How do you dry? Short explanation and why

[Bholenat]

Hi Community!

How do you dry your flowers? I am trying to take it to another (Personal) level. Can you briefly explain how you dry and cure? (Wet or dry trim debate should be avoided, so many threads that adress the topic)

What I do:

Since now:
I dried in the tent, being dependant on the climate in the house and outside.
Whole plant upside down, drying by weight and stem snap test, aiming to get the 60% humidity and 18°C (+-60°F) for at least a week.
Temperatures of 18°C are hard to hold, more likely we have 23°C, which I always try to avoid.
After snap test (in the Future I want to weight the remaining humidity of the Material) I transfer the Buds into Glasses, add Boveda Packs and a hygrometer and off we go...

Future drying:
I want to play with the dewpoint and be more exact with Temperatures.
Thought about buying an AC for a very small room or my grow tent to reach more appropiate temperatures, so I can extend the drying process to 14 days without sacrificing too many terps. I don't think an AC puts me in the position to being able to precisely control VPD, Dewpoint etc. But it brings me closer to a better product.

How did you improve your drying practices?

Thanks for participating!

 

[Old Piney]

I grow outside but dry inside usually for lower humidity. I harvest whole branches roughly triimed and hang on a string and use a small fan on low to keep air circulating. I dry like this till they are dry enough to not mold and the place them I a cardboard box to slow down drying, this way it's easier to get the right moisture content with out over drying. Then the best part I just started a few years ago. I stack the branches I air tight sterilight bins (the ones with the clamps and foam gasket) to cure. It works great and take the stress out processing, you can take your time .opps sorry I dry trim and not much because I'm lazy

 

[GMT]

Whack off branches with other sub branches, so they can be hooked over the trousers rail on a coat hanger. Hang coat hangers on hook on back of door, leave. Smoke, repeat. Oh for the luxury of having enough to need to store it.

 

[mr.brunch]

Remove all branches and trim, hang on strings inside a tent with a fan & filter …and a small tubular greenhouse heater in the winter.
Then into jars and see if any buds can cure before they get smoked

 

[Hiddenjems]

I finish trim all flowers before drying. They then go on racks in a climate controlled drying room. I keep the temp in the 60’s and the rh around 40-50%. This is the same vpd as the 70’s temp and 55-60rh people often dry at. With my lower temps and leafless drying I get more smell out of the finished product than every other method I tried.

My method is very labor intensive if you’re harvesting more than 4-5lbs at a time.

 

[Ca++]

@Bholenat
What you are doing sounds okay. I'm not sure why you would want it to take longer. Any extra time spent above 60%, just seems like a greater risk. I'm unaware of any benefit. You shouldn't dip below 60% though, or some enzymic activity will cease.

If you cool the room with AC, you can set the tent extract for 60%. The AC will dry the room, so you need to stop extracting if the tent is at or below your 60% target.

You are chasing tiny gains, you may not notice without a side by side. There could be greater gains from things like the time of day. In theory we should chop that trunk, just before lights on. I have found non of this makes much difference though. You are already doing a good job, just stopping the RH dropping too much. The low 20s are fine. It's the upper 20s where losses creep in, and likely because the bloom was in the low-mid 30s.

I guess it can be a placebo, and if that works for you, then do what you enjoy. I will align my thoughts with those of flushing. Everyone knows you should, but can't tell in blind testing.

I bet your weed is nice, and if you're not happy, it's likely in bloom where you will fix it.

 

[Lester Beans]

I fully trim the flowers wet. Hang them by branch on a fishing line in a climate controlled room 70 temp rh 45-50.

Once stems snap they go into brown paper bags for a couple days and then to mason jars. Jars are opened a few times a day until the flowers are where I like to smoke them.

 

[Hiddenjems]

@Bholenat
What you are doing sounds okay. I'm not sure why you would want it to take longer. Any extra time spent above 60%, just seems like a greater risk. I'm unaware of any benefit. You shouldn't dip below 60% though, or some enzymic activity will cease.

If you cool the room with AC, you can set the tent extract for 60%. The AC will dry the room, so you need to stop extracting if the tent is at or below your 60% target.

You are chasing tiny gains, you may not notice without a side by side. There could be greater gains from things like the time of day. In theory we should chop that trunk, just before lights on. I have found non of this makes much difference though. You are already doing a good job, just stopping the RH dropping too much. The low 20s are fine. It's the upper 20s where losses creep in, and likely because the bloom was in the low-mid 30s.

I guess it can be a placebo, and if that works for you, then do what you enjoy. I will align my thoughts with those of flushing. Everyone knows you should, but can't tell in blind testing.

I bet your weed is nice, and if you're not happy, it's likely in bloom where you will fix it.

My system is built around the fact that terpenes and thc only degrade. I have found my customers prefer the freshest flower to something that’s been in a jar for weeks losing that pure skunk piss smell.

The cured weed is toned down but more complex. Again, my clientele prefers one super powerful smell/flavor to more subtle notes curing brings out.

I’ve also seen lots of under dried flower end up smelling like grass after weeks in a jar. Not mine, but a friend growing the same cut.


Good flower can be dried until it crumbles into a powder and still be sticky.

