DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

[MrGreene]

I'm amazed at the difference in smell and flavor in the three ways I dried this first harvest.

The oven dried smells a lot like coffee and is somewhat harsh but not unpleasant. It seems to hit a little harder/quicker than the other drying methods. On harvest day I wrapped it in aluminum foil and cooked at 230 degrees for 110 minutes. When I opened the foil I realized I had it sealed too tightly to dry, so it went back in for another 30 minutes.

The second way was on a rack above the lights for a few days, then into jars without lids and placed in the fridge. This portion smells a lot different with a hint of something that I'm not sure how to describe. It's more of a pleasant smoke and not harsh like the oven dried.

The portion that was dried in the fridge has a very strong and amazing smell that comes through in the smoke too. It's almost a fruity smell with some spice mixed in. The immediate effects from smoking are more subtle than the oven dried but it sneaks up on me about a half hour later. I've been careful not to smoke as much at one time since I noticed this.


The air dried and low and slow were divided up when I put them in jars. Half of each are in the fridge with boveda packs and the other half of the jars are in a drawer with boveda packs. I wasn't able to pick up a vacuum sealer for the jars so that test will have to wait until next harvest. Right now I think that drying in the fridge wins for flavor and effect.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Love the fridge low n slo

Now I gotta figure out the JAR part.... Been a bit of learning, 1x mold, fixed that. Got some small RH meters in the jars, some at 80% lowest at 77%, once they felt dry in the fridge

Ill learn...

 

[MrGreene]

Love the fridge low n slo

Now I gotta figure out the JAR part.... Been a bit of learning, 1x mold, fixed that. Got some small RH meters in the jars, some at 80% lowest at 77%, once they felt dry in the fridge

Ill learn...

I think I put mine into jars a little early also. The humidity in the fridge had dropped to 39% so I thought it was time. The boveda packs are doing great at keeping the humidity safe though.

 

[New B]

I got the vacuum jar test. Harvesting in less then a week!!

 

[Chris Scorpio]

I think I put mine into jars a little early also. The humidity in the fridge had dropped to 39% so I thought it was time. The boveda packs are doing great at keeping the humidity safe though.

Do the boveda take the RH down????
I have them..not sure when to use them???

 

[New B]

They stabilize the rh to the number on the pack. I love mine. Works great

 

[New B]

So up or down depending on what's needed. But there is a limit.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

sweeeettttt

Ill put em all in now

 

[Furcifer]

please, give your 5 cents!, its great info!

....Ok!

 

[Furcifer]

I think I put mine into jars a little early also. The humidity in the fridge had dropped to 39% so I thought it was time. The boveda packs are doing great at keeping the humidity safe though.

Proper way to check RH% during low and slow.

Take your buds out of the fridge. Place in jars that are at 72 to 76 deg F with a RH% 57 to 64. Close jars with a rh meter inside. Wait for an hour. This is the RH of those buds, and every other one that was placed in at the same time.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Proper way to check RH% during low and slow.

Take your buds out of the fridge. Place in jars that are at 72 to 76 deg F with a RH% 57 to 64. Close jars with a rh meter inside. Wait for an hour. This is the RH of those buds, and every other one that was placed in at the same time.

So how do I adjust them down?????

 

[MustgVagabond]

Ok, so what's the paper bag method of drying? I've read the thread but I can't figure out the purpose of the paper bags.

So far,if I'm reading this right, I think that the consensus of the thread is to trim the plant material, place the buds into paper bags ( with or without newspaper?) and let them dry in the fridge for about 10 days until the outsides feel dry but the stems bend. Once there dry, put them into glass jars and burb them for 10 days to 4 months... right?

Sorry this is my first grow/dry/cure so I want to be sure that I kind know what I'm doing and don't mess up my bud. I don't have a RH meter and I live in a high humidity location ( usually 85-100% humidity in the summer).

Thanks all!

 

[Furcifer]

So how do I adjust them down?????

Put them back in the fridge untill they read... I like 72% RH.
This is what i do.
Take them out if fridge.
Place in sealed jars 2/3rd full.
Continue air drying.
Burping jars daily:
BUD RH% is 68% to 72%.
Room temp 76deg F, Room RH is 57%.
Open jar with hydro meter in it and lay jar on its side.
When meter reads room RH. Close all jars.
Repeat for 2 more days.
RH% in BUD should be below 68%. IF NOT TAKE OUT OF JARS AND LAY ON A SCREEN FOR 4 HRS. Place back in jar for 1hr. Repeat this step untill RH% is at 67 or below.
Reduce room temp to 72deg F and raise RH to 62%.
Burp jars daily with these environmental parameters.
Checking progress same way as described above.
Once RH is stable at 62%.
(I do not use Bovita Packs. If you do. Now is the time to put one in.)
I leave closed for one week. Check daily roll/ gental shake and flip jars.
Open for 15 min. Seal for a month. Check once a week. Roll/ gental shake and flip jars.

My medicine is ready.

 

[New B]

if you can try this after theyre dry enough and ready to cure, vacuum seal a few jars and test or compare them this way. Place some cured lo' & 'Slo (fridge) both vacuumed and not, and normal curing room temps with both vacuumed an non vacuumed jars.

So to see if we are on the same page.

Dry all low and slow then for curing, two jars in fridge one vacuumed and one not.

Then two jars in room temp for curing one vacuumed and one jar not. Correct?

 

[SweetSue]

....Ok!

A wealth of information, with a keen sense of humor. You're gonna be fun to work with. My talent is in presentation. Please tell me you'll have no problem with me taking all of that valuable knowledge and making it look more enticing. Not right this minute, when I have time to devote to it.

 

[DrZiggy]

So to see if we are on the same page.

Dry all low and slow then for curing, two jars in fridge one vacuumed and one not.

Then two jars in room temp for curing one vacuumed and one jar not. Correct?

yes if you want to compare

 

[MustgVagabond]

Oh, I forgot to ask, where do you put the banana/fruit in relation to your girls? I have two ripping bananas in the pot with my girl. Will it work there, or do I need to hang them next to the buds? Thanks again!!

 

[Skullman420]

Ordered myself some curing-tools. Ordered 4 of these tiny hygrometers with temperature. they're only 48x28x15mm in size and will easily fit inside any jar

Then I ordered 2x 20 packs of this product from the states. Could not find a European alternative so have to import. Did anyone try these out? I saw some google videos where they show how you can re-charge them. That way you can keep them going for a long time. I wonder if one 8 gram is enough in a jar containing 50 grams of dried material?

 

[New B]

I use one for 1 ounce. It works fine but not sure the limit.
Mine has dried out when not it use and I've just dropped one or two small drops of water on packet and back in business.

 

[SweetSue]

Oh, I forgot to ask, where do you put the banana/fruit in relation to your girls? I have two ripping bananas in the pot with my girl. Will it work there, or do I need to hang them next to the buds? Thanks again!!

I have a banana tree in there with a bunch ripening. I have one every day for breakfast. The tree sits on the floor next to the pots. See it on the floor, to the right, next to the humidifier? There aren't any bananas visible. Sorry.

I don't think I'd want the banana on the soil. That might attract bugs.