Drying methods!

[GeOMaTTiC]

Hang the entire plant, or just the branches?

My friend tells me he used to hang the entire plant up by the rootball, or the bottom of the cut stock. He claims it forces the THC into the buds due to gravity. He mentions that they always put plastic bin liners under the plants, as (smokeable) liquids tend to drip out onto the floor.

Sounds like a load of hogwash to me, but I am new to growing these plants.

 

[Advocate420]

I have little to offer but I’m here for the read on this one lol.

 

[Dankman_420]

I've tried hanging branches and dry trimming. But what I like to do is wet trim. Especially if I have really big buds. I like the break down all the buds to manageable size. It also gets rid of a lot of the stems. I've noticed no difference between wet and dry trimming as far as strength personally

 

[Dankman_420]

Also I use a drying net

 

[GeOMaTTiC]

I've tried hanging branches and dry trimming. But what I like to do is wet trim. Especially if I have really big buds. I like the break down all the buds to manageable size. It also gets rid of a lot of the stems. I've noticed no difference between wet and dry trimming as far as strength personally

As this is my first grow, I will try both wet and dry trimming, just to see what I prefer. My research agrees with you. Very little difference, if any at all.

 

[Stunned]

I also find it much more manageable to wet trim versus dry trimming

 

[MassMedMan]

That's old legend material about the thc raising by hanging them whole. That's funny. No offense to him but I'm grateful to a few books I've read. Thanks to Jorge Cervantes for that or maybe Ed Rosenthal. Heck, maybe Doc Bud

Anyway. It's good to try all options if you can. That's the fun thing about growing your own and doing it your way. You can see firsthand what works.

This site is also great, because there is a lot of people who've done it and willing to share.

For me, so much depends on variables. Personally, I don't have a dedicated dry space. Not in all the years and set ups I've had.

Id prefer to whole hang. But, space, time, weather, family things,,, its not easy to do. But, the whole point, pardon me pun, is to dry slow.

I'l say that again.... dry it slow.

If you can..... whole hang....Strip the big fans and get the correct RH with some air movement and you'll have an awesome plant(s) to trim up. Get the RH wrong, with stale air - and you may not like what you get. Mold.

I use dry racks, mostly. But sometimes I cut whole branches off main colas and hang them clothes line style for the first week to ten days. Depending on soooooo many variables.

Good luck. Don't forget the time and effort you put into growing it should reflect in your drying, trimming, and curing

 

[SamSmith]

Wet trimmer here also. I do leave them on manageable size stalks to dry then trim them off the stalks to cure in the jars.

 

[MassMedMan]

On the wet/dry trim question... I prefer to dry trim. And, from pretty good experience I'm convinced you'll always get more weight, if you dry trim.

You'll leave a few more sugar leaves on and a few resin coated leaf stems on there that'll just be ground up.

I grow pound plants. That's dry weight. That's my tip of the day whole hanging those beasts is tough. But, allways trimmed dry.....

Stay frosty ya'll

 

[fanleaf]

If you want your weed to dry but still look fresh and green but be perfectly dried and really well cured this is my process. I always prefer to trim wet so when it's Harvest Time branches get taken down one of the time and trimmed. Immediately after they get trimmed the branches get hung in a very cool please with very mild air movement. When I say very cool I mean anywhere from 58 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit with a small amount of air movement. They sit and hang just like that for a little over a week or until the branches snap when you bend them. After that I cut all buds off of the branches then move all buds to large jars kept in that same cool room to start the burping process. When I first put them in two jars I leave the lids on tight for a full day because when you first put them in the outsides of the buds will feel too dry. After a full day sitting with the lids on tight then I will take the lid off for about half of a day and then place it back on. The next day the outside of the buds are usually a little softer by now and don't feel quite so crisp so at that point I remove the Bud from jars and lay them in the open for half a day. After that they go back in the jars and just burped one or two times a day for the next week or so. At that point you have nice bright green bug that is stem snap dry and the curing process is 90% complete.

 

[GeOMaTTiC]

Oh I definitely know I am in for a long wait, even after harvest. It makes me laugh, and at the same time cringe, when people look at me funny for talking about curing the cannabis. Most people think drying is all that's needed, but I learned long ago, that is not the proper way to get highest quality.

 

[fanleaf]

Oh I definitely know I am in for a long wait, even after harvest. It makes me laugh, and at the same time cringe, when people look at me funny for talking about curing the cannabis. Most people think drying is all that's needed, but I learned long ago, that is not the proper way to get highest quality.

Yep, it's a means of slowing degradation by letting the plant burn up starches and sugars and in doing so even making the product more potent, smooth etc. The key for me is cool temps with a bunch of stem at first to help slow the drying. Most around me here just "dry it". Looks brown and usually noticeably harsh.

 

[GeOMaTTiC]

In order to get the medicine to dry properly, I am thinking about buying another small tent, or just build a designated drying box out of wood. Saw lots of one's made out of cardboard, but I would much rather prefer one of higher quality, a lot sturdier, and last more than a few small batches.

Anyone use a tent for drying, or has had experience putting one together out of wood?

 

[SamSmith]

I have used my veg tent to dry in.

I think The advantage of the cardboard is that it resists changes in humidity due to its ability to absorb moisture. They use paper bags in the refrigerator for slow and low.

 

[Advocate420]

I use a tent and put the exhaust on a humidity controller. I’m slowly bringing the humidity down manually right now.

 

[Dankman_420]

I use a tent and put the exhaust on a humidity controller. I’m slowly bringing the humidity down manually right now.

That's a great idea!

 

[Bigjake8]

I have heard hang the whole plant theory to back in the day the old wise tale was exactly what you said that all the thc would drain down to the buds but what our forefathers didn't realize is that actually dry slower gives better flavor and more potent smoke which is what we call the cure now adays
I also heard about the pan under the hanging plants but never tried it myself
I do both I'll remove all fan leaves cut branches off and hang the big buds up and a smaller plant I'll hang the whole plant what I've found is the more stem the longer it is to dry
One of my experiments I took a plant maybe 2 oz dry and hung whole plant fans and all for about a month and it still had a leafy taste to it like the 80s home grown did another like that cut the fans off and big difference alot smother

 

[GeOMaTTiC]

Every time he brings it up , I am urged to bring him to the college to talk to my old Horticulture Professors. I totally see where they had gotten the idea from, but it just never made any sense to me.

My plan was to whole hang if the plant is manageable, otherwise its the standard snip and hang method.

Perhaps for the sake of science, and a little fun (same things isn't it), I will try three different drying methods

Grow tent, cardboard ox, and a homemade wood drying box.

I will keep them closely setup with fans and ventilation, to keep it relatively comparable in the final testing

 

[MassMedMan]

I think cedar is the best wood to use, or I hear..... be a nice setup if you could get it down. Good luck

 

[GeOMaTTiC]

Now that I have completed my first harvest, I believe I had let it dry out too much before curing. I had no clean containers at the time, so I waited an extra 2 days since I decided it was time. Sitting in a jar, but does not seem to need any burping. I still have been, but the buds are crispy dry still.

Is that all I can expect from this one and just be less of a bonehead next time, or is there still something that can be done?