Drying Question

[Zodiakgrower7]

I have heard both ways are the same but wanted some input from experienced growers. If after you have trimmed a plant and hung the branches up to dry do you have to dry it like that for the duration or can you clip buds off the stem and continue to dry the buds for a little longer. I have heard that doing this drops THC content because the stems can no longer deliver to the buds while drying. I'm not sure of the validity of this because to my knowledge this shouldn't be the case. Question: Does doing this cause the buds to miss out on THC from the main stems ? Thanks for any input, and an early " Happy 4-20 " to ya'll. Don't forget it's only a week away.

 

[Dacob]

I have heard both ways are the same but wanted some input from experienced growers. If after you have trimmed a plant and hung the branches up to dry do you have to dry it like that for the duration or can you clip buds off the stem and continue to dry the buds for a little longer. I have heard that doing this drops THC content because the stems can no longer deliver to the buds while drying. I'm not sure of the validity of this because to my knowledge this shouldn't be the case. Question: Does doing this cause the buds to miss out on THC from the main stems ? Thanks for any input, and an early " Happy 4-20 " to ya'll. Don't forget it's only a week away.

Well, the myth about THC draining from the roots or the stems, into the buds, is just that -- an urban myth.

There is another myth that I always laugh at -- it suggests that growers should, when harvesting, take the entire plant, shake off all the dirt on the root ball, and the proceed to put the root ball, with the plant still attached of course, into a pot of boiling sugar water.

Yeah.

That does not work, because there is no THC in the roots or the stems. If fact, a pot of water with a significant amount of disolved sugar in it will have a much higher specific heat than plain water, which means the sugar water can hold a lot more potential energy. If you were to spill boiling sugar water on yourself, you would be likely to receive very serious burns, much much more serious that if you'd just spilled water on yourself. Imagine boiling oil -- there is a reason people used it hundreds of years ago as a weapon against invaders trying to storm castles and such...


Anyway, to answer your question, you can indeed remove the buds from the main stalk if you want. However, if you do so be sure the buds do not dry too fast! At least a week is good, at about 50% RH or so. The slower the better -- that allows for the moisture levels throughout the bud and stem to equalize out completely, and for many other important chemical processes to take place, like the fixing of the THC into its psychoactive form.

Now, drying the entire plant as a whole works too, but it is a little slower, as you have to wait for all of the moisture in the main stalk to migrate out.

It's easy though, just cut the plant at the base, and hang it up after trimming the fan leaves.


If you choose to remove the buds from the main stalk, use a drying basket! Mesh is great -- no flat, non-breathing surfaces!! Wet bud on a flat surface equals tons of mold on any part that is not getting constant air flow.

I would recommend doing this: cut off each branch were it meets the main stalk, then either hang up each branch by itself, or put them in a drying box/basket/etc... to dry.

I highly recommend NOT trying to remove the buds from the stems they are attached to until they are dry!!

The stems are very useful for handling the buds while they dry, allowing you to hang them, turn them over, pick them up and examine them, and do whatever else you need to do, without every actually touching your buds with your bare hands.

In point of fact, I never touch any bud once the plant is into 12/12 and flowers are forming. Direct touch is a great way to spread disease -- otherwise, the little critters have to actually float in the air and get lucky enough to land directly on a flower. When you touch a flower, you short-circuit that route and give the infection a great head-start on eating your entire garden.

Oh, and lastly the best reason the keep the buds on their stems is so that you can decide when it is time to cure -- if there is flexability still in the stems the buds are attached to, then it they probably need a little more drying time before they are put away to cure. If you cut the buds off the stems, you loose that indicator of how dry the buds are.

This is because a wet bud will slowly loose its water to a dry stem attached to it, since they are still attached -- water can flow through the plant stems long after the plant has been cut from its roots. Plants don't "die" in the same way that animals do -- IE, systemic failure leading to organ death.

Stems always dry faster than the core of buds and especially thick, dense colas, but stems can get re-hydrated from buds they are attached to, making them a very useful indicator of the total moisure level left in your buds.

Putting buds away to cure before they are dry enough is a huge no-no, and a great way to ruin them.

Anyway, that's just all off the top of my head, hope it helps!

_____________________

~Dacob

 

[Zodiakgrower7]

Thanks Dacob, kinda what I figured but nice to have it confirmed. Also taught me a few things too, I appreciate the info bro.