DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

[europapa]

Hi, flowers are 30 hours in zipped grove bags. I’m still using the fridge, but I’ve now set it to 12-13°C (54-55°F) to preserve the terpenes as much as possible and keep the flowers and grove bags in the best condition. I placed a thermometer in some of the Grove bags, and the humidity inside some bags is around 50-55%. I got a bit worried that I might have overdried them since I was hoping for 60-62% in every bag.

I’m considering adding a Boveda/Integra 62% pack to raise the humidity in a bit or maybe putting a fresh leaf from another plant in the box to increase the humidity if its necessary for the bags that wont go above 52-55% humidity.

 

[Trala]

I’d go a scrunched leaf just for 24 hours to raise humidity

 

[InTheShed]

. I placed a thermometer in some of the Grove bags, and the humidity inside some bags is around 50-55%. I got a bit worried that I might have overdried them since I was hoping for 60-62% in every bag.

I'd take them out of the fridge and wait for them to get to room temps in order to get an accurate humidity rating, since relative humidity is relative to temperature 54% at 12.5ºC won't be the same at 22ºC.

 

[europapa]

Thank you for your responses.
Initially, I left the Grove bags with flowers to settle at room temperature for a day, and the humidity was 50-55%, as I mentioned earlier. Then, I put them in the fridge, but the humidity did not change; it remained the same. It’s pretty hot here nowadays, so I’m concerned that room temperature might be bad for the flowers. That’s why I chose to use the fridge to maintain the flowers between 50-60°F (10-15°C).

Today, I'll add Integra humidity packs (62%) to some bags that need a humidity boost

 

[johnnyappleseed]

Anyone ever tried putting their fridge in their tent to eliminate the smell?

 

[europapa]

Hello friends! I tested a few popcorn buds, and they seem fine and nice. However, when I opened the jar, I didn’t get the strong smell I used to have when growing indoors. Even when the buds were in the paper bags, the smell was more intense than it is now in the jar. The jar was stored in a cooler at 50-60°F (10-15°C). When I touch and press the buds, I do get the fine strawberry smell on my fingers.


How do you guys 'get the smell back'?
Should I let this jar settle at room temperature? (It's 80-100°F outside here, so the cooled room is around 75-80°F).
I have Integra packs in the jar and Grove bags.
Should I burp them too? (I know Grove bags don’t generally need burping.)
Will the smell come back by itself after a few weeks in the Grove bags, or should I leave the bag out to settle for a day or two outside the fridge when I’m ready to use it?
What are your methods?
here are the few photos of fluffy buds in jar i tested

 

[Trala]

Hi there

I know exactly what you are saying, but don’t fear!

I find after 2 weeks in an unopened grove bag for the cure, the scent of my weed returns with a vengeance!

 

[SmokingWings]

I find after 2 weeks in an unopened grove bag for the cure, the scent of my weed returns with a vengeance!

And the key might be "unopened" so opening the bag every couple of days might slow the process that brings the scent back.

I do not use Grove Bags but have put weed into jars and come back a month or two later and opened them up just to see what is what...and the smell noticeable almost immediately to a matter of a minute or so.

 

[Trala]

Good morning SmokingWings

Grove bags have been a game changer for me.

 

[europapa]

Hello guys, while the flowers from my first harvested plant are in Grove bags in the cooler, I just harvested my second plant (Dr. Grinspoon) yesterday. I trimmed some leaves, put some flowers in paper bags, and placed them in the fridge. However, it took longer than expected, and I was too tired to finish. So, I left some branches to air dry in the tent for a day or two (I need to get more paper bags).

Should it be okay to continue by putting the rest of the flowers into paper bags and then into the fridge after two days of air drying?

Also, since this method requires low temperatures in the fridge, I’m considering lowering the temperature to as low as 5°C (41°F). Would this affect the flowers that are already in Grove bags in the same fridge? Right now, the fridge is set to operate at 12-13°C (54-55°F), but I’m unsure if lowering the temperature will have an impact. Should I take the Grove bags out and leave them at room temperature while the second plant is drying?

Thank you, cheers

 

[SmokingWings]

Should it be okay to continue by putting the rest of the flowers into paper bags and then into the fridge after two days of air drying?

I hate trimming so I end up do that all the time and the world has not ended.

What size paper bag are you using?

Also, since this method requires low temperatures in the fridge, I’m considering lowering the temperature to as low as 5°C (41°F).

That is warm. I use the kitchen fridge and our usual setting is about 39F.

 

[europapa]

Thank you for the answer. I’m using typical paper bags from fruit shops and lunch bags, and I cut large grocery paper bags in half to make them a more manageable size. I can't go lower than 5°C (41°F), but I’m okay with that, seems that first batch is done successful...

