Two hours won't tell you what's going on inside the buds. I usually wait overnight to get a good picture of the RH of the jar. Also, let the buds get to room temps before you seal it to check the RH. After all, RH is relative to temperature.
DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest
Timhomegrow
Well-Known Member
How long were they in the fridge?
It does seem weird the humidity dropped that much in the jars. Are they sealing tight? Did you let the buds come up to room temp before sealing the jars and testing initially?
Yes, I allowed them to get to room temp first before sealing the jars. I followed the procedure as mentioned in this thread. It mentioned that after everything has stabilized with the temps to seal them for 2 hrs and if the RH is good then they are good to start sealing for 24hrs and burping 2x day for the first week. Then once the rest of the way.
2 weeks in the fridge. A couple a few days longer. Pulling some from the fridge tonight actually which needed a whole other week. I believe the jars are sealing tight. I don't have a reason to think they aren't. Yes, I let them get to room temp first unsealed.
syenite
Well-Known Member
I was wondering about how to check the RH properly too. I don't believe I have been doing it correctly.
I've just been chucking a selection of buds straight from the fridge into an empty (sealed) container with a hygrometer in it, and waiting an hour before taking the reading.
Should I leave the buds out at room temp, unsealed, for a good few hours (or overnight) before I seal them again to check the RH? Do we worry about losing terps while this is happening?
The RH of the buds at fridge temps (in a sealed jar) will be very different when the same jar is brought to room temps. RH is relative humidity, and it's relative to temperature.
For accurate readings your buds should be at room temps when you check. But no need to unseal the jars. You'll be surprised at the difference in the readings from cold to warm!
For accurate readings your buds should be at room temps when you check. But no need to unseal the jars. You'll be surprised at the difference in the readings from cold to warm!
syenite
Well-Known Member
PK
Well-Known Member
good morning folks. So, last night i mentioned I won't be ready for this and this morning i woke up with a ISP box in my face. lol!! so i emptied the box and used it to put the GG in it.
Currently she is cut up and defoliated some fan leaves. I did put them between a "bounty" paper towel and then in the box and dropped 3 packs of 65% RH packs in there. The plant was hanging upside down for more then 4 hours in the room where the tent is. The humidity and temps of the room were 76f and 50%RH
I forgot to mention; She is soooo sticky
Update: I dropped my only working humidity and temp checker inside the box and it is at 47f and 63%
Currently she is cut up and defoliated some fan leaves. I did put them between a "bounty" paper towel and then in the box and dropped 3 packs of 65% RH packs in there. The plant was hanging upside down for more then 4 hours in the room where the tent is. The humidity and temps of the room were 76f and 50%RH
I forgot to mention; She is soooo sticky
Update: I dropped my only working humidity and temp checker inside the box and it is at 47f and 63%
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syenite
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone!
On @InTheShed 's kind prompt, I thought I'd share a note on my low-and-slow process.
More specifically, I was trying to solve the problem of not having access to a dedicated/spare fridge.
Two main areas constitute this problem:
1. Smell (stealth concerns, but also concerns about other stuff in the fridge taking the smell on)
2. Instability of RH and temperature due to frequent opening and shutting of fridge
So I came up with a pretty simple solution involving:
1. A rangehood carbon filter
2. A hygrometer
3. A cardboard box
4. A simple rack made from bamboo stakes and skewers
The following pictures should be self-explanatory, taken from my first journal:
(Don't mind the readings in that last picture - this was just before I put the box in the fridge for the first time!)
So, the upshots:
1. Rangehood carbon filter ensures exchange between box interior and the fridge, but also contains the smell of the drying flower
2. Rack prevents flowers from touching the cardboard, ensuring better air flow around them, and reduces mold risk from damp cardboard
3. Hygrometer allows me to compare the RH and temperature inside the box with that of the fridge
4. Carbon filter combined with spacious interior means that the environment inside the box is somewhat "buffered" against short-term changes in the fridge from opening and closing the fridge door
Success metrics?
I successfully dried my first harvest this way (i.e. got down to 60-70 RH in about 1.5 weeks), AND constantly pestered my GF to tell me whether she could perceive the smell inside the fridge. She didn't notice any!
But... further confirmation required
The flower that I dried in the box was relatively "quiet", odour-wise. So right now I still consider this to be a "beta" stage design. My next harvest will be significantly louder, and so I hope to get better confirmation then.
Curious to hear what you all think, and if anyone is keen to try this out for themselves!
Cheers
On @InTheShed 's kind prompt, I thought I'd share a note on my low-and-slow process.
More specifically, I was trying to solve the problem of not having access to a dedicated/spare fridge.
