drying and curing

skunk-mad

New member
Hi all how do you guys n girls dry your finished product do you leave it all on the stem,s? with the leaves on or do you hang it branch by branch? also how do you cure your bud once dry..

I ask because i would like to try a different method to the cardboard box with string and my hanging dry rack

skunk-mad..
 
i do it differently from most people.
i have tried loads of different methods but seriously believe the best tasting and smelling buds come from letting the plants all but dry up(after a good flush of course) then chopping, rough trimming any resinless fans and tips and hang branches in the dark in a place with good airflow(but no direct air at the buds).
then i leave them to dry up to the point where the true smell comes out and stems are snapping, can take 1,2or 3 weeks depending on temps, RH and bud density. when they are smelling good they are usually dry and smokeable, then trim them proper(fill hash bags with sugar trim :)) and jar them up.

forget burping, your bud is dry, they resin may still be icky though.
if it sweats in the jar and becomes pliable again for me that was too early in the jars increasing your chances of ruining the taste and smell.

my buds taste better doing this than all the burping, in and out of jars nonesense, i handle the bud as little as possible and it shows by how much resin is on the end product, everything in the jars glistens like diamonds.

so yeah thats how i do it maybe its better, maybe i was just rubbish at the way most people do it.............:D

all the best,
Riz.

p.s. i dry in my loft so it depends on the time of year as to what the temps etc are, just hang branches on string in the dark really. lol
 
I think everyone should try hanging the whole untrimmed plant upside down in the dark for as long as poss... At least try this once in your growing life.. Thats if you can wait for your bud..lol..
Peace
BL
 
i have done that billy but found it to difficult to deal with without bashing the shite out of it trying to move it around!
most people mess up the drying by over complicating it imo
 
yes those big plants can get in the way mate....lol..
I have deep hatred for trimming, especially wet trimming... The worst aspect of growing for me...
But I agree alot of folks do mess up their drying..
If the branch don't snap.... It's still wet... I wish folks would dry poperly, well folks whose bud I smoke......
Anyone use or have used a dehimidifyer to dry??
Peace
BL
 
Greetings folks,

I really like that method you mentioned above. I cut my plants right before I would normally water them (basically when the soil is dry, a little extra dry for cutting). I then hang the whole plant minus the fan leaves (and only the fan leaves I cut off after chopping) up side down for anywhere between 1 and 3 weeks depending on the weather, humidity, etc.

When the stems snap thats when I trim and jar. Like someone mentioned above, if you leave hanging for a little longer then you can put the bud into a jar and not have to burp it. If you take it down a little early before the stems snap then you will have to burp the bud.

Best Regards

sXi
 
i do it differently from most people.
i have tried loads of different methods but seriously believe the best tasting and smelling buds come from letting the plants all but dry up(after a good flush of course) then chopping, rough trimming any resinless fans and tips and hang branches in the dark in a place with good airflow(but no direct air at the buds).
then i leave them to dry up to the point where the true smell comes out and stems are snapping, can take 1,2or 3 weeks depending on temps, RH and bud density. when they are smelling good they are usually dry and smokeable, then trim them proper(fill hash bags with sugar trim :)) and jar them up.

forget burping, your bud is dry, they resin may still be icky though.
if it sweats in the jar and becomes pliable again for me that was too early in the jars increasing your chances of ruining the taste and smell.

my buds taste better doing this than all the burping, in and out of jars nonesense, i handle the bud as little as possible and it shows by how much resin is on the end product, everything in the jars glistens like diamonds.

so yeah thats how i do it maybe its better, maybe i was just rubbish at the way most people do it.............:D

all the best,
Riz.

p.s. i dry in my loft so it depends on the time of year as to what the temps etc are, just hang branches on string in the dark really. lol

Well i must admit that i feel truly privileged to receive your advice if im not mistaken are you the rizladon who grew out the cheese#1 which won 3rd place in the canary island cannabis cup last year. What do you mean dry up no water until the soil is crispy and they can basically be pulled straight out of the pots?. I will try this method and just chop the big fan/shad leaves with no thc and do the sugar trim later as now i trim up wet and hang to dry but my bud is drying very fast 3-5 days on the stems and thats snapping stems 3-5 days is to fast so im going to try your method..

