Leaving town after I chop, need curing recommendations

[DET—PDX]

Hey fellow tokers,

So my plan is to leave town December 22. This means I’ll need a long term method of curing that can last two weeks until I return January 4th. This also means in order to have time to dry the nugs before curing, I have to harvest sometime around December 16th. So, I plan to let the weed cure when I leave the 22nd as I cannot take it with me :/

I have heard of many drying and curing techniques. The basic 4-5 day drying on the stem, then curing in jars did not work so great for me last time, dried out too quickly. I have heard of chopping the entire plant and allowing it to dry whole for 6-7 days before finally trimming and curing buds. I also recently saw a video by Roesenthal stating a plant could be dried for 4 months whole! All the information is confusing, I am just wondering what the proper drying technique might be and the stickied drying guide is not loading. Regardless I have learned the humidity should be around 60% and temps should be below 70F but above 50F.

What do you think is the best plan for my situation? Anyone use turkey bags? I know for sure I’m using Boveda packs this time.

 

[Emilya Green]

the basic drying and curing in jars is the best way to do this... you just have to not let it get so dry. It takes practice, but keep working on it till you get it right.

Now for your problem, and a solution. Dry it as normal, 3 or 4 days in the dark on the stem... then destem it and put it in a paper bag until you are ready to leave. It will be mostly ready to put in the jar, but you cant do that... you are leaving and cant burp the jars.
solution:
throw that paper sack in the freezer. when you get back, take it out, give it a half a day of shaking out and getting back to room temp and picking up a little moisture out of the air. Leave it in the paper sack until it is jar dry again, and continue on... its not optimal, but it will save your crop.

 

[DET—PDX]

the basic drying and curing in jars is the best way to do this... you just have to not let it get so dry. It takes practice, but keep working on it till you get it right.

Now for your problem, and a solution. Dry it as normal, 3 or 4 days in the dark on the stem... then destem it and put it in a paper bag until you are ready to leave. It will be mostly ready to put in the jar, but you cant do that... you are leaving and cant burp the jars.
solution:
throw that paper sack in the freezer. when you get back, take it out, give it a half a day of shaking out and getting back to room temp and picking up a little moisture out of the air. Leave it in the paper sack until it is jar dry again, and continue on... its not optimal, but it will save your crop.

Yeah the idea of putting fresh dried buds in a jar for two weeks is a nightmare. I was thinking of using turkey bags, I have seen on another forum a grower use the method of drying the plant whole for 6-7 days before deleafing, then curing in rolled up turkey bags with boveda packs, and he swore by the technique, but didn’t mention burping, which I would imagine is essential no matter what. Or, I could leave my harvest and find a trusted friend who may be staying behind to burp them every few days.

 

[StoneOtter]

Hey fellow tokers,

So my plan is to leave town December 22. This means I’ll need a long term method of curing that can last two weeks until I return January 4th. This also means in order to have time to dry the nugs before curing, I have to harvest sometime around December 16th. So, I plan to let the weed cure when I leave the 22nd as I cannot take it with me :/

I have heard of many drying and curing techniques. The basic 4-5 day drying on the stem, then curing in jars did not work so great for me last time, dried out too quickly. I have heard of chopping the entire plant and allowing it to dry whole for 6-7 days before finally trimming and curing buds. I also recently saw a video by Roesenthal stating a plant could be dried for 4 months whole! All the information is confusing, I am just wondering what the proper drying technique might be and the stickied drying guide is not loading. Regardless I have learned the humidity should be around 60% and temps should be below 70F but above 50F.

What do you think is the best plan for my situation?

I saw something for "low and slow" drying in the fridge. 2 weeks time rings a bell. There's a tutorial .DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

 

[Tony Urban]

Ziggys Slow and Low method, hang dry 3-5 days, then toss into fridge inside paper bag

I saw something for "low and slow" drying in the fridge. 2 weeks time rings a bell. There's a tutorial .DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

I was going to post that exact link

 

[Emilya Green]

good luck with that... even the best meaning friend can really screw things up. I like glass jars. I have a whole set of dark glass large mason jars that I use, and I am sure that they are airtight. There is no way I would trust a turkey bag, or for that matter, tupperware. Once you have tasted a good cure you will understand, but there is nothing like doing it right. A good cure is absolutely responsible for at least half of the finished products taste and potency and for me it is worth getting up in the middle of the night to burp jars... and spending 2 weeks in intimate communication with my crop. This single step is why my pot is better than the majority of the dried up junk you buy at the typical dispensary... the amount of delta 9 thc in my cured pot is off the scale compared to some that has not been cured properly.

 

[Emilya Green]

Ziggys Slow and Low method, hang dry 3-5 days, then toss into fridge inside paper bag

I was going to post that exact link

I have never seen that! How cool! I have to try it!

 

[Tony Urban]

I have never seen that! How cool! I have to try it!

I suspect your method provides similar results. The smoke is smooth, lots of flavour, but take a little time.

