DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

Zafu said:
Yes I burp them. They are two way packets. They absorb water vapor and give it out.
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How long did it take for the 62 to lower the RH by 10%? And was it just one pack in the standard quart jar?
 
InTheShed said:
How long did it take for the 62 to lower the RH by 10%? And was it just one pack in the standard quart jar?
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I didn't rely on the Boveda pack to bring the RH down by itself. Of course I burped and 72 wasn't the norm; just what some jars were and no mold. All I'm trying to get across to you is that the packs absorb a lot more than you give them credit for. It is not just effective at giving vapor but also very much at taking it in. Those jars that were 70-ish had packs in them that were huge; maybe 4 - 6 times what they were new. This isn't to say I suggest doing it that way. Clearly, the closer to 62 you can get when using B packs the easier it will be on the packs and less chance of mold. I was overwhelmed with the amount of material I harvested last year and simply needed to jar/pack for some of it sooner than I'd like. Just saying you don't have to be that careful. The B packs are incredible from what I experienced.

Peace,

Zafu
 
Zafu said:
I didn't rely on the Boveda pack to bring the RH down by itself. Of course I burped and 72 wasn't the norm; just what some jars were and no mold. All I'm trying to get across to you is that the packs absorb a lot more than you give them credit for. It is not just effective at giving vapor but also very much at taking it in. Those jars that were 70-ish had packs in them that were huge; maybe 4 - 6 times what they were new. This isn't to say I suggest doing it that way. Clearly, the closer to 62 you can get when using B packs the easier it will be on the packs and less chance of mold. I was overwhelmed with the amount of material I harvested last year and simply needed to jar/pack for some of it sooner than I'd like. Just saying you don't have to be that careful. The B packs are incredible from what I experienced. Peace, Zafu
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I completely understood that. I was trying to get an idea of the rate of change of the RH you experienced. Overnight, I lost about 2% RH which I found insufficient. I can't imagine waiting a minimum of 60 hours to have the Boveda lower the RH 10% in a closed jar. The risk of mold is too high at that point in the process. I didn't give it more time to see whether it would go lower.

So while I believe you that the B62 will do that job as you say, I would never use it for that purpose, and I would personally not recommend anyone else do it if you live in an area with high ambient RH.
 
InTheShed said:
I was under the same impression until I watched the video they released announcing the 62's. Not a word about lowering humidity. So I decided to test it and found that all it could do was take a jar in the high 60s down maybe 1 or 2%. That's when I went with the rice ball technique as I live in an area with RH above 62% most of the year.

Boveda even talks about how to know when the pack is used up: when it's dried out. Which tells me it's mostly designed to add moisture, which I have seen it do. Still, it's within a pretty narrow range which is why I use them when the jar is sitting right around that 62% mark and ready for long term storage.
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Thank you so much for this. I read it and thought "Of course! Why didn't this occur to me before?" :laughtwo: good to know, and I'll be putting it to good use.
 
InTheShed said:
I was under the same impression until I watched the video they released announcing the 62's. Not a word about lowering humidity. So I decided to test it and found that all it could do was take a jar in the high 60s down maybe 1 or 2%. That's when I went with the rice ball technique as I live in an area with RH above 62% most of the year.

Boveda even talks about how to know when the pack is used up: when it's dried out. Which tells me it's mostly designed to add moisture, which I have seen it do. Still, it's within a pretty narrow range which is why I use them when the jar is sitting right around that 62% mark and ready for long term storage.
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Thanks for the rice ball technique, Shed! I'll definitely be using this. When using brown bags last round I put a bowl of rice under the bags in bottom of crisper and that seemed to work better than without, but by the sounds of your testing rice is very quick to stabilize to RH so the in jar method is a must try! Thanks again!
 
Randoobula said:
Thanks for the rice ball technique, Shed! I'll definitely be using this. When using brown bags last round I put a bowl of rice under the bags in bottom of crisper and that seemed to work better than without, but by the sounds of your testing rice is very quick to stabilize to RH so the in jar method is a must try! Thanks again!
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Don't you just love the way we keep coming up with better things to do?
 
I baked a little rice in anticipation of the upcoming harvests.

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Now that it's cooled down it can sit up here on the fridge until I need it.

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InTheShed, can this be reheated indefinately?
 
Another successful low and slo harvest in the jars. :battingeyelashes: :green_heart:

I started by pulling the drawer and letting it all sit for an hour. I'd forgotten this needed done on Friday, so I was expecting it to be dry.

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The smaller jar is the larfy bits. It'll make oil as well as any other bud material. Final weight was 62 grams, or 2.18 ounces. She exceeded my expectations. :yahoo:

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A little too dry. :straightface: Not too far off, and a Boveda should stabilize it. If not, we're in the rainy season here. I could simply let them air for an hour and they'd stabilize. :laughtwo:

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It still surprises me how they look like I just harvested them. Overnight they'll take on the smell too. Like exquisite little jewels, all sparkly and such. :battingeyelashes:

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SweetSue said:
I baked a little rice in anticipation of the upcoming harvests. InTheShed, can this be reheated indefinately?
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Nice pics. Looks just like when I did it!