 

[Dime]

I aim for as slow a dry as possible in a dark space so the leaves lose a lot of the green. I cut as many of the fans off as I can while they're in the ground ,then I run fishing line across my garage as needed,I then cut more waste leaves off ,I throw them back where i pulled them unless it's indoor. Then I cut the branches off and hang them with the smaller remaining leaves left on covering the flowers leaving room between them so they don't touch each other. I turn the overhead heater on just enough to keep the area dry. After they feel dry on the outside I gently lay them in plastic totes for a day or 2 so the water again softens the leaves and they are pliable again,then I hang them until the branches break but the buds still have a decent moisture content but no threat of mold,then I put them in sealed bags and let them cure ,then they go into the fridge to cure some more,outdoor weed I usually keep a cple lbs and make hash from the rest in January, at that point there is about 3 month cure. I manicure before smoking it to avoid trichromes being knocked off and light hitting them.Another thing I have tried is to cut them off with the handsaw then put them into a pail of water with an air pump and let them live for a week in the dark to lose some color. I smoke them during growth to find my harvest window.

 

[Old Piney]

Whack off branches with other sub branches, so they can be hooked over the trousers rail on a coat hanger. Hang coat hangers on hook on back of door, leave. Smoke, repeat. Oh for the luxury of having enough to need to store it.

Just what do with small amounts

 

[Ca++]

Just what do with small amounts

A quick search tells me red wine is stored between 10c and 18.3c, so a wine fridge is in range. They come in a good range of sizes, and tend to have windows. Posh gits have a new kitchen every week, and so the fitted variety can be found in Chelsea skips.
I almost want to give it a whirl myself. An RH controlled ventilation set, shouldn't be hard to figure. It's just like setting up a tent.

I do like 12 bottles in a box. I sling the vinegar away, and make good use of that box. Much like the washing line principle, you can put 6 lines across a box. Each can hold about 4.5oz and is easy to move about. The box offers some buffering to rapid fluctuations. For years I was doing rooms this way, as it's so compact and easy to move. You fill them touching, then leave the box open 24h, while puts a gap between them. Then close it up, and maybe air a day later. The whole process might take 5 or 6 days. It depends on the weather and airflow around them. At extremes they can be sprayed to slow them, or even sheeted over if you think a few more hours, but need a solid days sleep. Really quite a good method. Older boxes that smell of green, not card, are the best ones. Not shiny photo quality retail boxes, as they don't breathe properly. Just double wall corrugated.

 

[Ca++]

The mushroom tray is designed to let the produce breathe, and stack in a small space. My drying space doesn't allow for much else. There is no hanging. I fill to this level, and after a few days, It's shrunk enough to start putting the contents of two trays, into one. This is in fact two trays worth, ready to smoke. (if it were still wet, it couldn't be on the floor like that)

 

[mr.brunch]

View attachment 19068428
The mushroom tray is designed to let the produce breathe, and stack in a small space. My drying space doesn't allow for much else. There is no hanging. I fill to this level, and after a few days, It's shrunk enough to start putting the contents of two trays, into one. This is in fact two trays worth, ready to smoke. (if it were still wet, it couldn't be on the floor like that)

Looking tasty

 

[Ca++]

Looking tasty

You want a closer look? I know I'm tight with the pictures.

It's the Killer Kush FV at 8 weeks. I ran it for a long time, but had to let it go. What it did was alright, but there were just no big buds anymore. Everything I had, had to go. Some sort of viral problem. The breeder still lists it, but I didn't find it in their Amsterdam outlet. I have a new one up though, which was my last bean of it. It presents a lot of resin.

The trays can be found for free, at many takeaways.

 

[PlastikeRubba]

I will align my thoughts with those of flushing. Everyone knows you should, but can't tell in blind testing.

Incorrect. You internet growers have simply moved the goal post and also failed to characterize the term "flushing" properly. Flushing meant cutting P specifically for decades, before the forums. Unflushed Sour Diesel smells tastes and feels like you smoked a tennis ball. Ever picked up SFV that smells like peanut shells instead of SFV? No one gets high off that shit. But people will tell you all about their "earthy" terps. Flushed Cheese smells like cheese. Unflushed Cheese smells like phenol. Do I need to continue. Unflushed weed is literal poison with all its medicinal benefits stripped.

It's not my fault the general public experiences weed strains through hallucination and placebo. Didn't used to be like this. Chicken vs egg, smoking that unflushed weed..

 

[PlastikeRubba]

My system is built around the fact that terpenes and thc only degrade. I have found my customers prefer the freshest flower to something that’s been in a jar for weeks losing that pure skunk piss smell.

The cured weed is toned down but more complex. Again, my clientele prefers one super powerful smell/flavor to more subtle notes curing brings out.

I’ve also seen lots of under dried flower end up smelling like grass after weeks in a jar. Not mine, but a friend growing the same cut.


Good flower can be dried until it crumbles into a powder and still be sticky.

Not a fact at all. The exact opposite is true. The acids that produce Cannabis smells and effects are breaking down into those flavors and effects continually, for months.

 

[mudballs]

That's interesting, i know N should fall and i try to build my pots soil to run out of N at the appropriate time....but this is first I've heard of P reduction.

 

[Dime]

A proper cure can take the bite out of the smoke and make it smoother

 

[Hiddenjems]

Not a fact at all. The exact opposite is true. The acids that produce Cannabis smells and effects are breaking down into those flavors and effects continually, for months.

No new terps or cannabinoids are produced after harvesting. What happens is the highly volatile terpines evaporate and break down within the first week or two after harvest leaving the less volatile chemicals.


Everyone thinks road kill skunk is gone. All the rks I’ve had starts smelling like something else after a week or two. It’s out there, you just need to get it fresh.

 

[Old Piney]

No new terps or cannabinoids are produced after harvesting

I totally disagree it keeps getting better for mouths , yah man it gets stronger and the terps are better IMO. BTW I hate skunk and here in NJ it seems all the dispensaries have it every where I go that's all I smell.