Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[Rory Borealis]

I'm over the moon.
Many years ago during a life upheaval I hid a small batch of pictures from my younger days.
Over 40 years ago now.

The question was where?
I've been thinking hard about it the last 4 years and yesterday I remembered.

Couldn't wait to share a couple

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Outdoors 42.2N

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Some Mexican that came through around 79. We hadn't seen any in years because of them spraying paraquat.
Columbian had taken over.
So this was a special treat.

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No jar of seeds unfortunately
What was I thinking?
I'll have to renew my library card to scan the old slides.

I'm actually pretty impressed.
In your memories you like to tell yourself you had it going on "back in the day".
Just a quick glance through the old slides and maybe some of that is justified.

I really love seeing well, exposed photos of well grown ganja on slide /reversal film. Thanks for that.

 

[GreenAndFast]

Looking killer bros and broettes. @moose/MI those photos are incredible, I'd love to see more and then developed wow. Opened up the MTxOTH x ZxC candy bars earlier and I got a nearly sour smell along with that amazing sweetness but it had a funk none the less. I dried them both out all day and stacked them together to vac pack. 3 or 4 days earlier would have been the perfect time but work life gets in the way. We shall see. Got plenty of MTxOTH x ZxC and mango Thai growing out this season.

 

[Landfein]

I don't know but I think so.
There's a ton of confusion.
Even more so with people growing the indoor hype strains.

Someone said something and then it got repeated but without important qualifying information included.
Then it got picked up and passed around like the kindergarten game. Post Office - I've got a secret, all those games where it goes around the room and gets all messed up.

The farther and farther the information about when to harvest by color got from the source.
The more it got misconstrued.
Personally I think it's gotten to the point of almost a hysteria where all the new people are counciled to pull their weed extra early.

Myself, I change strains for the different effects I'm looking for rather than take it early.
I try to grow each one to it's full potential and expression. (best medicine)
As much as the individual seasons will allow me.
I am an outdoor grower. So maybe that's the difference for me?
I also think Sativas tend to just keep chugging along and that throws a lot of people.

I have the same impression and opinion about it. Thank you for that.

 

[Baba Karuna]

Wow So amazing to come back to this thread and see so many wonderful cobs and updates

A few days ago I cracked open my favorite Senegalese x Nigerian cobs made from the oiliest, largest, and most purple plant of that line. Been aging for around 5 months now and I am in love

The effect is very similar to the Nigerian but is less “narcotic sativa” and incorporates more of the Senegalese energy. Truly spectacular. I had many plants of this last season and they are all great but this one is a winner. There are a few offspring from these plants popping up around the property that were fathered by my Afghan Mama line x . Excited to see how they come along. They are growing fast

🪷Om Śivamastu🪷

 

[Tangwena]

Wow So amazing to come back to this thread and see so many wonderful cobs and updates

A few days ago I cracked open my favorite Senegalese x Nigerian cobs made from the oiliest, largest, and most purple plant of that line. Been aging for around 5 months now and I am in love

The effect is very similar to the Nigerian but is less “narcotic sativa” and incorporates more of the Senegalese energy. Truly spectacular. I had many plants of this last season and they are all great but this one is a winner. There are a few offspring from these plants popping up around the property that were fathered by my Afghan Mama line x . Excited to see how they come along. They are growing fast

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🪷Om Śivamastu🪷

Its always special when you find that special cob isn't it?
I try to grow the seeds from them you cant go wrong.
Better choosing a seed from something you love over something you might love in my opinion.

 

[Tangwena]

My current favorite cob Mulanje 2023 no sweat 12 months sealed up.
External skin color.

Then the internal color

Tastes amazing fermented fruit and honey.
The effects last all day motivated and full of empathy and love for everything and every one.
Yesterday I chewed a larger wad than normal at breakfast and spat the chewed wad into a cup of tea.
Intending to only drink the tea and throw out the dregs.
Well that plan backfired when I forgot the cunning plan and drained the dregs ha ha.

I lost 2 hours tripping inside my head the most unbelievable dreams and adventures. I felt completely refreshed on returning to the world, but stoned as a wombat for the rest of the day until 11pm when I passed out into a deep refreshing sleep the best in ages.
The color in the pics is what the majority of cobs we used to score back in Africa looked like and the smell confirmed it. I just need to use smaller doses in future ha ha.

 

[The golden temple]

Firstly Thank you tagwena and all the others who have posted here and shared their knowledge .

All of my best early experiences were with sticks / bricks ect . I wondered why some of the seeds that I saved and worked over the years did not quite feel like the parent stock as much as I loved them . Previously I would take a long slow dry and battle with the jars .

About a year ago I decided to apply some of the tech here .
I’m still experimenting as much as poss but here a few


These are a few different worked pre 2000 heirlooms diploid nld type 1s,
Yābin , wetstones , hinoki blue .

I’ve been experimenting with some of the ideas discussed here and these are some results .
I’m trying to dial in a heavy cure while maintaining overtones and top notes . ( I think we all are )

It’s currently 89% rh and 30 degrees day temps here in Thailand .

I’ve had some happy accidents and to cut a long story short regret having not made more with the last crop

I’ve also experimented with Cobb/bricking with flower that had also been jar cured .

