Drying & curing time line?

[Optimus913]

In the northwest, very moist air, can anyone help me out?
I am harvesting and cutting all the tops off, and drying on a large screen. Covering with newspapers to cut the light, putting a fan underneath for air circulation. After the leaves have curled and the stalk is stiffer, put into Mason jars. Now do I burp daily?

 

[Advocate420]

I use humidity packs 62%. I keep a humidity gauge in the jar. So far If I’ve dried properly they havnt needed hardly any attention. I burp often at first now because of fresh air helping break down chlorophyll. There was a science name for it. Once I’m confident the humidity is under control I forget about the jars for a while.

 

[Papageno]

What you have described will dry too fast. You want it in a humid environment to dry slower. I am from the northwest I dry here all the time. The issue is the water is the stems takes a bit longer to get out. Uneven dry will lead to mold.

I like to use the same grow tent as you should have the ability to raise the humidity there and take a good 2 weeks to dry. At least a week and a half.

I circulate air and hang so as not to introduce mold the paper you describe dose not always work best for mold issues.

Some will use a cardboard box and hang in there. Laying flat has more problems.


Slow hang dry with circulating filtered air is the best.

5_rowsa

• Papageno
• Feb 27, 2016

good_sized

• Papageno
• Feb 27, 2016

Then box them and check your hygrometers in a single box

dry_box5

• Papageno
• Mar 5, 2016

Toss the bad ones

Hygrometer4

• Papageno
• Mar 4, 2016

Burp it twice a day until it is 54%

Then jar it evenly with some stem

12_5

• Papageno
• Mar 5, 2016

 

[pontiacman]

I use boveda packs at 62%RH in my jars and crack them for the 1st week of cure. Close them up and sit in the dark for 30 days untouched.
Boveda packs are designed to add and remove moisture. Work like a dream. They are about $5.00usd each for the ones for half gallon jars.

As for drying, hang them up. Drying racks will flatten out the flower and you'll lose tricombs as they may stick to the surface. Yes , you will get mold if you put newspaper on them to block light. Do you have a dark area you could put them in that wont be disturbed?
Keep a fan blowing in the area, but not directly on the flower to help dissipate the moisture. My drying process takes 7 to 10 days, then we trim and jar.


Hope this helps!

Peace

 

[MassMedMan]

That's some Dank stuff there VI and you hit it on the head. And he's in your area. So much of drying and curing is dependent on your location and all the variables around you. Dry slow. Rushing all that work you put in to get there is not what you want now.

 

[Optimus913]

Got a system now, fan by the door circulating.

 

[Papageno]

I dried like that many times. The key is slow dry means keep it humid in there. Hang some towels. You want the room to be reasonably humid.

The real issue is the stems dont release the water. In fact until the rest of the plant dries out the stem really wont. And you dont want to jar until the stem wont cause mold.

If it dries out enough to jar in u fer a week and a half then you dried it too fast. I prefer 2 or more weeks to dry. High air flow and humidity. That's is why I use my grow tent. Boxes like that which I have done can dry too fast so keep wet towels near the entrance and pull air threw...but don't dry too fast.

You are doing however a good job with the paper box method. If it is cool enough in there and it dries slow that will help but keep the air moving or it will mold.

 

[Optimus913]

15 degrees and 65% good?

 

[Calvados]

Got a system now, fan by the door circulating.

That brings back memories. I used something like that in my tent when the plants didn't finish at the same time. It wasn't great, but it worked. I don't really have a good alternative. The smell is way too strong.

 

[Optimus913]

15 degrees and 65% good?

Actually 12 degrees and 69% now.

 

[smokesbetter]

Thanks , just passing through and about ready to harvest , shes small NL & BB Auto , i have been reading to keep the rh down to 50 ish but it more than that in my room so keeping the fan running will be the thing Didn't get to top her cause i was on Vacation when it turned outside, now been inside for 4 wks. i think , soil and leds . Rain and humidity has been a bitch this year.

 

[pontiacman]

I feel ya. I lost about a half ounce to bud rot. It got wet and cold fast this year. Thankfully, its lower 70s now for the final 2 weeks and RH is dropping. I've had fans running in my green house all day long for the last 3 days. Should be a great finish though....

 

[Papageno]

Sorry I didn't see your post. So the deal is the dry is prep for the cure. 65% for the room is good. But eventually you want to jar it as close to around 50% as possible. I store them with 48% packs. I believe the bacteria the cure is using dies around 45ish. The closer to that the less chance of mold but you don't want to kill the bacteria so use the packs.

If you jar above there you dont really need packs if you know what you are doing and want to be labor intensive.

Savy?

 

[smokesbetter]

Looks like Mars has there lights on sale ( i am looking) want to grow autos for now 3 at most in soil and keep it around 200 - can i get some suggestions i dont know stuff about these , i dont' have a tent either sooo could do a combo ?? Thanks

 

[Oldgrowth]

I have 48 1/2 gal jars of dried mj curing in a dark cool closet. The jar tops are off for at least 1 hour/day and the cure continues for about 2 months. I grow several strains, this year: Afghan Kush, Gorilla Glue4 and 1 Wiz Khalifa. (This reminds me at least of that old Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary chant modified to end with: "one fucking eggplant.") The aromas emanated during the cure are different for the different strains but all quite pleasant and with good promise for future enjoyment. I hang stalks or 1/2 stalks to dry played on by a fan 24/7 in my dark garage. (Keep out all light to preserve trichomes.) I will experiment with large nugs on drying racks next year as well. I'd love to hear from more rack users. My major point is that how you grow and dry and cure depends on your location including temperatures and humidity. San Diego's near perfect sun, humidity in the mid-60s make for an easy grow and dry and cure if you are consistent and persistent. It helps to meet the challenges of your location to do a bit of study if you can from folks in your area who are cultivating mj for fun or profit. Then experiment. You will likely modify your approach based on your experience as the years roll on. I do so each and every growing season.

 

[Optimus913]

Thanks y'all, drying is going well. This one was apparently CBDutch Treat, but way more purple and different finish time.

 

[pontiacman]

I just chopped 2 yesterday, 4 today and 3 more tomorrow. Drying room is almost full. Lol. I'm guessing 3-4 lbs.

So much sugar and oils...best outdoor yet...

 

[pontiacman]

Finally got pics to load from this mornings harvest...