Yes, reheat/redry as often as you like. I would guess that after a while the rice will begin to turn brown which may be an indication that it won't be absorbent anymore. Of course the real test is "does the RH go down when you use them?" I haven't used them enough to get to that point so I don't have the answer.

In reality, I bet that fewer minutes in the oven might work just as well and make the rice last longer too.
 
Scoooter said:
I've read this entire thread and keep following along as you guys master this stuff!

So Sue your Low and Slow was 2 weeks in the fridge in bags after washing right?

I've been watching the dehydrator results too. Both seem enticing. Need a stickie with latest instructions for us! (Turns out my memory is not that good) :)
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Sorry Scooter, it got busy around here. I completely missed you. :hugs:

Yes, although that depends on the size and density of the buds. I know both keltic and Keith have mentioned having buds dry in a week using paper bags.

I jarred up the Carnival buds I harvested on Tuesday. I'd forgotten they were drying, and left them in for 53 hours instead of 48. After being jarred for over 12 hours they were stable at around 68%.

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I'll continue airing them out every day until I get low enough to add a Boveda pack.

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With the hairs frozen in space they offer more protection for the trichomes. How cool is that? :cheesygrinsmiley:

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The rest of the harvest is drying in the fridge.
 
Derbybud said:
Ok I'm a little confused with the dehydrator. We're told not to have a fan blowing on the buds if you dry them hanging in the dark but then now we're saying put them in a dehydrator which is nothing more than a slightly warm fan blowing on them for 2 days. Just missing something
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Maybe dehydrator in the room with it but not blowing on it, just for airflow. It's not something I would personally do but if you need to help produce a dryer warmer environment I'm sure it would help
 
SweetSue said:
Sorry Scooter, it got busy around here. I completely missed you. :hugs:

Yes, although that depends on the size and density of the buds. I know both keltic and Keith have mentioned having buds dry in a week using paper bags. .
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indeed, my buds were small and not as dense and they were dry in a week. My triple purple rhino are pretty dense and hard. I have 2 buds drying now. I am going to have a close look at ten days in. Also I only have a couple small buds drying at a time so I was not surprised they dried quickly.

Here is one of the small buds I recently dried; triple purple rhino
I think I posted before I dunno.
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kelticBlue said:
indeed, my buds were small and not as dense and they were dry in a week. My triple purple rhino are pretty dense and hard. I have 2 buds drying now. I am going to have a close look at ten days in. Also I only have a couple small buds drying at a time so I was not surprised they dried quickly.

Here is one of the small buds I recently dried; triple purple rhino
I think I posted before I dunno.
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You realize we'll redefine what is meant by "beautiful. bud"? :laughtwo: What a beauty keltic. The colors jump right off the page. :bravo: She looks like a canna fairy. :laughtwo:
 
Derbybud said:
Ok I'm a little confused with the dehydrator. We're told not to have a fan blowing on the buds if you dry them hanging in the dark but then now we're saying put them in a dehydrator which is nothing more than a slightly warm fan blowing on them for 2 days. Just missing something
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bignstrange said:
Maybe dehydrator in the room with it but not blowing on it, just for airflow. It's not something I would personally do but if you need to help produce a dryer warmer environment I'm sure it would help
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Bignstrange, I think Derby is speaking of the food dehydrator drying technique that has been discussed in this thread as a possible replacement method to low-and-slow.

Derby's question is a good one!
 
InTheShed said:
Bignstrange, I think Derby is speaking of the food dehydrator drying technique that has been discussed in this thread as a possible replacement method to low-and-slow.

Derby's question is a good one!
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Yea I understand he was referring to that, what I meant by what I said was that it's not a method I would use, and then said how I WOULD use a dehydrator if I was to. Not referring to the actual technique, apologies for the poor phrasing XD

:blunt:.
 
Derbybud said:
And yet no one still had tried to answer it shed. Just confused
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Allow me Derbybud, although I don't really have much science to offer. What I have is the experience of having dried a number of harvests in my dehydrator, and I can assure you, as counterproductive as it sounds, the buds I get from the dehydrator are every bit as fragrant and colorful as the buds I'm drying in the fridge. The big difference is in the time needed to get to dry.

Low and slow buds

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Dehydrated buds

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My last dehydrated batch took 53 hours straight, and they were ready to be jarred up to begin the cure. The latest batch of low and slo took two weeks, in paper bags. Other batches have taken longer.

I can't explain why there's not more terpene loss with the dehydrator, unless it's because the greatest number of the components may be inside the buds, and flash-drying doesn't give them time to get loose? Not a very scientific explaination, I'm afraid. The proof is in the pudding, and the oils I've made with the dehydrated buds are as tasty and potent as the low and slo oils.

I believe you're doing yourself a disservice by not considering this drying option.
 
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