Harvest, Drying, Curing - What's your method? Keep it brief

[IntoTheClouds]

Just would like to see everyones method for the final product and new ways to consider doing it as well. Cheers

My method for my last few harvests has been:

Flush > Chop > Straight to wash (The DocBud method) > Hang Dry (about 5-6 Days) > Trim > Straight to Jars.

After i get em jar'd im usually opening the jar once a day for about 30 Mins to and hour to let em breath. after about 2 weeks i pop in a Boveda moisture packet just to keep things from getting too dried out and i shouldnt need to open jars again until smoke.

 

[KbCobra]

I trim it after 2 days in the dark and put it in my drying net. I cure it in mason jars and air it for 2 or 3 hours a day while I'm mixing nutes, watering, and cleaning. Usually I bring the bin of jars into the garage to get fresher air for those couple hours. The sugar leaf I leave to dry on parchment paper then decarb it and turn it into butter

 

[ODtheGreat]

lol I just posted on this some where else, sorry if this isn't brief enough. I was trying to find the easiest way to explain it before. This is a copy and paste of my last post.

I try to find an internode most suitable and make the cutting into the best hook shape or half arrow.

And then use that to hang on twine or wire. Then check everyday. To see if they are dry pick a spot with the most stem and bend it. If it snaps its ready to move on to the curing process. If the stem bends instead of breaking, let it hang and check the next day. Trim the buds off the stem. Place buds in an air tight container. Glass containers with rubber seals work best. Leave a little air in the top of the container, so the buds aren't stuffed into it and the moisture inside the buds have somewhere to escape too. Check every few hours for condensation and for the nugs to be more moist than they were when you cut them off the stick. Air the container out for an hour er 2 then close back up. In another few hours check the nugs. If moist place back in the container and check again in another couple hours. It may vary on how long depending on the quantity your drying. If its a lot it could take a few days just to cure.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Chop, wash Doc buds method, hang 4-6 days, cut from stem into big plastic zip lock,suck air out of zip lock by mouth each day for seven days, jars, burp oncea day for a week, done. I swear the plastic bag vacuum by mouth cuts curing time in half.

 

[Edubbs]

What uuuup, so I been cutting , then I hang dry them until stems snap. Although this process has me discouraged. I cant seem to get those tit, grade A buds after they dry tho this point. I find that the stem snap is a poor indicator as to when you should jar. Trusting this theory of snappage wholeheartedly has cost me on one harvest already. Ill be dring for a day or two, then jarring, burping every evening. Any other proven suggestion would be appreciated. Cheers Dubbs

 

[iwltfum]

What uuuup, so I been cutting , then I hang dry them until stems snap. Although this process has me discouraged. I cant seem to get those tit, grade A buds after they dry tho this point. I find that the stem snap is a poor indicator as to when you should jar. Trusting this theory of snappage wholeheartedly has cost me on one harvest already. Ill be dring for a day or two, then jarring, burping every evening. Any other proven suggestion would be appreciated. Cheers Dubbs

As for when to start dry trimming, I think your right, the stems snapping seems to not be a 100% positive indicator.

I find that drying/trimming timing is really subjective. Considering factors like:
-the quality of the bud that has been grown
-water content of the medium at the moment the plant gets chopped
-thoroughness in taking the water leaves off (if you do that all)
-the size and density of the buds
-the relative size and density of the buds
-the length of the drying branches
-the concentration of buds in your drying area
-not to mention: relative humidity and temperature (which are very much related to each other, look into it if you don't know how - it's important stuff)

Once you consider all those factors (and I probably haven't even mentioned all of them), then there really isn't a good way to just take someone else's drying method and copy and paste it into your own situation. Especially when you have to rely on subjective details like "you know it's dry when the branches snap" or "wait until the leaves break off easily". Try to follow broad guidelines, and adjust little things in your process one by one to figure out how it works best for your own specific situation.

ADDITION: Nothing works better than checking and testing a small bud everyday starting a few days before you think it might be ready.

 

[IntoTheClouds]

What uuuup, so I been cutting , then I hang dry them until stems snap. Although this process has me discouraged. I cant seem to get those tit, grade A buds after they dry tho this point. I find that the stem snap is a poor indicator as to when you should jar. Trusting this theory of snappage wholeheartedly has cost me on one harvest already. Ill be dring for a day or two, then jarring, burping every evening. Any other proven suggestion would be appreciated. Cheers Dubbs

what part of the process caused you to lose your harvest Edubbs?

