Fermenting, burying, traditional curing.

[Citizens Aux PD]

Hi
I've finished a two-week cold wet fermentation on a Jack Herer harvest and I got the best results ever. Near black weed with supersmooth nice taste, and still smelling like old cured Jack Herer. I pressed the buds that had been drying for 4 days as much as I could inside a plastic bag on a mason jar, and I waited two weeks. I'm sure it can be done in less days depending on the degree of colour you want. After fermenting, drying took just a couple of days.

It is interesting that heat isn't necessary. I've found the cold fermentation to be much better to preserve flavours and smells.


https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=42699&pictureid=1027878View Image


Cheers

Holy camoly, Carraxe! Thank you so much for doing the experiments and showing us the results! You have definitely inspired me.

My task is now to grow enough weed to try your way of curing it. I want to get at least 1 grow ahead so I can have enough pot to ferment & cure it properly.

A few years ago I harvested some outdoor Spontanica and put some dried buds in a brown plastic medicine jar and placed it in the back of the medical cabinet and literally forgot about them for like 8 months. When I found them and opened them up they were golden and smoked soooo much nicer & smoother.

 

[lazylathe]

Malawi cob, how i miss you!!
Some of the finest herb i have ever smoked!!

When i used to live in SA i was told they wrapped the herb in corn leaves and then wrapped very tightly with twine. They were then buried in beach sand and allowed to ferment and cure. Length of time was never discussed, they seemed to know when to dig them out.
Perfectly golden nugs that smoked like a dream.
Super smooth and heavy hitting!!

I have some 6 month cure Killing Fields that i am keeping at around 60% RH.
May try and compress a bit of it in a small jar and see what happens!
I have been noticing that it is getting darker every month, so it may be a good one to try it out on!

 

[Raziel819]

Couldn`t agree more TA....All I`ve ever seen was flavor , smell , and color profiles change , but......

I still stand by the dope of yester year bein waaaaay more potent than the polyhybrids of the present day.....Just can`t get that shit anymore.....anyways.....my 2 cents from all them yrs.....

Peace....DHF..........

I hear ya DHF I remember that stuff too, some of that "Carlos Casteneda -- stopping the world" sh*t. Haven't had none of that since the mid 70's early 80's. Dammmnum that brings back some goooood memories. But, back to studying got to find the best, "set it and forget it", way to cure my first grow... thanks for the memories....

Raziel819
Blessings

 

[Carbon.Chains]

I also thought there was no point in arguing after I read that anti-science manifesto
Cheers

Sorry to bring this up again and to get off-topic..
I agree with Rinses previous posts... And I don't think he is anti-science, he only pointed out some flaws of science (I don't mean to speak for you Rinse so do correct me if I'm wrong).
I am no scientist, expert, or whatever. This is simply the way I see it:
We know very, very little and it is immensely naive to think humans can replicate nature just as good. We do NOT understand "nature" or anything around us. When we are arrogant enough to think we do, we just get proven wrong.
Look before quantum physics, end of the XIXth century. Can't give you the exact quotes, but important physicists at the time said there was no more to discover. Then oh well light can behave as individual particles, gravity influences time, etc.

To get back to tropical cannabis... We don't even know how half of the cannabinoids, terpenoids and flavonoids in weed interact with each other... Let alone of environmental conditions or other factors affect their quantities or presence... (wavelengths, heat, intensity of the light, wind, rain, grazing, drying...)
I don't think having an HID over these plants and a vent changing the air couple of times a day will cut it.
Not even with special wavelengths (UVs and all). Not even if you have the same amount of micromols per m2 than in the tropics at the exact same spectra throughout the day.
There is too many factors to take in account, not to mention there surely is factors we don't know about.
I mean, indoor gardening wasn't even a dream a century ago (a quick blink in the eye of the planet) and we think we're going to mimic something as complex as the growth of a plant without missing out on some stuff? (see my signature)
Before someone misunderstands me, I'm not "anti-science" I just think our understanding of nature is laughable.

I hope I can get my point across, really tired and English isn't my mother tongue as you may have noticed.

 

[Rinse]

Hey peeps, Ive been trying some different curing styles this year and have found out a few things.

First I was jarring too early -

Seems mason jars are a perfect place to store bud - after its already cured and dried ready for smoking.

Best results were from hanging plants whole for as long possible, without letting them dry out, length of time varies according to bud density, temp, humidity etc.
But a month is good, keeping the humidity above 60%

Dont jar yet, paper bag em for another month or 2.
The herb will cure better with the breathability of the paper,
jars seem to seal in unwanted aromas, even when opening/closing.

