Stored in Foodsaver vacuumed bags- months later has it spoiled?

[VirginHarvester]

So last year I harvested and cured some ST x AK47 and after around four months of curing I put it in Foodsaver bags( http://www.foodsaver.com/ ) to seal it air tight. The buds were well dried and no sign of mold- had a nice smell and were green when I sealed them. I always thought air is what causes weed to continue to break down the THC and lose potency so I wanted to preserve it. It's been sealed for around six months. I opened the bags and the weed had turned a very pale, almost gold color and the smell seemed sour to me, not in a good way. I wondered if removing all the oxygen cause the same kind of effect we see in meat that turns light brown in a package but then red again once you open it and it gets oxygen. But the smell really threw me, it seemed "spoiled" and lost it's sweet smell. When I squeezed the buds I just seemed to get more of that sour smell. Maybe it's a good thing, maybe it went bad. Alternatively, I have some brown Thai and White Widow stored in bags like this and they don't seem to have changed, still green or light brown like they were when I put them in- although I haven't opened those to see if they are ok. The one thing I would say about the ST x AK is that I made sure not to let the sealer suck all the air out so that it smashed the buds- it's really powerful. Maybe I left a little air in and they actually did spoil? Anyway, I've kept weed around in bags for over a year before and it never spoiled or turned on me so even with a little air in the bags I wouldn't have expected them to turn. Anyone have any idea or seen anything like that before? I'm almost afraid to smoke it at this point.

Thanks.

 

[glock23]

Go with your gut. If it smells sour, it's probably off. Pics?

 

[Suby]

When you cure buds you usually keep about 20% space in the jar for air and you have to burp them, this keeps any bacterial population within the jar aerobic and gets fresh air in there to keep them happy.
As the material gets increasingly dry your need to do this is less but if you bagged it with very little air and there was any moisture at all left in it you get anearobic bacteria, thus the smell.
The good news is you can still make edibles or excellent hash from it.
Next time freeze the bag and leave some room in it, it will help keep microbial activity to a minimum.

Where the other 2 strains dryer before you put them in?

 

[Bob Jones]

Suby nailed it. I always vacuum pack my harvest because as a med user I grow one outdoor crop per year and end up with a lot, so some of it gets stored for years. I've had the same thing happen with bud that got packed with too little moisture, it comes out kind of gold and sour. I also have some 5 year old buds that are still as good as new, nice and green and great smelling but had to get them dry before sealing.

Another thing, you don't have to super-compress them. You can seal the bag when it just starts to pull a vacuum, that keeps the buds from getting crushed. I think they last better that way, you don't rupture the trichomes.

 

[VirginHarvester]

The other two strains were probably not drier and the ST x AK buds had cured for months. From the looks of the WW and Thai I would say they are just as good as when sealed but this stuff looked and smelled weird.

Bob, are the gold, sour buds you've pulled from being vacuumed sealed still good? I just thought they smelled a little rank and mos def changed color dramatically. Come to think of it, they weren't sealed that tight and still had a little air in the bags. Maybe that's the problem, who knows. But if you say you've smoked buds that come out of vacuum with the color and smell change I might give them a try.

 

[tejashidrow]

Its hard to believe that BACTERIAL action happened. Thats why we HAVE freezers to STOP bacteria from growing thus preserving our frozen stuff (i.e food..)
Unless you have a faulty freezer i would not count on it being bacteria or mold...(or you better toss all your food in the freezer too..)
Freezers are a DRY environment as long as its 32 degrees or less ..maybe you had freezer burn??? Freezer burn allways leaves a off smell to food, why not pot??? PAX

 

[Suby]

He never put his bags in the freezer from what I gatre from his posts...

 

[okwildfire]

hey VH..did ya try to smoke any of those bud's? if so..how was it? (EDIT) lol opps..i see ya havent tried it yet..if ya do..let us know how it is.

 

[tejashidrow]

that splains it... My bad... pax

 

[VirginHarvester]

Have not smoked any yet. They were never in freezers but a shoebox in the back of my closet up on a shelf. This is bud that had dried and cured in jars for months and was very dry when I put it in the foodsaver bags. The WW and Thai I have sealed hard and air tight look good. When I put the ST x AK in the vacuum bags I actually didn't let the vacuum seal them "down hard" so they had a little air in them. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe the summer humidity got in there and affected them? Maybe the key is to use those bags and seal out the possibility of moisture I needed to seal them harder even if it meant crushing the buds a little with the vacuum pressure. I haven't tried any yet but I might down the road and will report back.

