Finish drying my bud in the freezer in my kitchen?!?

[jus'plain'gill]

The Marijuana Grower's Handbook is the best book I have read on the subject of growing pot. When it comes to a question I have, the information in this book comes closest to the usual consensus I find here in these forums. I would say in general this book has relevant and up to date info. This is why I am so curious about something I read in the "Harvest and Beyond" chapter. I have searched but found nothing directly addressing my question here on ICmag.

Rosenthal spends a couple paragraphs discussing drying your buds (not just storing) in your home's frost-free freezer. I'm not sure if it is okay to quote the whole passage here so I'll try to summarize as best I can:

He states you should dry your bud to the point of stem snapping and to the point you would normally begin bagging and sweating or jarring and burping your buds. Once at that point you put the partially dried buds in the freezer to "freeze dry". The water in the plant tissues freezes and then evaporates over time (10-20 days according to the book) through a process called sublimation. The claims are better taste and preservation of psychoactive compounds.

Any experiences or opinions?



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**From a little further in the thread

Don't believe everything you read but do BELIEVE THIS: marijuana can effectively be dried and cured in the freezer portion of the refrigerator sitting in your home's kitchen.

I have concluded that the freezer drying method is superior and more practical for my situation than is drying and curing in jars. All marijuana was hang-dried for 4 days prior to going into their jars or the freezer but after those first 4 days the 2 methods differ considerably.

I never had to monitor the conditions of or do anything to the bud drying in the freezer, it was in a constant pitch black darkness and an airtight environment to protect THC from degradation. The vacuum also keeps the smell in, NO ODOR EVER COMING FROM THE FREEZER. This method was pretty much "Set it and Forget it!"

The bud in jars was aired out a couple times a day or as often as possible. I also monitored the temps and humidity very closely. So, essentially, this method required daily attention.

I am happy with the results from both methods. I have quality smoke a little more than 3 weeks after harvest from either way. I must say, however, I am more happy with the freeze dried product. After a couple days to think, and smoke, on it I have noticed a positive difference in the freezer weed. Most importantly the buzz is more pronounced, cleaner and longer lasting. The flavor is also better, similar to the jarred bud but more of it and more refined.

The only thing, so far, where the jarred pot beats the freezer pot is smell. Cracking open a jar of pot dried in the jar puts out a good, pungent odor. Cracking open the jar of freeze dried pot doesn't smack you in the face with that good, good smell. It might be different after being left to "sweat" in the jar for a few days however.

I have a decent sized harvest that is ready for the jars or the freezer now/tonight. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fit as much as I can in the extra spaces in my freezer and the only bud going in jars will be what doesn't fit in the freezer. I should get a more conclusive idea after this go at it, being there will be a much larger sample size.

Thanks again for hanging around and going along with a mostly boring thread. I'd love to see some feedback and I would love even more if someone else would give this a try to help refine the method more.


*Edit: First page needs a picture.

Kali Mist buds. Color comparison between bud that was kept in the freezer for 10 months (in an open cardboard box) and bud that was kept in an airtight container in a dark environment at room temperature. Room temp bud on left and freezer bud on right. Both smoked supremely but freezer pot had the best flavor. More info on page 8 of this thread, post #116

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[slackx]

Bump

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

No experience but I'd sacrifice a quarter oz as a test. Might be something to it.

 

[jus'plain'gill]

I will prob do a side by side of some freeze dried next to "perfect cure" dried and cured bud. I have read the Perfect Cure thread all the way thru and I've got my caliber hygrometer. Tons of good info in there but my issue is no info on freeze drying in a freezer in these forums. In fact, in my search I found several opinions against putting any bud in the freezer, fresh or dried.

What do you folks think?



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[jus'plain'gill]

I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.

I cut down one plant with three main branches and let them dry for 3 days, outside of the bud was beginning to get a little crisp but the whole bud remains spongy. The buds have shrunk considerably and lost a lot of water weight. Two branches will continue to dry and cure at "perfect cure" standards and one branch was put in the empty ice maker bin at the top of my freezer this morning.

