Is my cure ruined? Let dry too long

[Shleprock]

I let my buds dry too long and got crispy. About 3 days earlier they were on wet side (squishy) so I decided to wait because I was afraid of mold, I probably should waited 1 day. So now I put them in a big ziplock and the RH reads at 50. I’m afraid I lost my window to achieve a cure now. Do I rehydrate and try to go through the cure process or just smoke crispy uncured weed and learn my lesson?

 

[Blew Hiller]

Do I rehydrate

NO

just smoke crispy uncured weed and learn my lesson?

Or use them for edibles/oils/etc. I, and many, grew up smoking crispy, uncured schwag There are worse things...like mold

 

[Blew Hiller]

Not sure of your environmental conditions, but squishy to crispy in 3 days seems quick..as you learned it's worth checking them at least once a day at that stage. I have lost 2-3 harvests due to mold and that is worse than uncured, which is fine for edibles/oils etc. Many here, including myself, still are trying to master the art of the dry and cure...next time will be better.

 

[BigD13]

It's better that they are too dry than moldy. I would not store them in zip lock bags. I would suggest getting some mason jars & some 62% RH Boveda packs. Putting them in the glass jars with the Boveda packs will at least keep them from getting any drier.

 

[Calvados]

You might be alright. Break one of them open. I’ll bet it smells wonderful and is probably damp. The outside always dries first. The inside takes considerably longer.

 

[bluter]

jar them up with a hygrometer. the rh% may rise in the jars.
ziplocks are for street dealers not long term storage.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Personally I’d just rehydrate it, or at least some of it -if you’re going to use the rest for edibles, and put in the jars to cure normally. I personally haven’t noticed any problems over the years curing bud that got over-dried then rehydrated before curing. To me it seems perfectly good, fragrant and well cured.
.
At any given time I’ve got many gallons on the shelves, some of which I know got over dried a bit in the drier. I think it would be noticeable if I had gallon jars of weed that are totally uncured? It is possible that the overdried/rehydrated stuff isn’t quite as good and it just goes unnoticed though.


The idea that bud dried beyond 55% RH cannot be cured, is one of those things that gets repeated often online. Is there anything much in the way of factual info to support the idea? Seems pretty sparse- almost nonexistent. Not that it couldn’t be true, of course- but it also might be another one of those weed-forum myths? Not like there aren’t a few of those going around...

Do all dried herbs have to stay above 55% RH at all times or they’re ruined? I haven’t noticed it. I’m pretty sure that’s not how most producers operate. Tobacconists have no issues rehydrating cigars and tobacco as long as it hasn’t crumbled. My tea is fine in its box. My garden herbs seem great without a big fuss over curing, humidity packs, ‘burping’, etc.
Mostly it seems that oxidization is the main cause of quality loss, which is why it’s good to keep things jarred or packaged.

 

[Shleprock]

Not sure of your environmental conditions, but squishy to crispy in 3 days seems quick..as you learned it's worth checking them at least once a day at that stage. I have lost 2-3 harvests due to mold and that is worse than uncured, which is fine for edibles/oils etc. Many here, including myself, still are trying to master the art of the dry and cure...next time will be better.

The conditions are really dry where I live, I didn’t realize how fast my plants would dry. Lesson learned, I was told every grow gets better.

 

[Shleprock]

jar them up with a hygrometer. the rh% may rise in the jars.
ziplocks are for street dealers not long term storage.

Thanks, going to buy some jars today.

 

[Virgin Ground]

The conditions are really dry where I live, I didn’t realize how fast my plants would dry. Lesson learned, I was told every grow gets better.

Are you cutting and hanging the entire plant or are you cutting the buds/ branches off and drying that way?
Hanging the plant whole slows down the drying process. If you have low rh in your drying area this will help give you a better product.
Gotta check on your stuff more frequently too.

 

[Shleprock]

Personally I’d just rehydrate it, or at least some of it -if you’re going to use the rest for edibles, and put in the jars to cure normally. I personally haven’t noticed any problems over the years curing bud that got over-dried then rehydrated before curing. To me it seems perfectly good, fragrant and well cured.
.
At any given time I’ve got many gallons on the shelves, some of which I know got over dried a bit in the drier. I think it would be noticeable if I had gallon jars of weed that are totally uncured? It is possible that the overdried/rehydrated stuff isn’t quite as good and it just goes unnoticed though.


The idea that bud dried beyond 55% RH cannot be cured, is one of those things that gets repeated often online. Is there anything much in the way of factual info to support the idea? Seems pretty sparse- almost nonexistent. Not that it couldn’t be true, of course- but it also might be another one of those weed-forum myths? Not like there aren’t a few of those going around...

