So ive heard from people and read that curing stops once the humidity drops below 55-50%, ive actually read people say 40%, people say that they aren't able to restart curing once that happens because bacteria or whatever dies off. if thats true, what will happen if i add uncured or properly cured bud to some over dried/ dried too fast weed in a jar? ( jars have been at like 50% for a few weeks now). is there a point or is this just a waste of time?
What exactly happens when buds are curing? If a cure goes wrong can it be restarted?
- Thread starter Adios6920
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Worth a try. Maybe 50% is ok. Some strains seem more sensitive than others.
I did actually test this idea that people keep repeating- about it not curing if it gets too dry. The bud I purposely overdried to a crispy state (and then rehydrated with boveda packs) )- it never did take on a nice smell- I still have some on the shelf after many months and it smells and tastes harsh and chemically.
I recently accidentally overdried a bit of a harvest of La Niña - which is a strain I’m growing that I find a bit finicky that way. For some reason it seems prone to bad cures. Anyway not as a test but just to save space I pooled that nice smelling LN into the same jar with the stuff that didn’t work out so well. That was just a couple days ago so we shall see.
It’s an interesting subject. Not much real knowledge or science around. here, as far as I can see. There is lot of hearsay, which may or may not be true. People saying stuff because they read it somewhere. Let us know how it goes and I’ll do the same if I don’t smoke it all first...
I did actually test this idea that people keep repeating- about it not curing if it gets too dry. The bud I purposely overdried to a crispy state (and then rehydrated with boveda packs) )- it never did take on a nice smell- I still have some on the shelf after many months and it smells and tastes harsh and chemically.
I recently accidentally overdried a bit of a harvest of La Niña - which is a strain I’m growing that I find a bit finicky that way. For some reason it seems prone to bad cures. Anyway not as a test but just to save space I pooled that nice smelling LN into the same jar with the stuff that didn’t work out so well. That was just a couple days ago so we shall see.
It’s an interesting subject. Not much real knowledge or science around. here, as far as I can see. There is lot of hearsay, which may or may not be true. People saying stuff because they read it somewhere. Let us know how it goes and I’ll do the same if I don’t smoke it all first...
Agree - From everything I’ve read once you go to 55 rh it’s game over, do not pass go do not collect $200. Now you can definitely add moisture back in but it does not restart the cure process.
I think a lot of this info and thought process was originally gleaned from tobacco farming and even though our crop is vastly different the process of reducing chlorophyll and moisture from plant material is common across many crops
I think a lot of this info and thought process was originally gleaned from tobacco farming and even though our crop is vastly different the process of reducing chlorophyll and moisture from plant material is common across many crops
Bush Doctor 77
Well-Known Member
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, the bacteria doing the work live their short lives in the buds and on the leaves of the buds, but they don't move around from bud to bud. It would be nice if you were able to repopulate a jar of overdried pot with new pot and get the process restarted, but it just doesn't seem to work. Once those bacteria dry out, it is lights off for curing on each particular bud/leaf. Sorry you went past the mark on this batch, but if it helps... once you have been doing this a while you will find that a few batches will go bad now and then, for various reasons. Now you have seen this one, and I bet you never let your pot go that dry again. Better luck next time!
This is an interesting question. There are a few things going on during the dry and cure.
The drying phase should reduce the water content of the buds below the threshold that will allow mold to grow, around .65, should be done quickly but at low enough temp that the volatile terpines do not vaporize, around 70F. Once the terpines evaporate they are gone. Overdried buds probably got too hot too and lost precious terps.
During the cure, the plant cells are still alive, processing and respirating. Enzymatic activity within the plant will break down sugars and starches, chlorophyl will break down and change color. This will yield a smoother smoke. If the temp is too high or water activity too low, the enzymes will denature and be destroyed. The plant cells will be dead and the cellular activity ceases. Note that during the dry/cure, the plant still produces thc and other metabolites. Thats a little surprising, to me.
Aerobic, bacteria play a part in this too, and need water and oxygen. Of course we look to avoid anerobic bacteria - the ammonia smell from too wet buds, and one of the reasons for “burping”. Burping also allows some gas exchange to remove excess ethylene and slow the ripening. Ethylene is a plant hormone, produced by the living ripening plant cells.
Drying phase will reduce the water unevenly so the cure phase will produce homogenous content. Also, the terpines will undergo changes, breaking apart and reforming, developing complex flavors similar to aging wine. This process needs water, the universal solvent, to occur.
So if the buds get too dry or too hot, these processes will cease and some cannot be restarted, and loss is not recoverable. Thats the process, in a nutshell.
Theres plenty of material available if you want more detail. Heres some links i have in my bookmarks...
The drying phase should reduce the water content of the buds below the threshold that will allow mold to grow, around .65, should be done quickly but at low enough temp that the volatile terpines do not vaporize, around 70F. Once the terpines evaporate they are gone. Overdried buds probably got too hot too and lost precious terps.
During the cure, the plant cells are still alive, processing and respirating. Enzymatic activity within the plant will break down sugars and starches, chlorophyl will break down and change color. This will yield a smoother smoke. If the temp is too high or water activity too low, the enzymes will denature and be destroyed. The plant cells will be dead and the cellular activity ceases. Note that during the dry/cure, the plant still produces thc and other metabolites. Thats a little surprising, to me.
Aerobic, bacteria play a part in this too, and need water and oxygen. Of course we look to avoid anerobic bacteria - the ammonia smell from too wet buds, and one of the reasons for “burping”. Burping also allows some gas exchange to remove excess ethylene and slow the ripening. Ethylene is a plant hormone, produced by the living ripening plant cells.
Drying phase will reduce the water unevenly so the cure phase will produce homogenous content. Also, the terpines will undergo changes, breaking apart and reforming, developing complex flavors similar to aging wine. This process needs water, the universal solvent, to occur.
So if the buds get too dry or too hot, these processes will cease and some cannot be restarted, and loss is not recoverable. Thats the process, in a nutshell.
Theres plenty of material available if you want more detail. Heres some links i have in my bookmarks...
Dr. Robb Blog #5: Drying and Curing Cannabis – Dark Heart Nursery
darkheartnursery.com
Great info. Thanks @Redcup.
I often wonder about the ideal curing process of hash. It does cure and improve with age. In the good old days most of the hash we got was quite old as it had to be smuggled across the world.
In my hash production world, I don’t take much care to avoid drying up the trichomes that go into it. Dry sift in particular works better with dry material. Other times I make ice hash from cured bud, but in that case and often with the dry sift as well, the material has been frozen which would kill some of these curing processes.
But my hash continues to cure well. Everyone I share with locally says it’s the best hash there is around. Maybe it could be better though....?
I often wonder about the ideal curing process of hash. It does cure and improve with age. In the good old days most of the hash we got was quite old as it had to be smuggled across the world.
In my hash production world, I don’t take much care to avoid drying up the trichomes that go into it. Dry sift in particular works better with dry material. Other times I make ice hash from cured bud, but in that case and often with the dry sift as well, the material has been frozen which would kill some of these curing processes.
But my hash continues to cure well. Everyone I share with locally says it’s the best hash there is around. Maybe it could be better though....?
Bush Doctor 77
Well-Known Member
How much "Inherent moisture" does pot have. Not air dry, but 160F heated? Like the difference between air dry wood, and kiln dried. Once "Inherent moisture" is gone, it stays gone. Does it play into curing?
