Equipment for harvesting and curing

K

KarlJay

Well-Known Member
I'm starting to work on a list of what I need for the whole process. I don't want to be making 10 trips to the store or waiting for something to ship.

I was thinking about the canning jars.

What difference does size make, I see large and small? Is there a downside to using a larger jar?

Someone mentioned light and the effect on the product, do they make canning jars that are dark.

I know you need/want glass and it needs to have a rubber seal.

Drying/curing humidity:

Some have said you want a very slow drying process and about 60% RH. I don't know how I'm going to get 60% and wouldn't that take forever to cure?

Does the whole process need to be in complete darkness?

Is there any important things I should know before I harvest?

I'd like to start ordering what I need now rather than rushing at the end.
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

Bigger the jar the better. You really dont want to have like 100 tiny stupid jars that you have to burp every few days.

It does not need to be cured in the dark, but its best.

slow drying is good, but too slow and it will mold.
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

I slow air dry, cure & store in a dark place...

As THC degrades with light !


Ever smoked that nug which has been on the table for the last 3 days to one which has been stored in a cool, dark place ?
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

From what I know, You want to have some source of fresh air whenever you are curing and want a constant breeze, but not directly on the buds, Just enough to keep the stale air moving. You would like a dark place, free of any outside issues. Minimal human presence will keep dust/hair/etc off your meds. I've been seeing these drying racks that actually zip up and seal all your meds in its mesh like cylinder, made for herbs and what not, seems like a very easy and quick way to set up a drying spot without causing you too much stress. I've always heard of people using glass mason jars, I picked up a 12 pack of half ounce jars with the rubber seal on top. I use these t store my meds even if I get some from the dispensary it goes straight into a mason when I get home. Always seems to keep my buds tasting like candy!! getting some more drying/curing experience here soon, will write back!

-CA
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

KarlJay said:
62% is MUCH higher than my room, wouldn't above the lights be WAY to dry?
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You are going to want to keep your meds in the dark while they are drying, maybe you could add some ice in a bucket to bring your humidity up, or a nice humidifier. Not sure on mold issues that would cause though. Im so skeptical with spilling water in my tent whenever I do so now I make sure to clean it up right then and there, but that's me.

If some nugs are a little dried out than the others, simply place a few nicely sized buds that still have some moisture with your smaller dry buds in a Ziploc and close it for a few and it should redistribute the mosisture throughout all the buds. You can do that with the glass jars also.
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

seanmo said:
Their is a NEW product hitting the airwaves. "The DOOBIEDOR" It's an awesome idea. It's like a cigar humidor however instead of 70% humidity it drops and KEEPS the humidity at 62%. PERFECT to STORE your good BUD!! Save your time and effort with this product. I have nothing to gain but fresh, good, tasty smoke.
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We already sell a product like this, its a Boveda Humidi Pak. They work great.
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

Ok, so the Boveda comes in different ratings and I want the 62%. No problem. When do I start using them, the day I cut or after the branches 'snap' when bent?

Also, how do you know how many to get? Is it 1/qt canning jar or what?

I thought this whole drying/curing processes was about 7 to 10 days, is that still on target or is it longer?
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

KarlJay said:
Ok, so the Boveda comes in different ratings and I want the 62%. No problem. When do I start using them, the day I cut or after the branches 'snap' when bent?

Also, how do you know how many to get? Is it 1/qt canning jar or what?

I thought this whole drying/curing processes was about 7 to 10 days, is that still on target or is it longer?
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Well its not drying and curing. Its drying THEN curing.

See drying will take anything from 3 days up to 2 weeks, depending on humidity, size of buds and a few other things.

Curing can take as long as you wish. Can be a few days or can be a few months even a few years.

The humidipaks you use after the buds have dried and been trimmed up and are begining to cure.
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

Jimmycricket said:
Well its not drying and curing. Its drying THEN curing.

See drying will take anything from 3 days up to 2 weeks, depending on humidity, size of buds and a few other things.

Curing can take as long as you wish. Can be a few days or can be a few months even a few years.

The humidipaks you use after the buds have dried and been trimmed up and are begining to cure.
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You then use the humidipacks to gauge rH inside the container, burp to drop to desired rH.. Sounds like nice little mechanisms.. Are they spendy?
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

they are a few bucks each so if you only got a few jars its no biggy, they last at least 3 months and for some much longer.
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

Im reading about them and they actually keep your rH at a steady % your choose from. So with that said, once you have your bud dried out well enough, you can slap one of these bovada packs in your mason jar and leave It be for a month or so? These might be next on my list of goodies to pick up..
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

KarlJay said:
Ok, I'm sold on those bovada packs, but what's the RH during the drying cycle? Can I do my drying around 30% and does it make a difference in the quality of the product?
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I'm sure the 30% would make it a little crisp, quality of the product would be downgraded im sure. I don't think I'll be able to get it high enough either. I think the ideal range is around 45-55%? It's what I've read sounds about right. I would personally like a lower rH so that chance of mold is shut down quite abit. Being my first time I would hate to lose the whole yield in a matter of days.
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

I'm not to sure if RH when slow air drying has any effect on qualitie of bud or not ?

A lot of people say about humidity for long term storage tho & to keep the bud in optimal condition of a humidity value around 60%


I've never really got to anally retentive about that tho :thumb:



However temperature around 21c/22c seems pretty good for slow air drying as it does not destroy essential oils/resin etc in the process when compared to higher temperature drying...


The drying process normally take 2 weeks aprox if left to hang on a short amount of stem, drying time can be reduced if all bud is trimmed from the stem & left to dry on newspaper/paper bags or hanging nets etc.

When dryed enough the stem should snap but not total break & thats when its ready for the cure..

To some dryed bud appears ok to smoke... i call em uneducated barbarians :thumb:

To the educated gentleman & lady the cured bud is the smoke of gods retaining greater flavour 'n' smoothness in the end smoke :green_heart:


Mold/fungus only surfaces above humidity of 80% or bud not dryed correctly... i once lost 3oz of bud to mold coz i didn't dry it long enough... i never done that again, i can assure you that :Namaste:
 
Re: Equipment for harvesting and curing.

You're gonna dry at whatever rh your drying room is. I wouldn't worry about adding humidity unless it's real low, like maybe < 20%.

The dry air WILL make them dry faster. As a result, you will probably want to jar them sooner. This mean the cure will take longer. I think growers like to dry at 50% because it lets some of the moisture from the very center start to work it's way out while not making the outside crispy. When it's dry, the outside is crunchy before the center even starts to dry. When you jar it, it can get real moist in there.

This just means you will be burping more. In general, you want to burp more often for longer periods at the beginning. As curing progresses, you will burp them less often for shorter periods of time.

Great thread. I'm about to head into the first harvest of my new basement, so the timing was perfect.
 
I just read some of your journal, looks like you have some A/C issues. I didn't get all the details of the problem, but I hope you get that worked out.

I think I'm going to do a partial harvest. I'm going to cut only the ready ones and let the rest continue to flower. It's going to be a bear to keep track of everything (when was it cut, which plant did it come from, etc...) I really want to get the most from these plants and keep track of what each plant does.

Just based on how they are maturing and some of the taller plants not holding much water, I think the 5 gallon bags were undersized. I just got done putting all my 26 clones into 5 gallon bags too....
 
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