Wanna Ask The Old Farts A Question?

[gabjaz]

I'm worried that I'm canning too soon. The calibrater III tip is perfect, so it really doesn't matter if I did. I just need to get some more large jars and keep an eye on the humidity! You guys are the best! Girl #3 looks really different, I guess 15 days more makes a big difference....

Thanks a bunch, Gabs

 

[jessrabit]

Just to expand on this thought, and this is for whoever reads this because hoosierdaddy already knows this, but when they say wait until the stem snaps, they don't mean it has to snap into two seperate pieces. Sometimes it might, more often it probably won't. What they mean by snap is an audible snapping noise that you can hear without having to hold it close to your ear while bending.

My curing conditions had been optimal and things were coming along perfectly until friday when we had a very hot and dry day, when I checked the barn it was very warm and humidity was very low. The product is now very dry and brittle. Has this harmed the final product and will the new moist weather help it recover any of it's texture?
Jess

 

[hoosierdaddy]

jessrabit, having lived on a tobacco farm, I can tell you from experience that yes your weed will become rehydrated in the barn when the RH rises. From brittle to limp in a few hours in the right conditions.

This is just my take on things and how I do them...but I often see folks drying a bit too long.
Nothing wrong with a good long dry, but if there is low humidity and air moving, it will not take more than 3-4 days to have the buds ready for the jar.
To me the moment a stem has an audible "snap" when bent, they are ready to cut off the stalk and jar. Now, they will regain their pliability from internal moisture within the next day, and it is very important to keep opening the jars up on a daily basis to let old air out and new air in for about a week or so. Then every week or two.

If you hang them out in the barn for a week or two, there will be very little internal moisture left to rehydrate the buds once in the jar. In this case you would want the humidity to rise a bit so the plants weren't crispy brittle before you tried to jar them up.
Otherwise they won't have any moisture left to cure themselves with.
In tobacco lingo we would say that the leaves have "come in case" when the humidity was right for barn cure. When the leaves are in case they can be handled and are pliable, when they are out of case, they are either too dry or two wet.

 

[jessrabit]

Thanks Hoosierdaddy. I have been breaking them down but I will leave them out and see how the humidity fares on them. It sure did happen in a matter of a day, took me by surprise how much difference a day will make but now I know. I like my buds sticky not crunchy
Do I need to be taking them all the way off the stem now, even though I am not finished trimming?

 

[hoosierdaddy]

You can do it how ever you want to do it...it is really all up to you.
But, if I can make a suggestion, trim the plant all the way right after chopping it. It is so much easier to get the plant trimmed out when the leaves are still fresh and alive. Many strains will simply allow their leaves to be plucked off with ease when they are fresh, yet just a few hours later the leaves will have started to wilt a little and the stems will not snap off as easily.
Depends on how much I have to trip up, but I will normally take most all the leaves I want off by hand (or fingers if you will). I will only use scissors for a final trim up to catch any strays I may have missed. Only then do I hang them up. I want them to be like they will be in the jar when I cut (or pull) them off the stalk for the jar. I don't want to mess with them to much while they are in a dry state. This can only cause the good stuff to fall off the buds.

If you have left lot so leaf, and they are dry ready for jar, I would not do anything with them yet. Let them jar for a few days (always remembering to burp them at least once a day) and once they have regained a bit of moisture, I would then clean them up to my satisfaction. Some folks like to leave lots of leaf on, and enjoy the extra smoke it provides. Others like nothing but calyxes in their pipes. (shrug)

If after a few days in the jar they are still brittle dry, I would suggest putting a green bud in with them for a night. This will freshen the whole jar right up..but be very careful not to forget about the green bud, or you could have a jar full of moldy, bad tasting crap.
I have also used a piece of apple, or orange peels to rehydrate severely dry buds. Works great.

I want to caution again about keeping an eye on the jar when you are trying to rehydrate it with peelings or such...do not forget it. The bacteria factor is at a ultra high rating when there is a wet anything in the jar. Just a matter of a few hours could make or break the taste and cure. I would take the peel out before you maybe think the buds have gotten wet again....

 

[ericcalif]

where'd you find 1/2 gal mason's

I got em at a local home supply place (OSH) They have masons at most supermarkets but they are more expensive and rarely have the big ones. I think I paid 12 or 14 bux for 6.

 

[Gold123]

I got em at a local home supply place (OSH) They have masons at most supermarkets but they are more expensive and rarely have the big ones. I think I paid 12 or 14 bux for 6.

Thx, our Local OSH went out of business.

 

[ericcalif]

Thx, our Local OSH went out of business.

Another place you might try is thrift stores. But if you don't want to look around, these are a decent price.

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=27&gclid=CNqfxsWDgKECFQP7agodzkE2vQ

 

[HempKat]

Not true HempKat! Before I found this thread I was reluctant to post anything anywhere for a few different reasons. Everyone here has been so kind and helpful, especially you HempKat. I know without a doubt that this grow would have been a disaster, or should I say an very expensive disaster.