 

[Cannabliss89]

I'm a little paranoid of over drying cuz once it's too dry you're kind of screwed.
So I've been waiting till just before the stems snap and they feel dry and then I'll put them in a jar with a cheap hygrometer and wait a few hours. If it's already high like 70 or rising pretty fast I'll take the lid off of the jar and let them sit a day. If it's really high I'll put them in a paper bag for a day and then check again. It's my first time drying/curing and it's helping me take the guess work out

 

[Edubbs]

So I lost my buds when I let them dry untill the stems snapped. I was watching and taking the smaller sticks out as they became dry enough. But like I said before, simply waiting untill stems snap is a poor indicator on its own. I believe I dried the harvest too long, the smoke was sub par, not great tasting, and not very potent. The buds looked magnificent before harvest. But like It was said above, there are many factors that go into hang drying. I think ill take my chances when the BUDS show signs of drying within the nug. Once I gind that happy medium ill have confidence to jar and avoid mold.

 

[iwltfum]

So I lost my buds when I let them dry untill the stems snapped. I was watching and taking the smaller sticks out as they became dry enough. But like I said before, simply waiting untill stems snap is a poor indicator on its own. I believe I dried the harvest too long, the smoke was sub par, not great tasting, and not very potent. The buds looked magnificent before harvest. But like It was said above, there are many factors that go into hang drying. I think ill take my chances when the BUDS show signs of drying within the nug. Once I gind that happy medium ill have confidence to jar and avoid mold.

Hey Edubbs. I found that drying/curing got easier as the quality of bud I was producing got better. Not saying that you didn't have a quality bud to start with, but it could be a huge factor if you didn't. I went through several harvests blaming my curing/drying method instead of my growing method. I soon realized it was the latter, causing my buds to dry too fast or just ending up with a sub-par harvest when it looked "great" on the stalk. Focus on getting those calyxes to swell up and getting the buds to be as dense as possible and you will have an easier time with your drying/curing.

 

[Edubbs]

I see what your saying fum. What always gets me is the bids look so dam good, and are covered with crystals. When I cut em down they look great, then they dry, and as that progresses it ends up getting worse the longer I leave it. So I cut everything down last 2 nights. I let them sit inside my now empty grow room and I honestly think theyll be ready to jar later tonight. Im jarring at a couple different times to test out when exactly is dry enough. Thanks for all the tips and thoughts!!

 

[Spitz]

I hang for 3-5 days until the outside feels dry. I move them to jars with cheap hygrometers that are surprisingly accurate. After a day or 2, they are usually around 70% humidity. I take them out for an hour every day or 2 until they stabilize at 55%. They then move to canning jars for 6-10 weeks. I have the Bovida 62s but that feels just a bit too damp for me.

I haven't washed yet because I've been fortunate enough to not have to spray them. No insecticides, no fungicides, and no biological bacteria or fertilizers.

 

[Edubbs]

So do you sample the buds at different times for potencey or flavor or anything? Would you explain your process further? Do you have a preference in lengnth of cure?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Length of cure can make a very large difference on taste, flavor of the bud... i like to cure for 2 to 3 months myself on average helps brings out the smoothness, sweetness & the flavor

Once ya done a few grows & smoked the results ya soon see what you like just keep a jar stashed for a couple months later & you will soon see.

 

[Rifleman]

Chop. Hang anywhere from 3 to 8 days depending on temps, humidity, bud size, etc. Pack into an appropriate size cVault, full but not packed in. Open everyday, stir, fan with lid, leave open for an hour or so, for a week. Place Boveda 62 packages in top of cVault. Open and remove as you need.

I have put 18 zips in a four liter cVault but it is packed tight. Too tight in fact. I had to use newspaper spread on the table and dump the bud on it every night to break it apart and make sure it was enough to avoid mold. A good rule of thumb on containers IMHO is 1 liter will hold 4 zips snugly.

 

[Edubbs]

So I have left the buds only, that is...the buds with as lil stem as possible. They stayed in my empty grow area and dried up with all equipment on in 2 days. That was as far asI was willing to let them dry based on feel and inner bud dryness. They went into quart size canning jars. I open them once in the evening for an hour or 2, close em up, they go back to the cabinet. Im at 11 days so far. Still smells fresh, hay smell. Trimmed a little bit more to get those inner shit leaves outta there. All buds look sexy

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Looking good, 2 days is a pretty quick drying time.


I'm all down to temperature & relative humidity these days for doing the slow air dry, still takes me some where between 7 to 14 days on average.

I normally associate the hay smell to the slow air dry period but largely should be gone before you start to cure tho... i don't skip out of using boosts either which can help improve flavor

 

[IntoTheClouds]

i feel you on the "Bovida 62's". it feels a little damp for me as well, but i think that may be good for them? i mean, they are designed for cigars. Maybe there is a difference in humidity needs for cigars vs ganja.