I used to bag small bud, medium bud, then large, but like you say, now I mix it. I have a frost free fridge, so that’s not an issue and I don’t rotate the bags anymore either.
DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest
420giirl
Well-Known Member
omg y’all it’s working……it’s actually working for me this time and I’m pretty sure I am officially in the curing phase. That aroma is like nothing I’ve ever smelled before with this same strain, God Father OG. Right now it smells really sweet like “orange candy”.
I got scared and took it out of the fridge when it was still at 70%. I’ve been burping the jars all week, starting last Friday, about three times a day maybe more, and for maybe 15 minutes each time. Well actually I would burp them as soon as I noticed the meter rising above 66%. I was just so paranoid and didn’t want that awful ammonia smell to set in, I would always end up with it when trying to cure and not burping enough.
I’m @ 65% and going down now.
OMG that aroma that is coming through is just so amazing, like nothing I’ve ever personally done. I finally feel like I am actually drying/curing right this time. I can’t believe it’s taking me this long to realize what I was doing and why I was doing it (or what I did wrong) when it comes to this process. I am a very visual person, I sometimes just don’t get it until I am actually doing it, but dang this took me so much longer than usual. Mostly bc I was flat out doing it wrong. So now it makes me happy and so excited, bc I just couldn’t imagine not being able to cure my beautiful babies to their fullest potential.
It wasn’t until now that they are getting close to the lower 60’s in humidity that the aroma coming through is so “sweet”, at first when they were in the upper 60’s they smelled like “watermelon” or “cucumber” to me. I wondered about the “candy” aroma I read about. I thought well maybe that’s what they meant when they say “sweet,” almost like “candy” but no it is actually a “candy” aroma coming through, it’s so delicious!
I’ll definitely trust the process next time and leave them in the fridge until they are @ 64%rh, then jar.
The jar reading 67% has large dense buds, the 65% jar have a lot smaller and airy buds.
We are definitely getting there
I got scared and took it out of the fridge when it was still at 70%. I’ve been burping the jars all week, starting last Friday, about three times a day maybe more, and for maybe 15 minutes each time. Well actually I would burp them as soon as I noticed the meter rising above 66%. I was just so paranoid and didn’t want that awful ammonia smell to set in, I would always end up with it when trying to cure and not burping enough.
I’m @ 65% and going down now.
OMG that aroma that is coming through is just so amazing, like nothing I’ve ever personally done. I finally feel like I am actually drying/curing right this time. I can’t believe it’s taking me this long to realize what I was doing and why I was doing it (or what I did wrong) when it comes to this process. I am a very visual person, I sometimes just don’t get it until I am actually doing it, but dang this took me so much longer than usual. Mostly bc I was flat out doing it wrong. So now it makes me happy and so excited, bc I just couldn’t imagine not being able to cure my beautiful babies to their fullest potential.
It wasn’t until now that they are getting close to the lower 60’s in humidity that the aroma coming through is so “sweet”, at first when they were in the upper 60’s they smelled like “watermelon” or “cucumber” to me. I wondered about the “candy” aroma I read about. I thought well maybe that’s what they meant when they say “sweet,” almost like “candy” but no it is actually a “candy” aroma coming through, it’s so delicious!
I’ll definitely trust the process next time and leave them in the fridge until they are @ 64%rh, then jar.
The jar reading 67% has large dense buds, the 65% jar have a lot smaller and airy buds.
We are definitely getting there
Awesome!omg y’all it’s working……it’s actually working for me this time and I’m pretty sure I am officially in the curing phase. That aroma is like nothing I’ve ever smelled before with this same strain, God Father OG. Right now it smells really sweet like “orange candy”.
I got scared and took it out of the fridge when it was still at 70%. I’ve been burping the jars all week, starting last Friday, about three times a day maybe more, and for maybe 15 minutes each time. Well actually I would burp them as soon as I noticed the meter rising above 66%. I was just so paranoid and didn’t want that awful ammonia smell to set in, I would always end up with it when trying to cure and not burping enough.
