Long term storage

[Timhomegrow]

What's everyone do for long term storage? By long term.... a year or more. I hear bud after a year can be amazing

I have my last grow, harvested mid-oct, in jars with 62%boveda packs, in a chest in the basement (66-68.5 degrees).

My first harvest in July, I have being stored in a dorm size fridge turned down to level 2 (1-5 on dial).....seems to keep the fridge at 50 degrees and 50% humidity. It seems to smoke very smoothly, but hard to tell potency based in how it was prior to the fridge.

Thoughts? What's everyone else do?

 

[Bill284]

What's everyone do for long term storage? By long term.... a year or more. I hear bud after a year can be amazing

I have my last grow, harvested mid-oct, in jars with 62%boveda packs, in a chest in the basement (66-68.5 degrees).

My first harvest in July, I have being stored in a dorm size fridge turned down to level 2 (1-5 on dial).....seems to keep the fridge at 50 degrees and 50% humidity. It seems to smoke very smoothly, but hard to tell potency based in how it was prior to the fridge.

Thoughts? What's everyone else do?

I have trouble keeping it that long. Always disappears for some reason. Bodiva in jars in cool dark place seems to be a bit of a standard. There is always vacuum
Sealing and freezing I hear that’s good too. At least in jars it will keep curing.

 

[Scottsquatch]

I don't think many of us can manage to keep it around that long. I think it's usually gone before that. That said, I have heard that 6-8 month cures can be incredible. Keeping it dark and cool is the way to do it, so I guess you just wait now. Good luck.

 

[Bill284]

I don't think "most" of us keep it around that long. I think it's usually gone before that. That said, I have heard that 6-8 month cures can be incredible. Keeping it dark and cool is the way to do it, so I guess you just wait now. Good luck.

When it’s that long in jars do you still burp like weekly or something. I have herd it’s better with age I’ll have to hide a jar for spring and see.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Once it gets to the proper level of dryness, I don't burp them anymore. I want them to stay at that humidity level. That's where the bovida packs come in. They maintain the humidity level so it doesn't keep drying.

 

[Timhomegrow]

I have my grow schedule down so Ill never run out and will have 2-3 jars from each grow for long term storage. I've never had bud after 9-12 months of curing but hear it's awesome....may as well try

 

[Apoc]

I have two varieties at 1 year cure, two more at 10 months and three at 8 months.

Yes it gets really flavorful, sweet and stronger.

I have some Zkittlez at 8 months smells like candy. The Alaskan Purple at 6 months will knock your nose off.

 

[013]

One idea that has helped me is I split my harvest immediately 20% for cobs 40% low & slow then 40% dry hang into jars. Whichever batch samples out best taste wise between low & slow versus dry hang.... I save the best and make oil & dragon from the rest. Now that I’m low on freshies that cob storage is a really nice weed savings bank.

But as for long term storage I use 1 gallon mason jars with bovedas & mini hygrometers kept in basement in dark room. I’ve got points built up at my local grow shop and I’m going to flip them for a big metal (think its 8 or 10 quart) C-Vault on next visit

 

[parnelli]

I've got all of my last grow in a cool, dark place. It's in a file cabinet drawer in the basement in a plastic Costco nut container. The temp in the basement is steady in the low 60'sF all year but the humidity is the mid 30's. I've noticed that the little bit of weed I have left has a more brownish color than when it was initially cured. It is also dry and crumbly when I grind it up for decarbing. It still tastes great (is less filling) and gives a good buzz. I humidify the cigars I've got so maybe I should be humidifying the weed too? I'm going to search some of the similar threads below to see what others have done. I too would appreciate ur thoughts since I'm about to harvest for me is a "bumper" crop.

 

[SmokingWings]

Long term storage:
In jars on a shelf in the root cellar that was built under the porch when the house was built back in 1950. Basement is about 65F in the winter and root cellar drops into the low 40s. In the summer the basement is about 65 and the root cellar is about 55. I open the jars when I get curious.

Curing and short term storage:
In jars upstairs. Some in the closet, some in dresser drawers and some jars are tucked out of the way behind the books on the dresser. Some of the stuff upstairs is curing and some is already cured. Come to think of it I some of it was harvested in November of '19.

 

[423]

I've seen bags in some videos with large grows and dispensaries.
Are they just oven bags?
Are there any bags or containers that are good?
I've been using quart glass jars wich have been ok, but take a lot of time,space, and break.
Cvaults look nice but $$

 

[Smokey0418]

Personally use vacuum seal bags and freeze them.

