DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

[SweetSue]

I did not do a budwash first. This was my first grow/harvest/dry/cure so my yield was a little less than an once from my one plant. I'm a home grower for personal recreational use. I've been trolling this thread from nearly the beginning and wanted to get the most out of my harvest but being new to growing I'm hesitant to wash. I plan on setting aside half my next harvest to wash to compare.

As for my bud size, I had to harvest early due to a family vacation, so I got mostly popcorn with 2 or 3 lighter sized colas.

Good job. Nothing as sweet as smoking your first harvest. I started out recreational too. Lol! Caught a whiff of the healing potential of cannabis and I was off and running.

I figured that drying in a week meant no wash. What is your greatest fear about the budwash? Nothing can be harmed, and we all agree it lends a special mellow quality to the finished product. I understand how intimidating it can be, but I started washing with my first harvest. You get attached to the idea of clean produce, the same way we wash grapes before we pop them into our mouths. An indoor grow doesn't get the dirt an outdoor one would, but you'd be surprised what washes out of a "clean" grow.

 

[MustgVagabond]

Good job. Nothing as sweet as smoking your first harvest.

Oh my God, right!!! Wife and I got blasted to the moon with our first taste of my harvest. Giggly, tingly, with some mad couch lock. It was AMAZING! And even more so because I grew it!!!!

What is your greatest fear about the budwash.

Honestly, I wanted to dry it quick because my stash was running low. My only hesitation is being scared that I'll wash off the trics. I'm sure that I'm over thinking it.

 

[Lonestar11]

Small batch just got put into the fridge...

 

[Skullman420]

A video I made with some music I composed

[video=youtube;F1lATVWxVRE]

[/video]

 

[Skullman420]

Was kinda lucky, cause the summer heat disappeared the same day I hanged my plants to dry. The night temps now are like 10 degrees C. Around 20-24 on daytime. Relative humidity is between 50-60% in the room. That should ensure a slow enough drying. Noticed something yesterday - The buds consistency change a lot depending on the temperature and humidity in the room. They feel very fluffy when it's cold and humid and then they become more rocky when it's hotter and dryer

 

[Oldbear]

Would a cut out form a cotton t-shirt be ok instead of silk/cheese cloth for the lid in glass jars?

Yes I think it will be fine. One easy test is to see if you can see through it. If yes, there is lots of room for moisture migration.

 

[Randoobula]

Oh my God, right!!! Wife and I got blasted to the moon with our first taste of my harvest. Giggly, tingly, with some mad couch lock. It was AMAZING! And even more so because I grew it!!!!



Honestly, I wanted to dry it quick because my stash was running low. My only hesitation is being scared that I'll wash off the trics. I'm sure that I'm over thinking it.

If I may just jump in here... the bud washing works so well... I will wash every harvest. I have pugs!! Buds are sticky!! Do the math!! LOL

I'd just say that one can do the wash with confidence if staying with certain parameters.

1. Water cannot be either too hot or too cold. Trichomes are oil based and while not washed off, cold can make them brittle and fall off, and hot can soften them making them more susceptible to being ruptured. My first wash, the hot bath was 82 and the cold rinse 52 and I did see more trichs at bottom of bucket and on sides than I'd have liked, with a smattering of headless pedestals to attest to the loss. Second time was 78 for warm bath and 60 for cold rinse and saw very few trichs lost. That said, My oil yields were good with both, but why loose more than you have to.

I'd be interested in others observations with temps they are using in washes. We should dial that in so we can steer others in the right direction.

2. Duration and agitation... they don't need to be dunked for long unless plagued by white powdery mildew or pests. A 30 second dunk is fine. They also don't need a great deal of agitation. Just moving them slowly back and forth with a couple up and down dunks and they're good to go. I skimmed hair and stuff off top of wash buckets throughout the process to not re-contaminate. Under a scope, I really had to look to find anything on the buds but juicy trichomes!

