Curing Trouble - Ammonia Smell

dobbs

New member
Hello folks,

I have a bit of a dilemma and hope that someone who really knows from experience can help shed some light.
I am currently drying and curing some bud and when the small stems were just snapping with a little bend in them I jarred them up.. i think it was too early. They had been previously in paper bags after the hang. Now when I open the jars after about 8 - 12 hours there is a strong wave of ammonia like smell coming from the jars, and the general smell is kind of sweet and sickly kinda like toffee, it dissipates after a minute or so then leaves the mellow aroma of the bud.. I had read that when this happens they were not dry enough for jarring so I pulled them out and let them dry in a shoebox a more until crispy on the outside but a little spring, stems snapping and feel dry, and then try again... no joy, Ive now done this about 5 times and now they really do seem dry but with a touch of moisture in the stem, but every time I get this waft of ammonia. When I pull them out into the cardboard box within about an hour they dont smell like that at all and start to get the proper aromas.
Can anyone tell me.. when this happens from jarring early, is this permanent damage so to speak in that that smell will never go away if jarred?? I ask because now they really seem quite dry but it keeps happening..
Also, is it possible that there is a touch of mold spores in there (even though I cant see any) thats causing this to happen?? I did have mold issues when drying but cut out generously so what I have now was very clean visually...
Lastly I just want to add.. I had been smelling this aroma strongly on opening the jars twice a day fro a about a week... and the other night had chest pain, headache, left arm pain, numb hands and feet and had the shakes and the paramedics came round as I didnt feel well at all and they are symptoms of heart trouble.. then last night read that acute exposure to ammonia gas can cause symptoms like this... I'm praying I havnt done damage to my lungs or heart at the moment, but just in case it is the cause I want to urge people, if you have had this problem please do not breathe this stuff in, it appears it is very bad for you indeed.. what a nightmare.

Thanks very much for your time reading and look any help on the matter, would really like to hear if people have had experience with the ammonia issue and what they found.

Cheers
 
Last edited:
Well damn! I just wrote a thoughtful an in depth response to this with details and explanations, then switched pages to makes sure my claims about leukenostok were accurate. When I changed tabs back, my essay was gone! How frustrating!

In short, don't smoke that bud if you think it caused your cardiac symptoms, microorganisms can produce crazy toxins that you don't want to mess with.

I have also come across individual plants that have ended up with a cat piss, ammonia, or other chemical smells (running organic soil, so they were almost assuredly only from the plant). I'm still not sure if an environmental factor may elicit these traits, because I failed to experiment by cloning and re-flowering the foul smelling plants.

If it is possible to salvage the harvest, I don't currently have any ideas on how to assure that the spores or toxins wouldn't be carried into a product. Theories and ideas are welcome, but as a disclaimer, I would not try to consume anything with mold, extra especially if you have any other phisical health problems at the time.

I typically let my girls hang dry a little longer than is generally recommended, especially if they are dense. It always blows me away how much moisture can still be trapped within a chunky kola, when the outside appears crispy. The first days of jar curing are the riskiest for mold development, and I like to smell and visually check them twice daily (which is always a pleasure) for the first week or so. When I dry and cure, I treat the plants as if they are still alive, because they are in the metabolic sense, only requiring different conditions (yet still stable). Some varieties hold moisture much more tenaciously than others, necessitating a mindful and attentive dry/cure. Compacting or crushing your bud for storage (a bad practice in my opinion) before it is properly dried will cause mold, and increases the risk with incompletely cured product.

You could wait it out as well. I've had some bud really change in the jars during curing, and some plants put out a kind of active fermentation smell, along with smells not present at the beginning or the end, but ammonia wasn't the dominating smell. It would be a waste to throw out bud that may end up curing nicely just because of an unpleasant odor during curing, but an even greater tragedy would develop if you were to make yourself seriously ill by consuming poisonous mycotoxins.

My opinion on the ammonia causing the effects is that I don't believe that ammonia in that amount could cause accute harm to your body, unless the bud literally seems to have been dipped into the cleaner. No doubt, ammonia is not something that our bodies like, but we do produce it through our own bodily processes, and our bodies have systems to deal with its disposal. I have not looked into the cumulati e or long term effects of ammonia exposure, but if it helps, I had to care for some chickens recently that were trapped in an unvented enclosure due to the vents freezing shut. The ammonia was so strong that I thought I might pass out. After about twenty minutes inside, my lungs were raw for a couple hours, but nothing else seemed out of place. Chickens have very sensitive respertory tracts, and although they weren't the healthiest or happiest flock, they were able to tolerate staggering levels of ammonia for weeks on end (visit an industrial egg farm, and you will be terrified how living things are treated). These are just my opinions and observations, so take them with a grain of salt, but hopefully I contributed something worthwhile. I also realize that you likely know much of what I have conveyed, but this should also serve as tidbits that visiting beginners and others can glean from in the future.

Best of luck with your health and harvest!
 
lack of oxygen, too moist, too long intervals between "burps"

next time, for a few days into a paper bag before putting it into the glass jars


problem: its full of anerobic bacteria which can make you sick, they produce ammonia smell
 
Mold

When I smell that it's gone. To me that is mold and you do not want to smoke or use it.