 

[Joe Budden]

I just use food grade storage tubs and it works pretty great!

 

[FRANKENBLUNT420]

would it have made a difference if they were vacuum sealed and in the freezer? i am gonna have a nice harvest and want to have some buds to carry me through the year as i wont be able to grow any more for a while. im expecting about 2.5-3lbs and wanted to put away a good 1/2lb for myself to smoke over time (in 1oz increments).

does vacum packing then freezing do teh trick to longevity? if so is there anythig i woudl ned to do once they are taken out of the freezer? maybe let them sit somewhere to thaw out? woudl moisture be a concern once thawing out starts?

sorry for the jack guys, trying to amass as much info on the topic as possible before chop day. im thinking the right Q's might help us all.

 

[otherwhitemeat]

Only time I've ever had probs with my foodsaver sealed buds was when they were sealed with excess moisture. I would never seal my buds unless they've had at least a full month to cure.

I've smoked herb almost a year old as fresh as they day I sealed it. When I have some excess stash left over, cured and jarred and another harvest ready...I stash the older stuff away, sometimes it comes out even better. I never freeze mine though, just vaccum seal and put in the in the refrigerator (veggie drawer) in a paper bag to hide the contents and protect from light.

One time I sealed up buds that weren't fully cured, they had a very pungent smell...sort of acidic and ripe. The buds smoked harsh and got me WAAAAY high, but I know something was wrong...it was cough-a-lot weed.

As far as bacteria, there are a few that can grow in anerobic environments like foodsaver bags. Botulism is one; if you had that and toked it you would pretty much die in minutes I think. My guess is a few bacteria, a little air...things went sour right after they were sealed, bacterial byproducts degraded the plant material somewhat, resulting in the sour taste. Smoke a hit, if you live...then you should be okay (just kidding)

 

[tiktok420]

An idea might be to vaporize if the bud is moldy.

 

[Dr Psycho]

Freezer is your friend !I just smoked some good Leb hash thats been in a film container in a Mason Jar in my freezer for eight years it still has a sweet piney taste and hasn't lost any potency. Even properly cured pot is still around 10-18 % moisture. My rule is to cure for 4-6 weeks first in paper shopping bags and then in glass jars and when the taste and aroma are right wrap the jar in brown paper to keep out light and prying eyes. ( I have a mother in law that drops by when we're away and cleans our fridge)I've kept pot for 10 years this way and seed for 12! the key is only take out what you can use in a week, the freezing ruptures glands and the buds lose quality rapidly once they're brought out of hibernation. There is an attachement for the food saver that allows you to vacuam pack in jars. I have a problem with packaging good weed in plastic plastic gives off things over time that I would rather not put into my body.

 

[dontstepongrass]

i don't think you're supposed to vape moldy buds...

 

[pugnacious]

Foodsavers work really well. The only time I had issues is when I broke them into half pounds using gallon ziplocks and vac sealed over them. Gave it that commercial smell. Take out the ziplocks and you can store bud up to 2-3 months no prob.

 

[guest3589]

it sounds like the bag 'popped' and you couldn't detect it since it was not compressed completely, it must have been difficult to notice. The smallest puncture to the bag can be a disaster. I seal my bags so that there is some compression and I check them for the first few days/weeks for any that puff up a little. I know if they have puffed up that I will need to use them first or reseal them.

Hope this info is of value, it keeps my goods fresh for quite a long time.

 

[smokey cigars]

Its been in my experience, jars need air...even as time goes by in the jars...you dont ever fully get all the moisture out of the weed...so if you leave it sealed for too long, the buds will smell bad

Normally...just rotate opening jars...atleast every couple days to fight off bad smells

 

[billy_big_bud!]

i have noticed in certain strains, patricularly st3 that after a month or so of curing the bud "limes". that i s the term i gave it. it looses its sweetness and gets sort of sour smelling. potency is the same just the flavour character changes. good none the less.