Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[CDNINCA]

For me it is remove the stem,leave the sugar leaves on the cob,and pay close attention to larger cobs to get proper cure!

Ditto what @ost says, I'd remove the larger stems as they can hold a lot of moisture that might promote cause slower/ drying/curing and maybe promote mold. I know, it's tempting just to cob the giant cola!! I usually break mine down into smaller "bud-lets" (if that is the proper term...) and remove even the more moderate sized stems. It's just a personal preference as far as I can tell as to how much stem you remove, but that seems to work really well for me. I'm sure others will chime in here with their thoughts and approach, cheers!

 

[Baba Karuna]

I agree with @ost and @CDNINCA

I cut all the major stems out and make sure to retain as much trichome covered plant matter. I have been making some very large cobs (multiple ounces) lately as it saves me time because I have so much to harvest (my wife told me not to grow so much because this is so time consuming ). But I make sure to cut everything into small pieces so that it meshes well when pressed, I feel that large stems can get in the way of that especially since I like to con entire plants and I make sure to mix the buds from all over the plant throughly.

🪷Om Kürmmāya Namah🪷

 

[Tangwena]

Ditto all above my friend remove large stems and I personally leave all sugar leaves intact as once its all cured and aged it becomes one solid mass of goodness.
Keep us posted and we can guide you so that you can get a great finish.
Good quality pictures well focused make that job a lot easier as well.

 

[Scottay]

Hey yo Tang!!! Guess who figured out his old password!!! Yessssss!!! So I turned a negative into a positive. I snapped a really nice branch of my plant while moving around and I decided to just go ahead and cob it up!! My first cob!! It's a small one. I've got it in the cob-a-tron @ 40c/104f for a day. It won't get opened until tomorrow night but I'll try to remember to take a picture of it. Happy Thursday/Friday!!

 

[Tangwena]

Hey yo Tang!!! Guess who figured out his old password!!! Yessssss!!! So I turned a negative into a positive. I snapped a really nice branch of my plant while moving around and I decided to just go ahead and cob it up!! My first cob!! It's a small one. I've got it in the cob-a-tron @ 40c/104f for a day. It won't get opened until tomorrow night but I'll try to remember to take a picture of it. Happy Thursday/Friday!!

Very fortuitous my friend cant wait to see what your playing with ha ha.
I was zoned in on my job today bricklaying or rather limestone block laying ha ha.
I wish every work day was like today totally happy as a pig in shit ha ha
Blasted my mind on some Colombian Gold x Demon Latcher cob. I had 5 phenos and 3 are absolutely amazing highs.

 

[CDNINCA]

Welcome "back" @Scottay, it's good to have you in here!

I've got three plants in and are about ready to cob which will probably start to happen later today. I thought I'd show the next to come in as she's getting close! No amber trichomes yet and I like to harvest my plants
when there are barely just a few showing, so it shouldn't be too much longer. She's a 2.1 meter, or 7 feet tall beauty of Tropics Mulanje Gold from brother numero uno here

Then next is another one of his, but more on that later! Love the long-flowering sativa's! Hoping the weather cooperates a little longer...

Following the "pics or it didn't happen"... here's how she looks as of yesterday!

Cheers all!
P.S. It l looks like either the system doesn't like my images or they are too large in size - only one preview shows an image. I've tried resampling them down in Photoshop but even one that has been greatly reduced in size doesn't show. Maybe they will after the system "thinks" about them a little more? Anyway, here you go!

 

[moose/MI]

I had this one open over night to dry a bit. Cob #3
It was feeling pretty good so I wrapped it back up and sealed it.
Beforehand I stabbed it with my moisture meter just for a reference.

This one however I feel I got excited and jumped the gun. Cob #2
It had only been hanging 4 days iirc. when I made it.
It smells good. I'm just thinking I'll give it another day or so to dry out a little more before rewrapping.

Trying to have a little more patience on the next ones. Giving them more time to hang.

Tomorrow will be 8 days since chop @ appx. 60/60.
Is this more inline with what most people are finding works for them?