I’m @ 65% and going down now.
OMG that aroma that is coming through is just so amazing, like nothing I’ve ever personally done. I finally feel like I am actually drying/curing right this time. I can’t believe it’s taking me this long to realize what I was doing and why I was doing it (or what I did wrong) when it comes to this process. I am a very visual person, I sometimes just don’t get it until I am actually doing it, but dang this took me so much longer than usual. Mostly bc I was flat out doing it wrong. So now it makes me happy and so excited, bc I just couldn’t imagine not being able to cure my beautiful babies to their fullest potential.
It wasn’t until now that they are getting close to the lower 60’s in humidity that the aroma coming through is so “sweet”, at first when they were in the upper 60’s they smelled like “watermelon” or “cucumber” to me. I wondered about the “candy” aroma I read about. I thought well maybe that’s what they meant when they say “sweet,” almost like “candy” but no it is actually a “candy” aroma coming through, it’s so delicious!
I’ll definitely trust the process next time and leave them in the fridge until they are @ 64%rh, then jar.
The jar reading 67% has large dense buds, the 65% jar have a lot smaller and airy buds.
We are definitely getting there
Good job!omg y’all it’s working……it’s actually working for me this time and I’m pretty sure I am officially in the curing phase. That aroma is like nothing I’ve ever smelled before with this same strain, God Father OG. Right now it smells really sweet like “orange candy”.
I got scared and took it out of the fridge when it was still at 70%. I’ve been burping the jars all week, starting last Friday, about three times a day maybe more, and for maybe 15 minutes each time. Well actually I would burp them as soon as I noticed the meter rising above 66%. I was just so paranoid and didn’t want that awful ammonia smell to set in, I would always end up with it when trying to cure and not burping enough.
I’m @ 65% and going down now.
OMG that aroma that is coming through is just so amazing, like nothing I’ve ever personally done. I finally feel like I am actually drying/curing right this time. I can’t believe it’s taking me this long to realize what I was doing and why I was doing it (or what I did wrong) when it comes to this process. I am a very visual person, I sometimes just don’t get it until I am actually doing it, but dang this took me so much longer than usual. Mostly bc I was flat out doing it wrong. So now it makes me happy and so excited, bc I just couldn’t imagine not being able to cure my beautiful babies to their fullest potential.
It wasn’t until now that they are getting close to the lower 60’s in humidity that the aroma coming through is so “sweet”, at first when they were in the upper 60’s they smelled like “watermelon” or “cucumber” to me. I wondered about the “candy” aroma I read about. I thought well maybe that’s what they meant when they say “sweet,” almost like “candy” but no it is actually a “candy” aroma coming through, it’s so delicious!
I’ll definitely trust the process next time and leave them in the fridge until they are @ 64%rh, then jar.
The jar reading 67% has large dense buds, the 65% jar have a lot smaller and airy buds.
We are definitely getting there
Hey I just wanted to add something coz you are fridge drying the way I was fridge drying lol.omg y’all it’s working……it’s actually working for me this time and I’m pretty sure I am officially in the curing phase. That aroma is like nothing I’ve ever smelled before with this same strain, God Father OG. Right now it smells really sweet like “orange candy”.
I got scared and took it out of the fridge when it was still at 70%. I’ve been burping the jars all week, starting last Friday, about three times a day maybe more, and for maybe 15 minutes each time. Well actually I would burp them as soon as I noticed the meter rising above 66%. I was just so paranoid and didn’t want that awful ammonia smell to set in, I would always end up with it when trying to cure and not burping enough.
I’m @ 65% and going down now.
OMG that aroma that is coming through is just so amazing, like nothing I’ve ever personally done. I finally feel like I am actually drying/curing right this time. I can’t believe it’s taking me this long to realize what I was doing and why I was doing it (or what I did wrong) when it comes to this process. I am a very visual person, I sometimes just don’t get it until I am actually doing it, but dang this took me so much longer than usual. Mostly bc I was flat out doing it wrong. So now it makes me happy and so excited, bc I just couldn’t imagine not being able to cure my beautiful babies to their fullest potential.