Do all dried herbs have to stay above 55% RH at all times or they’re ruined? I haven’t noticed it. I’m pretty sure that’s not how most producers operate. Tobacconists have no issues rehydrating cigars and tobacco as long as it hasn’t crumbled. My tea is fine in its box. My garden herbs seem great without a big fuss over curing, humidity packs, ‘burping’, etc.
Mostly it seems that oxidization is the main cause of quality loss, which is why it’s good to keep things jarred or packaged.

Going to put this to the test. I have some of the bud from when it was on the wet side in jar curing currently at 62 rh that I had to burp a lot to achieve. This will give me something to compare the overly dried (rehydrated) bud to. Will keep you posted, thanks for the reply.

 

[Shleprock]

Are you cutting and hanging the entire plant or are you cutting the buds/ branches off and drying that way?
Hanging the plant whole slows down the drying process. If you have low rh in your drying area this will help give you a better product.
Gotta check on your stuff more frequently too.

It was a 6 foot tall outdoor plant, so I cut it up in large sections to dry without trimming so I could do a so-called “dry trim” on it. I didn’t realize how fast it would dry. Here’s a pic before it went into the closet to dry.

 

[Weaselcracker]

A little practice and you’ll find the sweet spot/range. A lot of us struggle with humidity. Mine is too high. Lots of different ways of controlling that drying climate. The cardboard box method might work well for you.

 

[Deketx]

Same issue here. Spent the last 2 weeks.dealing with drying and jarring. And the rh here plummeted with that last big front. 35%. So like you, mine dried fast. Caught me off guard. It has been at 56% for a week now. So the cure is off, but YES you can rehydrate somewhat. You can use a boveda, or water beads like used in humidors. Back in the day I would take a piece of an orange peel and put it in the bag/jar and let the buds rehydrate some. But you need to be careful of mold. You can't just pitch it in and forget about it. You need some hygrometers , I got a 6 pack on Amazon. I used a larger one to "zero" them out, and have them in each jar. They are a must have!

 

[Shleprock]

This is where I learn the cure instead of the grow, I thought the grow was a challenge. These are the growing pains i guess, i'm learning from this. I jarred them up and my rh shot up to 64, they were crispy on the outside and wet inside, I didn't hydrate after all. I think what save me was the dry trim method, I only removed the fan leaves before i hung them out to dry. For some reason the jars hold better humidity than bags, better seal?

 

[Shleprock]

A little practice and you’ll find the sweet spot/range. A lot of us struggle with humidity. Mine is too high. Lots of different ways of controlling that drying climate. The cardboard box method might work well for you.

Yes practice, practice, practice! I'm so learning from my mistakes, jarring them up brought the rh to 64, they must have been really wet inside. Almost like cooking a steak on to high of a flame, burnt on the outside and rare in the center. Again thanks for the input, I really appreciate the the replies.

 

[Shleprock]

A little practice and you’ll find the sweet spot/range. A lot of us struggle with humidity. Mine is too high. Lots of different ways of controlling that drying climate. The cardboard box method might work well for you.

Thanks Green, this is really half of the process, the cure is half the battle. Going to check out the box method. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Shleprock]

jar them up with a hygrometer. the rh% may rise in the jars.
ziplocks are for street dealers not long term storage.

You are right!!!! I bought some jars and the hygrometer reading is at 64 now! What the @#$#? I thought my weed was toast, thank you for the help!

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yeah bags never stay sealed well for long.
What you just experienced is totally normal- it’s why people ‘burp’ their jars. Especially in the days before we all had cheap digital hygrometers to toss in the jars.
Dry till the stems ‘snap’ (meaning not literally break, but fold 90° when you bend them.) The bud dries on the outside, but is often still wetter in the middle. Stick it in a container for a while and it equalizes. Open up the jar for a couple hours (or whatever length of time depending on the situation), or in more drastic cases take the bud out to dry for a while. Re-jar. Let it equalize, repeat as needed.
The accepted RH for mould to survive is around 70. Above that and you are in danger.
Most people dry to around 60.
The hygrometers are usually only accurate within 3 or 4 degrees. I have a bunch and they all read different things. Some are completely screwy and just say - whatever. So don’t trust them too much.
It’s funny seeing the ads for hygrometer/thermometers online. Some vendors sell them by the half dozen, and if you look in the pics they’re all showing different temps and RH

 

[Dwight Monk]

The hygrometers are usually only accurate within 3 or 4 degrees. I have a bunch and they all read different things. Some are completely screwy and just say - whatever. So don’t trust them too much.

They usually good for a "range" so to speak, which is good enough to avoid ending up with moldy stuff when you new to the whole thing. After awhile you get the hang of it, as I'm getting that I can tell by feel and looking at it after a couple years what "range" it is at, be it still too wet or right about at where I'm aiming for (far as my preference to smoke, I"m closer to 59-60 RH while others prefer around 62-64). And then I can go into the leave in jars and not burp anymore and go into storage mode until it's needed.