Moldy Weed

[N420]

Hey 420 I was curing my buds in mason jars everything seemed to be going ok after being in jars for about 2 weeks was burping them at least 2 twice a day. I noticed yesterday in the jar that had my biggest buds there was some mold on some of the buds I removed the effected parts of the buds and threw them away. Now that I have done that the other buds smell like mold that were in the jar but have no visible signs of mold even when I pull them apart are they safe to smoke or should I throw it all out

 

[PhobosAnomaly]

Inherently everything is covered in mold spores.
Maybe getting boveda packs would help.
I use 62%, lately for long term I've seen 58% recommended.
I take them out after a few months.

As far as the remaining buds, that is an iffy subject.
Some wont waste, some wont chance their health.

 

[Pbass]

Whew that's a tough break! I found this on the interwebs, maybe you can salvage something from the moldy stuff?

The “sketch ball” way to deal with mold infected buds (after harvest):

1. Spray mold-infected buds with Isopropyl alcohol - this will “burn” the living mold and the alcohol will evaporate out.
2. Follow up immediately with a cannabis concentrate extraction method such as bubble hash bags or BHO making.
3. This will give you clean oil or hash at least. Scientifically it should be clean, but is sketchy nonetheless - so please don’t give it to anyone before you let them know.

 

[Weaselcracker]

It’s more personal choice than anything. You won’t find any real science on the dangers of smoking mold spores, and not even that much on the dangers of inhaling spores in any form. Personally I think the danger is generally exaggerated, but again it probably lands more in the category of personal taste/ick factor than anything else.
I would toss the affected spots, but save the rest or make hash from it if I needed the bud, or toss it if I had lots.

 

[N420]

Hey thanks for the replies. Ya the whole thing kinda pissed me off Its only my wife and me smoking it so im kinda on the fence about it we do have other jars that are not moldy so hopefully I will have another crop finish by the time we need more. What could I have done differently

 

[Dwight Monk]

Hey thanks for the replies. Ya the whole thing kinda pissed me off Its only my wife and me smoking it so im kinda on the fence about it we do have other jars that are not moldy so hopefully I will have another crop finish by the time we need more. What could I have done differently

Well unless it was moldy before it went in jar, it wasn't dry enough to store/cure. Do you have a way of measuring RH in your jars? As that the easiest way to know how wet it is, they sell little stick temp/rh gauges that fit in the jars nicely (think they made for cigar folks).

 

[Weaselcracker]

What could I have done differently

If it was more dry going into the jar it wouldn’t have gone moldy. Digital hygrometers that fit in the jar and tell you the relative humidity are very handy. Under about 70 RH mold can’t grow.

 

[N420]

Well unless it was moldy before it went in jar, it wasn't dry enough to store/cure. Do you have a way of measuring RH in your jars? As that the easiest way to know how wet it is, they sell little stick temp/rh gauges that fit in the jars nicely (think they made for cigar folks).

no I didn't have anyway of checking the rh of my jars I should get something thanks for the suggestion

 

[N420]

If it was more dry going into the jar it wouldn’t have gone moldy. Digital hygrometers that fit in the jar and tell you the relative humidity are very handy. Under about 70 RH mold can’t grow.

I cautioned on the wetter side when I put them in the jars they were dried on a drying rack until they felt dry on the outside then I put them in the jars. I would burp them twice a day and every time they would be rehydrated no matter how long I left the jars open. after 2 weeks of doing that I took it all out of the jars spread it all out on some cardboard for about 3 hrs. After that they seemed good and was burping once a day. I think next time I will not try to cure the biggest buds and pull them apart so they can dry properly.

 

[N420]

Are the boveda packs meant for the start of the curing process or more for long term storage

 

[Weaselcracker]

I used to do it like you but I found it was a big step up after I got a bunch of hygrometers. Before that I’d occasionally get fooled even with quite a lot of experience.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Are the boveda packs meant for the start of the curing process or more for long term storage

They’re for both. They are designed to regulate the humidity to the stated RH level and keep it there. You do probably still want your bud dried reasonably close to the right RH before jarring though.

 

[N420]

I used to do it like you but I found it was a big step up after I got a bunch of hygrometers. Before that I’d occasionally get fooled even with quite a lot of experience.