Sure I do get trichomes stuck on the bag but there are still lots left behind.

Still have a few zips from last season that look the same as the day they were sealed.

It’s not for everyone but works great from me.

 

[Sueet]

Cvaults ARE nice, and worth the $$ imo if you for whatever reason need/want a container with a very large opening and no light penetration. Otherwise mason jars work just fine.
The bags you have seen may be the ones called 'grove bags' I don't really know anything else about them other than that they are supposed to be good for curing.

 

[SmokingWings]

I've been using quart glass jars wich have been ok, but take a lot of time,space, and break.

When the quart jar gets low and is only half filled I move the contents to a pint jar. When the pint jar is half filled I move the remaining buds to a jelly jar. If need be when the jelly jar is half empty I put the remaining weed into a small 4 fluid ounce jar that is harder to find but they are out there.

It is the half empty jars that take up the space. Plus, the smaller jars seem to be less likely to break; the glass feels like it is thicker.

 

[SmokingWings]

I've seen bags in some videos with large grows and dispensaries.
Are they just oven bags?

I figured that the oven bags are a plastic that is heat resistant. That is something that would not be needed for storing some buds and flowers. Just looked it up.

It seems that the oven bags are made from a type of nylon. Quoting from one source: "Oven bags, also known as roasting bags, are typically made of food-grade polyester or nylon. They are generally BPA-free, phthalate-free, and approved by the FDA for cooking. However, despite this they are not toxic free."

Quoting from another source: "Plastic sandwich and food storage bags are typically made from polyethylene, which is considered non-toxic."

If a larger food grade plastic bag is wanted there are some 2 gallon size; maybe even some 5 gallon size bags.

 

[Braddah Waiheesohai]

After a few months you're losing terps and thc. These days most of the pros I know stick it in the fridge or better yet freezer for long term storage.
*Careful, freezing makes trichs brittle. Separate your stash into usable amounts and thaw fully before handling.

Science Study

It does seem to be trendy to age cannabis for over a year, but without strict environmental control you're likely just losing thc.

Science article 2

So ... Do you want flavour from age, or the most thc possible? No wrong answers

 

[Timhomegrow]

After a few months you're losing terps and thc. These days most of the pros I know stick it in the fridge or better yet freezer for long term storage.
*Careful, freezing makes trichs brittle. Separate your stash into usable amounts and thaw fully before handling.

Science Study

It does seem to be trendy to age cannabis for over a year, but without strict environmental control you're likely just losing thc.

Science article 2

So ... Do you want flavour from age, or the most thc possible? No wrong answers

Thanks, great links!! Someone brought this old thread up, but perfect timing. I had just posted this in my journal a couple of days ago.

cannabis storage and length of time

Curious as to what others think about the subject. I've read that cannabis can age like a fine wine and I've tried a few ways, here is my opinion, but would love to hear other thoughts.

My first harvest, Blue Dream, I kept a jar of each plants in a college fridge after cure and adjusted the temp to be like the professional and expensive cannastorage units. After letting it sit at room temp for 15 minutes before smoking, the potency seems to be there as well as the taste after 1 year. Smell isn't as strong. Jars left in cold dark place in the basement was similar, seemed stronger, but maybe it's just a different strain from my daily strains.

Girl Scout cookies, seemed to peak in potency and smell/taste at 6 months curing. It's stored in the dark in my finished basement, about 68 degrees at all times. Potency is still there but taste and smell have seemed to go down after about 8 months.

 

[SmokingWings]

Potency is still there but taste and smell have seemed to go down after about 8 months.

I have noticed a little bit of that happening on several samples. The interesting thing was that another 8 to 12 months later the taste and/or smell was coming back.

I've read that cannabis can age like a fine wine

More like fine tobacco leaves for quality cigars. The process is similar in that the tobacco is dried slowly and is always checked to keep the process from going to fast. The temperature is always checked to keep it from getting to hot. The usual curing process seems to take 4 to 8 weeks depending on the type of tobacco.

 

[Deacnbleu]

What’s everyone’s thoughts on vacuum sealing in mason jars for curing and storage?

 

[parnelli]

I would try an experiment with mason jar vacuum sealing if I had one of those kind of jars lids. I wouldn't do it in the plastic type of jar even if it was food grade; I'd stick with glass.