Drying problems smelling like hay need help!

[bigboy18]

Hello everyone I'm having some issues Drying. I've been able to grow nice buds that smell great the whole way threw tons of crystals trichomes harvested at the right time and smells great when I harvest and trim but as soon as I start to dry them they develop this hay smell and taste. Keep in mind that I live in a desert climate (Nevada) and humidity rarely gets over 30% RH However in my drying environment I was able to keep a RH of 60% and 65 degrees ferinheight with consistent airflow consistently. I for some reason am still getting this hay smell. Ive read a few threads where some say its genetics but I don't believe mine are bad because they were smelling the whole way threw until I started drying them. The plants were Skunk #1 from sensi seeds. Ive done this process 4 times with all different genetics and they all have the same issue with same drying method and cure in 65%RH with consistent burping. Can someone with some experience on maximizing Terpenes smell and taste please steer me in the right direction on how to get this smell to stay with the plant and how to get the taste consistent so I don't run into this problem anymore. I have one more master kush that's in flower right now that smells fantastic and I don't want to make the same mistake. Its very frustrating making this far all the time only to be let down by bad taste and smell so if someone has the right answer that would be appreciated thank you.

 

[Snype]

Could have stayed we too long or it's just the pheno that you have. What you can do to find out is hang up a stem when you harvest and put it in a jar after the stem cracks when you bend it. If it doesn't have smell when it's jared up for a few days, it's probably strain related. Plenty of threads to show you how to dry and cure.

 

[bigboy18]

Really that's interesting way to find out Im going to try that thank you for your help. I've read a few threads about curing and drying on the forums but that all seem to give me the same advice or the same method im using. For some reason I feel i have a unique situation because it seems to be the same exact method other growers are using with success. I harvested my plant when it was at 90 percent cloudy and 10 percent amber and the hairs were receding after Turning 80 percent red to 20 percent white so I don't think it was to soon im not sure though im still learning. Ive been having these plants in the drying room under the conditions posted in the original post for 5 days should I at least let them dry for another week before cure? please let me know what you would do in this situation thanks.

 

[Snype]

Really that's interesting way to find out Im going to try that thank you for your help. I've read a few threads about curing and drying on the forums but that all seem to give me the same advice or the same method im using. For some reason I feel i have a unique situation because it seems to be the same exact method other growers are using with success. I harvested my plant when it was at 90 percent cloudy and 10 percent amber and the hairs were receding after Turning 80 percent red to 20 percent white so I don't think it was to soon im not sure though im still learning. Ive been having these plants in the drying room under the conditions posted in the original post for 5 days should I at least let them dry for another week before cure? please let me know what you would do in this situation thanks.

The other thing I can tell you is that Sensi Seeds went down hill the last 10 years. I'd get some better seeds. Chemdog strains will smell no matter how bad you mess up the dry and cure.

 

[bigboy18]

Ok i will look into getting some Chemdog seeds next go around sounds like a good strain for me thanks for your time and help.

 

[ghostmade]

Just make BHO or just throw them in the bubble bags. That's my answer for everything in regards to s***** smelling gear. My fault or not. But in regards to tighten up your game. You might want to check out the harvest and processing section row

 

[dickcorn]

I've on had hay smell if harvesting to early, drying to quick or to long/ over dry. I'd assume your either harvesting to early or your lack oh rh is drying it to quickly. Or your fucking up the cure. Is there good smell before you jar? Maybe your curing it to moist?

 

[seventhchild]

....I harvested my plant when...... the hairs were receding after Turning 80 percent red to 20 percent white ......

