DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

birdinaz said:
So I washed my buds, shook excess water off and set them on a rack with a fan in low humidity AZ in my garage for 4 hours. I didn't see signs of remaining water, so I chose the wide mouth jar and mesh screen method and put them in my chest freezer with inkbird set at 42. They have been in there for four days and I have a Govee bluetooth humidity sensor. I did not open the freezer until today. Humidity with the moist buds in there has averaged about 70%, but that is calculated. It cycles between 50 and 80 as the compressor turns on and off to cool the freezer down.

I took a jar out today and sealed a sensor in it. I let the jar come to room temp before putting sensor in. The humidity jumped to 99% in about a half an hour. I just added a fan after that. It is blowing gently over the tops of the jars. I am just wondering if perhaps I didn't get all the water off or if this sounds normal. Should I dry in open air with a fan to make sure all the moisture from washing is gone or do you think I am good?
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Hiya Bird!

The intent is to slowly remove moisture while the temperature is below 45F. It sounds like your setup is not allowing enough moisture to be drawn out of the buds. I do not have any experience with the jar in the fridge method, but others here might - I have seen examples up thread. Just seems like the glass will not allow enough moisture to escape. The paper bags help facilitate moisture evacuation better than glass jars (IMHO). The jars may work great in a frost-free fridge. In a converted freezer it may not work as well.

I wouldn't freak out yet but I am a little concerned.

My advice: transfer to paper bags - about what looks like will be 30 grams when dry per bag. I use large Trader Joes paper bags and cut off the top 2 inches. Open the bags several times a day to vent moisture and inspect for mold. I doubt you will have any but worth a check. Your temps look good! The humidity will be a little high at first so don't panic, but you gotta help the moisture leave the containers (and leave the fridge). Open the chest freezer several times a day to allow this moisture to leave. After a few days open the freezer a few times a day, but only open the bags every 3-4 days. Hope that makes sense.

If you check my pic above you can see my evaporator (white panel) has ice dripping on bottom. When it cycles it warms a little and water drips onto the black plastic tray. Every few days I remove and dump this tray of water (after the first few days there is a LOT!). On a frost-free fridge this water is channeled out of the refrigerator cavity and into a tray underneath the fridge (to be evaporated to ambient air). A chest freezer may not utilize a frost-free mechanism, and the moisture may build up inside as ice - which is ok. Otherwise you need to remove that moisture.

Hope that helps!
 
GratefulBud said:
Hiya Bird!

The intent is to slowly remove moisture while the temperature is below 45F. It sounds like your setup is not allowing enough moisture to be drawn out of the buds. I do not have any experience with the jar in the fridge method, but others here might - I have seen examples up thread. Just seems like the glass will not allow enough moisture to escape. The paper bags help facilitate moisture evacuation better than glass jars (IMHO). The jars may work great in a frost-free fridge. In a converted freezer it may not work as well.

I wouldn't freak out yet but I am a little concerned.

My advice: transfer to paper bags - about what looks like will be 30 grams when dry per bag. I use large Trader Joes paper bags and cut off the top 2 inches. Open the bags several times a day to vent moisture and inspect for mold. I doubt you will have any but worth a check. Your temps look good! The humidity will be a little high at first so don't panic, but you gotta help the moisture leave the containers (and leave the fridge). Open the chest freezer several times a day to allow this moisture to leave. After a few days open the freezer a few times a day, but only open the bags every 3-4 days. Hope that makes sense.

If you check my pic above you can see my evaporator (white panel) has ice dripping on bottom. When it cycles it warms a little and water drips onto the black plastic tray. Every few days I remove and dump this tray of water (after the first few days there is a LOT!). On a frost-free fridge this water is channeled out of the refrigerator cavity and into a tray underneath the fridge (to be evaporated to ambient air). A chest freezer may not utilize a frost-free mechanism, and the moisture may build up inside as ice - which is ok. Otherwise you need to remove that moisture.