 

[Tony Urban]

One thing is for sure, if you can slow your drying and cure down, when you get back from your trip you should have some tasty buds with a lot of terpenes left.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Low n slow in fridge works great, I've done it many times

Be about the only option for u with big chances of mold

 

[DET—PDX]

Low n slow in fridge works great, I've done it many times

Be about the only option for u with big chances of mold

the basic drying and curing in jars is the best way to do this... you just have to not let it get so dry. It takes practice, but keep working on it till you get it right.

Now for your problem, and a solution. Dry it as normal, 3 or 4 days in the dark on the stem... then destem it and put it in a paper bag until you are ready to leave. It will be mostly ready to put in the jar, but you cant do that... you are leaving and cant burp the jars.
solution:
throw that paper sack in the freezer. when you get back, take it out, give it a half a day of shaking out and getting back to room temp and picking up a little moisture out of the air. Leave it in the paper sack until it is jar dry again, and continue on... its not optimal, but it will save your crop.

Thanks a lot for the replies everyone, I may have to try the low and slow method and cross my fingers. One more thought I had thanks to something urban said.

One thing is for sure, if you can slow your drying and cure down, when you get back from your trip you should have some tasty buds with a lot of terpenes left.

WHAT IF... I just chopped the whole plant, no trimming, and hang dried it for two weeks at 65%-70% humidity with negative pressure and a circulating tower fan in a tent?

 

[Emilya Green]

WHAT IF... I just chopped the whole plant, no trimming, and hang dried it for two weeks at 65%-70% humidity with negative pressure and a circulating tower fan in a tent?

It would be dry as a bone and uncurable when you got back... ruined crop

 

[StoneOtter]

I don't understand. Why would it ruin if the rh stays at 65 to 70%? It's too moist if anything. 70 might be too high.

 

[DrDoob]

It would be dry as a bone and uncurable when you got back... ruined crop

Won’t it level off at about the same humidity as the room it’s in? Like a cigar in a humidor?

If I had to leave for two weeks with a fresh harvest I’d probably split it up evenly and do a bit of everything mentioned above to minimize the risk of not having anything good to come home to.

Take a look at Tangwena's Malawi-Style Cob Cure: Fermented Cannabis too, doing that you could leave some for two weeks as long as your vacuum sealing holds up.

 

[Emilya Green]

Won’t it level off at about the same humidity as the room it’s in? Like a cigar in a humidor?

If I had to leave for two weeks with a fresh harvest I’d probably split it up evenly and do a bit of everything mentioned above to minimize the risk of not having anything good to come home to.

Take a look at Tangwena's Malawi-Style Cob Cure: Fermented Cannabis too, doing that you could leave some for two weeks as long as your vacuum sealing holds up.

well, you know.... I don't really know since I have never tried it. I know that pot hang dries just fine here in Missouri on hot sticky summer days... so I am very skeptical about this and sure don't want to see a ruined crop. With everything I have learned on this thread though, I would be very inclined to go with the low and slow method in the fridge... it sounds so good that even without needing to take a trip, I want to try it. Good luck which ever ways you decide to go!

 

[DET—PDX]

well, you know.... I don't really know since I have never tried it. I know that pot hang dries just fine here in Missouri on hot sticky summer days... so I am very skeptical about this and sure don't want to see a ruined crop. With everything I have learned on this thread though, I would be very inclined to go with the low and slow method in the fridge... it sounds so good that even without needing to take a trip, I want to try it. Good luck which ever ways you decide to go!

Read the ziggy low and slow thread. It requires constant care everyday for 2 weeks at least. My only chance is to keep humidity 60-65 rh to be safe and get a larger tank humidifier, 1 gallon wont cut it for 2 weeks dry hanging entire plant. Or I’ll get 2 more gallon humidifiers that will help. Do you think I need to keep the exhaust fan running in the drying tent? I have a completely sealed grow room with a thermostat and ac/heater. I think the air would get stail without it, but I have two tower fans I can utilize. Thoughts on the exhaust fan for neg pressure? It would stress the humidifier levels a lot.. worried about it dropping when humidifiers run out of water, it’s typically like 40% without humidifiers.

 

[Emilya Green]

I would freeze it then if it were mine and not take the chance

 

[DET—PDX]

I would freeze it then if it were mine and not take the chance

I know a guy that does that with his entire harvest and he always has good smoke. Would you freeze before or after drying and trimming? Say, typical 4-5 day hang and then freeze after trim?

 

[Emilya Green]

after drying... right before you leave pop it all in the freezer to put it on hold till you get back, and then maybe go low and slow... thats what I would do after what we have learned in this thread. Thank you by the way for presenting this problem so we all could learn from it!

 

[DET—PDX]

after drying... right before you leave pop it all in the freezer to put it on hold till you get back, and then maybe go low and slow... thats what I would do after what we have learned in this thread. Thank you by the way for presenting this problem so we all could learn from it!

No problem, Grad school is all around rough apparently. Next grow I’ll be here for the break, watch out for a veg time longer than 27 days...