 

[CDNINCA]

I had this one open over night to dry a bit. Cob #3
It was feeling pretty good so I wrapped it back up and sealed it.
Beforehand I stabbed it with my moisture meter just for a reference. View attachment 19089399 View attachment 19089394
This one however I feel I got excited and jumped the gun. Cob #2
It had only been hanging 4 days iirc. when I made it.
It smells good. I'm just thinking I'll give it another day or so to dry out a little more before rewrapping. View attachment 19089361
Trying to have a little more patience on the next ones. Giving them more time to hang. View attachment 19089386
Tomorrow will be 8 days since chop @ appx. 60/60.
Is this more inline with what most people are finding works for them?

Looking good! I find that mine hang for about 6-8 days but it all depends on the humidity where I have them and the size of the buds on the plant. Some go a little longer... I dry them like I'm going to just jar cure them and pull them a bit earlier so they still have the moisture I want for cobbing. I tend to find that I prefer cobs that don't start out too wet but preferences vary!

I find that if I keep the room at about 60-60% RH, as it slows down the drying which keeps more of the goodness of the plant, that works well. Cheers!

 

[moose/MI]

Warning, lengthy post.

The more I read through my notes, gain a little experience with the 3 cobs I've started and think about it.
I see a confluence or juncture between what I try to achieve with the curing of my harvest and what were doing with the cobbing.
I even think you might consider it a form of mild cobbing?

Here's my thoughts.
I'm looking through my left over from an extra bountiful season last year.

I never tried to cob last year because I was going by the first 20 pages or so of instructions and thought I had missed my window of opportunity.
Now though with people seeming to lean towards drier start/shorter sweat/less heat - just needs time. We'll gosh, that's even more like I already do it.
So maybe there's still something I could try?

I'm a firm believer in the long slow cure.
Fall's harvest isn't even beginning to really show herself for me until Christmas and beyond to February.
I also believe that once it's too dry the cure stops and you cant really start it up again.
I also quit combusting 2 years ago and just vape with 3 dynavaps.
I mention that because much like pipe tobacco I prefer it a bit more on the moist side.
I call it chewy. You need a good sharp grinder to cut it and then it's all sticky and clings to itself and packs nice in my dyna.
If you just let that sit out a bit I imagine it would roll and be fine as a joint.

When I'm drying and curing I have a goal to not drop below 62%.
I like to start higher and slowly creep my way down to it rather then over shoot.

I'm a retired Chef,
I do a lot of things that have some crossover knowledge and help give me confidence.
I age meat, hang bacon, ferment pepper sauce, make wine, bake sourdough bread, etc.
I say all that because I understand that I may feel more confident that I'm not going to mold something than someone reading this without those life experiences.
Don't necessarily follow what I'm doing. I'm just talking about it so I can learn.

So Here's my tub of leftovers, bits of this and that. My plan was to just mix it all together and wash it for hash.
Having it aged and developed in the cure would make something very interesting i felt.

When I check em I see that really by the drier standards these might still have possibilities for cobbing?

Heck, maybe they're cobbed in a way? These nugs are from a Bruce Banner clone I grew in 2022. Its still lovely.

You can see the golden carmel tones it's taken on. Not like when fresh but still wonderful. An explosion of pine with balsamic notes when you first open the bag.

So if you're still with me. Is this something like cobbing? Am I getting some of those benefits?
I wouldn't do it if I didn't like it and the results. I just wonder if some of the same forces are at play?

I'm wondering should I vacuum a couple ounces of those nugs down into a cob and see if it still works?
Even though it's a cheap hygrometer and might not be totally accurate... there's moisture. They're fluffy.
Just might work?

 

[mike-or-ozzy]

Warning, lengthy post.

The more I read through my notes, gain a little experience with the 3 cobs I've started and think about it.
I see a confluence or juncture between what I try to achieve with the curing of my harvest and what were doing with the cobbing.
I even think you might consider it a form of mild cobbing?

Here's my thoughts.
I'm looking through my left over from an extra bountiful season last year.