Hope that helps!
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Awesome reply, thanks. I have zero condensation or signs of moisture so I think I am good. Man I should have stuck to this thread. There is another method that was organized well that the poster swore by that kept the refrig shut. To the point that he put a lock on it to not be tempted. Can't find it for the life of me now.
 
birdinaz said:
They have been in there for four days and I have a Govee bluetooth humidity sensor. I did not open the freezer until today.
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birdinaz said:
I took a jar out today and sealed a sensor in it. I let the jar come to room temp before putting sensor in. The humidity jumped to 99% in about a half an hour.
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I was wondering how a chest freezer would work when you first said you were going to use one. All of the chest freezers that I’ve seen are not frost free. They don’t cycle like a frost free refrigerator, which is why frost/ice builds up in them. I think you are going to have to open your freezer up at least once a day to let moisture out.


I have my “dedicated 420 fridge“ hooked up to a temperature controller. I also have a Govee hygrometer. My temperature averages around 45*F. The difference between the high & low temps is about 2*F. My rH averages around 24%. The difference between the high & low rH around 5%.

The low & slow is all I do in the fridge. It is a regular size over/under (freezer on top, fridge on bottom) frost free fridge.

I use wide mouth mason jars with a screen over the opening. I roll/tumble the jars every morning.

When I lay my jars on their side, I do get some condensation. I put a piece of 2X4, the width of the fridge, on the shelves. That allows me to prop up the jars, so the opening of the jars are pointing up at a 45 degree angle. That seems to have eliminated the moisture build up.

It takes me about 3 weeks to get the rH down in the upper 60’s. I then take the jars out of the fridge and do the regular burping process to get them to 62% rH. I’ve found that once the jars are in the upper 60’s, they dry really fast, too fast, so thats why I take them out. I also continually consolidate the buds during the drying process so that the volume in the jars is always around 2/3 full, which helps keep the drying process slow.

birdinaz said:
There is another method that was organized well that the poster swore by that kept the refrig shut.
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You may be referring to the cold cure method, which you do after the L&S drying. I’ve linked it below. Check it out and see if that’s what you were thinking about.

DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

Did you remove your buds from the fridge for a few hours every 4 days? If not, that’s why. Will do this tonight....apparently ive gone for suuuuper slooooow and low...no mold though happy about that! I can already see the difference in nug appearance from this method...im digging it!
www.420magazine.com
 
BigD13 said:
I was wondering how a chest freezer would work when you first said you were going to use one. All of the chest freezers that I’ve seen are not frost free. They don’t cycle like a frost free refrigerator, which is why frost/ice builds up in them. I think you are going to have to open your freezer up at least once a day to let moisture out.


I have my “dedicated 420 fridge“ hooked up to a temperature controller. I also have a Govee hygrometer. My temperature averages around 45*F. The difference between the high & low temps is about 2*F. My rH averages around 24%. The difference between the high & low rH around 5%.

The low & slow is all I do in the fridge. It is a regular size over/under (freezer on top, fridge on bottom) frost free fridge.

I use wide mouth mason jars with a screen over the opening. I roll/tumble the jars every morning.

When I lay my jars on their side, I do get some condensation. I put a piece of 2X4, the width of the fridge, on the shelves. That allows me to prop up the jars, so the opening of the jars are pointing up at a 45 degree angle. That seems to have eliminated the moisture build up.

It takes me about 3 weeks to get the rH down in the upper 60’s. I then take the jars out of the fridge and do the regular burping process to get them to 62% rH. I’ve found that once the jars are in the upper 60’s, they dry really fast, too fast, so thats why I take them out. I also continually consolidate the buds during the drying process so that the volume in the jars is always around 2/3 full, which helps keep the drying process slow.


You may be referring to the cold cure method, which you do after the L&S drying. I’ve linked it below. Check it out and see if that’s what you were thinking about.

DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

Did you remove your buds from the fridge for a few hours every 4 days? If not, that’s why. Will do this tonight....apparently ive gone for suuuuper slooooow and low...no mold though happy about that! I can already see the difference in nug appearance from this method...im digging it!
www.420magazine.com
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So I have transferred to my keg fridge as it is not in use. I added a small fan. At first I kept them in the screened jars. So when the compressor is off, the humidity levels jumps to 91% in about 20 minutes. I can see that it then slowly drops for the next hour to about 85%, then the compressor turns back on. That drop may just be proportional to the temp increase within my differential temp setting on the inkbird. Anyway, a jar humidity check still shows 99%. I just transferred to cut down paper grocery bags with about 35 g in each.
 