It wasn’t until now that they are getting close to the lower 60’s in humidity that the aroma coming through is so “sweet”, at first when they were in the upper 60’s they smelled like “watermelon” or “cucumber” to me. I wondered about the “candy” aroma I read about. I thought well maybe that’s what they meant when they say “sweet,” almost like “candy” but no it is actually a “candy” aroma coming through, it’s so delicious!
I’ll definitely trust the process next time and leave them in the fridge until they are @ 64%rh, then jar.
The jar reading 67% has large dense buds, the 65% jar have a lot smaller and airy buds.
We are definitely getting there
Shed said the idea is to go from fridge to cure.
My bud took longer to dry this time round. I think 12 days. The bud was real nuggy. I took my (what felt like overdried ruined) bud from the fridge yesterday morning. Humidity initially got up to 51% like it always does. I just left it sit, and hoped, like I always do every fridge dry. This morning I am in the zone. It takes time, touch and trust to believe in the method. Well I think it does.
Now we cure. No burping. Just curing.
You are my idol.Hey I just wanted to add something coz you are fridge drying the way I was fridge drying lol.
Shed said the idea is to go from fridge to cure.
My bud took longer to dry this time round. I think 12 days. The bud was real nuggy. I took my (what felt like overdried ruined) bud from the fridge yesterday morning. Humidity initially got up to 51% like it always does. I just left it sit, and hoped, like I always do every fridge dry. This morning I am in the zone. It takes time, touch and trust to believe in the method. Well I think it does.
Now we cure. No burping. Just curing.
420giirl
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I noticed that I was curing like you mentioned you did in the beginning.Hey I just wanted to add something coz you are fridge drying the way I was fridge drying lol.
Shed said the idea is to go from fridge to cure.
My bud took longer to dry this time round. I think 12 days. The bud was real nuggy. I took my (what felt like overdried ruined) bud from the fridge yesterday morning. Humidity initially got up to 51% like it always does. I just left it sit, and hoped, like I always do every fridge dry. This morning I am in the zone. It takes time, touch and trust to believe in the method. Well I think it does.
Now we cure. No burping. Just curing.
Ok, so once it’s @ 64% from the fridge to jar, no burping just leave the jar closed for 2 weeks, and this is curing?
Now that I am @64% and at the beginning of the second week, do I just keep them sealed from here, opening occasionally? (Since I spent the first week burping not trusting the process lol)
I feel like I’m starting to do something wrong like maybe burping too much bc they don’t smell as sweet as they once did, is this normal? Oh I hope I’m still on the right path
420giirl
Well-Known Member
I’ll definitely have to try this myself. That’s what I’ve been doing keeping them together by size and the smaller ones are always done first. I’d rather them be done together.
TBH I was just repeating the original process that Sue outlined at the opening of the thread. It kinda got lost over time with all the different takes on the process that got posted, and I wanted to make sure new folks at least understood the original idea of terpene retention (so no burping), whichever way they ended up going in the end.
Thanks for that.
I mean I’m not suggesting the way I fridge dry is the way to do it. It’s just the way I do it.
I find going from fridge straight to jar no burping works best for me.
It's definitely the OG way for terpene retention, but as we've seen, many folks in dry climates are finding fridge drying (and then burping) a great way to prevent overdrying.
I understand exactly why they do it. As you know, I used to finish with burping too. For a long time.
Honestly, for your bud to get to the right stage to go up to that 61%-64% window straight to cure, it legit feels like the bud is ruined. I think I’ve ruined it every. single. time. lolling.
Tejasdirt
Well-Known Member
Just loaded and locked my dry den ( no freezer mini fridge)
close to 720 ish grams of fresh harvested buds. I did not wash them as grown indoors with hepa filters. ( I do wash all outdoor grows) I have 4 cans of sparkling water and 1/2 gallon water jug in the door for “ballast” and help the fridge cool. I have a Govee temp/humidity meter in there so I can follow the humidity on my phone.
