Cure going bad on day 1?

[IndyRacerNick]

Hello everyone,

This is the 3rd plant I have done now since spring, and I have a question regarding the dry and cure

The first 2 plants dried in about 3 days, no light, no fans, airflow, no direct air, but humidity was low @ 30%~
When I put into jars there were NO moisture. Very dry buds, no moisture, no grass or hay smell, but just not a good cure or drying. The leaves were cut off and removed before hanging up to dry, sugar leaves included.

This week I harvested plant #3.
New house, new location, new strain.

Removed all fan leaves and most sugar leaves that I could before hanging her to dry.
This time she was dry in 5 days. No light, no direct airflow from a fan, no fans, but there is fresh air intake into the room. Humidity again was between 30% - 35%

The buds went into jars about 30 hours ago. The buds were VERY dry. To the point that as I was taking them down from drying some pieces fell off the main stem. Most of the stems snapped when I tried to bend, others cracked but never snapped.

After checking the jars the buds are still dry like they were when I put them in jars. No signs of moisture, nothing!

I have decided 2 things going forward, I will leave ALL leaves, fan leaves included attached to my next plant to be harvested in a week or two. Hoping the very low humidity in my room will allow the plant to dry a lot slower with the leaves attached. I will also be introducing my humidifier to the room where I am drying to bring the humidity up to about 45 - 50%

Having said that...the buds were nice and moist on harvest, they looked amazing and smelled amazing. Now however none of that exists. No smell, no grass smell (more importantly) and very very dry bud.

My question:

Is the cure dead? Is there any hope in getting a proper cure out of this harvest where the buds are so dry do to low humidity (read a couple sites once humidity gets below 55% before or after cure its a dead zone and there is no turning back or getting the aroma or potency there with the bud, and the cure is pointless at that point)

Would re-hydrating the buds in the jar help any? I know how to re-hydrate buds, but I am wondering if it will help in the cure or if this is now a lost cause and what I got is garbage cause of a shitty cure which is caused by humidity of 30%~

This is my girl...would be a shame to lose her, guess I can make some Rosin at worst.

Total dried weight: 18 grams
Plant Pot Size: 1 Liter
Plant type: Sativa Dominant Autoflower

Any input or help would be great. I dont wanna take the extra steps if I am at a lost cause. Lesson learned!

 

[Scientific]

I don't think drying 'em out all the way down to 30%-ish is ideal, but yeah, you can rehydrate.

I assume you have a jar hygrometer. If so, you really really need one. I like my Caliber Mk IV digital, but you can get cheaper.

To increase humidity in a jar, you can buy Boveda packs that will automagically make the RH 62%, or you can just tape a postage stamp size piece of paper towel in the top of the jar and add a couple of drops of water. Over time that will rehydrate things.

 

[reapah23]

Best way to know when its dry and ready, try and break off a small bud if it won't twist off easily (the tiny bud stem) then it's not ready. After that honestly it's worth the $5-10 investment in some Integra Boost or Boveda packs to throw in your jars just for that perfect cure without all the extra hassle.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Another option is low and slow in a fridge
Takes longer and slower and makes for nice drying and nice cure
Boveda package are a must as well as the mini hydrometer like Scientific suggested

Can also and fruit peels into the hard to add moisture back into the buds

 

[IndyRacerNick]

I dont have a monitor for jars but that is on my list of things to get as I get my green thumb developed.

I do have the Boveda packs I got the 58% humidity packs

Its not that I dried it all the way down to 30% RH, thats just the RH of the room, so I assume this is why it dried in 5 days so quickly and felt very dry when I touched.

I was at work when I posted this, and I had my wife check when I was at work, and she said the feeling was a little moist. When I got home the buds were dry and brittle and I couldnt really tell if any moisture was in it.

I took the buds out, I layed them all on a plastic container. I put the plastic container in a cardboard box. I took 2 wet towels and placed it around the container and underneath. Left it for a hour with the top of the box closed. Checked and they were moist and not wet. Removed them from the box, threw 2 Boveda packs into the jar and put the buds in there.

Checked this morning and the buds were a different color. Not a dry brittle color, but a darker green and not so dry and brittle. Burping every few hours and hoping this works.

Tried a sample last night and I got toasted! The buzz is there and will only get better, now to get the flavor.

Thanks for your advise everyone. Next stop will be the jar hygrometer

I did try fruit peels the last harvest on 2 jars that were too dry. I found it left the jar and bud having a citrus smell and taste to the buds. Not what I was after but it did the job!

Smoke em if ya got em!

 

[Scientific]

A hygrometer can seem like an piece of gear that you really don't need until you have one and then you wonder how you got along without it, especially for someone trying to do a cure. When you think about the value a couple of jars of buds, it seems silly to try to do the last step without the right tool.

Like I said, I love my Caliber Mk IV digital because it's accurate and responds really fast, but Canada Guy here at 420 was happy with a little unit he got at Canadian tire for $3.

You can actually adjust the calibration of the Mk IV using the salt slurry method (look it up--simple!), even though mine was spot on right out of the box, but even with a unit that's not calibratable, you can use the salt slurry test to see how far off it might be.

All that said, I don't think that curing helps to actually improve aroma and flavor if its not already there, but it may help to prevent damaging what you've already got.