I never tried to cob last year because I was going by the first 20 pages or so of instructions and thought I had missed my window of opportunity.
Now though with people seeming to lean towards drier start/shorter sweat/less heat - just needs time. We'll gosh, that's even more like I already do it.
So maybe there's still something I could try?

I'm a firm believer in the long slow cure.
Fall's harvest isn't even beginning to really show herself for me until Christmas and beyond to February.
I also believe that once it's too dry the cure stops and you cant really start it up again.
I also quit combusting 2 years ago and just vape with 3 dynavaps.
I mention that because much like pipe tobacco I prefer it a bit more on the moist side.
I call it chewy. You need a good sharp grinder to cut it and then it's all sticky and clings to itself and packs nice in my dyna.
If you just let that sit out a bit I imagine it would roll and be fine as a joint.

When I'm drying and curing I have a goal to not drop below 62%.
I like to start higher and slowly creep my way down to it rather then over shoot.

I'm a retired Chef,
I do a lot of things that have some crossover knowledge and help give me confidence.
I age meat, hang bacon, ferment pepper sauce, make wine, bake sourdough bread, etc.
I say all that because I understand that I may feel more confident that I'm not going to mold something than someone reading this without those life experiences.
Don't necessarily follow what I'm doing. I'm just talking about it so I can learn.

So Here's my tub of leftovers, bits of this and that. My plan was to just mix it all together and wash it for hash.
Having it aged and developed in the cure would make something very interesting i felt. View attachment 19089491 When I check em I see that really by the drier standards these might still have possibilities for cobbing?
View attachment 19089494 View attachment 19089495 View attachment 19089496



Heck, maybe they're cobbed in a way? These nugs are from a Bruce Banner clone I grew in 2022. Its still lovely. View attachment 19089498 View attachment 19089499
You can see the golden carmel things it's taken on. Not like when fresh but still wonderful.

So if you're still with me. Is this something like cobbing? Am I getting some of those benefits?
I wouldn't do it if I didn't like it and the results.

I'm wondering should I vacuum a couple ounces of those nugs down into a cob and see if it still works?
Even though it's a cheap hygrometer and might not be totally accurate... there's moisture. They're fluffy.
Just might work?

There's one way to find out Moose, give it a go and see what happens, keep a small bit to compare to. Good looking stuff.

 

[Tangwena]

Welcome "back" @Scottay, it's good to have you in here!

I've got three plants in and are about ready to cob which will probably start to happen later today. I thought I'd show the next to come in as she's getting close! No amber trichomes yet and I like to harvest my plants
when there are barely just a few showing, so it shouldn't be too much longer. She's a 2.1 meter, or 7 feet tall beauty of Tropics Mulanje Gold from brother numero uno here

Then next is another one of his, but more on that later! Love the long-flowering sativa's! Hoping the weather cooperates a little longer...

Following the "pics or it didn't happen"... here's how she looks as of yesterday!

Cheers all!
P.S. It l looks like either the system doesn't like my images or they are too large in size - only one preview shows an image. I've tried resampling them down in Photoshop but even one that has been greatly reduced in size doesn't show. Maybe they will after the system "thinks" about them a little more? Anyway, here you go!

Beautiful plants brother the pics show if you click on the non image.
Grown outside in the sun they are going to be superlative highs. The few I have grown on my balcony have been simply amazing aromas and the high is always something special compared to my indoor of the same plant.
One day maybe I will get the chance myself ha ha maybe.

 

[Tangwena]

Warning, lengthy post.

The more I read through my notes, gain a little experience with the 3 cobs I've started and think about it.
I see a confluence or juncture between what I try to achieve with the curing of my harvest and what were doing with the cobbing.
I even think you might consider it a form of mild cobbing?

Here's my thoughts.
I'm looking through my left over from an extra bountiful season last year.

I never tried to cob last year because I was going by the first 20 pages or so of instructions and thought I had missed my window of opportunity.
Now though with people seeming to lean towards drier start/shorter sweat/less heat - just needs time. We'll gosh, that's even more like I already do it.
So maybe there's still something I could try?