Just roll the tops over a few times and they should stay closed, though with heavy grocery backs (as opposed the sandwich bags recommended in the thread) you may need a binder clip to secure it.
 
birdinaz said:
So I have transferred to my keg fridge as it is not in use.
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I think will work much better.

birdinaz said:
I just transferred to cut down paper grocery bags with about 35 g in each.
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I’ve never dried in bags before, but I think they dry faster than in jars. So just be aware of that. You can always put them back in the jars if you want to try the cold cure.
 
BigD13 said:
I think will work much better.


I’ve never dried in bags before, but I think they dry faster than in jars. So just be aware of that. You can always put them back in the jars if you want to try the cold cure.
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Yep, that is the plan. I want to get that humidity level down as the jars have been at 99% for about a week. No signs of mold.
 
birdinaz said:
What do you do for closing bags? Should it be tightly sealed?
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Hi Birdi :)

I am new to this method too. I used clothes line pegs to close
birdinaz said:
Yep, that is the plan. I want to get that humidity level down as the jars have been at 99% for about a week. No signs of mold.
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So as far as humidity goes, I found out the hard way humidity measuring thingys can be faulty.

As my dry went on I learned that you really go by feel. The humidity numbers just give you an element of security that you’re not fucking them up.

Some people fridge dry without even opening the jars (you add a moisture absorbing material in the jar). Then go by the thump the bud makes when it hits the wall of the jar.

My humidity went up and down like a new brides nightie. Apparently this is normal. I took to recording my humidity % as well, coz I have the memory of a, a, a… I forget.

You have got the drying experts in your corner. Tho Scooby will expect a scoobie snack one you’ve successfully cure it ;)
 
So I really thought this method would be more forgiving. As recommended, I switched to paper bags. It appears that the mini fridge I use operates differently as my humidity inside the refrig styed up around 80% with brief plummets when the condenser kicks in. This model has no freezer. It has a plate on the back wall on the inside that seems to deliver the cold and also will gather frost. This frost then melts away into a drip column below it with a hole to drain. The water never pools so it seems to be working well. With the high humidity level in the fridge, my humidistats inside the bags have never dipped below 92% and it has been 3 weeks. The buds however, smelled amazing. This prompted me to transfer bags to my regular full size beer fridge with freezer on top to see if I could get more moisture out of the buds. I transferred the bags before a 48hour trip I was taking. I got back 48 hrs later and the refrig was smack dab at 36% humidity. I freaked a bit as the humidistats in each bag said about the same and the buds seemed crispy now. I transferred to closed mason jars to see what the buds were actually at. After sitting over night, all jars are around 85-90%. And now the whole lot smells like frickin hay. Not sure what to do now.
 
birdinaz said:
So I really thought this method would be more forgiving
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This method is pretty forgiving if done in a standard full sized frost-free fridge as originally recommended, but once you start trying to adapt it to whatever you happen to have on hand it's a brave new world!
birdinaz said:
And now the whole lot smells like frickin hay. Not sure what to do now.
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The hay smell is the chlorophyll still left in the buds, so at this stage I would think that you can either leave them in the beer fridge and check them daily to make sure they don't overdry, or dry them the old fashioned way in the open air.
 
InTheShed said:
This method is pretty forgiving if done in a standard full sized frost-free fridge as originally recommended, but once you start trying to adapt it to whatever you happen to have on hand it's a brave new world!

The hay smell is the chlorophyll still left in the buds, so at this stage I would think that you can either leave them in the beer fridge and check them daily to make sure they don't overdry, or dry them the old fashioned way in the open air.
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Ok, hoping you are right on the hay smell. My first ever harvest was dried too fast and the hay smell never went away. So the buds are still at 80+, I will go back to the bags in the beer fridge and let them keep drying. I think the crispiness is just the sugar leaves
 
Finally made it through the entire thread! Took me a few days.

I'm harvesting in a few days and plan to employ this drying method. I would like to use approximately 6 stacked cardboard boxes (14"L x 12"W x 2.5"H) to contain the buds while in the fridge.
  • Boxes will allow me to easily "flip" the box during drying (top becomes bottom, bottom becomes top).
  • Boxes will be easier/neater for me to handle in the fridge than paper bags.
I know that I saw a few thread posts mentioning cardboard boxes, but there was never a final determination or evaluation on their suitability for this method.

