Drying Time

[420 grower]

So I cut and have been hangin my g13 for four days. Temp is about 68. Humidity abt 30%. It feels like its ready to go into jars. I hear of people hang dryingn a lot longer but I think they will overdry. Last time I put them in paper bags at this point for a couple more days then put in jars. That seemed to work well. Suggestions?

[herbnurse]

Four days could be enough but from part experience g13 Has some compact hard buds. It could be dry enough though to go in jars but hard to tell without seeing it. How are the stems? They close you snapping when bent? If you put in jars just open it four times or so a day and either empty it and fill back up or just mix it around each time you open. Do this for a week and you can start opening to air a couple times a day. Just watch for mold each time.

[Kingdiamond]

4 days hang drying alone will not be enough brown bag them for a day or so to draw out the inner moisture from the wet bud putting it in jars now will likely have you burping hourly.

 

Id much rather risk over dried bud then wet moldy bud because a fresh fan leaf can restore the needed moisture if by chance you do over dry it a tad.

[420 grower]

I removed the fan leaves already

I think ill brown bag it tonight...

[The Digital Nomad]

drying time is variable, even on the same plant, some buds need more rack time.

I like the 'stem bend' trick - this works on what ever size bud or strain. If the stem on that bud cracks instead of bends, its ready to at least cure in an open jar.

 

Brown bagging is not curing in a jar, to me - its another drying tactic. The paper bag absorbs moisture, so its just helping drying. The fact you don't have air circulation in the brown paper bag discourages me from using this tactic, why not use a cardboard box? A box can be open topped so a fan can still circulate air.

 

I have used cardboard, window screens, and now a professional drying rack. The drying rack is just the best as it is more portable, than a cardboard box or window screen (certainly when you are talking about drying more than two plants!) For $60 the drying rack is just a good investment with many returns.

 

If you place your buds in a jar, and within 6 hours the buds are re moisten to be soft and sticky - its too early to seal the jar. Also, don't fill the jars up - leave it half way empty to allow the buds to evenly cure. Still keep in a cool, dark place until fully cured.

Safe bet - do the 'stem bend' trick, don't jar until the stem cracks - remember that exposed stem is dry enough to crack, but it is still moist inside the bud - so it will not be over dried.

 

Last tip - remove the sun leaves prior to hanging them up, I actually trim the sun leaves off the plant just before initiating the 36hour of darkness. They are still in the pots, and it is easier to trim the big leaves off when they are firm and not wilty. Removing the big leaves allows better air circulation. Never leave the sun leaves on in the curing stage, the leaves are so heavy with chlorophyll that they will impart a 'green grass' smell and taste to your buds!

 

-DN

[phaquetoo]

drying time is variable, even on the same plant, some buds need more rack time.

I like the 'stem bend' trick - this works on what ever size bud or strain. If the stem on that bud cracks instead of bends, its ready to at least cure in an open jar.

 

Brown bagging is not curing in a jar, to me - its another drying tactic. The paper bag absorbs moisture, so its just helping drying. The fact you don't have air circulation in the brown paper bag discourages me from using this tactic, why not use a cardboard box? A box can be open topped so a fan can still circulate air.

 

I have used cardboard, window screens, and now a professional drying rack. The drying rack is just the best as it is more portable, than a cardboard box or window screen (certainly when you are talking about drying more than two plants!) For $60 the drying rack is just a good investment with many returns.

 

If you place your buds in a jar, and within 6 hours the buds are re moisten to be soft and sticky - its too early to seal the jar. Also, don't fill the jars up - leave it half way empty to allow the buds to evenly cure. Still keep in a cool, dark place until fully cured.

Safe bet - do the 'stem bend' trick, don't jar until the stem cracks - remember that exposed stem is dry enough to crack, but it is still moist inside the bud - so it will not be over dried.

 

Last tip - remove the sun leaves prior to hanging them up, I actually trim the sun leaves off the plant just before initiating the 36hour of darkness. They are still in the pots, and it is easier to trim the big leaves off when they are firm and not wilty. Removing the big leaves allows better air circulation. Never leave the sun leaves on in the curing stage, the leaves are so heavy with chlorophyll that they will impart a 'green grass' smell and taste to your buds!