It's just a test. I would say my main worry is the final product will end up tasting like the freezer (I hate that freezer-burnt taste!) but this process is supposed to be one of the best ways to preserve terpenes and resins. The next two weeks should tell the tale, I will post an update with whatever the results end up being.

Oh yeah, the strain is a plant from a bunch of seeds from an open pollination of some Spice Bros seeds from '03-'04ish. There were 8 females and 2 males: Apollo 11xMatanuska Thunder Fuck, Apollo 11xGreen Giant, and Rosetta Stone.



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[starrider]

interesting im going to try that another way i have a vacume seeler. good luck and stay safe

 

[Panama Red]

<------waiting on the results

 

[jus'plain'gill]

6 days in and the "perfect cure" buds are looking and feeling good. Humidity in the jars has been right for a couple days and the buds have a firm squish to them. The tester buds are ok, smooth to an extent but definitely time left to mellow some more. A nice white ash is all that is left in a smoked bowl.

The buds in the freezer are... cold. Other than that, I'm not real sure of what's going on. I'll prob wait another 3 days and take the first sample off of her, that will be her 10th day in the freezer and that was the low end recommended in the book. I will share my findings, good or bad.

One thing I already see being a good thing about using the freezer for drying is odor control. I don't like to dry in my grow area (too warm, bright etc) and I don't want a separate drying cabinet for my smallish harvests so the freezer handles that problem perfectly. I'll let you know if my TV dinners end up tasting like primo pot, but I doubt that will be the case



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[stankj]

very interesting...

 

[argoagro]

Interested in the results, I believe it, I've stored bud in the freezer expecting it to be the same when it came out but it was dry as hell.

 

[jus'plain'gill]

Yesterday was 16 days from the first day in the freezer for the experimental branch and 16 days for the buds in jars.

JARRED WEED-

I have been puffing on the jarred stuff for a week and a half and I can tell this method is going to allow the product to mellow even more over time, but at this current point there is definitely a little left to be desired as far as flavor and actual "texture" of the smoke. I still do feel it will get smoother in the weeks to come.

FREEZE DRIED WEED-

The freezer tester got it's first sample yesterday (16 days in), and initially I believe the results are good. The bud certainly tasted and smoked different. I'm having a tough time thinking of words to describe the differences but I'll try.

The freezer bud at 16 days seems to have the same flavor as the jarred buds but with a more "refined" (maybe??) element. The smoke itself was smoother for sure, pleasant expansion without inducing a cough. That is noteworthy because I have been coughing quite a bit lately and the smoke usually exacerbates that. I get the same whitish ash as I do from the other buds. The bud itself, however, still feels kinda spongy when squeezed.



My opinions are coming from just a couple test bowls from last night. I'm going to wait at least 2-4 days before testing freeze dried bud again, but I am hopeful about this method and I will be putting a substantial amount more from plants chopped the past two nights into the freezer after they have dried a few days.

Thanks for checking in and I want to hear some opinions and criticisms.



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[jus'plain'gill]

Don't believe everything you read but do BELIEVE THIS: marijuana can effectively be dried and cured in the freezer portion of the refrigerator sitting in your home's kitchen.

I have concluded that the freezer drying method is superior and more practical for my situation than is drying and curing in jars. All marijuana was hang-dried for 4 days prior to going into their jars or the freezer but after those first 4 days the 2 methods differ considerably.

I never had to monitor the conditions of or do anything to the bud drying in the freezer, it was in a constant pitch black darkness and an airtight environment to protect THC from degradation. The vacuum also keeps the smell in, NO ODOR EVER COMING FROM THE FREEZER. This method was pretty much "Set it and Forget it!"

The bud in jars was aired out a couple times a day or as often as possible. I also monitored the temps and humidity very closely. So, essentially, this method required daily attention.