Two main areas constitute this problem:
1. Smell (stealth concerns, but also concerns about other stuff in the fridge taking the smell on)
2. Instability of RH and temperature due to frequent opening and shutting of fridge
So I came up with a pretty simple solution involving:
1. A rangehood carbon filter
2. A hygrometer
3. A cardboard box
4. A simple rack made from bamboo stakes and skewers
The following pictures should be self-explanatory, taken from my first journal:
(Don't mind the readings in that last picture - this was just before I put the box in the fridge for the first time!)
So, the upshots:
1. Rangehood carbon filter ensures exchange between box interior and the fridge, but also contains the smell of the drying flower
2. Rack prevents flowers from touching the cardboard, ensuring better air flow around them, and reduces mold risk from damp cardboard
3. Hygrometer allows me to compare the RH and temperature inside the box with that of the fridge
4. Carbon filter combined with spacious interior means that the environment inside the box is somewhat "buffered" against short-term changes in the fridge from opening and closing the fridge door
Success metrics?
I successfully dried my first harvest this way (i.e. got down to 60-70 RH in about 1.5 weeks), AND constantly pestered my GF to tell me whether she could perceive the smell inside the fridge. She didn't notice any!
But... further confirmation required
The flower that I dried in the box was relatively "quiet", odour-wise. So right now I still consider this to be a "beta" stage design. My next harvest will be significantly louder, and so I hope to get better confirmation then.
Curious to hear what you all think, and if anyone is keen to try this out for themselves!
Cheers
Excellent! Thanks sy.
Timhomegrow
Well-Known Member
You're the McGever stonerHi everyone!
On @InTheShed 's kind prompt, I thought I'd share a note on my low-and-slow process.
More specifically, I was trying to solve the problem of not having access to a dedicated/spare fridge.
Two main areas constitute this problem:
1. Smell (stealth concerns, but also concerns about other stuff in the fridge taking the smell on)
2. Instability of RH and temperature due to frequent opening and shutting of fridge
So I came up with a pretty simple solution involving:
1. A rangehood carbon filter
2. A hygrometer
3. A cardboard box
4. A simple rack made from bamboo stakes and skewers
The following pictures should be self-explanatory, taken from my first journal:
(Don't mind the readings in that last picture - this was just before I put the box in the fridge for the first time!)
So, the upshots:
1. Rangehood carbon filter ensures exchange between box interior and the fridge, but also contains the smell of the drying flower
2. Rack prevents flowers from touching the cardboard, ensuring better air flow around them, and reduces mold risk from damp cardboard
3. Hygrometer allows me to compare the RH and temperature inside the box with that of the fridge
4. Carbon filter combined with spacious interior means that the environment inside the box is somewhat "buffered" against short-term changes in the fridge from opening and closing the fridge door
Success metrics?
I successfully dried my first harvest this way (i.e. got down to 60-70 RH in about 1.5 weeks), AND constantly pestered my GF to tell me whether she could perceive the smell inside the fridge. She didn't notice any!
But... further confirmation required
The flower that I dried in the box was relatively "quiet", odour-wise. So right now I still consider this to be a "beta" stage design. My next harvest will be significantly louder, and so I hope to get better confirmation then.
Curious to hear what you all think, and if anyone is keen to try this out for themselves!
Cheers
. I can only imagine how you would build a bong Great idea and great post!!
I like it!Hi everyone!
On @InTheShed 's kind prompt, I thought I'd share a note on my low-and-slow process.
More specifically, I was trying to solve the problem of not having access to a dedicated/spare fridge.
Two main areas constitute this problem:
1. Smell (stealth concerns, but also concerns about other stuff in the fridge taking the smell on)
2. Instability of RH and temperature due to frequent opening and shutting of fridge
So I came up with a pretty simple solution involving:
1. A rangehood carbon filter
2. A hygrometer
3. A cardboard box
4. A simple rack made from bamboo stakes and skewers
The following pictures should be self-explanatory, taken from my first journal:
(Don't mind the readings in that last picture - this was just before I put the box in the fridge for the first time!)
So, the upshots:
1. Rangehood carbon filter ensures exchange between box interior and the fridge, but also contains the smell of the drying flower
2. Rack prevents flowers from touching the cardboard, ensuring better air flow around them, and reduces mold risk from damp cardboard
3. Hygrometer allows me to compare the RH and temperature inside the box with that of the fridge
4. Carbon filter combined with spacious interior means that the environment inside the box is somewhat "buffered" against short-term changes in the fridge from opening and closing the fridge door
Success metrics?
I successfully dried my first harvest this way (i.e. got down to 60-70 RH in about 1.5 weeks), AND constantly pestered my GF to tell me whether she could perceive the smell inside the fridge. She didn't notice any!
But... further confirmation required
The flower that I dried in the box was relatively "quiet", odour-wise. So right now I still consider this to be a "beta" stage design. My next harvest will be significantly louder, and so I hope to get better confirmation then.