 

-DN

 

Ditto!

 

Happy New Years!

Peace

FTW

Jim

[lwheidt]

I trim my plants as soon as I cut them, and I try to get them pretty dry in 3-4 or more days by having only one layer of buds on a large screen. After 3-4 days the outside will be dry (but nowhere near crumbley) but the stems will still fold instead of snap, so I take the buds and pile them up into one big pile that I let sit for another week. I will occasionaly take the pile and stir it up. Also, you could just place the buds in a really large bowl and stir them everyday or every couple of days. This works a lot better than paper bags, because paper bags add a little bit of bad taste to the project that can easily be avoided.

 

 

If you try to rush the buds into jars, you are going to get mold. Never rush to the jars!

 

With all the drying and curing techniques I have been suprized how well buds can cure if they just sit in the open for a long time. I have found buds that got lost and sat out for months and if the room isn't too dry, they are just as good or better than ones that were "properly" cured.

 

Curing is a art and can't be done 100% by the numbers. You want it to dry as slow as possible without mold. If you dry too fast you destroy the terpenes and can't get them back. If you dry too slow, you ruin it too. So, I try to get a lot of drying done in about 4 days, and then I slow the process down. Jars are where they end up at about the 14 day mark after the green smell is gone.

[Mr. Wilson]

Totally depends on environment. Could take 4 days or 14 days. You can always dump everything in a container, add a humidistat and seal the top, to get an idea of the overall humidity.

If it's over 70, it still needs dry time. If it's under 55, you over-dried.

[Afi]

I hang mine whole with sun leaves and yellow leaves removed. I try not to let my humidity drop below 50%. Let hang untill buds are dry and stems are still slightly pliable but still partly snap and then they are ready for the jars. Usually moisture from the stems will rehydrate the buds to the correct level for curing. If they feel slightly to damp after rehydration I will dump them into a cardboard box a stir frequently after a few hours you should be good to put them back in the jars. I have used this technique for ever and it works well.

[ddrew]

I trim mine when I cut them down, clothes pinned to hangers for 6-8ish days, just before the stems would snap when bent, I cut off all the buds, and spread them out on a tray and allow them to dry for another 24-36 hours, then it's jar time.

[treehugger]

I can imagine no more delicate flower than our medicine, it certainly deserves more careful adjectives than "dump" or even "stir". Absolutely avoid compressing, abrading, or shocking the glands during processing so as to maximize appeal and potency. After lowering the moisture level below the spoiling point with moderated line drying, temper to a final finish in shallow Tupperware containers.

[MiMeds4U]

I'm with you Treehugger.. And Happy New Year everyone

[+EdwardGlen]

drying time is variable, even on the same plant, some buds need more rack time.

I like the 'stem bend' trick - this works on what ever size bud or strain. If the stem on that bud cracks instead of bends, its ready to at least cure in an open jar.

 

Brown bagging is not curing in a jar, to me - its another drying tactic. The paper bag absorbs moisture, so its just helping drying. The fact you don't have air circulation in the brown paper bag discourages me from using this tactic, why not use a cardboard box? A box can be open topped so a fan can still circulate air.

 

I have used cardboard, window screens, and now a professional drying rack. The drying rack is just the best as it is more portable, than a cardboard box or window screen (certainly when you are talking about drying more than two plants!) For $60 the drying rack is just a good investment with many returns.

 

If you place your buds in a jar, and within 6 hours the buds are re moisten to be soft and sticky - its too early to seal the jar. Also, don't fill the jars up - leave it half way empty to allow the buds to evenly cure. Still keep in a cool, dark place until fully cured.

Safe bet - do the 'stem bend' trick, don't jar until the stem cracks - remember that exposed stem is dry enough to crack, but it is still moist inside the bud - so it will not be over dried.