Thanx for the advice

skunk-mad.
 
Most forum members burp, but guys like Shantibaba and Kangativa just dry thoroughly, then seal away for a few months, and dry a little if its necessary...seems like less stuffing about, as long as you dry thoroughly in the first place.
 
I'm a stealth grower so I have to be careful about drying and curing also. I use paper grocery bags. They slowly wick the moisture out of the material but take enough out to keep it the mold at bay. I have a space for them between the light and the carbon filter. 8 or 9 days and they are ready for the jar. I trim the fans before they go in the bag...then slowly over the next few days trim them up as they dry. I'm just a percy grower though...but paper bags do work well.
 
Drying properly IMO is more important than 'curing'. Like every other aspect of growing, it's a waiting game :D. I trim 80%+ wet to avoid smashing up my bone dry buds before I jar them. If they still turn to powder after 2-3 days in the jars, I put a little piece of stem in the jar, and check daily till they have a little moisture in them.

If you use plastic containers, especially bags to store/cure buds, make sure that you let the plastic off-gas for a day or 2 before you put your nugs in. I made a nice batch of ssh smell like plastic once by just opening a bag, and dropping in dry buds. The buds absorbed the moisture/plastic/whatever :( Now I either turn the bag inside out for a few days, or fill them with my chlorinated tap water for a few hrs, then dry em. Headsmoke only goes in jars :D
 
Well i must admit that i feel truly privileged to receive your advice if im not mistaken are you the rizladon who grew out the cheese#1 which won 3rd place in the canary island cannabis cup last year. What do you mean dry up no water until the soil is crispy and they can basically be pulled straight out of the pots?. I will try this method and just chop the big fan/shad leaves with no thc and do the sugar trim later as now i trim up wet and hang to dry but my bud is drying very fast 3-5 days on the stems and thats snapping stems 3-5 days is to fast so im going to try your method..

Thanx for the advice

skunk-mad.

you flatter me, i am just a grower like you.
buds drying in 3-5 days would be a little too fast in my book, try to hang them somewhere where the temps are in the 15-18c range that should slow the dry down a bit and remember no direct air flow onto the buds.
all the best mate,
Riz.

p.s. when i say let the plants dry out in the pots i mean when they are ripe and ready stop watering and let the pot dry up when its dry and light, chop them, usually 2 days or so depending on pot size and plants feeding habits.
 
you flatter me, i am just a grower like you.
buds drying in 3-5 days would be a little too fast in my book, try to hang them somewhere where the temps are in the 15-18c range that should slow the dry down a bit and remember no direct air flow onto the buds.
all the best mate,
Riz.

p.s. when i say let the plants dry out in the pots i mean when they are ripe and ready stop watering and let the pot dry up when its dry and light, chop them, usually 2 days or so depending on pot size and plants feeding habits.
Yo Riz,

I'll relate my method: since we were growing far away in a remote high-desert canyon and had to do it all onsite, we hung our plants upside down in the trees that were in the grow area. The early-mid October temperature was approximately 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and the relative humidity was probably near 5% max because October is a traditionally dry month. The night temps were around 40-45 degrees.

We pulled off all large fan leaves and any that were yellow while the girls were still in the ground to lessen the trim work later as well as to minimize handling during manicuring. We let them hang for 5-8 days until the branches snapped fairly easy. Most were Skunk #1 and the leaf to bud ratio wasn't too bad. After manicuring, a slow labor of love, we boxed the buds in cardboard boxes for the long hike out. No plastic so that the buds curing process could still continue. Upon reaching our town stash house we transferred as much as possible into gallon glass jars, however 100+ lbs made that impractical and we opted for big zip locks inside of cardboard boxes that held 8 ounces apiece.

