DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

BarloBruz · Jul 22, 2021

Greetings all! In early preparation for my first harvest, I've been trying to find ways to properly dry my buds in these humid Toronto summers. I stumbled upon this thread and love the idea, it only makes sense to me that a cold drying process like this gives great results. I'm slowly making my way through the thread but haven't found any insight on this question I have: Is the wet trim and bagging absolutely necessary, or is this just to expedite the drying process as the lowered temps will be slowing down the drying significantly? Asking because I'd like to go with a whole plant hang dry in the fridge, and then do a dry trim. Any insight is much appreciated, stay growing y'all!

InTheShed · Jul 22, 2021

BarloBruz said:
Greetings all! In early preparation for my first harvest, I've been trying to find ways to properly dry my buds in these humid Toronto summers. I stumbled upon this thread and love the idea, it only makes sense to me that a cold drying process like this gives great results. I'm slowly making my way through the thread but haven't found any insight on this question I have: Is the wet trim and bagging absolutely necessary, or is this just to expedite the drying process as the lowered temps will be slowing down the drying significantly? Asking because I'd like to go with a whole plant hang dry in the fridge, and then do a dry trim. Any insight is much appreciated, stay growing y'all!

Welcome to 420magazine Barlo! The reason for the wet trim is to remove the plant material that will slow down the drying to the extent that it might allow mold to set in. Folks who hang dry in areas with low humidity will often dry trim so the leaves can slow the process down, or hang the plant whole to slow it down even further.

In the fridge, taking off the leaves will allow the buds to dry at a pace that will both preserve the terpenes and prevent mold.

That said, if you have buds to spare, try both ways and see which one works best for you! If you are relying on this harvest, I'd stick with the low and slow directions and then do further testing when your jars are full and there's room for error.

BarloBruz · Jul 22, 2021

InTheShed said:
Welcome to 420magazine Barlo! The reason for the wet trim is to remove the plant material that will slow down the drying to the extent that it might allow mold to set in. Folks who hang dry in areas with low humidity will often dry trim so the leaves can slow the process down, or hang the plant whole to slow it down even further.

In the fridge, taking off the leaves will allow the buds to dry at a pace that will both preserve the terpenes and prevent mold.

That said, if you have buds to spare, try both ways and see which one works best for you! If you are relying on this harvest, I'd stick with the low and slow directions and then do further testing when your jars are full and there's room for error.

Good to know, much appreciated!

Gammagoat · Jul 27, 2021

Last and first time I dried in fridge the buds dried too fast, had temp way to low.

This time I'd like to get it right, the problem I'm having is that in the crisper ambient humidity is approaching 80% and in the rest of fridge its 35%. I've been alternating with the bagged bud in each for twelve hours a day.

I'm afraid of mold in the crisper with the high humidity and concerned with fast dry in the main part of fridge. Could someone help me out here? Today was day two. Fridge temp is 37-42.

Edit: Left all leaves on to slow dry.

InTheShed · Jul 28, 2021

Gammagoat said:
I'm afraid of mold in the crisper with the high humidity and concerned with fast dry in the main part of fridge. Could someone help me out here? Today was day two. Fridge temp is 37-42.

Edit: Left all leaves on to slow dry.

Don't use the crisper as it retains the moisture we're trying to get rid of. The bags should be in the open area of the fridge. Check out this post from BigD.

kelticBlue · Aug 25, 2021

Harvest season arrives in the northern hemisphere soon. But i gotz an indoor tent. I chopped some on monday. Here is three of the bigger branches or about 25% of the total plant in bags after 3 days in fridge. Still wet. I tumble it about 3 times a day for the first 3 days. I also let them warm for about 30-45 mins out of the fridge once a day....

:yummy:

here is the buds in bags. {{I have another bag getting ready to go in. No pictures tho}} :yummy:

Cherry Bomb

kelticBlue
Aug 25, 2021

Cherry Bomb

kelticBlue
Aug 25, 2021

Cherry Bomb

kelticBlue
Aug 25, 2021

InTheShed · Aug 25, 2021

Looks great! Did you leave the buds on the stems specifically? I thought low and slow instructions say to cut them off.

SurfWeed · Sep 3, 2021

im quite the newb and drying and curing is the most difficult part of growing for me so far, as i live in a hot, dry area of hawaii (95f+ / 20rh in my house). if i hang dry with ac, the humidity is way low and i have to run a humidifier. also more electricity than id like, having the ac on for 12 hours a day while my buds dry and cure for a month or more. I've had my last harvest in a mini fridge for about 5 days (in a paper bag, on its side to spread em out a little), but the buds seem really dry now to the touch. just brought them out into jars. RH is stabilizing at about 75% in closed jars. anyway, seems theyre not ready for jars if the RH is going up to 75. will put em back in the fridge. any news regarding paper bags vs jars during the fridge drying process??