 

Last tip - remove the sun leaves prior to hanging them up, I actually trim the sun leaves off the plant just before initiating the 36hour of darkness. They are still in the pots, and it is easier to trim the big leaves off when they are firm and not wilty. Removing the big leaves allows better air circulation. Never leave the sun leaves on in the curing stage, the leaves are so heavy with chlorophyll that they will impart a 'green grass' smell and taste to your buds!

 

-DN

 

Learned how to harvest, trim, dry, cure, and store cannabis, and never left the house priceless!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

[+420Atheist]

Id much rather risk over dried bud then wet moldy bud because a fresh fan leaf can restore the needed moisture if by chance you do over dry it a tad.

 

Thank you for this tip.

[Kingdiamond]

Thank you for this tip.

Someone else gave me this tip early last year and i was amazed at the results .

[BubbleBerryKush]

I just cut some down, and I am trying to cure it in a home depot bucket after 5 days of hanging....it definitely smells different, I think the plastic is doing something to it...I wont use this method again....

 

where can I get big glass jars??? the quarts dont work for me because my buds are not dense so a half zip fits (figuring you need to leave room for in the jar..)

 

and the paper bag is no good for me either, it stays wet to long

[Kingdiamond]

I just cut some down, and I am trying to cure it in a home depot bucket after 5 days of hanging....it definitely smells different, I think the plastic is doing something to it...I wont use this method again....

 

where can I get big glass jars??? the quarts dont work for me because my buds are not dense so a half zip fits (figuring you need to leave room for in the jar..)

 

and the paper bag is no good for me either, it stays wet to long

Hobby lobby in canton carrys the huge mason jars for $19.99 apiece so far they are the only one ive found who carrys them.

 

Who recommended bucket drying ive never heard of anyone doing that?

[G3LLO]

If you have a Dollar General around you they have some nice big jars for 2.00 and huge ones for 3.50

[BubbleBerryKush]

Hobby lobby in canton carrys the huge mason jars for $19.99 apiece so far they are the only one ive found who carrys them.

 

Who recommended bucket drying ive never heard of anyone doing that?

 

 

no one explicitly recommended it so me, just say that someone did it once and thought to give it a try......it could be the fact that this was my first soil run in a while, but it smells very different!!!

[op2kal]

Buds can be put into jars slightly moist- the only thing is you need to be able to pay attention to it very close. If when you open it the buds feel moist- pull them out of the jar and lay them out onna plate or something for a couple hours to let them dry a little more. When you put them into the jar slightly moist it will pull the moisture from the inside of the bud to the outside of the bud where its much dryer, somtimes feels almost crumbly untill put into the jars. Make sure you check these 3-4 times a day to make sure its completely drying. If when you open the cap a smell of ammonia comes out- you need to burp it and possibly pull the buds out once more. The smell from the jars should come out smooth and be very palatable to the nose, not like chemical.

 

I usually hang for 4-5 days then put into jars- sometimes the strains are still slightly moist in the stem so I check them often for a few days. If they start smelling like strong chemical pull 'em out and let em dry some more. If it smells sweet and smooth- its good. If theres just a slight chemical smell= just burp the jar for a bit.

[treehugger]

Please!, medicine should only touch food grade materials, that does not include garbage bags, paint cans or spackle buckets. Glass jars can be nice and pretty, especially for long term storage and display, but i find that the small opening and deep shape mean that a lot of crystal is lost in transfer.

 

I have found that large( (11x16x3) flat tupperware is ideal for final tempering and storage. The bud is generally laid out in two layers with the second level cradled in the gaps in the first level, this cushions and balances the material from excessive movement and trichome fragmentation. Humidity control is very easy to modulate with the large opening. Initially, when large amounts of moisture express from the stem, you can use the large lid to fan the fog from the bud. Instead of having to dig the wet bud from the bottom of a bucket, bag or jar - just flip the contents with an extra lid to bring top to bottom! (almost stressless) In the intermediate stage you can get by with just cracking the lid and "burping" the bottom. In the finishing stages you might peek once or twice a week until the final cure is reached in about a months time.