I'm a firm believer in the long slow cure.
Fall's harvest isn't even beginning to really show herself for me until Christmas and beyond to February.
I also believe that once it's too dry the cure stops and you cant really start it up again.
I also quit combusting 2 years ago and just vape with 3 dynavaps.
I mention that because much like pipe tobacco I prefer it a bit more on the moist side.
I call it chewy. You need a good sharp grinder to cut it and then it's all sticky and clings to itself and packs nice in my dyna.
If you just let that sit out a bit I imagine it would roll and be fine as a joint.

When I'm drying and curing I have a goal to not drop below 62%.
I like to start higher and slowly creep my way down to it rather then over shoot.

I'm a retired Chef,
I do a lot of things that have some crossover knowledge and help give me confidence.
I age meat, hang bacon, ferment pepper sauce, make wine, bake sourdough bread, etc.
I say all that because I understand that I may feel more confident that I'm not going to mold something than someone reading this without those life experiences.
Don't necessarily follow what I'm doing. I'm just talking about it so I can learn.

So Here's my tub of leftovers, bits of this and that. My plan was to just mix it all together and wash it for hash.
Having it aged and developed in the cure would make something very interesting i felt. View attachment 19089491 When I check em I see that really by the drier standards these might still have possibilities for cobbing?
View attachment 19089494 View attachment 19089495 View attachment 19089496

View attachment 19089497

Heck, maybe they're cobbed in a way? These nugs are from a Bruce Banner clone I grew in 2022. Its still lovely. View attachment 19089498 View attachment 19089499
You can see the golden carmel tones it's taken on. Not like when fresh but still wonderful. An explosion of pine with balsamic notes when you first open the bag.

So if you're still with me. Is this something like cobbing? Am I getting some of those benefits?
I wouldn't do it if I didn't like it and the results. I just wonder if some of the same forces are at play?

I'm wondering should I vacuum a couple ounces of those nugs down into a cob and see if it still works?
Even though it's a cheap hygrometer and might not be totally accurate... there's moisture. They're fluffy.
Just might work?

There are many styles of curing brother the recipe is just one way, as you say time is always the essential element in any cure.
Its experimentation that got us where we are today those buds look beautifully cured and aged.
Vacuum sealing and compressing them will not harm them at all and you may stumble on something beautiful. In fact I'm sure of it.

 

[CDNINCA]

Thanks @Tangwena! They are amazing plants and the aromas are incredible and I can't wait to try them out, especially in cob-form! I hope that you too can grow more "freely" outdoors soon, it is a great privelege to be able to do so. Sending positive vibes your way so that you can. If you ever want to stop by... anytime brother!
Cheers!

 

[moose/MI]

All right,
Decided to give it a go with the Bruce Banner nugs from 2022. Cob #4

Weighed out a pretty good pile after using the tare function on the corn husk
So an actual 38 grams.

Picked a large, fresh husk.
It came together good. It feels like I imagine it should if that makes sense.
It's a little sticky and clumps when I squeeze it.

I chose to squeeze this one by hand.
Got my shoulder into it.

Came together pretty well. I'm happy at this point. Tied it up

And vacuumed it down..
Feels good, just a little spring when I squeeze it.
I'm put it away till around Valentine's Day and see.

 

[Scottay]

My first cob. Very little residue on the parchment paper. 104 for 1 day. Resealed cob and back to 80ish degree for a week. Hurry up and wait.

 

[CDNINCA]

Hey @moose/MI , looks like that should work, the moisture looks like it might be enough to get a nice cob in the end. If you are patient I'm pretty sure you will think the wait will be worth it!

When I started doing this a while back I did the same as you - I started with some 2 year old weed that I had which was at exactly 62%RH and thought it would be worth a try. At least I would get some practice in the process...and the cobs turned out to be pretty interesting. I think you will like the results.

Also, I think one of the benefits of this process is that it's a better way to preserve the weed over a longer period of time. I find that the weed in jars, even properly cured and vacuum sealed tends to oxidize over time. It still "works" if you know what I mean, but it's not as nice looking. Boy am I ever spoiled!

Anyway, enjoy the process, it's a great one. Cheers!