I have made mistakes, and you patiently and with a wealth of knowledge helped me through each phase. I know I have taken way too much advantage of you! Besides that, NOBODY, except my DSH knows about this little garden adventure and it is so nice to share pics and talk freely about what I have going on, cuz to me this is a real accomplishment to get this far. It just stinks that it's illegal. Anyway, thanks for all your help....

I am going to end this post and start another one with another concern...lol...

Gabs

Well keep in mind that the main purpose for these sites are for people like ourselves with shared interests, to gather together and compare notes and to express our joys and frustrations as they arise. You just need to think thru carefully how you express yourself so as to maintain your annonymity. To give you an example of what I mean, let's say you want to show people just how stoned you get off your stuff. One way would be to get someone to take a picture of you with a big ol stoned grin across your face and your eyes bloodshot and half closed, and then post that picture. That would be foolish though because then you are posting what you look like. Law enforcement officers aka LEO do visit these sites but that's not the only security threat. There are also dishonorable people out there that will prey on people. They could take your pic and memorize your face and then thru seemingly innocent conversation spread out over time, learn where they might see you and then go there and follow you back home when they do see you. Now they know where you and your grow is. From that point they could befriend you online, get to where you chit chat about daily routine's and from that learn when is the best time for them to hit your place to rob your grow and if handled right the person would never even suspect the online persona that the robber used.

So the alternative would maybe be to find a good picture of a random stoned person on the internet or simply use a graphics program to draw a crude smiley face with a stoned expression. That way the image of stonedness gets thru without showing your face.

Other things to keep in mind about pictures is if you're going to post them you need to know what's in the picture and also check to make sure nothing shows something you don't want. Examples would be, a picture showing off a full size plant that's standing in front of a wall and off to the side hanging on the wall is a high school or college diploma. Another might be a picture of a pile of buds on a magazine, that comes in the mail and therefore has your name and address visible.

Now I know it's tough to just put yourself out there for whomever to respond to which is also part of why this thread was started, to provide new people with a good starting point for help where they hopefully wouldn't find much if any judgement, and only hopefull encouragement on how to deal with the problems they have. Just throwing things out there in the forum can be intimidating at times because people sometimes get to where they forget when they were just starting out and they can be insensitive. Usually they don't mean to be but also there are some jerks out there that just enjoy making people miserable. Which brings me to my final point on online interaction, never ever just run with advice, especially from people you don't really know. Even from people like me. At least not until you've looked at thier behavior for a while to see how they are. I'm not saying don't listen and consider the advice but also check with other sources and see if they concure.

 

[HempKat]

jessrabit, having lived on a tobacco farm, I can tell you from experience that yes your weed will become rehydrated in the barn when the RH rises. From brittle to limp in a few hours in the right conditions.

This is just my take on things and how I do them...but I often see folks drying a bit too long.
Nothing wrong with a good long dry, but if there is low humidity and air moving, it will not take more than 3-4 days to have the buds ready for the jar.
To me the moment a stem has an audible "snap" when bent, they are ready to cut off the stalk and jar. Now, they will regain their pliability from internal moisture within the next day, and it is very important to keep opening the jars up on a daily basis to let old air out and new air in for about a week or so. Then every week or two.

If you hang them out in the barn for a week or two, there will be very little internal moisture left to rehydrate the buds once in the jar. In this case you would want the humidity to rise a bit so the plants weren't crispy brittle before you tried to jar them up.
Otherwise they won't have any moisture left to cure themselves with.
In tobacco lingo we would say that the leaves have "come in case" when the humidity was right for barn cure. When the leaves are in case they can be handled and are pliable, when they are out of case, they are either too dry or two wet.

I can't think of a single thing to add


Oh wait a minute....

If you do happen to find yourself where your buds are a little too dry when you put them in a jar to cure, you can reintroduce some moisture in a variety of ways. Such as adding an orange peel or lemon peel, although those will leave their smell in your buds. Another would be to just toss a freshly trimmed but not dried bud in the jar, one of the smaller popcorn buds so it won't matter if that one bud didn't get dried properly before going into a jar. I'm sure there are other things one could use too, as long as it has some mositure in it to be drawn out in the jar.

 

[HempKat]

You can do it how ever you want to do it...it is really all up to you.
But, if I can make a suggestion, trim the plant all the way right after chopping it. It is so much easier to get the plant trimmed out when the leaves are still fresh and alive. Many strains will simply allow their leaves to be plucked off with ease when they are fresh, yet just a few hours later the leaves will have started to wilt a little and the stems will not snap off as easily.
Depends on how much I have to trip up, but I will normally take most all the leaves I want off by hand (or fingers if you will). I will only use scissors for a final trim up to catch any strays I may have missed. Only then do I hang them up. I want them to be like they will be in the jar when I cut (or pull) them off the stalk for the jar. I don't want to mess with them to much while they are in a dry state. This can only cause the good stuff to fall off the buds.