Are these temperature differences when they are below 45°F really that important? Should I keep them as low as possible? I can remove bags from wine cooler to a regular kitchen fridge if that's better, and put some cans and food to wine cooler until drying is done...

 

[SmokingWings]

I’m using typical paper bags from fruit shops and lunch bags, and I cut large grocery paper bags in half to make them a more manageable size.

I use the larger grocery store size only. It works for me. From what I have experienced the brown paper bags work best no matter what size. Any fancy bags that are a colored paper do not work as well since the coloring is often applied over a paper, also a colored paper most of the time, that does not breath as well as the brown paper.

I prefer the slow part of the low temperatures so I keep the fridge set cold. If it adds a couple of days to the process then not a problem.

 

[johnnyappleseed]

Hey everybody, I'm going to switch from the lunch bags to boxes. I'm thinking this will help when transporting the buds and making sure they stay in place. I hate dealing with the brown lunch bags.

I can fit four of these boxes on each shelf however it's a snug fit on the top, bottom, and sides. I'm concerned about blocking moisture evaporation. There is still about 1.5 in of space behind the boxes and 4 in of space in front so air can flow in front and behind the shelves. Do you think this is okay or am I asking for moldy bud?

 

[SmokingWings]

I will pull the grocery bags out every couple of days and move the buds around to avoid them compacting and slowing down the drying of the buds in the center. To me this seems to allow for an easier way to get even drying. It seems to give a bit more control on long it takes to get to the dry stage.

What I like about using the boxes is that it does look tidy and neat. However, having them stacked like that might be cutting down on how fast the buds dry. Where the top and bottom box are on top of each other the sides of the boxes touching each other cannot breathe with a good rate of air/moisture exchange.

 

[johnnyappleseed]

Thanks, that's what i was afraid of. Maybe I'll just take the shelves out and find some spacers to put under each of them and just stack em up

 

[SmokingWings]

Maybe I'll just take the shelves out and find some spacers to put under each of them and just stack em up

Take the easy way out and put two boxes on each shelf. That should leave enough space around each one for a decent air exchange. Put the cans and bottles somewhere where they will fit.

I do that same sort of thing when I put a paper bag or two in the kitchen fridge. Once I have the bags in my wife re-arranges whatever else was on the shelf to suit her way of sorting the fridge with some room around each bag.

 

[johnnyappleseed]

I just hate messing with the bags. It's a pain to reach in and sort them and make sure there's enough space around the buds and then when I carry the bags over to the fridge they just end up clumping back together. And then flipping the buds around just doesn't work. That's where I thought the boxes would make it super easy. Open, flip the buds and they'll stay put.

Having two boxes on one Shelf will not give me enough storage space. Right now as it is, using lunch bags I still have to split up my Harvest between the fridge and my tent which is a suboptimal climate. I could just add more shelves, maybe cut some plexiglass or something so that I can put two boxes on a Shelf but I will need to figure out the amount of space above and below. The plexiglass offers an added benefit of cutting holes throughout to increase air flow. I'm sciencing the s*** out of this I know. My wife calls me Joe the modifier. I guess this will have to be a lot of trial and error.

 

[BeyondClouds]

Hey @johnnyappleseed, those boxes seem coated….i‘m by far no expert on the low & slow….did it with a part of my first indoor harvest (in paper bags), big fan of the results, will do it with a part of my second (soon incoming) harvest for sure…but reading this thread I got the impression the process is really about right temps / good RH / moisture (removal)…..the outside-coating of those boxes makes me worry about the possible moisture removal…even if the inside isn‘t coated, it might get saturated and lead to mold….a possible counter attack could be monitoring the rh of those boxes and venting them more often…still a clean and neat idea

 

[johnnyappleseed]

Hey @johnnyappleseed, those boxes seem coated….i‘m by far no expert on the low & slow….did it with a part of my first indoor harvest (in paper bags), big fan of the results, will do it with a part of my second (soon incoming) harvest for sure…but reading this thread I got the impression the process is really about right temps / good RH / moisture (removal)…..the outside-coating of those boxes makes me worry about the possible moisture removal…even if the inside isn‘t coated, it might get saturated and lead to mold….a possible counter attack could be monitoring the rh of those boxes and venting them more often…still a clean and neat idea

thanks for the input here!

As far as the coating, It seems like regular corrugated cardboard to me. Just like a pizza box. But not like the clay one ply flexible pizza boxes. Those do seem to have some type of laminate coating on them. But mine is not glossy.

I was also thinking about putting a hydrometer into one of the boxes and monitor temp and Rh.

My research from Reading This Thread led me to believe that RH is not something I need to pay attention to because my temperature is 40° Fahrenheit. My understanding about monitoring RH levels is when dealing with regular refrigerators that might not get that cool. This was a follow-up question I had but wanted to take it one step at a time LOL.

What RH level should I stay under again? I'm using the fridgidaire efmis155