The buds were mixed big and smalls, removed from stems ( though 1bag does still have stems as a test…)
Placed into 7 brown paper bags from heb. Then into the dry den. Yep, a tight squeeze, but I want to know this units max capacity
I use a inkbird temp controller set at 39f. The more bags in the dry den, the colder I feel it needs to be.
The den was just moved to an unfinished garage, so had some issues settling down. One thing I found out is to insure the inkbird temp probe is half way into the den, not leaning against the ballast of water on the door.
I have it locked with a fridge lock, and not planning on opening to toss buds, or check for 10 days. Once I get them to approx 65% they go into David Gilman inspired auto burp for a week or so, depending on ambient humidity.
Then into grove bags for a month cure, then 1/2 of the grove bags will be emptied into mason jars with a integra boost 58% for long term storage.
Will keep y’all updated….
close to 720 ish grams of fresh harvested buds. I did not wash them as grown indoors with hepa filters. ( I do wash all outdoor grows) I have 4 cans of sparkling water and 1/2 gallon water jug in the door for “ballast” and help the fridge cool. I have a Govee temp/humidity meter in there so I can follow the humidity on my phone.
The buds were mixed big and smalls, removed from stems ( though 1bag does still have stems as a test…)
Placed into 7 brown paper bags from heb. Then into the dry den. Yep, a tight squeeze, but I want to know this units max capacity
I use a inkbird temp controller set at 39f. The more bags in the dry den, the colder I feel it needs to be.
The den was just moved to an unfinished garage, so had some issues settling down. One thing I found out is to insure the inkbird temp probe is half way into the den, not leaning against the ballast of water on the door.
I have it locked with a fridge lock, and not planning on opening to toss buds, or check for 10 days. Once I get them to approx 65% they go into David Gilman inspired auto burp for a week or so, depending on ambient humidity.
Then into grove bags for a month cure, then 1/2 of the grove bags will be emptied into mason jars with a integra boost 58% for long term storage.
Will keep y’all updated….
Tejasdirt
Well-Known Member
Best laid plans of mice and men……
As stated before, I don’t like to open n check, I like to set it n forget it for 2 weeks type of soul.
Yet at day 5 I’ve been getting weird data from my govee and inkbird.
This is the first time I’ve used since lockdown, and it has been moved to an unfinished garage.
It’s been in the 90f weather here ( uncharacteristically) so the garage hits 100f and this fridge compressor over temp shut downs all the time. ( never happened when inside)it struggles to get too temp, but not really too bad when holding it. So I just grabbed a clip on fan from the tent and pointed it at the compressor. The fan comes on when the inkbird calls for the fridge to come on.
Seems to help a little….
But had to check cuz something wasn’t right. Yep. Brown bags touching cool plate freezing to it. And I noticed that the bags were actually blocking the cold plates, not letting cold air circulate.
Then it hit me like in the face a wet burlap bag full of moldy fan leaves….
Don’t know if it’s age or thc ( probly both) but I suddenly remembered I was doing bare buds the last time.
So, I yanked all the brown bags. Checked buds and they were all uneven drying.
I have these taller, smaller white bags. I cut these bags down, filled with from the brown bags, folded the bag to make a “packet” turned them upside down and put back in fridge. There’s now a 4 inch gap from the back of bags to cold plate, and there is open space for circulation. I also raised the temp from 38f up to 40f
Today is day 8, so checked and the buds are looking well. Humidity test is at 73% so back in for another 3-6 days.
As stated before, I don’t like to open n check, I like to set it n forget it for 2 weeks type of soul.
Yet at day 5 I’ve been getting weird data from my govee and inkbird.
This is the first time I’ve used since lockdown, and it has been moved to an unfinished garage.
It’s been in the 90f weather here ( uncharacteristically) so the garage hits 100f and this fridge compressor over temp shut downs all the time. ( never happened when inside)it struggles to get too temp, but not really too bad when holding it. So I just grabbed a clip on fan from the tent and pointed it at the compressor. The fan comes on when the inkbird calls for the fridge to come on.