On the other hand the buds can become too dry in paper so keep an eye on them. They want to be dry but springy - a bit too moist to smoke and certainly not crispy.
When they taste good jar em.

Now fermentation - At first I was attempting to ferment/sweat cure fresh buds, using the moisture they contained from the tree, but mold was a problem with this method.

Better is to use your already cured or half cured bud.

This is a quick ferment and far from perfected, but it works.

You need:

- Tobacco tin or similar metal case (I found glass doesn't work as well, and I dont like the idea of plastic)

- Mist sprayer (like they use for purfume or for misting plants)

- Honey

- Mineral water

- Bud

For the mist sprayer solution, mix 1 part honey with 10 parts water. This is something I learned from tobacco curing.
The honey supposedly provides sugar for the "good" bacteria, while preventing mold.
Use raw honey if you can as it has all the enzymes intact which may help the ferment.
Manuka honey is more anti fungal and may have superior mold preventing properties.
For the water use bottled mineral water as tap water contains chlorine which may kill good bacteria.

Stuff the buds tight in a tobacco tin, spray with solution until damp, seal tin in a plastic bag in a warm place approx 30c.
Check at least twice a day to adjust moisture levels and keep an eye out for any mold.

After 7 - 10 days you will have a thai stick lookin' version of your bud. Bright greens will have turned dark, purples gone black.
Sharp, acid and fruity aromas change into a more earthy/mellow weed smell.

The taste will be smoother, and easier on the lungs, though you could lose some fruity or other desirable tastes in the process.

Something interesting I found is - bud with all clear and white trichomes will have plenty of amber after the ferment,
the high reflects this, being more hashish like in effect - less rushy, more laid back and noticably longer in duration.

This may explain why in many parts of Asia people do not smoke fresh bud - beleiving it to be bad for health -
long cured or fermented bud is prefered, and over that hashish, which is seen as the superior product.
Even in some areas lower grades of hash (non adulterated) are said said to be harsh on the body and only 1st seive and aged resin is smoked.

Sorry to bring this up again and to get off-topic..
I agree with Rinses previous posts... And I don't think he is anti-science, he only pointed out some flaws of science (I don't mean to speak for you Rinse so do correct me if I'm wrong).
I am no scientist, expert, or whatever. This is simply the way I see it:
We know very, very little and it is immensely naive to think humans can replicate nature just as good. We do NOT understand "nature" or anything around us. When we are arrogant enough to think we do, we just get proven wrong.
Look before quantum physics, end of the XIXth century. Can't give you the exact quotes, but important physicists at the time said there was no more to discover. Then oh well light can behave as individual particles, gravity influences time, etc.

To get back to tropical cannabis... We don't even know how half of the cannabinoids, terpenoids and flavonoids in weed interact with each other... Let alone of environmental conditions or other factors affect their quantities or presence... (wavelengths, heat, intensity of the light, wind, rain, grazing, drying...)
I don't think having an HID over these plants and a vent changing the air couple of times a day will cut it.
Not even with special wavelengths (UVs and all). Not even if you have the same amount of micromols per m2 than in the tropics at the exact same spectra throughout the day.
There is too many factors to take in account, not to mention there surely is factors we don't know about.
I mean, indoor gardening wasn't even a dream a century ago (a quick blink in the eye of the planet) and we think we're going to mimic something as complex as the growth of a plant without missing out on some stuff? (see my signature)
Before someone misunderstands me, I'm not "anti-science" I just think our understanding of nature is laughable.

I hope I can get my point across, really tired and English isn't my mother tongue as you may have noticed.

Hi Carbon, good points! Indoor bud is after all an imitation of outdoor bud, yet somehow the youth of today beleive bright green hydro buds to be the superior product.
But hey we live in a world where Mcdonalds and lady gaga are household names, so popularity certainly doesn't equate to quality among todays commercialised masses.
What is resin but crystalline sunshine?

 

[canna woop!]

interesting, methods thank for posting

 

[Rinse]

An update:
The quick ferment works, but only ok enough to do a few grams here and there, I think its 'most beneficial if you've got greenish bud or you harvested a bit early.

If you've already got great tasting stuff, or herb with pleasant and subtle aromas you may actually lower the flavour, like I said earlier you can lose certan aromas and taste,
So Ive kept most of my crop non fermented.

Next Im gonna try cooler temps.

Need to study more how the Malawi and Thai farmers do it,
because 1 week in a backy tin is a far cry from 6 months under the earth or in a tropical climate.