You would suggest getting hydrometers for each of my jars and aim for an rh below 70% ? What about hang drying vs drying rack any advantages or disadvantages? I do perfer to wet trim or I should say my wife perfers to wet trim lol Im a pretty bad trimmer lol

 

[Weaselcracker]

I think probably the main difference between drying on the rack and hanging, might be that if you’re hanging them up you may be inclined to keep longer stems/branches attached, and this will regulate and slow down drying a little. Otherwise it’s probably about the same process.
I dry it till the stems snap or I feel it’s dry enough, then jar it, and the next day if the hygrometer tells me it’s over 70 I’ll take it out and dry more.

Below 70 seems safe against mold.
Most people like to eventually land around 60 RH when cured, give or take a little.

Usually it’s a process you can do by feel with a little practice. But as you found out, sometimes you get fooled. It’s nice to have that hygrometer there to take the guesswork out.
I’ve got about ten of those hygrometers - went online and bought a bunch of them at one point after a mold episode. (Actually I only meant to buy about five but my finger must have slipped when ordering cause I ended up with a whole bunch). They’re cheap. After the RH settles in the jar you can take the meter out and use it elsewhere.

 

[N420]

Ok that makes sense thanks for your help Weaselcracker

 

[Dwight Monk]

You would suggest getting hydrometers for each of my jars and aim for an rh below 70% ? What about hang drying vs drying rack any advantages or disadvantages? I do perfer to wet trim or I should say my wife perfers to wet trim lol Im a pretty bad trimmer lol

You can get by with less than the jars you have as they add up if you on a budget (but throwing out your stuff waste of money too ), just rotate jars (I have 6 and my outdoor harvest I ended up with 10 jars this year). In my experience if harvested same time and same plant and hung up to dry they will be pretty close to the same RH, but I go to about 65% before I just burp the jars so I may have a little more wiggle room than 70% number Weasel gave you (he been growing a lot longer than me, so knows what he talking about far as numbers go), if higher than that I take out of jars and spread out for awhile (time varies on how high they are and how high RH is where I'm drying them). Also first couple weeks of burping I also rotate the jar around to mix it up a bit (not quite shaking it but moving it around jar as a few inches of air space in jar when curing or how I do it), so don't get wet spots, but may not matter and be one of them anal things I do as I'm a worry-wart by nature.

 

[Hdinkleman]

@N420

we just had a thread about the whole boveda thing here on this yesterday

Curing: Smell?

So I guess I will buy some boveda 58 as I intend to store them only. Strange as it seems, I don't smoke even though I grow. It is to pay rent and to make my brother happy when he drops by for a visit. ;)) i know for me personally, after 20 years on the black market im done with all that crap...

www.420magazine.com

 

[Weaselcracker]

I go to about 65% before I just burp the jars so I may have a little more wiggle room than 70% number Weasel gave you

Actually the room where I dry has a dehumidifier in it and usually hovers around 60-65 RH. So in practice I can leave my weed in the drier for as long as I like, and it will only dry to that moisture level, which is super convenient.
I also feel that 70 is a little on the high side, and I don't usually jar it like that. But I’m fairly sure it’s dry enough to be out of the mold danger zone.

 

[bluenoserjoe]

Gonna pipe in and add that I have read that the hydro packs can only control the humidity when it is within 2 or 3 points of whats on the label, so I would think more suited for long term storage.

 

[Hdinkleman]

Actually the room where I dry has a dehumidifier in it and usually hovers around 60-65 RH. So in practice I can leave my weed in the drier for as long as I like, and it will only dry to that moisture level, which is super convenient.
I also feel that 70 is a little on the high side, and I don't usually jar it like that. But I’m fairly sure it’s dry enough to be out of the mold danger zone.

yes i think if conditions were optimal you could go from start to finish drying and curing in one room/dryer box or whatever it may be.
i think the jar method is more controllable for the normal weed grower such as myself though, i have a humidity controller now and i have to play around to get the correct sertings to make sure the tents humidity doesnt drop too much. i try to keep it on the too moist side because everytime the controller pops the exhaust fan on it drops to 40%. had to adjust it to start at maximum rh being 85 to get it to drop to 60, so i maintain a 60-85% range in the tent.
last harvest dry i didnt realize this and set it to 65, which ended up giving me a range of 38-40 to 65% which dryed the hanging buds too quickly, i wasnt able to change things up in time, unfortunatly it dries so quickly that ita very easy to mess everything up within 2 days