Would someone that has used cardboard please comment how it went for you and perhaps elaborate on the following:
  1. Will a closed cardboard box allow for enough air exchange to occur?
  2. Should I create holes in the side of the boxes to facilitate cross ventilation air exchange?
  3. Can the boxes be stacked directly on top of each other, or should I fashion small standoffs to allow space between the top of one box and the bottom of the next?
  4. Should I put parchment paper, or other barrier medium, on the top and bottom of the boxes to protect the buds from cardboard (i.e. adverse taste/leeching)?
Thank you!
 
birdinaz said:
I will go back to the bags in the beer fridge and let them keep drying. I think the crispiness is just the sugar leaves
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I think you may be ok. Every setup is different but you are on the right track. Be patient. Yes the beer fridge may have high humidity at first but that's ok. Keep it cold. My last harvest felt really crispy when I first took out of the bag and placed in a jar, but after an hour or two RH was over 65%. So it can come back.

As far as the hay smell - man I wish I knew the answer on that one. Last two harvests did not have the terpene / aroma profile I was hoping for. But it smokes good. A few folks have said once the dry is complete, and after a few weeks curing in jars, the nice aroma returns.

Good luck!
 
Green Dreams said:
  1. Will a closed cardboard box allow for enough air exchange to occur?
  2. Should I create holes in the side of the boxes to facilitate cross ventilation air exchange?
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I think holes in the boxes will speed the drying, although others have done it with some success so I'll let them chime in. You really don't want a lot of air exchange when drying in the fridge; you want a nice slow removal of moisture from the buds.

Good luck!
 
Green Dreams said:
Finally made it through the entire thread! Took me a few days.

I'm harvesting in a few days and plan to employ this drying method. I would like to use approximately 6 stacked cardboard boxes (14"L x 12"W x 2.5"H) to contain the buds while in the fridge.
  • Boxes will allow me to easily "flip" the box during drying (top becomes bottom, bottom becomes top).
  • Boxes will be easier/neater for me to handle in the fridge than paper bags.
I know that I saw a few thread posts mentioning cardboard boxes, but there was never a final determination or evaluation on their suitability for this method.

Would someone that has used cardboard please comment how it went for you and perhaps elaborate on the following:
  1. Will a closed cardboard box allow for enough air exchange to occur?
  2. Should I create holes in the side of the boxes to facilitate cross ventilation air exchange?
  3. Can the boxes be stacked directly on top of each other, or should I fashion small standoffs to allow space between the top of one box and the bottom of the next?
  4. Should I put parchment paper, or other barrier medium, on the top and bottom of the boxes to protect the buds from cardboard (i.e. adverse taste/leeching)?
Thank you!
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Green Dreams,
Occasionally I visiti this thread and this drying method seems to provide great results. I'm on my first grow hoping to harvest at least a bud to try it out. You have good questions that I can't answer and would like to know the answer. Hope you don't mind me hanging around for response and see how your harvest turn out!


InTheShed said:
This method is pretty forgiving if done in a standard full sized frost-free fridge as originally recommended, but once you start trying to adapt it to whatever you happen to have on hand it's a brave new world!

The hay smell is the chlorophyll still left in the buds, so at this stage I would think that you can either leave them in the beer fridge and check them daily to make sure they don't overdry, or dry them the old fashioned way in the open air.
Click to expand...
Wisdom from the Shed!
 
birdinaz said:
Should I trim the sugar leaves now?
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The sugar leaves slow down the drying process a bit, but at this point I think you should leave them on. I prefer to wet trim all my harvests but a lot of folks dry trim. And the sugar leaves are drying faster than the buds themselves anyway.
 
Hey all, this is my first time trying the fridge method as my room RH is between 80-90%.

Is this an okay environment for a fridge cure? RH swings between 65-75% every 50 minutes. Temp hovers around 40F. Buds are in clipped paper bags, they’re at day 7 and still looking good but the swingy RH worries me.

It's a pretty cheap non-frost-free mini-fridge but I have a couple of Hippo moisture catcher things in there to prevent moisture from building up on surfaces.

I've also got some smaller humistat things inside the paper bags and they seem to hover around 65%, they seem a lot less susceptible to them RH swing up to 75% which I'm sure is helping.

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