Storing and curing on a big scale

Jimmycricket

Jimmycricket

Well-Known Member
Nug of the Month
February 2014
Hi everyone thanks for looking.

So I have been trying to figure out the best way to store large amounts of buds, both for curing and for possible long term. For a few oz or few P, glass canning jars do work great. But for many Ps its just not feasible to open hundreds of jars every other day, plus buying hundreds of jars at a few bucks each starts to also be a money drain. So I need a better way.


So far I have two ways conceived to cure and store on a bigger scale, my first is using airtight, watertight tote boxes. Now probably you do not want the buds touching the plastic for too long (for a few days I wouldnt sweat it) So maybe curing in those airtight totes then putting the buds in either mylar bags or turkey bags and putting them back in the boxes. Or maybe it would be fine just having them in the tote boxes?

Now my other way is using food grade 5 gallon buckets, probably with gamma lids to more easily be able to take off the lid. Using these you may or may not need mylar bags or even turkey bags since the plastic in them is food grade.

All other options I have thought of are not financially feasible. But maybe you know of others?

Any guys who have this dilemma or have in the past had it please comment. I would like to know what you have done or do.
 
No firsthand experience with quantity, but I have a thought, a thought I have NOT even looked into, I heard some talk about storing/curing in "turkey bags" once. We recently had our house "tented" for termites, they give you large clear plastic bags to put your food/medicine in. The bags are clear, the size of big trash bags and sealed with a knot or plastic zip-ties. I have no idea if this is something that would work for you, you are a giver, so I'm trying to give a little back to you! I'll ask around outside the site and let you know what I learn, best of luck with that "mother load".
 
turkey bags alone only work in higher humidity areas like oregon or washington. They do seem to not leech any taste or chems into buds though which is nice. Turkey bags are quite porous but if your hudmity is around 60% most the time then you basically live in a humidor and as long as you dont let light hit the buds they should be good for a decent while, after a year or two they would suffer oxidation though.

I think giant mylar trash bags with a oxygen absorber inside and then placed in a airtight light tight box is a good way on a large scale to both cure and then store buds. But Id love to hear other ideas.
 
I agree, unlike turkey bags, the bags I mentioned would be like glass jars, NOTHING can escape, they are made to keep the food safe when a home is tented.:peace:
 
reverend420 said:
I'd stay with glass. Stay away from plastics. Some of those plastic containers were made in China. Their reputation for quality control isn't very good.
Click to expand...

Good luck finding 20-50 gallon glass containers that seal air tight for any price, much less inexpensively.
 
You can buy 60% RH beads relatively inexpensively, pour a load of them in a net bag or some old tights and keep them in the container with the bud. Check out cigar websites. These will lower the RH if too high or raise it if it drops too low (you just put some RO water on them so 50% are transparent and 50% are clear and this will control humidity perfectly for weeks/months). You also don't need that many to keep the humidity controlled in quite a large cubic ft space.
 
Hi JC,

Had a thought as to a solution for your dilemma. Don't know how frequently you run into this "problem" or will in the future so don't know how to judge the value of the following but.....What about a one time acquisition/purchase of an non running frig or freezer. I'm thinking an old upright freezer as the coils are enclosed. Lay it on it's back and store the buds in there. You could open the door to burp and turn the buds and then close it to cure.

Just a random thought from an old stoner. Hope it helps! What a problem to have by the way!!!!
 
I'm not sure if this will help you but I'm going to mention it anyways.

There's a technique I'm pretty familiar with. It involves using a food vacuum sealing machine and 11" wide bag rolls.

The medicine is dried the same as if it were going in jars. Lengths of bag rolls are cut around 2' long. Next it is bagged up, but you need to leave plenty of extra room in the bag. Atmosphere is extracted from the bag (but not all the way) and sealed.

From there, once a day, the bags are opened up to burp, then re-sealed. Depending on specifics, four days of this will result in a 'decent' cure.

Now I don't do this myself. I have tons of quart jars and we all know that plastic can hold a static charge. Not good for storage.

Anyways, I know of friends that run collective medical gardens. One person has a very large safe. Inside is medicine vacuum sealed for long term storage. I'm not saying that it is better than real jar cured, but that is their solution to dealing with many, many, many pounds.

:peace:
 
TanR that is actually a really cool idea.

Down the road I may indeed do it, get myself a weed fridge :)

Heck even having a walk in fridge like at a restaurant just to store 5 gallon buckets would be pretty awesome. Keep it at like 50 degrees and I bet with oxygen absorbers that shit could last for a decade.

For now I think imma go with the tote boxes as they are fairly large and if i find the right ones they are airtight or can be made airtight. However If I got trouble finding good ones that will go airtight for a decent price I know I can get food grade 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids for about 6-10$ each.
 
waknbak88 said:
JC I dream of having your problems! maybe one day ill find myself buying a fridge to store bud in :hookah:.....but ive never tried dabs so if I had a few lbs. I would prolly condense some. congrates on having this issue my friend!!
Click to expand...

Use your trim to make hash.

DSCN8030.JPG


You get about 1 oz per 1 pound, maybe a bit less.
 
waknbak88 said:
oh and what method do you prefer?
Click to expand...

If the leaf is a fan leaf with no crystals i usually just compost it. But if its got crystals (many stems will have them too), then i usually use them.

I have only done water ice hash before, but it comes out good and smooth, can not complain on quality. But it does take a lot of time and effort.
 
Jimmycricket said:
TanR that is actually a really cool idea.

Down the road I may indeed do it, get myself a weed fridge :)

Heck even having a walk in fridge like at a restaurant just to store 5 gallon buckets would be pretty awesome. Keep it at like 50 degrees and I bet with oxygen absorbers that shit could last for a decade.

For now I think imma go with the tote boxes as they are fairly large and if i find the right ones they are airtight or can be made airtight. However If I got trouble finding good ones that will go airtight for a decent price I know I can get food grade 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids for about 6-10$ each.
Click to expand...
Walmart and dollar stores have the big iced tea containers(glass) 1 to 5 gallon that work great, and cheap. That is what I use.
 

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