How do I cure my harvest with glass canning jars?

[Smokin Moose]

For personal stash, I got rid of the tupperware and paper bag stage a while ago. This method for glass canning jars gives the strongest aroma and best texture for smoking. Here's the procedure, it couldn't get much simpler..

1) Cut, manicure, hang your plants in a cool, dark place until totally crispy and smokable in a joint-- usually 5 to 8 days. Optimum conditions are 68-74 degrees F and between 50% and 60% RH.

2) Place gently into wide-mouth glass canning jars. Close the lid until buds sweat, usually 2 or 3 hours the first time. Open jars and let buds dry to crispy again. I only bother keeping large buds for personal stash but if you do this with shakier stuff, you have to get some air in there and turn the buds over. Larger colas usually have enough flow around them so you don't have to mess with them unless they are really touching each other inside the jar. I don't worry about "ooo damaging the ever so fragile buds" by turning them in the jar. Who cares if you lose 2% of the trichomes to the bottom of the jar, big deal... be gentle but if you have to move them around, so what.. just collect your skuff on the bottom of the jar and enjoy.

3) Repeat the sweating process-- open the jar until crisp, close until sweated. After about a week of this (depending on location), you get to that perfect point of curing where there is enough moisture to keep it smelling strong but as soon as you take it out of the jar to smoke, it crisps up and can be rolled.

 

[Acn627]

then you can just keep it in the jar without burping for however long it takes you to use it?

 

[Be Irie]

That would be correct...

 

[aftermath420]

take all the buds that need recovering and put then in a jar. cut a fresh mary jane leaf and put it in the jar with the buds. seal the jar up with plastic rap and let sit for about a week. you may wanna replace the weed leaf every now and then but its best to jus let it sit for a while

 

[MR sHibbZ]

take all the buds that need recovering and put then in a jar. cut a fresh mary jane leaf and put it in the jar with the buds. seal the jar up with plastic rap and let sit for about a week. you may wanna replace the weed leaf every now and then but its best to jus let it sit for a while

What is the leaf supposed to do for the curing process?

 

[TorturedSoul]

Adds moisture but I don't know why that would be needed/wanted. You don't wait until stuff is BONE dry to start the cure.

 

[aftermath420]

yea wat Acn627 said

 

[gstatus806]

good to kno

 

[AgileGrowerAG]

So one curing process (which is apparently the best curing process) is to hang it for 3-4 weeks, then move the bud to an airtight container and refrigerator, then finally to a freezer. Now this is the better method? Which is it?

Now that I've got that out of the way... Does anyone know how to can bud? Like tuna can kush?

 

[TorturedSoul]

So one curing process (which is apparently the best curing process) is to hang it for 3-4 weeks, then move the bud to an airtight container and refrigerator, then finally to a freezer. Now this is the better method? Which is it?

Depends on humidity and air circulation. Hang it for three to four weeks around here and it would probably mold. Hang it for that amount of time (or even a shorter period) in a desert environment and it would be powder dry.

Neither situation allows for a decent cure.

 

[AgileGrowerAG]

Depends on humidity and air circulation. Hang it for three to four weeks around here and it would probably mold. Hang it for that amount of time (or even a shorter period) in a desert environment and it would be powder dry.

Neither situation allows for a decent cure.

So basically it's best to create the optimal environment for drying/curing and drying for X amount of weeks then curing for Y amount of weeks...

Can anyone fill in the variable with optimal conditions being a given? Much appreciated.



hahaha

 

[OldGold]

It is called variable info because that's just what it is - variable. To fill in the variables you have to have a known strain that requires a known number of days to produce a harvest, you will have to monitor your own humidity and temps. You are the only guy who can actually cure your weed and that makes you the resident expert. Ex=has been, spurt=well, you know. Growing weed is an art, man. Nobody but you knows (or should know) the ambient environment you live in. If you live in a very humid area you'll even have to use a dehumidifier! Give US the variables and we can make reccomendations to you, but we aren't there. The best we can do is "best guess." The secret to growing weed is the simplest in the universe. Just Grow It. End of story. You will learn about diseases, what you do without realizing it abuses the plants. when to do your harvest, how long to dry/cure.