InTheShed · Sep 3, 2021

SurfWeed said:
im quite the newb and drying and curing is the most difficult part of growing for me so far, as i live in a hot, dry area of hawaii (95f+ / 20rh in my house). if i hang dry with ac, the humidity is way low and i have to run a humidifier. also more electricity than id like, having the ac on for 12 hours a day while my buds dry and cure for a month or more. I've had my last harvest in a mini fridge for about 5 days (in a paper bag, on its side to spread em out a little), but the buds seem really dry now to the touch. just brought them out into jars. RH is stabilizing at about 75% in closed jars. anyway, seems theyre not ready for jars if the RH is going up to 75. will put em back in the fridge. any news regarding paper bags vs jars during the fridge drying process??

I think the general feeling is that the buds dry more evenly in paper bags, where every bud is touching some part of the bag and not just each other. And in terms of the RH when they're out of the fridge, make sure you give them long enough to get to room temperature before checking the humidity. 5 days seems fast for low and slow, but you want to get them out while they will still settle in the mid 60s.

SurfWeed · Sep 3, 2021

InTheShed said:
I think the general feeling is that the buds dry more evenly in paper bags, where every bud is touching some part of the bag and not just each other. And in terms of the RH when they're out of the fridge, make sure you give them long enough to get to room temperature before checking the humidity. 5 days seems fast for low and slow, but you want to get them out while they will still settle in the mid 60s.

ok you are right, i let the temp get back up to room temperature (which is like 86f for me) and it seems the buds have 'sweat' some of the moisture back out into the outer layers of the flowers and theyre feelin abit moist again. still smells like freshly harvested plant matter, not much smell. then again it didnt have much smell at harvest. either due to my feeding habits or maybe heat during the grow (110f+ on the hotter summer days.) they look prettier and retained more color and trichomes than my buds that got "speed dried" in my hot room tho. pretty excited to taste em as i've been on a break from thc for a little while

InTheShed · Sep 3, 2021

After a break you might find your harvest goes a lot further.

Nice looking bud!

SurfWeed · Sep 3, 2021

ok well disaster has kinda struck. after moving my buds into jars and back into a bag, i came back from lunch to find the freezer compartment on the mini fridge defrosted itself, leaving a puddle of water under my paper bag full of bud. not much of it really soaked through the bag, so i put the buds in a jar again to check the rh. luckily i was keeping an eye on the RH via bluetooth hygrometer and noticed it wasnt coming back down from 85+ for a couple hours.. kinda scared to put it back in but right now, i turned the temp lower, and waiting to make sure the thing wont defrost again before bagging it again. i think i might need a real fridge or something newer..or really smash the door shut and use some kind of latch or weight to make sure it seals tightly. this was just some black and decker mini fridge i found on facebook marketplace for 40 bucks. i think ive narrowly averted disaster but dang. kind of at a loss as to what i should do now. the buds are still hitting 80% rh in jar so im thinking i should put the paper bag in a small pan or in a big open jar to make sure water wont soak through if it happens again.

InTheShed · Sep 3, 2021

SurfWeed said:
ok well disaster has kinda struck. after moving my buds into jars and back into a bag, i came back from lunch to find the freezer compartment on the mini fridge defrosted itself, leaving a puddle of water under my paper bag full of bud. not much of it really soaked through the bag, so i put the buds in a jar again to check the rh. luckily i was keeping an eye on the RH via bluetooth hygrometer and noticed it wasnt coming back down from 85+ for a couple hours.. kinda scared to put it back in but right now, i turned the temp lower, and waiting to make sure the thing wont defrost again before bagging it again. i think i might need a real fridge or something newer..or really smash the door shut and use some kind of latch or weight to make sure it seals tightly. this was just some black and decker mini fridge i found on facebook marketplace for 40 bucks. i think ive narrowly averted disaster but dang. kind of at a loss as to what i should do now. the buds are still hitting 80% rh in jar so im thinking i should put the paper bag in a small pan or in a big open jar to make sure water wont soak through if it happens again.

I would definitely elevate the bags off the floor of the fridge with a rack of some type. And if you need to get the RH down quickly, I suggest rice balls:

Rice Balls to lower RH in jars

Let me start by talking about the success of @Scientific's oven-dried rice suggestion. :thanks: HOLY MOLY! Toss out your silicone beads and your store-bought desiccants. If you need fast and extreme dehumidifying, GO WITH RICE! The basic info is that rice took the RH in the jar from 75% to...

www.420magazine.com

SurfWeed · Sep 4, 2021

InTheShed said:
I would definitely elevate the bags off the floor of the fridge with a rack of some type. And if you need to get the RH down quickly, I suggest rice balls:

Rice Balls to lower RH in jars

Let me start by talking about the success of @Scientific's oven-dried rice suggestion. :thanks: HOLY MOLY! Toss out your silicone beads and your store-bought desiccants. If you need fast and extreme dehumidifying, GO WITH RICE! The basic info is that rice took the RH in the jar from 75% to...

www.420magazine.com

right on. your posts have been much help through the growing process, and now in the drying and curing stages as well. appreciate you sharing the knowlege.

just threw a mesh bag with a cup of rice in there, as it wasnt seeming to want to drop below 70rh, within minutes it went down to the 50s..crazy.. you think i should i just leave the rice in the fridge? will wait for it to stabilize, hopefully in that 45-50 range.