Some cures I concur can mellow the loudness of the smoke tatses . But … it is very very silky smooth smoke that is also expansive leaving the exhale feeling fully satisfied . more of a subtle back aftertaste that lingers in a more mineral way a bit like a good puerh tea .

Leaves a clean looking ash and has a very pleasing hashy billowing smoke .
Also resin ring on the smoking joint .

I am aiming for amalgamation of the plant tissues and gum so the end result is a bit like picking apart some hash / like the Jamaican cess / highgrade that i used to enjoy in my youth .

 

[sneezydog]

Wow very pretty pictures. Nice bricks!
What are the strains lineages?

 

[Tangwena]

Now thats a nice cure my friend excellent job beautiful colors.

 

[GreenAndFast]

Looks incredible

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

Cob molded in Mason jar. My first try at cob was in October. I took it out of the vac bag a couple weeks ago to test. It tasted great and got me medicated. I put the rest of the cob into a Mason jar and forgot it for a few weeks. I got the jar out to celebrate 420 and there was a fantastic crop of mold on the cob. The plant hung dry for 3 days when I made the cob. Today the cob was still flexible and moist. Do I take some cob for a few days chew and reseal the rest in a vac bag again?

 

[Taima-da]

Avoid consuming mould.
Put it down to a learning experience.

You got to dry them each time you open them.
if they are not sealed in a low oxygen environment (vac bag) you should either dry them properly, or open up regularly to dry out a bit until they feel stable and dry. Once they feel dry you still should keep an eye on them but once they are stable they are fairly low maintenance.
Just like in a jar, it's not a store wet scenario, just extending the drying process.
They should feel and smell dry for longer storage periods.

 

[Baba Karuna]

I too had a run in with mold this week. I finally opened my Nigerian cobs that were accidentally cooked on high pressure in the Instant Pot. They were on the drying rack and became infested with mold. I suspect it was due to being sterilized similar to how mushroom substrate is prone to infections. I had to toss them out because it’s not worth ingesting mold. Now I know to double check the Instant Pot settings before sweating herb.

🪷Om Śanti🪷

 

[gedLang]

I too had a run in with mold this week. I finally opened my Nigerian cobs that were accidentally cooked on high pressure in the Instant Pot. They were on the drying rack and became infested with mold. I suspect it was due to being sterilized similar to how mushroom substrate is prone to infections. I had to toss them out because it’s not worth ingesting mold. Now I know to double check the Instant Pot settings before sweating herb.

🪷Om Śanti🪷

I remember when you posted on this thread when you made them. I think I said something like "This will be a great experiment, please report back!" I'm glad to get closure on this one but sad to hear of their fate.

 

[Loriented]

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?
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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?

explosion of pine

 

[jonesfam7715]

Real seed company malawi gold about 5 months cured moisture still coming out of this one. Very powerfull it's surprising. This has been my favorite this round

 

[doublezero]

I have my little plate cured for 1 month. It was originally 12g and 7,55g when vacuum sealed. I let it breathe for a day and sealed it again at 7.46g. Breaking the plate feels dry enough to it but what is a good moisture level or in this case weight as I am not able to measure moisture level?

From a first test (smoked) I would say that the effect is way stronger, a forth/fifh of the amount of dried bud is needed. Not chewed yet but I will.

 

[Tangwena]

I have my little plate cured for 1 month. It was originally 12g and 7,55g when vacuum sealed. I let it breathe for a day and sealed it again at 7.46g. Breaking the plate feels dry enough to it but what is a good moisture level or in this case weight as I am not able to measure moisture level?

From a first test (smoked) I would say that the effect is way stronger, a forth/fifh of the amount of dried bud is needed. Not chewed yet but I will.

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Because its thin it will dry quicker than thick ones.
I would just leave it in brown paper bag and keep an eye on it for mold.
It really depends on your relative humidity but I would not worry too much.

The candy bars I make are 5 to 10mm thick and once dried are like a piece of beef jerky or thick leather.
I can just carry them around in my pocket for weeks without any problems.
The color looks great it should be a nice chew I wouldn't mind a bite myself nice job man.

 

[Tangwena]

Real seed company malawi gold about 5 months cured moisture still coming out of this one. Very powerfull it's surprising. This has been my favorite this round View attachment 19188612 View attachment 19188613 View attachment 19188615 View attachment 19188614

Nice looks just like some of mine good job brother I bet its a smooth toke.

 

[sickzone]

Just finished fermenting.
Was a small indica so made 2 small cobs
Now in paper bag to dry.

Now starting sweat for some og kush.
Cut the tops off and letting rest of plant go a little longer.
2 small cobs again.

My first 6 cobs are almost to the 3 month storage time.
I have been smoking 1 of the cobs.
I kept a little that cured in my grove bags and have interchanged between that and the cob the last 2 months.
Every time I start smoking the grove cure I can't wait to finish it so I can get back to the cob.

I tried vape a couple of years ago and didn't really enjoy it.
Kept going to my dugout.
Tried cob in the vape and it was a huge difference.
Much more enjoyable.

Only chewed once.
But wanted to wait 3 months until I tried this regularly.