I've had a harvest dry in 6 days, but another of the same strain in the dog days of summer took about SIX weeks to dry! The environment THIS day will cure weed differently than the environment in say a couple months. Since you're doing this alone (if you're smart) you can't really discuss it with your buds. So...

About 3 weeks before YOU think it is time to harvest, start taking the smallest bud in the center of the plant. Do a quick dry, then sample it. Do this every 2 or 3 days and you will know for sure when you have the buzz you want from your crop. You can look at the trichs with a scope, but if you don't see that well, that's useless. You can look at the percentage of hairs changing color, but that's fairly useless too. I just took a harvest where all the hairs were red, but the trichs were still clear! Per my sampling though it was time to do the deed and sacrifice my ladies.

Curing is a matter of choice. It usually improves the taste. Not always. Drying can be done many ways, and it seems nobody agrees on one way. There IS however good agreement on the use of glass canning jars and everybody agrees on the technique. Nobody agrees on how long to leave them in jars though. My weed never lasts seasons. It lasts weeks. So I don't have to deal with long term storage. As to leaving your treats in jars long term though... I think it would be better to seal your goodies hermetically in a seal-a-meal bag then freeze it. No matter what anyone says, no baggie or ziplock will preserve your goodies. You CAN preserve them by hermetically sealing them, even without freezing, and the seal will preserve the freshness, and that means keeping SOME moisture in the cells. Freezing destroys cell walls and dries the weed out to the point that it crumbles and loses all scent.

So... Guess I wandered around some.

 

[OldGold]

Argh. I contradicted myself, didn't I? Yes, I think freezing will damage the goodies. And yes I did say something about sealing and then freezing it in almost the last line.

Like I said, it never lasts me long enough to deal with long term storage, so just ignore what I said about the freezing.

Don't know anything about freezing, but do know stealth growing, do know how to produce one excellent product! That's about all that matters, yes? I'm full of crap but I still stay in the stratosphere! One toke over the line, sweet Jesus, one toke over the line, sittin upstairs in my hidden growing loft, one toke over the line! Thank you, Brewer & Shipley! 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 lb every 9 weeks in 49 sq ft and 152 cu ft. Can't be done? Don't you believe it! And I have moms, clones, veg and 2 flower chambers in that space. What a PAIN in the back and the butt (max headroom 3 feet 7 inches), but what harvests! Thanks to Overgrow and 420Mag for the education.

 

[Hydrogrown]

Argh. I contradicted myself, didn't I? Yes, I think freezing will damage the goodies. And yes I did say something about sealing and then freezing it in almost the last line.

Like I said, it never lasts me long enough to deal with long term storage, so just ignore what I said about the freezing.

Don't know anything about freezing, but do know stealth growing, do know how to produce one excellent product! That's about all that matters, yes? I'm full of crap but I still stay in the stratosphere! One toke over the line, sweet Jesus, one toke over the line, sittin upstairs in my hidden growing loft, one toke over the line! Thank you, Brewer & Shipley! 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 lb every 9 weeks in 49 sq ft and 152 cu ft. Can't be done? Don't you believe it! And I have moms, clones, veg and 2 flower chambers in that space. What a PAIN in the back and the butt (max headroom 3 feet 7 inches), but what harvests! Thanks to Overgrow and 420Mag for the education.

Journal! Journal! Journal!

 

[JJ Bones]

Interesting, how soon does mold become present if one forgets to get it out when sweating accures?

Also, you say in the beginning 2-3 hours to sweat, do we do this continuously for the week, once a day?

 

[The Curator]

I read this conversational thread with interest.
"Mold is the enemy."
You want no mold in your curing jars EVER. If I have some bud with slight powder mildew on the leaves I isolate that before drying it, cut off all of the leaves and stems, bake that bud at 135 degrees for ten minutes 3 times on a wire rack with ten minute intervals of cooling in between trips into the oven to kill any spores, which should be inactivated at 100 degrees- and cure it totally seperately from your good bud with no mold. Every time you open your jars you're checking for mold, with a magnifying glass. Just quickly run over the weed, looking for mold. You can do that in about a minute for a QP. Of course no moldy cannabis can ever be given to a patient, another reason to ditch the old fashioned, three or four weeks in the "Drying Barn," especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest in a high humidity area/season. If you smoke it and it's mold free it can be used to make butter for chocolate chip cookies and cakes or honey oil for you yourself to enjoy. If there's mold on the bud itself I immediately discard that outside of the house. Preferably that never even makes it inside my drying room.

