DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

George2324 said:
So 55% is too low? I thought some people liked to cure at 55% didn’t think the cure was dead at 55%
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I don't think I said it was dead at 55%! You can rehydrate from 55 to 62% over time, but once you get too low it's very difficult to thoroughly rehydrate the buds. Mold can become a problem when you do. Some folks like dryer weed though, but since you were talking about 63% I assumed that is where you wanted to cure yours.
George2324 said:
Just read that rice ball tutorial good idea thanks I’ll do that for now but I think I’ll get a small dehumidifier going forward as it will be mess on with a lot of rice
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I have one like this, and I put it in a copy-paper box with a hygrometer (always) when I need to quickly lower the RH of my buds.
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InTheShed said:
I don't think I said it was dead at 55%! You can rehydrate from 55 to 62% over time, but once you get too low it's very difficult to thoroughly rehydrate the buds. Mold can become a problem when you do. Some folks like dryer weed though, but since you were talking about 63% I assumed that is where you wanted to cure yours.

I have one like this, and I put it in a copy-paper box with a hygrometer (always) when I need to quickly lower the RH of my buds.
61Sz6%2BhzKjL._SX425_.jpg
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Ok I just Jared some of mine and it climbed to 75% in 15 mins so I guess I have a lot of drying still to go.

Keeping a very close eye on it as I want to make sure I get a decent smelling harvest this time round.

I’ve never had a harvest with a decent smell I think my cure has been failing
 
The dry and cure is key to the final product!
 
Some strains have more smell than others, and the smell changes during the dry and cure.
 
I’ve just had my last harvest drying between 10-15c and 60-70% humidity for 2 weeks.

The buds feel dry. The edges crumbling I feel like I could squeeze them and make them crumble in my hand.

In a jar they are still showing 75% humidity.

Starting humidity is around 60% in the room when I put them in the jar though.

How dry do your buds feel when you put them in jars? This is the first time I’ve tried following the humidity method and I’ve never had buds feel this dry. Have I been using wet bud?

Also they have absolutely no smell.

I’m thinking this humidity method isn’t foolproof as it must depend on the starting humidity which can be different for everyone?

Can someone describe how dry your buds usually are when you put them in jars?
I’m hoping they are not too dry and smell may come back during cure?
 
Derbybud said:
They will feel pretty dry but if you have a meter trust it. Don't jar unless your below 65% or you'll end up with mold. And smell will come with a proper cure. I cure in turkey bags. Don't have to wait for air exchange like in a jar.
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If humidity starts at 60% and you put in buds your saying if it goes to 65% and you take the same buds and put them in a jar starting at 20% humidity that the humidity would rise to 65% in both situations?
 
George2324 said:
If humidity starts at 60% and you put in buds your saying if it goes to 65% and you take the same buds and put them in a jar starting at 20% humidity that the humidity would rise to 65% in both situations?
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Depending on the amount of free space you leave in the jars. The buds feel crispy on the outside but retain moisture in them. Once in a sealed jar the buds rehydrate to whatever moisture is left in them and the amount of air.
 
Derbybud said:
I don't use jars anymore but when i did I'd leave 1/4 - 1/3 free space open. Turkey bags are where it's at. You can cure more and burping a bag takes seconds not letting jars burp for 10 min at a time and having a couple of dozen jars to do a few times a day. Plus i can regulate my rh easier. So simple.
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How do you regulate rh in a bag? And when do you put them in bags?
 
George2324 said:
How do you regulate rh in a bag? And when do you put them in bags?
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After drying them they go in the bag. I usually consider drying done at about 65-68%. I keep my humidity in my house right at 50% because of some high dollar hard wood floors my wife wanted. Once in the bags I burp twice a day for the first week while watching how much humidity I'm losing from burping. Let's say the first day I burp them I leave more 50% air in the bags to help bring the rh down some so as not to be worrying about mold. And once I'm seeing the rh drop when I burp them I might just leave enough air to just cover the buds. If I see my rh go below 60% I might take them outside to burp where my rh around here is usually in the 80% at night and might leave more air in the bag to rehydrate them some.
A few things that make it a much better process are 1) takes seconds to replenish the air in the bag not minutes with a jar cause all you have to do is open the bag and take the top and bottom and use the ends as a bellows and 3-4 times of opening and closing the bellows the air has exchanged. 2) you can put a hell of allot of product in a turkey bag while even gallon jars take quite a few with a good harvest. 3) keeping the buds from sticking is super easy as I just flip the bag over my fingers and bump it around some. 4) aromas tend to be much more consistent than from jar to jar. 5) control of the whole thing is super simple.
If you have high humidity in your house you can turn on the air conditioning in your car and burp the bag in there. I've done up to 12 zips in a bag before and had some of the best product to date. I'm not the most advanced grower but I'm always looking to do things better and quicker as I usually work 60 plus hours a week so burping a couple dozen jars a few times a day got really annoying and at times I would get called away and come back to some over dried product. With bags taking seconds to burp people can wait a minute or 2 and I'm done.
 
Derbybud said:
I don't use jars anymore but when i did I'd leave 1/4 - 1/3 free space open. Turkey bags are where it's at. You can cure more and burping a bag takes seconds not letting jars burp for 10 min at a time and having a couple of dozen jars to do a few times a day. Plus i can regulate my rh easier. So simple.
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I know I sound like a broken record, but how long you burp for will really depend on the ambient RH in the room your bags/jars are in. If your buds are at 70% and your room is at 65% you will need to burp a lot longer than if the room were at 50%.
 
InTheShed said:
I know I sound like a broken record, but how long you burp for will really depend on the ambient RH in the room your bags/jars are in. If your buds are at 70% and your room is at 65% you will need to burp a lot longer than if the room were at 50%.
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Ok well I’ve opened them all up and left them to burp then.

Room is 60% atm and buds were 77 when I took them out of the sealed containers..

I just don’t see how drying longer can make any smell come back.
 
Whatever doesn't come back during drying could come back during curing. Once I seal my jars they don't get opened for at least 3 weeks.
 
I can't tell you the science but it's related to removing the chlorophyll as the plant ages in the jars in a cool dark place, similar to wine.
 
InTheShed said:
I can't tell you the science but it's related to removing the chlorophyll as the plant ages in the jars in a cool dark place, similar to wine.
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Seems strange that it smells when first harvested with way more chlorophyll and then part way through dry it’s all gone when it has less chlorophyll though?

I guess I’ll wait it out and see. I’m thinking I may have more wrong with my grow methods though as over 25 harvests I’ve never had bud that smells so much that I feel like I need a carbon filter. And customers do tend to comment on lack of smell although it gets them high.

No deficiencies all the way through plants look healthy but I just don’t get the smell I wanted.

I’ve grown master Kush, bogs moon rocks, critical mass to name a few. Gonna try RQS next and use the low and slo method and hope that the strain has a better smell.

If anyone has any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong during grow that’s limiting the smells im all ears.
 
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