Drying/Curing question - How dry?

[fanleaf]

Hey guys
Heres the deal. I will have some curing in the next little while and plan to cure in mason jars opening them every so often as required but my question is about dying. Is there a cheap/er tool or meter for moisture percentage? If so then what is it called. I hear people say they dry to 16% so what are they using to know that? Should I just sampple it from time to time until it burns without going out often?

Maybe a dumb question but if there is a standard moisture percentage you use and or a tool please share because I'm lost in this area. Thanks

 

[zBRiCKz]

A documentary I watched on YouTube suggested the following method.

-Open air dry 24 hours
-Mason jar cure for 12 hours (burping atleast once or twice)
-back to open air dry for 24 hours
-back to jar for 16 hours
-open air 24 hours
-jar 20 hours
-open air 24 hours
-last time to jar(burping atleast once a day for a couple days.)

The whole process up to putting in the jar for good should take about 6 days. The person in the documentary explained that doing it this way gives a more even dry. When you open air dry, the outside of the bud tends to dry faster than the inside. So you put it in the jar every 24 hours so the inside moisture can spread back out to the outside and then you open air dry again and repeat. This evens out the drying and ensures a proper moisture level for the curing process to begin.

 

[fanleaf]

-last time to jar(burping atleast once a day for a couple days.)

The whole process up to putting in the jar for good should take about 6 days. The person in the documentary explained that doing it this way gives a more even dry. When you open air dry, the outside of the bud tends to dry faster than the inside. So you put it in the jar every 24 hours so the inside moisture can spread back out to the outside and then you open air dry again and repeat. This evens out the drying and ensures a proper moisture level for the curing process to begin.

That actually makes quite a bit of sense to do it that way. Just seems it would help for a more even dry. I'll search that up on youtube just to watch it too. Your explanation was great. Thanks

 

[Oregons Best]

I let them go till they are dry all the way through and then put them in paper bags about 6 inches deep. Go from there into jars, or back onto the dry screens if they are to moist. You want the flower stems to SNAP, not bend. The paper bags, like grocery bags, will wick the moisture out. As far as curing goes, do they BURP wine? Or whiskey? NO! A cure IS the degradation of the material to create a flavor. Most folks burp to let out the moisture. They don't realize that opening a jar and letting oxygen in actually slows down the cure. Whatever work for YOU though is the key.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I dry the stems till they bend with a 'snap' feeling. Then jar them. After that I can toss a hygrometer in the jar with the herb. (Actually i usually dont because I usually just go by feel now- but when in doubt I use the hygrometer). A hygrometer is the name of an instrument that measure relative humidity (RH). RH means the %of moisture in the air. 0 RH is no moisture (damn near impossible). 100% RH is maximum saturation before it starts falling out as rain or dew. RH changes depending on the temp of the air. Cooler air holds less moisture which is why dew falls at night when air cools.

You can buy a combo hygrometer/thermometer for about 10 dollars. Toss it in with lid sealed up and let it stabilize for several hours or overnight at about room temperature. The RH in the jar should not be over 70 IMO. 55-65 is probably the ideal range but I haven't had mold happen under 70 RH. When you heard 16% you must have heard/been told wrong. It wouldn't be 16%- more like 60%

 

[Atulip]

Easiest method is to just hang colas and use the stem snapping method to check how dry it is. How long it takes depends on the humidity where your drying, but typically 4-7 days. Then you can begin curing in jars.

I don't think there's a way to simply measure the actual moisture content of the bud. And I'm not sure if you could accurately measure the humidity until you jar them, and I believe 62% humidity is the go to point for tobacco/cannabis. A hygrometer is what you need to measure humidity.

 

[fanleaf]

Thank all of you very much. I've been watching a few videos to get a better idea as well. I have also ordered several hygrometers as of last night.

 

[stoner314]

Everyone look up Boveda 62 packs! Takes the guess work out of everything. Hang dry about 4-6 days and in to the jars with packs. Top of the line everytime, Burp them if you feel it's needed. They also fix over dried buds!

 

[BuddroGreen]

Most important is to get them dried & stable at 65%-70% RH...then put Boveda 62% packs in the jars and seal them with no more burping...once 62% is stable let them cure for 30 days if you can. Boveda packs work better & faster at putting humidity back into the over dried bud than they do at taking humidity out of the bud.

 

[Stage]

Most important is to get them dried & stable at 65%-70% RH...then put Boveda 62% packs in the jars and seal them with no more burping...once 62% is stable let them cure for 30 days if you can. Boveda packs work better & faster at putting humidity back into the over dried bud than they do at taking humidity out of the bud.

What BuddroGreen said.
I have found that using the bovedas when the bud is wet or above 70% rh, results in herb that is lacking in smell.
In my experience, bovedas work best in long term storage or when you have over dried.