Another factor in curing is harvest time,
great tastng weed has plenty of yellows and other autumn colors by harvest.
Green, nitrogen rich plants are very hard to cure properly.

 

[Tangwena]

curing in cobs

curing in cobs

Hi guys been reading this thread. Very interesting as I grew up in Malawi I have never cured any other way. I do jar cures but they take at least 6 months.
The cob in the pictures is from my malawi grow in Landraces.
The cob has been cured for 6 weeks I have included a picture of the buds that were jar cured for 6 weeks to show the difference.
After only six weeks the cob smells sweet, sticky and is very, very hard.
The smoke is smooth, sweet, lemony on exhale and no more than 2 or 3 drags on a pin joint needed.
Rinse I cannot agree more with all your observations the thread was very iluminating for me.
I knew it worked, that they sweated, but not the science behind it.
I also noticed on the bud that was sweat cured along with the cob that there are heaps more amber trichs after the cure, amazing I had never noticed until I looked under a jewelers lupe.
In the buds pic the red is the sweat cured and the bottom greener is the jar cured.

 

[idiit]

great topic, thread.

i'm also very interested in this subject.

fermenting, curing, the role of benne's and more specifically what micro organisms, heat, temps, time.

the bottom line is the "proof is in the pudding".

when the canna laws loosen up (they are very rapidly in many places all over the world) we will be able to sample the product. we will be able to bring in the expertise of ppl that have been doing this kind of stuff for generations within their family.

this idea rinse is following has a long tradition in many many places around the globe.

meat today (i'm talking steaks) sucks dick compared to how steaks used to taste back in the 60's 70's. i sold meat while in college. the older owners back in the '70's were in their late 60's early 70's and they gave us tutorials on how the meat was aged properly way back. they took a quarter ( one leg, 4 legs/quarters to a cow) and hung it for months. the fur (mold) was thick. they would trim off the mold and the meat was perfectly aged.

this stuff is not some new age bs. it's been practiced for ages. it's real.

almost all older smokers agree that the older days produced smoke that we want to recreate in today's times. it's primarily the younger generation that has neve experienced the old school high grade that "doubt and dis" the old school smoke.

 

[Rinse]

almost all older smokers agree that the older days produced smoke that we want to recreate in today's times. it's primarily the younger generation that has neve experienced the old school high grade that "doubt and dis" the old school smoke.

You know its funny I hear many say the reason old timers beleive the old weed was so great is because back then they were teenagers with low tolerance, that and nostalgia/romanticism.
This is partly true I'm sure, but heres the thing - "old skool" bud still exists today!
Anyone who wishes to verify themselves can do so all one needs to do is grow an old line in a warm enough climate and there you have it pretty much the same thing.

A lil inspiration from Bushweed:

 

[idiit]

You know its funny I hear many say the reason old timers believe the old weed was so great is because back then they were teenagers with low tolerance, that and nostalgia/romanticism.
This is partly true I'm sure,

^^ that is what the new skool thinks for the most part but it is pretty typical of every upcoming generation to think they invented weed and only their generation "really knows their stuff". i'm pretty confident that my generation when we were coming up probably thought the same way.


who cures for the consumer nowadays? close to nobody. seriously, i have not read one post by anyone who cures for the customers.

back in the dinosaur ages (60's,70's) there were no adam seedbanks and most westerners were just starting to see their first indicas. mostly what ppl saw were sativas (landrace). the time back then for the sativas to hit the local market was long enough for the weed to get a good cure on it during transit. this thread is about curing and fermenting bud to get that kind of effect that ppl back in the day still remembers fondly.

as to the idea that the old skool genetics are still available like what bushweed and kanga have grown out for decades; yes, partially due to preservationists like you and your friends rinse.

landraces throughout the world are now dilluted, polluted whatever with skunk, indica, autoflower, name brand hydro genetics. we came real close to losing a lot more strains than has already occurred.

this thread is excellent. not just growing landraces but going thru the fundamental steps after the bud is harvested looks to be essential to bringing back the high effects that so many today doubt even happened during the hey days of the hippy trail.

 

[sprinkl]

You know its funny I hear many say the reason old timers beleive the old weed was so great is because back then they were teenagers with low tolerance, that and nostalgia/romanticism.