My take on areas of high humidity is that the harvesting, drying, curing process is critical and if done wrong could engender molds as well as cause uneven drying. I totally realize how fortunate we were in the high desert climate at this point. Lebanon, Morocco, Afghanistan, and all other desert cannabis countries have this advantage I believe when harvest time comes. Equatorial countries must be quite difficult if you can't dry in a shed, protected palapa, or building of some sort.

Peace,

Madjag
MJ
 
once the buds are dry, you want to keep them in something airtight to prevent the drug degrading over time.

Riz.

Hi man. I hear this. But I've also read about a guy who dries in shoe boxes with "awesome results". I've also stored dried bud in brown paper bags in the past and it came out fine.

I've recently bought a new pair of trainers so I think I'll throw in about a zip or so in the shoe box from my next harvest, just to see for myself.

Has anyone heard of or tried drying in the freezer?

GM1
 
Last edited:
Humidor?

no one ever talks about using those (humidors).

the more i become a self sustaining unit, the more i want one.
 
Hi man. I hear this. But I've also read about a guy who dries in shoe boxes with "awesome results". I've also stored dried bud in brown paper bags in the past and it came out fine.

I've recently bought a new pair of trainers so I think I'll throw in about a zip or so in the shoe box from my next harvest, just to see for myself.

Has anyone heard of or tried drying in the freezer?

GM1

shoe boxes or brown cardboard is absorbant, the only way this would help or give you "awesome" results is if you struggle to dry the plants and need the card to help draw out the moisture.

if you dry the buds then jar you are all good, if you have done a good job with the growing once dry the buds will be sweet. there is no need to over complicate things mate.

all the best.
Riz.
 
Rizladon

I have to disagree.

I live in an area that suffers from intermittent high levels of wood smoke.(aussie and pine)
Very destructive to drying cannabis.
A shoe box helps!
Atm I dry in a mesh fruit bag suspended in a capped carbon filter!
I have intake HEPA's on the way from the States.
Hopefully they will alleviate the problem.
Air quality for drying and growing plants is undervalued.


Intrepid
 
Rizladon

I have to disagree.

I live in an area that suffers from intermittent high levels of wood smoke.(aussie and pine)
Very destructive to drying cannabis.
A shoe box helps!
Atm I dry in a mesh fruit bag suspended in a capped carbon filter!
I have intake HEPA's on the way from the States.
Hopefully they will alleviate the problem.
Air quality for drying and growing plants is undervalued.


Intrepid

your house is full of smoke intermittently? sounds bad. and would definately taint the end product.

you dry in a capped air filter? (is it a massive filter or real small harvest? jk! :))
how does that work for you? which stage of the drying do you use the cardboard? is it a mesh bag in a filter in a shoe box? am i missing something?
sucks that your air quality is so bad (are you drying indoors or out?, surely the air quality inside is not to bad?) and glad it is not an issue of mine. if your temps aint to bad can you not draw air internally? or is your house full of smoke and smoke smells too?

all the best,
Riz.
 
Rizladon

I live in a forestry town, surrounded by heavy forest.
Without going into too much detail, the entire area gets heavily polluted.
As I stated clearly, the mesh bag is suspended in a carbon filter.
I have 3 carbon filters for drying.
If it doesn't all fit, I have to wait for it to desiccate, so I can fit more in.
I have never dried in a shoebox.
I have dried in other cardboard containers, but found the result unsatisfactory, but it was still an improvement.
My temps are too high too draw air internally.
I only run my intake/outtake fans part time, 1/4 hr on, 3/4 an hour off, when lights are on.
Even with part time external ventilation I struggle to keep my plants under 32 c mid winter.
That is the only reason I draw external air.
I cannot move because of family commitments.
If the HEPA's don't help, it looks like refrigerated, sealed, co2.:(

Not many people would live in an environment as smoky as mine is.
If anyone does, you have my empathy.
Good fortune to all.

Intrepid
 
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