Let's get into some of this:
I "hard cure" my weed. All of it that I don't "dank cure" I hard cure.
So we know we've got two final outcomes we might be seeking with my system, hard cure and dank cure.
I cure for a minimum of 25 days with six "Pops" meaning six times I open the jar to allow the cannabis to have free contact with the air during that 25 days and every week on the same day thereafter until it's all gone. Want my whole process, that produces perfect bud every time? I ain't gon' give everything away, but let me tell you this much to get you started:

1) The hedge trimming is critical. I turn the plants upside down as soon as they're chopped and immediately start clipping away the green leaf and as much sugarleaf as is easy to reach. I make no effort to clip all of the sugarleaf off because it's medicinal, and will cure up tasty just like the bud. I'll do a final trim later.

2) Next: Drying. I trim the buds off the stems leaving plenty of good long colas if I have them.
I utilize a dehumidified drying room with a fan and a 24-7 open window, to allow for plenty of circulating air. I dry on wire racks with parchment underneath, at 85 degrees and 25 percent humidity, for 96 hours. Dry it until the stems snap or nearly do.. Then a last trim, and we're ready to jug it up.

3)The actual cure:
Wide mouth rubber sealed canning jars work the best for me, and the best ones I've found are out of Italy. I cure in a dark cabinet, as light affects the bud.
Jug it in wide mouth rubber sealed canning jars for:
8 hours - followed by a moisture check by feel and at least one hour of air out of the jars back on the racks. Then,
16 hours..
24 hours..
7 days..
7 days.. and
7 days.
I'm on the bud feeling it after each Pop, to make sure the level of hydration is in keeping with the curing process. The cannabis will somewhat re-hydrate in a sealed glass jar, hence the need for the pops. Feeding the plants that intermittent fresh air during the cure is also critical. Too wet bud in the curing jars should always be taken completely out of the curing jars and re-dryed, but I never have this problem anymore because I can "Feel" my cannabis during the cure and can vary the drying time or lengthen the cure, to produce the fruity, woodsy scent of two skunks ass fucking in a kiddy pool of fruit pulp, and bud that burns smooth and tastes great. "All glass - no zips", boys and girls. Remember that cannabis that has been stored in plastic zips is absorbing chemicals, and that some people no longer consider it truly organic bud.
Just my dub.

 

[GreenDollars]

this is an interesting thread. I was just thinking about how and when to start my curing. I have one plant that is either ready to cut down or very close but im not sure exactly what to do. I have a glass jar on standby with some grapefruit rines in it to "season" the jar. I have white/clear trichs and the hairs are more than 50% red on the bottom and seem to still be white at the top on the big bud... so im confused. I have no more room for upwards growth in my box too.

 

[Hozona]

Depends on humidity and air circulation. Hang it for three to four weeks around here and it would probably mold. Hang it for that amount of time (or even a shorter period) in a desert environment and it would be powder dry.

Neither situation allows for a decent cure.

Desert environment with such a low rh makes the hanging plants dry out pretty fast, but if you check your harvest often it will let you know (it will be dry, but NOT crispy) You can put a pan of water at the floor level in the closet/cabinet to add some humidity so your harvest drys slower. Then into large tupper ware storage container with lid and seal it for 24 hours, open it (the buds should be moist to the touch) and leave them uncovered for approximately 1 hour (should feel dry to the touch) put the lid back on and check every 12 hours or so...repeat as needed until the buds have the feel of pipe tobacco. It is then I transfer to canning jars. I store them in a cool dark place. The jars make it easy to keep track of your stash and you can switch from strain to strain if you remember to label them.

 

[stealthgrow]

Good info from original post, but never put your bud in the freezer as suggested by a later comment, just a cool dark place. I read somewhere (and it make sense) that freezing can break all your tricombs off cause they get brittle when frozen.

 

[stealthgrow]

Thx for the original post info