I've never believed that stuff. They say the older weed was less potent and there are test results that prove it. But I don't think that outdoor grown, seeded untrimmed bud that still gets 6% THC by weight can be considered low potency. IMO potency can't have changed much. Better trimming and sensemillia growing(or even just removing the seeds) would have that bud close to the 20's I believe.
The whole scare nowaday that weed is so much more potent and is destroying our brains... Sure it might be bred to be more productive and that often includes a debilitating, retardizing afghan stone but more potent in a true sense of the word, no way.

 

[Drek]

Great thread!

I have two distinct memories from my youth with pot experiences.

1st one. I was on a trip to see some distant relatives with some of my family. During the drive one of my relatives took out some weed for everyone to try out. I distinctly remember taking it out of the bag and looking at it/smelling it...and noting how different it was. Now that I think back, it must have been Thai weed. It was really brown and dry and flat, I think there were some seeds and it smelled ultra spicy, like a spice rack. Anyways, after we smoked this shit, I was seeing all kinds of colors and psychadelia. It was middle of winter but the sun was out with blue skies and shining off the snowy fields. It was unfricken real. Probably the best shit I ever smoked. Spiritual.

2nd one was. Again, on a family excursion, this time at the lake. My uncle had a bag of this really dense black weed in little balls, it was literally so resiny, it was like someone had dipped and let it sit in hash oil...and it kinda smelled like ammonia. Oddest shit I ever seen. Must have been fermented. Anyways, I remember that being pretty different as well and powerful.

I agree that some of that early imported stuff was unreal. Pure genetics from foreign places where they already had a long history of preparing it; grown in it's homeland.

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

In Malawi and other parts of Africa, the traditional curing method is fermentation based, wherein chlorophyll eating-bacteria are accelerated by wrapping the herb tightly in corn husk and either leaving in the sun, burying in warm earth, or cow dung so I've heard, among other methods. This method of removing chlorophyll is superior to the western burp jar method, which is still a bacterial process but to a lesser extent - it doesn't actually ferment the weed.
Many say the ferment-cure produces super smooth, earthy, and extra powerful smoke, and I agree.


I have very limited knowledge of this method and wondering if anyone can fill me in. Or better yet have direct experience of the method.

I have found the following tutorial online but it is not very detailed.
Originally from skunk magazine:

"Materials:
1) plastic 60 gallon trash can

2) 9 cubic feet of dirt

3) cornhusks

4) 1/2 ounce Malawi or equiv. Amount of sativa ( immediately following harvest buds should be hung dry as normal.
5) hemp fiber or twine

Process:

1) Cut or drill drainage holes in bottom of can. Fill trashcan 25% with dirt.

2) place the 1/2 ounce in the corn husk.

3) roll the herb back and forth in the corn husk ( somewhat like rolling a joint) compressing it into a cylindrical shape.
4) tightly wrap husks in the twine applying even more pressure to the herb.

5) place cobs on top of dirt in trash can and cover them with remaining 75% dirt.

Once per month pour a half a gallon of water on top of dirt. ( don't worry if weeds grow just pull em)"

I have heard a more extreme method of curing is to starve a goat, and feed it your prime buds. Goats, being herbivore's, have a fermentation based digestion, unlike a carnivores which is putrification based. The "nug manure" that proceeds is supposedly the finest and most powerful of herbs.

Also in Afghanistan and Pakistan buds (or resin powder I never remember which) are packed into the skin of a goat or sheep and buried, clearly a ferment based cure.

"Indiginous" cultures often have more advanced methods of preparing plants than western societies. What may seem like a pointless, or primitive practice is actually based in logic and science. For example we mainly eat our grains unfermented, in yeast filled bread, noodles and pasta. indiginous peoples always go to lengths to ferment their grain, this removes many harmful compounds and makes them easier to digest.

Nobody likes that fresh green flavour and uneven burning of un-cured weed, but when we cure without the correct level of bacteria, we are still leaving much of it in.
Bright green shiny nugs have become the in demand product, when they are actually the inferior product in terms of smoke quality.

I have some sativa buds that I may turn into "Malawi cobs" or other method of ferment-cure.
Now they've been dried and in mason jars for almost a month, so hope its not too late to initiate the fermentation?

How can I go about turning green, chlorophyll saturated nugs into dark mellow hashy smoke.

This is a really bad idea, you will get all kinds of toxic fungi on and buried/fermented weed. Save a small bud of the same weed you want to ferment, after you do it, get a sample of the same weed fermented and take them both to a lab for testing, I would not smoke it.
Be careful what you smoke, would you smoke botrytris? PM? or Aspergillus? with aflatoxins? Mucor species? Immunosuppressed patients should never ever do this.
If you do it, you really should have it tested before you smoke it.
As for goat shit buds being better, give me a break.
I used to tell my workers that Caterpillar shit did that, they eat the buds, shit out the resin concentrated, and all you have to do is smoke or eat the caterpillar shit to get really really high, I even got a few real stupid ones to try it..... They got zero effects, other then acute embarrassment.