Hello folks,

I have a bit of a dilemma and hope that someone who really knows from experience can help shed some light.
I am currently drying and curing some bud and when the small stems were just snapping with a little bend in them I jarred them up.. i think it was too early. They had been previously in paper bags after the hang. Now when I open the jars after about 8 - 12 hours there is a strong wave of ammonia like smell coming from the jars, and the general smell is kind of sweet and sickly kinda like toffee, it dissipates after a minute or so then leaves the mellow aroma of the bud.. I had read that when this happens they were not dry enough for jarring so I pulled them out and let them dry in a shoebox a more until crispy on the outside but a little spring, stems snapping and feel dry, and then try again... no joy, Ive now done this about 5 times and now they really do seem dry but with a touch of moisture in the stem, but every time I get this waft of ammonia. When I pull them out into the cardboard box within about an hour they dont smell like that at all and start to get the proper aromas.
Can anyone tell me.. when this happens from jarring early, is this permanent damage so to speak in that that smell will never go away if jarred?? I ask because now they really seem quite dry but it keeps happening..
Also, is it possible that there is a touch of mold spores in there (even though I cant see any) thats causing this to happen?? I did have mold issues when drying but cut out generously so what I have now was very clean visually...
Lastly I just want to add.. I had been smelling this aroma strongly on opening the jars twice a day fro a about a week... and the other night had chest pain, headache, left arm pain, numb hands and feet and had the shakes and the paramedics came round as I didnt feel well at all and they are symptoms of heart trouble.. then last night read that acute exposure to ammonia gas can cause symptoms like this... I'm praying I havnt done damage to my lungs or heart at the moment, but just in case it is the cause I want to urge people, if you have had this problem please do not breathe this stuff in, it appears it is very bad for you indeed.. what a nightmare.

Thanks very much for your time reading and look any help on the matter, would really like to hear if people have had experience with the ammonia issue and what they found.

Cheers
 
IME the ammonia smell happens when a jar is sealed before it is sufficiently dry. It could be from anaerobic bacteria as well as a fungus, but either way it's not good as they can produce toxins or give you a lung infection of some sort. I've generally made edibles with stuff that that has happened with. But even then I do a water/oil cook down that should (IMO) help get rid of any nasty toxins that are left in it.
 
What strain of weed did you grow?
Is it normally running to cat piss smell?
I doubt the level of ammonia in a bit of weed could produce the effects you mentioned.
Could they of been psychosomatic?
 
Northcliffe rose LMAO The man almost died n you think it's in his mind? damn strong ass hazes got him going crazy? Lol Ever been so high you turn everything off including the house fan and lights bcuz you think its too loud and you sit there in a dark corner by yourself? haha? I have... Or got so high you thought everything looks red and you just realized you were existing in hell and we are destined to get more n more unhappy as you get older? Lol Best ones are the when your looking at Netflix with your other n you laugh but realize you cant stop laughing and it goes on for an hour strait. LOL ahhh good old times and many more...

Like a great vacation in a joint... you remember good highs(and the scary ones) forever!!!!

Well damn! I just wrote a thoughtful an in depth response to this with details and explanations, then switched pages to makes sure my claims about leukenostok were accurate. When I changed tabs back, my essay was gone! How frustrating!

The number of times that has happened to me is ridiculous... I usually give up right after. Which happens very very frequently! Copying before hitting post usually works but if I forget man... forget the post! Lol

To the opp There was most likely moister still in the middle of the bud...get a micro humidistat and remove the guess work... I use a Caliber IV Digital Hygromter by Western Humidor but there are better ones you can calibrate using the salt test. Get a more than one so u can see the range of calibration. Its not always accurate from manufacturer but usually spot on.

It lets you know the humidity in the jars and learn to get a feel for when to jar. I aim for 65-62%. prevents mold and any other nasties from forming and allows the buds to continue curing without over-drying... Once over-drying happens curing is no longer taking place, If stems snap it's usally too dry, old method but think everyone started out by doing that that has ever grown. If humidity climbs too fast pull them out for a few hours then back in the jar. Check every few days to a week or so to make sure she is stable then you can seal them up indefinitely. Simon's perfect cure is a good thread read, but I've basically explained everything in a nutshell. The Calibers are cheap and one or two you can do many jars at the same time.. not everyone of them needs a meter.

While i do think there is a little more to this as I have had some very nice bud that I have forgotten in a draw somewhere many times that was way stronger than freshly dried. The above is the fastest and most accurate method for a proper cure.

Good-luck with your future endeavours man!!!
 
Last edited:
Northcliffe rose LMAO The man almost died n you think it's in his mind? damn strong ass hazes got him going crazy?

Did he almost die?

Or he just thought he was on the way out.
People these days celebrating their euphoric and trippy 9 week sativas.
I've noticed heaps of my sons friends get broken on anything approaching a sativa high.

Maybe he was just having too much of a good time.
 
There just mentally soft ey? Damn youngins... Lmao
I gave a group of wanna be expert smokers some of my strongest n it literally shut the table down... "Nobody move, no body get hurt" Lmao They got new phone numbers n called me a week later to ask me what the fuck i put in my bud. Type of bud u smell a block away when lit... Ahhh good times
 
Not all good sativas give para type buzz... but the best of the best usually has a touch of it for sure...

The best Sativas I've smoked have given me a spiritual experience and made me feel like i was able to talk to God...changed my whole outlook on life. You literally feel like ur being blessed by the Holy ghost Hehe
 
Last edited:
Back
Top