Seems to help a little….
But had to check cuz something wasn’t right. Yep. Brown bags touching cool plate freezing to it. And I noticed that the bags were actually blocking the cold plates, not letting cold air circulate.
Then it hit me like in the face a wet burlap bag full of moldy fan leaves….
Don’t know if it’s age or thc ( probly both) but I suddenly remembered I was doing bare buds the last time.
So, I yanked all the brown bags. Checked buds and they were all uneven drying.
I have these taller, smaller white bags. I cut these bags down, filled with from the brown bags, folded the bag to make a “packet” turned them upside down and put back in fridge. There’s now a 4 inch gap from the back of bags to cold plate, and there is open space for circulation. I also raised the temp from 38f up to 40f
Today is day 8, so checked and the buds are looking well. Humidity test is at 73% so back in for another 3-6 days.
All looking good so far.
The only thing to keep in mind is that many of those white paper bags are made with a coated paper. My experience has been that the coating seems to slow down the slow evaporation of moisture as compared to the typical brown paper bag whether a large or small size.
I just noticed my mention of slowing down the already slow method. The first couple of times I tried the white paper bags it did increase the time it took to reach the level of "dry" that I wanted. Something to keep in mind in case it starts happening with the current "low and slow drying".
I had been using the brown bag method for several years.
What I like about the low and slow method is that it does make for a smoother smoke. Also less of a chance of going to far with the drying since it is happening so slowly. If the harvest gets too dry it can be very hard, if not impossible, to get the final stages back on track, especially the last of the cure stage.
Thinking about it, in the long run drying with the low and slow might be just as fast or faster as compared to the brown bag and then into jars. And a whole lot less work.
Along the lines of 3-5 days drying in the brown bag and having to check every day to avoid going into the over-dry situation. Then 4 weeks of burping the jars to get a decent cure. So about 4 1/2 weeks give or take and daily work.
Or, low and slow in the fridge for 14 to 17 days and at that point most of the cure has already started to take place since the dry was so slow. Plus no need to check the paper bag every day. Add a week in the jars for a total of about 21 to 25 days or 3 or 3 1/2 weeks and any curing beyond that is optional.
My average is 10 days.
I think there are a lot of factors to consider, fridge type, bud density, fridge humidity.
I think the secret is fine tuning this method to suit your individual grow. If I put my bud in the jar at day 5 and turned the lid, my bud would be mouldy in a week.
Machineguntoker420
420 Member
9/2023 low n slow experiment in the refrigerator. First harvest I dried for 24 hours normal in closet at 68F and 62H which than went into the fridge for about 9 days in paper bags. Than jarred with 58H packs. Still waiting to smoke.
Second harvest Bubba cheesecake went into fridge in bags right after harvesting n pruning. Took 3 days to start drying cuz the plant stays alive for 3 days or so. I noticed the terps are real good smelling on both strains. Day 4 for bubba and day 9 for fruity pebbles which I'll check today. I open the fridge once a day to flip the bags and move buds around. I do cut the buds off the stalks before bagging. The humid/temp gauge in the fridge reads 38F and 20H. I know this is low humidity but it's worked so far with no mold even under the microscope. I'll get back to you's later when I check the lotus cure again.
Any tips or questions? This is a working progress.
Second harvest Bubba cheesecake went into fridge in bags right after harvesting n pruning. Took 3 days to start drying cuz the plant stays alive for 3 days or so. I noticed the terps are real good smelling on both strains. Day 4 for bubba and day 9 for fruity pebbles which I'll check today. I open the fridge once a day to flip the bags and move buds around. I do cut the buds off the stalks before bagging. The humid/temp gauge in the fridge reads 38F and 20H. I know this is low humidity but it's worked so far with no mold even under the microscope. I'll get back to you's later when I check the lotus cure again.
Any tips or questions? This is a working progress.