying buds.

 

[Hash Hound]

great post Emy,

Did you leave the fans on too or do a pre harvest defol of any kind? Do you notice any difference in the taste?

I would dry my larger branches/colas after the rinse by sort of a whipping motion and they seem to dry a bit faster than unwashed bud would. Lately I've only washed my outdoor bud.

 

[Emilya Green]

great post Emy,

Did you leave the fans on too or do a pre harvest defol of any kind? Do you notice any difference in the taste?

I would dry my larger branches/colas after the rinse by sort of a whipping motion and they seem to dry a bit faster than unwashed bud would. Lately I've only washed my outdoor bud.

I do leave a pile of the largest fan leaves and what is obvious to strip away, in the grow room as I chop them down. I don't even think about touching any of the sun leaves.

The taste is what impressed me the most when I saw the comparison between the two methods. Slow drying at an even humidity with the outer leaves insuring that the buds never drop in humidity too fast, allows for much more of the terpenes to be preserved without the essential oils evaporating in a rapid dry. Longer slower and more accurate drying definitely increases the flavor of your product. Unless you control the humidity, RH will rise and fall during the day and night, producing an uneven dry where the outer parts of the bud dry out faster than the core. Forcing the humidity to remain constant, forces the core and outer parts of the bud to dry at the same rate. When it comes time to burn the product, it smokes evenly, with no hot spots or flare ups.

I use a lot of products on my plants. I have been known to foliar feed with various teas and labs, and I am regularly using SNS products to prevent or eliminate bugs. For me, even indoors, bud washing is essential.