I think that's it. They dried much faster after the wash than the air dried sample cola I took earlier to test it out before harvest. Makes sense because I tested a water cure on a few colas and it dried two weeks faster than those I just washed. Both were then dried low and slow in fridge. The water cure was curing in jars before the other was even dry.

BTW, I did the water cure for five days. It took most the aroma out of them into the water. So terpenes don't survive the soak very well, but I have to say it's come back close to the other as it's cured. Also the buds shrunk into super compact little nuggets. Lost all bag appeal( which I don't care about anyway). But I will use the water cure again if I need to take extreme measures to save a harvest from the compost pile due to powdery mildew or bud rot. These three colas each had one bud with bud rot. Those are the ones I water cured. Simply cut away bud till no dark core of stem was present, submerged them in RO water with a dash of H202 which was changed once a day, and they turned out perfect.

 

[SweetSue]

Oh my God, right!!! Wife and I got blasted to the moon with our first taste of my harvest. Giggly, tingly, with some mad couch lock. It was AMAZING! And even more so because I grew it!!!!



Honestly, I wanted to dry it quick because my stash was running low. My only hesitation is being scared that I'll wash off the trics. I'm sure that I'm over thinking it.

I can appreciate the need to dry faster to replenish stores. We've proven that you can't wash them off. You can, however, knock them off if you bang the flowers up against the basin or bucket walls. We take care. It's all a gentle, medatative experience.

Made me laugh right out loud with glee, imagining that first taste.

 

[SweetSue]

If I may just jump in here... the bud washing works so well... I will wash every harvest. I have pugs!! Buds are sticky!! Do the math!! LOL

I'd just say that one can do the wash with confidence if staying with certain parameters.

1. Water cannot be either too hot or too cold. Trichomes are oil based and while not washed off, cold can make them brittle and fall off, and hot can soften them making them more susceptible to being ruptured. My first wash, the hot bath was 82 and the cold rinse 52 and I did see more trichs at bottom of bucket and on sides than I'd have liked, with a smattering of headless pedestals to attest to the loss. Second time was 78 for warm bath and 60 for cold rinse and saw very few trichs lost. That said, My oil yields were good with both, but why loose more than you have to.

I'd be interested in others observations with temps they are using in washes. We should dial that in so we can steer others in the right direction.

2. Duration and agitation... they don't need to be dunked for long unless plagued by white powdery mildew or pests. A 30 second dunk is fine. They also don't need a great deal of agitation. Just moving them slowly back and forth with a couple up and down dunks and they're good to go. I skimmed hair and stuff off top of wash buckets throughout the process to not re-contaminate. Under a scope, I really had to look to find anything on the buds but juicy trichomes!

I think that's it. They dried much faster after the wash than the air dried sample cola I took earlier to test it out before harvest. Makes sense because I tested a water cure on a few colas and it dried two weeks faster than those I just washed. Both were then dried low and slow in fridge. The water cure was curing in jars before the other was even dry.

BTW, I did the water cure for five days. It took most the aroma out of them into the water. So terpenes don't survive the soak very well, but I have to say it's come back close to the other as it's cured. Also the buds shrunk into super compact little nuggets. Lost all bag appeal( which I don't care about anyway). But I will use the water cure again if I need to take extreme measures to save a harvest from the compost pile due to powdery mildew or bud rot. These three colas each had one bud with bud rot. Those are the ones I water cured. Simply cut away bud till no dark core of stem was present, submerged them in RO water with a dash of H202 which was changed once a day, and they turned out perfect.

I love your attention to detail Randy. To be honest, it never occurred to me to check water temperature. I've always handled the branches with delicacy when washing, and don't bump anything. I've found next to nothing left behind in my buckets and basins when I'm done washing.

I use the hottest water from my faucet for the first bucket and the coldest for the second one, filling the final rinse bucket with room temp water. Doc has told us there's no need to use hot or cold, to use room temp water in all three buckets. Makes sense, but the cook in me still insists on the hot-to-cold-to-tepid dance.

 

[SweetSue]

Someday I'll have to try a water cure. I'd like to see for myself how much flavor comes back after a cure. Thanks for that info too, Randy.