InTheShed · Sep 4, 2021

Dunno about using rice in the fridge, just in jars like my post. I'm not sure how long the rice will continue to absorb all the moisture in the fridge ad at some point it will be too damp to absorb any more.

I'd get the buds in jars back down to 70 and then go back to the regular low and slow instructions.

kelticBlue · Sep 4, 2021

InTheShed said:
Looks great! Did you leave the buds on the stems specifically? I thought low and slow instructions say to cut them off.

I do leave some stem, I trim them down after 3-5 days, then i trim leaves & stems depends on how wet they are. I like to leave a bit of small leaf for the first day or so. Fan leaves get trimmed before they get bagged. Those were the bigger tops with the stems. I kind of progressive trim shoooting for a uniform size before the first week is out.
There is always those nice tops I just cannot bear with triming down they are to nice. I also leave more sugar leaf on than most people probably.
But same size nugs so they are in similar dryness at the same time. Here, My latest 'test' batch is in jar right now checking RH and burping. It is riding just about 68%.

I shoot for 14 days in the fridge, these are at 11days so they are early testers.
Here it is getting a burp.. right below 70. not the most exact meter but I am familiar with it.

Checkin RH : -- )

kelticBlue
Sep 4, 2021

Some thoughts.

uniform bud size not exact but close.
put the bags on racks or use something to keep the bag off the bottom, just a little air below the bag. I had a bag get mushy
if the bag gets mushy or damp turn it over Or replace it with a new bag.
those first 2-3 days, Maybe, once a day, I take the bags out and softly toss or move the flower about, seperate the bud and let the buds get to room temp maybe 15 min. If the bag feels lighter after day 3 I leave it be , if it still feels wet and heavy, I give it a toss and let it warm up. I also will let it sit undisturbed to finish out the first week 10 days.
I started checking the RH in a jar at 10 days this time, I could have waited 2-3 more days but got impatient. the smaller buds were ready for RH check in the jar at 10 days tho.
I have a mini de humidifier, like you would put into a small safe box, in case I need to absorb excess mositure. It was very wet out with the tropical storms and thunder stroms these last 2 week.
Remember it is supposed to be a slow dry.
Also dont overload the bag with wet bud.

Cheers that is all I can think of right now.

BarloBruz · Sep 16, 2021

New toy came in last night! Got a Koolatron WC20 since the apartment gets waaay too hot when the building's heat comes on in the fall/winter, and leaving an AC on at all times in the spring/summer just isn't financially feasible I don't think. Thermoelectric cooling and temperature control between 46-66F (8-18C for my fellow Canadients), perfect for that "60 at 60" rule of thumb. CANNOT WAIT FOR CHOP AND WASH DAY :ganjamon:

!!!

Love to the community!

InTheShed · Sep 16, 2021

BarloBruz said:
New toy came in last night! Got a Koolatron WC20 since the apartment gets waaay too hot when the building's heat comes on in the fall/winter, and leaving an AC on at all times in the spring/summer just isn't financially feasible I don't think. Thermoelectric cooling and temperature control between 46-66F (8-18C for my fellow Canadients), perfect for that "60 at 60" rule of thumb. CANNOT WAIT FOR CHOP AND WASH DAY
Love to the community!

Nice purchase Barlo! And now you have a way to admire your shoes as well. Good luck with the harvest!

SurfWeed · Sep 16, 2021

BarloBruz said:
New toy came in last night! Got a Koolatron WC20 since the apartment gets waaay too hot when the building's heat comes on in the fall/winter, and leaving an AC on at all times in the spring/summer just isn't financially feasible I don't think. Thermoelectric cooling and temperature control between 46-66F (8-18C for my fellow Canadients), perfect for that "60 at 60" rule of thumb. CANNOT WAIT FOR CHOP AND WASH DAY !!!

Love to the community!

i was also thinking of getting a wine fridge, my house only gets to 77 at the lowest..89 in the heat of the day.

just harvested some today, decided not to wash it and hang a big chunk up to dry, as i dont have space in my mini fridge to put the whole plant in paper bags. so it will be good to compare the hang dried and low n slow dried. I think i waited too long to take the bag out for my last harvest- in a jar, the humidity is stable at 57%. but the smells are slowly seeping out of the buds everyday. the fresh harvest went straight into the fridge, but my humidity wont seem to go below 70. maybe have to turn the temp down.

also found this post on a different forum. DIY curing chambers for meat, in theory you could do it for cannabis..just needa get some controllers and set desired humidity and temp:

https://mattikaarts.com/blog/meat-curing-at-home-the-setup/