If you have left lot so leaf, and they are dry ready for jar, I would not do anything with them yet. Let them jar for a few days (always remembering to burp them at least once a day) and once they have regained a bit of moisture, I would then clean them up to my satisfaction. Some folks like to leave lots of leaf on, and enjoy the extra smoke it provides. Others like nothing but calyxes in their pipes. (shrug)

If after a few days in the jar they are still brittle dry, I would suggest putting a green bud in with them for a night. This will freshen the whole jar right up..but be very careful not to forget about the green bud, or you could have a jar full of moldy, bad tasting crap.
I have also used a piece of apple, or orange peels to rehydrate severely dry buds. Works great.

I want to caution again about keeping an eye on the jar when you are trying to rehydrate it with peelings or such...do not forget it. The bacteria factor is at a ultra high rating when there is a wet anything in the jar. Just a matter of a few hours could make or break the taste and cure. I would take the peel out before you maybe think the buds have gotten wet again....

Well darn, that's what I get for not reading ahead, you covered that already, and more thoroughly, I forgot to stress the importance of not leaving stuff in the jar too long. Well done

 

[HempKat]

I'm worried that I'm canning too soon. The calibrater III tip is perfect, so it really doesn't matter if I did. I just need to get some more large jars and keep an eye on the humidity! You guys are the best! Girl #3 looks really different, I guess 15 days more makes a big difference....

Thanks a bunch, Gabs

Yeah 15 days can make a huge difference, especially at the end. There is a point, 1-2 weeks before harvest where the buds swell up adding a considerable amount of bulk and weight to your harvest.

 

[Gold123]

My curing conditions had been optimal and things were coming along perfectly until friday when we had a very hot and dry day, when I checked the barn it was very warm and humidity was very low. The product is now very dry and brittle. Has this harmed the final product and will the new moist weather help it recover any of it's texture?
Jess

Here is a product that is the cure all for moisture, it's called Boveda Humidity Packs. I use 68% humidity packs, there are other % ones you can fool around with.
These are the only humidity control packs that not only add humidity but will remove excess, so it will keep the product at the % humidity you pick. I know of a number of dispensaries that use them here in Cali, and growers that supply them that use them also. Here is a link. http://www.bovedapacks.com/

 

[mellow yellow]

Hey Team, thanks for all the help last time next question.... lol
I plan to get some bubble bags and will use the leaves etc to make the hash, question how should i store the leaves as i expect to be chopping my plans over a few weeks.
Thanks

 

[Gold123]

Hey Team, thanks for all the help last time next question.... lol
I plan to get some bubble bags and will use the leaves etc to make the hash, question how should i store the leaves as i expect to be chopping my plans over a few weeks.
Thanks

Freezer bag(s), in the freezer

 

[gabjaz]

HempKat,

Great advise... Security is my first concern with this little adventure and it has weighed on my mind.. I must admit that I feel relieved that the grow phase is done! I haven't had company over in months! Phew! Looking at what I have ended up with and as little as I use. I think it's going to be a good long time before I go through this again!

Peace, Gabs

 

[Weezard]

Might as well do it right.

Might as well do it right.

Hey Team, thanks for all the help last time next question.... lol
I plan to get some bubble bags and will use the leaves etc to make the hash, question how should i store the leaves as i expect to be chopping my plans over a few weeks.
Thanks

I dry them and cure them just like buds.
Then I freeze them the night before bubble day.
Makes much better hash.

Course I also make hash from excess bud.
Same deal. Dry 'em and cure 'em well first.

First time I did bubble bags, I was impatient and just froze green sugar leaf.
The hash never "jelled" It was a green/black goop that was very harsh, and hard to use.
Kept gumming up my applicators.

2 "ol' fart" cents.

Weeze

 

[HempKat]

Hey Team, thanks for all the help last time next question.... lol
I plan to get some bubble bags and will use the leaves etc to make the hash, question how should i store the leaves as i expect to be chopping my plans over a few weeks.
Thanks

I've never used bubble bags so I don't know if they have any specific requirements but when I plan on processing trim for canna butter or to dry sift for making hash, I just let them air dry like the buds and throw them in a jar too. I don't let them breath like I do when curing buds (not as often) but I do let them breath about once or twice a week. Mainly to just make sure nothing funky is growing in there/

 

[HempKat]

HempKat,

Great advise... Security is my first concern with this little adventure and it has weighed on my mind.. I must admit that I feel relieved that the grow phase is done! I haven't had company over in months! Phew! Looking at what I have ended up with and as little as I use. I think it's going to be a good long time before I go through this again!

Peace, Gabs

I hear what you're saying but it's amazing how fast it can go. When we get our first crop we tend to look at it thru the perspective of what we could afford on the street and in that light it seems like so much. Then we get to enjoying it and without having to conserve it so much so we don't have to buy more, that it just starts going faster and faster. Attitudes start to change. Like before, when we bought off the streets, maybe we were careful about every flake because it was so expensive and we didn't want to waste money. Now we got this big stash that seems like so much, we find ourselves brushing away those flakes of weed to the floor as if they were some bread crumbs to be casuall brushed out of the way.

Before when we rolled a joint maybe we rolled a skinny "pinner", again trying to conserve the weed because it cost so much. Now you might find yourself rolling joints as fat as a cigarette or even fatter.

 

[mellow yellow]

Nice info again thanks all for the advise. I will let you know how i get on.