It sure was a sweet day when you wandered into our neighborhood.

 

[Mike42]

Could anyone please help me in understanding what washing is sorry in advance I'm a newbie and will be curing in the near future

 

[SweetSue]

Could anyone please help me in understanding what washing is sorry in advance I'm a newbie and will be curing in the near future

Welcome Mike

Here's a link to my blog explaining how I wash my buds. I've since eliminated the lemon juice and baking soda with my washes, choosing to use a dilution of hydrogen peroxide instead. We've had an ongoing discussion about this, and for me personally the switch made sense. Most other members who wash buds still use the lemon juice and baking soda as originally taught.

Budwashing: SweetSue's Way

And to the community Mike. if there's anything else we can do to help you settle in more easily you have only to ask. Are you finding everything you're looking for?

 

[Mike42]

Yes and thank you all for being so welcoming I already feeling at home and in a good place to learn and pick a few brains for expanded knowledge

 

[Randoobula]

I love your attention to detail Randy. To be honest, it never occurred to me to check water temperature. I've always handled the branches with delicacy when washing, and don't bump anything. I've found next to nothing left behind in my buckets and basins when I'm done washing.

I use the hottest water from my faucet for the first bucket and the coldest for the second one, filling the final rinse bucket with room temp water. Doc has told us there's no need to use hot or cold, to use room temp water in all three buckets. Makes sense, but the cook in me still insists on the hot-to-cold-to-tepid dance.

Yeah, my kitchen time has me trained too! I learned a long time ago somewhere that when you rinse a sponge used around the kitchen, to rinse out with dish soap and hot water, but then run cold water thru it last. And by cracky it seems to work. When I forget and just rinse it out in hot it smells mildewy next time I use it. If I rinse out with cold it doesn't!

So it's all the little things we pic up along the way that add to our new experiences and we don't even know it half the time.

Some time back I watched a video on making hash with dry ice. I was amazed at how gently he shook the bag and the pile of trichs he ended up with. So when I was putting baths together I was concerned that water wasn't too cold. Everything is about finding that sweet spot... balance.

I LOVE this shite!!! No, not a typo... it's a cross between "site" and "shit"... this is a great site and some fun shit!!

 

[Randoobula]

Yes and thank you all for being so welcoming I already feeling at home and in a good place to learn and pick a few brains for expanded knowledge

We're all at the same point at different times and at a different point at the same time! Nobody better or worse than anyone else... no dumb questions... no perfect opinions... always more to learn, more mistakes to be made, and successes to be had.

Welcome aboard!!

 

[SweetSue]

I just took a decent-sized hit of my low and slo dried Carnival popcorn buds. I believe I've had them out three days? Today was the first time I tried them with nothing else in my system, first thing in the morning.

Whoa! I'm standing in the kitchen getting ready to prepare breakfast and I keep getting lost in the process, or distracted by some wandering throught stream. Lol! I have never had this experience before with Carnival. That was one hit, probably half what most of you would consider a decent hit.

I grow more impressed with each passing day. We're on to something big here guys.

Alright...... back to this fun game of trying to fry an egg. Lol!

 

[Mike42]

Right on sounds awesome

 

[SweetSue]

I pulled through. Lol!

 

[Mike42]

You awesome you totally remind me of my aunt and that is who I will be trying a Slow and Low cure with she has a couple outdoor plants that came from a reputable grower he give them to her as seedlings and they've come up really nice and then probably another month or two it'll be Harvest so I'm trying to convince them to let me at least do a portion in the slow low method

 

[SweetSue]

You awesome you totally remind me of my aunt and that is who I will be trying a Slow and Low cure with she has a couple outdoor plants that came from a reputable grower he give them to her as seedlings and they've come up really nice and then probably another month or two it'll be Harvest so I'm trying to convince them to let me at least do a portion in the slow low method

Have her check out the thread. If that doesn't convince her, nothing but some produce dried this way will. Good luck. Tell her I said she deserves this.