Curious to hear what you all think, and if anyone is keen to try this out for themselves!
Cheers
Innovative and simple. Looking forward to your updates on how the flower turns out!
PK
Well-Known Member
same here, i've got a box put a side along with a pc 6"fan and waiting to see the results. lol!
syenite
Well-Known Member
Hi you two!
Just a quick update from me - I've had a really busy week - we're well into curing now, and the fridge's part is done.
Everything worked as I'd hoped. It's definitely slower than using paper bags, where some of the drying is facilitated by the moisture being leached out by the paper itself. This method is probably closer to that involving mason jars, where the drying is purely done via contact between the buds and the fridge air.
It took about 2 weeks total for drying to complete, maybe even a few days more.
I have been vaping samples at different points, and as of last night, the grassiness is gone, and there's a mildly sweet, tropical flavour that comes through. Not kushy at all. Some kind of sativa-dom hybrid with skinnier calyxes and lots of hairs?
Unfortunately, as I mentioned, there are the following drawbacks to my anecdotes: 1) unknown/bag seed genetics; 2) mild smelling genetics (based on flowering period) to begin with; and 3) my first harvest so I don't have prior drying experience to compare it with.
@PK just to note there is no active airflow. No electronics necessary. The thing that looks like a fan is actually just a rangehood carbon filter. The setup depends entirely on the osmotic gradient (difference in humidity between the inside and outside of the box) for air flow.
Hope that helps! Feel free to ask me any questions.
PK
Well-Known Member
ahh, i thought there was a fan there. lol! so, i have it inside a box inside the fridge. After that i drop it in a glass jar and let the lid open. What's the difference except for being a box or glass?
syenite
Well-Known Member
Two things:
1. the carbon filter (smell containment) - but you could pop one on the top of a mason jar, if you could fashion one small enough; but also..
2. a box is/can be much more spacious than a jar; that larger space allows for a more stable microclimate within the box, meaning that the buds are buffered against the varying temperature and RH in the fridge due to opening and closing the door of the fridge throughout the day.
PK
Well-Known Member
I guess im gonna have to find a bigger box 
Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread.
I have arrived at a method for drying in a very dry climate - high mountain desert. I just cannot get my RH over 40% so I dry over a big pan of water. I take my girls from the roots, rinse them and place into a plastic bag (the roots) for drying for a few days. I wait for the sugar leaves to begin to get dry and easier to trim. I had read about soaking them in alcohol like vodka but I drank the chilled beverage instead and just hung them roots wet.
At that point I harvest the plant - still pretty wet and sticky after 4-5 days. Then, I leave the buds in paper bags in the fridge with a hygrometer in each bag. Measured RH is temperature dependent so in the fridge ideal for me is 50% RH - which raises to 55%-56% at room temperature.
Once it hits that magic 50% RH in the fridge I complete the trim and place the trimmed, sticky buds into jars - again with a hygrometer and adding a 58%-62% Boveda in every jar and back into the fridge for 2 weeks or more. As they cure I smoke a little to test burn, taste, and aroma.
This next harvest I'll try the slow method from the beginning as I may be evaporating some of the trichomes, though the smell after a few days in the jar is overwhelming (I keep asking for a smell-ovision app here!).
As new grower I've tried hard to listen to the best and take what I need. I'm super-happy with my first harvest and can't wait to try these kind of techniques as I learn and grow. Here's some of the results in photos.
I have arrived at a method for drying in a very dry climate - high mountain desert. I just cannot get my RH over 40% so I dry over a big pan of water. I take my girls from the roots, rinse them and place into a plastic bag (the roots) for drying for a few days. I wait for the sugar leaves to begin to get dry and easier to trim. I had read about soaking them in alcohol like vodka but I drank the chilled beverage instead and just hung them roots wet.
At that point I harvest the plant - still pretty wet and sticky after 4-5 days. Then, I leave the buds in paper bags in the fridge with a hygrometer in each bag. Measured RH is temperature dependent so in the fridge ideal for me is 50% RH - which raises to 55%-56% at room temperature.
Once it hits that magic 50% RH in the fridge I complete the trim and place the trimmed, sticky buds into jars - again with a hygrometer and adding a 58%-62% Boveda in every jar and back into the fridge for 2 weeks or more. As they cure I smoke a little to test burn, taste, and aroma.
This next harvest I'll try the slow method from the beginning as I may be evaporating some of the trichomes, though the smell after a few days in the jar is overwhelming (I keep asking for a smell-ovision app here!).
As new grower I've tried hard to listen to the best and take what I need. I'm super-happy with my first harvest and can't wait to try these kind of techniques as I learn and grow. Here's some of the results in photos.
Looks great DRey! Someone went a little wild with the sugar while baking the cookies. 
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