Really there is nothing to add to a well dried bud that has sat curing in a cardboard box for a few months to cure, nothing will make it better, lots will make it worse.
I applaud you efforts to find the truth, but get the results tested by a lab and you will be shocked at what they find with a buried cure. Be careful out there, it is a jungle......
-SamS

 

[Rinse]

^^ that is what the new skool thinks for the most part but it is pretty typical of every upcoming generation to think they invented weed and only their generation "really knows their stuff". i'm pretty confident that my generation when we were coming up probably thought the same way.


who cures for the consumer nowadays? close to nobody. seriously, i have not read one post by anyone who cures for the customers.

back in the dinosaur ages (60's,70's) there were no adam seedbanks and most westerners were just starting to see their first indicas. mostly what ppl saw were sativas (landrace). the time back then for the sativas to hit the local market was long enough for the weed to get a good cure on it during transit. this thread is about curing and fermenting bud to get that kind of effect that ppl back in the day still remembers fondly.

as to the idea that the old skool genetics are still available like what bushweed and kanga have grown out for decades; yes, partially due to preservationists like you and your friends rinse.

landraces throughout the world are now dilluted, polluted whatever with skunk, indica, autoflower, name brand hydro genetics. we came real close to losing a lot more strains than has already occurred.

this thread is excellent. not just growing landraces but going thru the fundamental steps after the bud is harvested looks to be essential to bringing back the high effects that so many today doubt even happened during the hey days of the hippy trail.

Thanks bro, I was thinking the other day, about how all traditional
ganja cultures smoked sativa's, for example Thai and Jamaican smokers burning those hench cones all day of pure sativa and nothing else...
Now since the "indica invasion", do they mind?

How many local choofers in sativa producing countries are pissed off about the introduction of western genetics?
How many old Rastas are up in the mountains preserving those old sati's?

Because we only really hear of "westerners" complain about the pure sativa genepool being diluted/polluted worldwide.
(Although I assumed this is mainly due to the fact that people in those counties dont use the internet as much.)

This is a really bad idea, you will get all kinds of toxic fungi on and buried/fermented weed. Save a small bud of the same weed you want to ferment, after you do it, get a sample of the same weed fermented and take them both to a lab for testing, I would not smoke it.
Be careful what you smoke, would you smoke botrytris? PM? or Aspergillus? with aflatoxins? Mucor species? Immunosuppressed patients should never ever do this.
If you do it, you really should have it tested before you smoke it.
As for goat shit buds being better, give me a break.
I used to tell my workers that Caterpillar shit did that, they eat the buds, shit out the resin concentrated, and all you have to do is smoke or eat the caterpillar shit to get really really high, I even got a few real stupid ones to try it..... They got zero effects, other then acute embarrassment.

Really there is nothing to add to a well dried bud that has sat curing in a cardboard box for a few months to cure, nothing will make it better, lots will make it worse.
I applaud you efforts to find the truth, but get the results tested by a lab and you will be shocked at what they find with a buried cure. Be careful out there, it is a jungle......
-SamS

Good points Sam, haha caterpillar shit, Ive had caterpillars eat into buds, I remember picking their turds out with tweezers lol, cant imagine smoking that!

Can you elaborate on your curing method?
Does the weed not get too dry in a cardboard box for months?
How important is it that the weed should not dry out while curing?

 

[Peton]

As Cannabis becomes more and more legit, more products and methods will surface and become widespread. Curing and after harvest process really gives a unique vibe.

 

[amannamedtruth]

Humidipak FTW

 

[Rinse]

Humidipak FTW

Think I need some of those, the uk actually has very low humidity when it isnt raining, and Ive over dried a few plants, (what people do in arid climes I dont know).
Anyway Ive been putting celery sticks with the herb in paper bags,
seems to be working ok, was worried about mold but whenever I check the celery is dried out and needed replacing.

 

[Gry]

Use to use pieces of apple to rehydrate weed that was too brittle. I think I went with that as an option after reading that it was borrowed from tobacco tradition.
Given the transit conditions for the stuff headed to the states back in the 70s, I would imagine that most of what I was impressed by had been treated very poorly. It may have had the potential to have been much better had storage and transit conditions been more suitable.
This has been the neatest thread.

 

[stonedwarrior]

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