Do Not use "hair" color as an indicator of ripeness,dozens of things can cause them to turn color,keep your eye on the trics located on the calyx.but i don't think your harvesting early so that's not the problem.
IMHO meters and gages can bite you in the ass when they malfunction so you need to know how to dry and then cure using only your own scenes.i'll give a overview of how i cure after 40 years of harvesting.some specifics may be debatable but the overall process is the same for almost everyone.
#1-harvest at desired ripeness
#2-dry to remove excess moisture
#3-maintain moisture until cured to desired level
#4-dry to stop cure and preserve buds

#1-no need to explain but if it don't smell when you harvest it never will

#2-it has been my experience that this is where most growers miss up.I remove all large leaf before i hang,some peeps remove nothing,some remove all leaf.this has been debated over and over so i'm not going to argue about it but IF YOU CUT ALL THE LEAF OFF BEFORE THE FIRST DRY YOU HAVE DAMAGED YOUR BUD.
Quite often after you hang the buds the smell will fade away after a day or two and a hay like smell will become pronounced,don't worry ,it's temporary.
What i want to happen now,no matter what the temp or humidity is(i prefer 70/70) ,is for the buds to take 3 to 4 days to feel dry on the outside.dry too fast and you lose the smells and cure,dry to slow you risk mold and mildew.it's worse to dry to fast,many people take longer than 4 days to dry and thats ok,4 days is just what i like.
Forget everything you learned about snapping the stems,you aren't going to be smoking those. first day you will see the leaf wilt,second day the leaf shrinks,third day feel the buds. IF the leaf is dry on only the tips let it dry one more day. AS SOON AS the leaf is dry all over stop all air movement until the leaf is moist again.you want to draw the moisture out from inside the buds.the goal is to have moisture equally distributed throughout.
before i had a curing room i would take the buds down and put them in a tote,some folks use paper bags.in a few hours they would be wet again and i would rehang them.again when they feel dry stop and let them remoisturize.repeat as needed until you can FEEL that the buds are just as dry as when you stoped the drying. any smell that faded after harvest will have returned and the buds are now starting to cure.
I now use meters and gauges and relays and contactors to do all that work for me but i still put my hands on every batch and sniff each bud.

#3-the buds are now curing,remove excess leaf and stem and jar them.for the next 7 days open every jar and SMELL it.any "off"smells need to be investigated immediately.FEEL inside all jars for excess moisture.almost all funny smelling jars will be too wet.jars that are too wet WILL start smelling bad before long.LOOK into each jar .some molds have no smell,if you see mold close the jar and remove it from the area. after the first week just check them every now and then.at some point you'll decide you like the buds just like thay are.now it is time to stop the cure.

#4-to stop a cure just empty out a jar and feel the buds,they should be soft and pliable.remember this feeling and start a gentle breeze going over them.after 3-4 minutes feel again,they need to feel dryer but not crispy.when you achieve this put back in jar and check in 3 days.if they're still dry feeling your done.with a low moisture content the buds can stay potent and flavorful for years if keep in a cool dark place.



i hope this helps and good luck on future cures

 

[bigboy18]

Thank you very much Seventhchild for the advice That is exactly what I was looking for. So far im trying your method and im smelling the skunk smell starting to come out little by little I will continue your method and hopefully it will overcome the unwanted smells thank you this was great information and I have a feeling this will help me for years to come Thanks.

 

[sprinkl]

It's normal for the weed to smell less when it's between wet and dry. Once it's dry and in jars for long enough it should start to smell pungent again. Could it be the weed is too wet still?

Also waiting to cut any leaves until dry helps dry it slower. The leaves act like a moisture buffer. Pretty hard to mess it up this way. Only problem I can think of if it dries too slowly this way, it could even mold if there's not enough airflow. And if it has to hang 4 weeks like this the oxygen will probably degrade the buds somewhat. Still my harvest this year dried for a good 3 weeks(first week with all leaves, then cut off the fanleaves and 2 more weeks of drying) and it's my best tasting yet.

 

[JointOperation]

yup.. if u cannot control your environment to dry.. especially in the winter when its really dry... yyou are better off dry trimming. or atleast.. after 4-5 days of hanging t hen trim..


but ya drying too fast = hay. or shit genetics.

 

[bikhomes]

wet trimming right after harvest leads to hay smell often. some people can pull it off but in my experience wet trimming is no good. a lot of people use trim machines in my area too and same thing there, kills the nose.

remove as little leaf as possible when you harvest and make sure you've dried enough before trimming. stems should snap not bend.