A perfect cure every time

[PaulieWaulie]

Dry for 15-20 days and cure for 20. Controlled environments are key. Once they're in the cure space, the flower doesn't get moved around at all. The cure is automated so no flipping or fluffing allowed. lol. Set the timer and let it be.

Everything gets a Nitrogen purge post cure so packaging at peak doesn't have to be rushed. Long and slow is the ticket.

I cure in 1/4lbs, 1kg, 2.5kg, 5kg, 50kg, and rooms that dry and cure.

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Traditional mason jars work great but I hate them because I have big hands. The "wide mouth" mason jar lids are too small and you have a hard time getting the product out. The 1/4lb containers have a 4" opening so your hand actually fits inside comfortably.

I actually used a 5G bucket with Gamma lid on this run, and then just had paper bags inside with 1oz in each fairly loose. Then just folded them once and could fit 10 or so in a bucket.

What RH and TEMPS do you dry in, and what do you do for air exchange and airflow.

I am contemplating having a fan blow direct air on them 24 hours a day, because if it was mildew that turned this crop to shit, I think having direct airflow and low RH will prevent that, even though it will dry it out even quicker!!!

Finally, this isn't a hay smell, this is more of a musky mildew smell. Idunno where I went wrong, but I guess I just need to dry the crop several different ways and do a side by side, to see what works better.
So frustrating, 4 months of work down the drain. Im ready to quit...

 

[gh@st]

Good information

 

[PaulieWaulie]

Ok here we go again. If you go back the last 2 pages you can see the last harvest disaster. Here we are 4 months later to try this again.

CHOPPED LAST NIGHT after 2 days of darkness, fan leaves removed a week ago.

Its winter here and they are in corner room.

So temps are 55F, and 45RH. There is air exchange when the heat furnace goes on in the house and sends forced air into room. I also have an exhaust fan on low removing air at a low rate.

And it is -30C outside so no I can't put in a dehuey it will cause water damage and frost on the walls and windows. At such low temps of 55F, the drying process should be slow.

last 3 Weeks have been just fed water

Strain - Dream Lotus/ Bodhi

 

[igrowone]

some mighty fine looking plants paulie
if you've had curing disasters might be prudent to just air dry(as you seem to be doing) some plants
may not be cured but should still be damned good by the look of them
best of luck

 

[Bud Green]

Your harvest looks nice Paulie..

45 rH at 55 degrees is pretty dry air... much less humid than 45 rH at 65 or 70 degrees...

Keep an eye on 'em so that you bin them before they get too dry..especially with moving air...

If the fat branches snap, without quite breaking all the way in two, it's time to put them in a plastic storage bin..

If you have a hygrometer in the bin with them, jar the buds when it reads 55% to 60%

Remember to give the hygrometer enough time to give an accurate reading....

..

 

[TychoMonolyth]

I actually used a 5G bucket with Gamma lid on this run, and then just had paper bags inside with 1oz in each fairly loose. Then just folded them once and could fit 10 or so in a bucket.

What RH and TEMPS do you dry in, and what do you do for air exchange and airflow.

I am contemplating having a fan blow direct air on them 24 hours a day, because if it was mildew that turned this crop to shit, I think having direct airflow and low RH will prevent that, even though it will dry it out even quicker!!!

Finally, this isn't a hay smell, this is more of a musky mildew smell. Idunno where I went wrong, but I guess I just need to dry the crop several different ways and do a side by side, to see what works better.
So frustrating, 4 months of work down the drain. Im ready to quit...

Optimal would be to
PART ONE
1. hang the branches for 5 days in a 60-65% RH room
You need FANS. Box fans if you can, Blowing air above and below to circulate that air. I have 5 in my room (20x24) to make sure I have enough air circulation. NOTHING blowing directly on the plants. I have a big dehumidifier in the room.

2. Trim the branches remove all fan and sugar leaves.

3. Hang the for another 5 days

4. Take the buds off the branches and into the bucket.


PART 2
The buckets have check valves and are pressurized with an air pump. New air is forced into the bucket at the bottom, and old air/humidity is exhausted out the top. The pump runs for 15 minutes every 24 hours. You still have to check the humidity the first couple days to make sure it's not like 72+RH. But if you dried enough, it shouldn't be a problem.

See a good example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jho0qeTUZnA


I'm never exactly like above. Depends on how much I have in the room.

It took me a long time to find the material to make them so there's no chemical off gassing. If you do it like in the video, you'll pull your hair out. But the method is sound and proven.

Here's some I make.

I also make the 5 gallon bucket versions like in the video.

They're pretty simple to use.
Fill them up, set the timer, plug them in, and 3 weeks later they're done.

 

[Jellyfish]

Hey, Tycho, that is really cool!

 

[PaulieWaulie]

Your harvest looks nice Paulie..

45 rH at 55 degrees is pretty dry air... much less humid than 45 rH at 65 or 70 degrees...

Keep an eye on 'em so that you bin them before they get too dry..especially with moving air...

If the fat branches snap, without quite breaking all the way in two, it's time to put them in a plastic storage bin..

If you have a hygrometer in the bin with them, jar the buds when it reads 55% to 60%

Remember to give the hygrometer enough time to give an accurate reading....

..

Yes it is dry, but since temps are so low ( 40F nights / 50F days)
it slows it down I think. Based on what I was reading, I myself have never had these cold conditions in drying before but I think it should be good.