I am happy with the results from both methods. I have quality smoke a little more than 3 weeks after harvest from either way. I must say, however, I am more happy with the freeze dried product. After a couple days to think, and smoke, on it I have noticed a positive difference in the freezer weed. Most importantly the buzz is more pronounced, cleaner and longer lasting. The flavor is also better, similar to the jarred bud but more of it and more refined.

The only thing, so far, where the jarred pot beats the freezer pot is smell. Cracking open a jar of pot dried in the jar puts out a good, pungent odor. Cracking open the jar of freeze dried pot doesn't smack you in the face with that good, good smell. It might be different after being left to "sweat" in the jar for a few days however.

I have a decent sized harvest that is ready for the jars or the freezer now/tonight. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fit as much as I can in the extra spaces in my freezer and the only bud going in jars will be what doesn't fit in the freezer. I should get a more conclusive idea after this go at it, being there will be a much larger sample size.

Thanks again for hanging around and going along with a mostly boring thread. I'd love to see some feedback and I would love even more if someone else would give this a try to help refine the method more.



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[RugerBaby]

nice! My friend does the Freezer method and TRUST ME it gets its smell back after a day. BTW my friend brought some XJ13 done with the freezer method. BOMB STUFF!

 

[vannuysorganic]

Do you put the buds that go in the freezer in anything, like a jar or bag, or just put them straight in.

If not I could see putting the nugs in jars then putting them in the freezer... Might help increase aroma

 

[Bush Dr]

Interesting ..... freezing the last water molecules out of the THC, then allowing them to evaporate the water off as they 'defrost'

Doing it a couple of times, as in 'airing' them would intensify the effect ....

 

[jus'plain'gill]

I've got a cardboard box that is loosely filled with buds that were a little crisp on the outside but still a little spongey when squeezed after having a 4 day hang dry. There will be another box going in tomorrow after one more day of drying.

I smoked the whole tester before it got a chance to sit in a jar for more than 24 hrs so I'll have to wait about 3 weeks to see how the aroma builds after a few days in the jar. I'm sure the smell will be there, one main idea is the thc and terpenes will be preserved more effectively.

I'm not sure if I understand your point on putting the bud back in the freezer but I'm sure you could without too much ill effect. More time in the freezer will just result in bud being drier and drier until all moisture is gone. I think the desired effects are achieved in the time period (3 weeks for me) it takes to get the bud evenly dry.

I hope I'm making sense. I'm a stranger in a strange land and um stoned!



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[tequila_sunrise]

interesting report gill! Do you just leave the buds out in the open? In a bag?

 

[jus'plain'gill]

The bags are in a shallow cardboard box that is left open so that the frozen water in the plant material is allowed to evaporate. This process, sublimation, is the key to this method.

I have another box-o-buds about to to in the freezer. I let these buds get a little drier, I'm hoping this will cut down on the 21 day freezer time a little. I'm hoping I can get the same results after 14-16 days. This means I'll have no buds drying/curing in jars. By the time the feeze dried buds ends up in a jar, it will be in that jar solely for storage.

I will continue to add my opinions on this subject as they form and I'll answer any questions that might get asked the best I can but for the most part I'm gonna need this thread to help me keep up with the dates; entered freezer date mainly. So please be patient as Ill only check this thread as often as I can and updates might be 3 weeks apart. Thanks again for looking, take care.



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[navyguy14420]

I too am curious about how they go into the freezer. in an earlier post you mention that they are vacuum sealed to prevent the odor from escaping, then in a later post you mention that you put them loosely in a cardboard box so the water can evaporate. I'm confused. sorry. I just put some buds in a jar today, but would like to take some out and try the freezer method. a little clarification please

 

[jus'plain'gill]

The buds are not vacuum sealed, the freezer itself is a large vacuum! You can hang them from your freezers racks, set them on your freezers racks, put them in open boxes or on pieces of cardboard, you could prob put them in jars with the lids off or any container with lids off, as long as the buds to be dried are allowed to breathe inside the freezer the process of sublimation should take place.

Give it a shot, share your results with us here in this thread!



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