My main issue I think over the years was putting it in jars too soon of fear that they would be over dry. But then what would happen the jar would go to 70's RH over the course of 24 hours before I open and buurb for a few hours. I think going above 65RH, even for a few hours can be mighty dangerous, as I would loose all smell instantly and it stayed smelling like musky herbs. Not that initial hay drying smell, I think its different.

Anyways, I will wait till stems are borderline snapping, and then put in a cardboard box maybe so that RH goes up, but they can still breath. Once it stabilizes more and is around 60RH then I do final trim, and put in 5G gamma ray lid bucket, and watch it like a hawk every few hour initially. Will shoot for 60RH final product.

I think I should get a 10-14 Day dry in these current conditions.

Will keep yall posted, thanks for the emotional support everyone!

 

[PaulieWaulie]

some mighty fine looking plants paulie
if you've had curing disasters might be prudent to just air dry(as you seem to be doing) some plants
may not be cured but should still be damned good by the look of them
best of luck

Yes, I rather just get a good dry, and not worry about drying to cure too early at high RH still.

I have had nugs that fall off the plant during harvest, and then sit on my hallway floor for a month getting stepped on and dirty, and I have found those nugs turned out way way better than my "curing disasters"!

and more than once I noticed that haha, so will wait till stems are snapping before putting in airtight container, and monitor and open if it goes above 60RH immediately.

 

[Jellyfish]

Unless you live in the desert, it will always be better to jar later than sooner. That has always been my experience.

 

[PaulieWaulie]

Also since I have the furnace heating blowing fresh air in every hour, and a exhaust fan at 10cfm removing air, and my RH being so dry already, do I need a fan moving air around? Is that imperative? Putting a fan in and having it face a wall seems pointless. I think air is moving around with what I have, and I would like to further debate of what exactly this moving air around does, and what happens if you don't.

 

[Jellyfish]

I never used a fan in the drying/hanging stage, and my shit came out fine. Maybe it would have come out better WITH a fan, I don't know. But I wouldn't call it imperative.

 

[igrowone]

I never used a fan in the drying/hanging stage, and my shit came out fine. Maybe it would have come out better WITH a fan, I don't know. But I wouldn't call it imperative.

same here, no fans
but much lower scale and small plants

 

[redlaser]

Fan might be useful on low pointed at a wall in the corner if the space is pretty packed with weed for the first day or two, but they really need to be monitored for over drying. There are fluctuations in temp and humidity in different parts of a drying space. Don’t use one myself but I have temp and humidity regulated in a space that is up to 3/4 full with only 1-2 inches between branches.
I put about eight of those LED hygrometer/thermometers at differnt heights and both ends of the space

 

[TychoMonolyth]

Isn't 10cfm like a computer fan? That's not enough.

Air circulation is the goal. Even a small oscillating fan would do. Just point it up the side of a wall. The circulation removes stagnant pockets of humid air within your branches and replaces it with fresh air. Without it, it could mold. It's also important to keep some space between your hanging branches.

Your buds are working harder than you can imagine. You don't notice it, but they are. Ever stick fresh bud in a garbage bag for a couple hours? Air circulation is very important. Even with hanging drying racks.

 

[PaulieWaulie]

Isn't 10cfm like a computer fan? That's not enough.

Air circulation is the goal. Even a small oscillating fan would do. Just point it up the side of a wall. The circulation removes stagnant pockets of humid air within your branches and replaces it with fresh air. Without it, it could mold. It's also important to keep some space between your hanging branches.

Your buds are working harder than you can imagine. You don't notice it, but they are. Ever stick fresh bud in a garbage bag for a couple hours? Air circulation is very important. Even with hanging drying racks.

it's actually the 10" hyper fan, dialed down to like 10W LOL

I did cave and put in a 16" oscillating fan on LOW. because the plants are hung up high I have it pointed to the space below.

 

[redlaser]

I actually do have some fans working off and on with the two dehumidifiers when they are cycling off and on. One is a household type and another is low end commercial. The commercial one blows hard enough it needs to be blocked to avoid drying anything too fast.
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[TychoMonolyth]

Ouf..
That's an expensive box.

 

[redlaser]

Ouf..
That's an expensive box.

It’s also an effective step stool/ chair combo, which is oddly left out of its advertising.

100 pint per day unit for under a grand used to be hard to find, might be better choices out there.

Got it for a greenhouse which was a mistake, insulation would have been a better use of money in hindsight.
It’s nice if you move it around a bit, have it in a crawl space now drying up a leaked water heater fiasco. Seems like a unit that could be rented, kind of like the rug doctor of dehumidifiers

 

[f-e]

The air outside my drying space is rarely over 60% so I have been controlling the humidity in there with a humidity controlled extractor fan. I have some circulation as I feel it's a must, but it's not a breeze upon the buds, it's just to stop the air around them, and more importantly within them, saturating to near 100% while the humidity sensor elsewhere thinks everything is fine. I pack my drying space quite tight you see. Convection currents alone don't offer the air movement I need. I have done extensive testing.

When my space dips below 60 without extraction, I use a humidifier. This can be as minimal as a tray of water or a cylinder of water with an air stone.


I have never been ion a position to use a dehumidifier. I have always found them too harsh. The air coming out, simply too dry. Though with more space that extremely dry air need not reach the buds. Some mixing can be done.