DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

[falstaffo]

ok will have a look. have a little while before feeding time lol

 

[falstaffo]

not too much warranted stripping a cola in each bag pretty much

 

[barillaro]

So let me get this straight——

first - cut and wash the bud.

second -hang the bud for approx 3-4 hours to let dry the excess wash water

third -put them in paper bag or some sort of container inside the fridge. leave open a small hole for air exchange the first day

fourth - close the bags the next day.

fifth- every 3 days or so open the bag and rotate buds around or shake

sixth- around 10 -13 days start checking buds of different sizes for RH % inside a jar
buds <=70– go back in bags
buds =65-69 ready for jars continue to burp for a few days until RH gets to 65

buds at >=64% RH ready to be jarred and stored with weekly burping to finish curing

so essentially i know this has been said, but to summarize.
we are simply drying in the fridge, nothing special. in doing so we preserve terpenes and thc that would have been lost if hung in a higher temperature in a tent or other place.
since the fridge slows down the drying process, but at the same time prevents mold due to the low temps, it is easier for us to “catch” the bud at the correct RH% for curing WHILE PRESERVING THE TERPS lost in normal 60-70F tent hang dry.

we are able to then more effectively use a boveda pack because we can pinpoint a RH close enough in proximity to that boveda packs target humidity range of effectiveness.

that a good summary for anyone like myself new to it?
i have been thinking about this non stop for the last few days, i feel better prepared now to finish the dry.

if anything was wrong please point it out.
im also going to experment just hanging a few bigger colas with the stem attached, going to experiment a bit with it

Exactly what I've been looking for , just to clarify, a jar with mesh over the opening works in place of a bag correct? And once you warm buds to room temp, seal and the rh is appropriate, less than 70%, I leave buds in the jar at room temp and burp until ~62%?

 

[Hdinkleman]

Exactly what I've been looking for , just to clarify, a jar with mesh over the opening works in place of a bag correct? And once you warm buds to room temp, seal and the rh is appropriate, less than 70%, I leave buds in the jar at room temp and burp until ~62%?

yes. its not exact science, youll get it as it goes. my buds are all curing now out of the fridgerator in jars at 60-65 % rh

you can do the mesh, or the bags or nothing at all it really depends on how well your fridge displaces humidity.

my fridge is old as hell, its not that great. i have found personally that just hanging buds works best, no paper bags no jars.

i am going to hang my next harvest in the next couple weeks, when i do i will hang the buds in my fridge by themselves, then jar them when they are dry enough. wasnt a big fan of the paper bags/jars

 

[InTheShed]

I leave buds in the jar at room temp and burp until ~62%?

That depends on the RH in your room! If you live in a high RH climate you may need to use rice balls or a small dehumidifier to lower the humidity in the jars. If you live in a low RH climate...yes .

 

[Hdinkleman]

The test buds i did from my current plant hung in the fridge with no bags at all.

when they felt crisp to the touch i cut the buds off the main stem and put them in a jar.
next day checked rh it was at 66 % rh.

dried much better than my first attempt.
total hang time was 3 weeks.
the color and smell/taste came out exceptional, much better than my first attempt that i paper bagged/pizza boxed.

im not saying paper bags/pizza boxes doesnt work for everybody, but for my particular fridge i am going to just hang the whole colas as soon as my next crop is ready to chop.

reminds me of the cave that someone posted earlier, basically just hang drying at 34-36F

worked great, not saying the first one didnt come out good, but definitely mixing the two strains in a cannavault wasnt the best idea for me

 

[Hdinkleman]

which was my bad anyways though, i forgot to label what was what then said F it

 

[ChefDGreen]

Welcome to

Where’s tlv?

 

[ChefDGreen]

Woops, how did that post end up here?

 

[falstaffo]

Woops, how did that post end up here?

i read that earlier and did wonder aha i saw the new member post for it before that lol

 

[BooMtoLate]

I usually just hang the plant upside down minus rootball, hang for about a week or until inside of bud is dry. Then I’ll put in mason jar and open it up 2-3 times a week to let any moisture out. Works fine for me and smoke tastes great. There may be a better way of doing it.

 

[falstaffo]

quick question
what temp should i keep fridge at
it has a dial to adjust and currently sitting at 8c
spiked at 99% humidity in there at times but atm sitting at 94%

 

[Derbybud]

40-45f works best for me.

 

[Pennywise]

That’s about where mine sits as well.

 

[InTheShed]

40-45f works best for me.

Remind me not to drink milk at your house!

 

[Derbybud]

Remind me not to drink milk at your house!

That's the beer frig out in the mud room. No milk in that one. House frig is set at 35f.

 

[InTheShed]

Phewf! I'll bring the Grape Nuts.

 

[Sctanley007]

Low & slow worked so well last time I refilled the fridge with 6-28oz bags each of Sherbet Queen, Jack Herrer x2, Bubblegum and Gelato. That’s 30 bags in the fridge with the larger of this run, and a really big gelato still to be cut.

This is the most no nonsense, no worry method of drying ever with awesome results.

 

[Cape Of Good Dope]

Wow Sctanley007 that is a lot of herb i wish my mother sent me to school with a lunch bag like that.

 

[Metal Halide]

What i dont understand is how you guys can even do this with the smell. I mean I have to do the entire harvest in a sealed carbon filtered room to not stink the entire street out and then the same for dry and cure until some of the smell dissipates. And that's in a 10 degree winter let alone summer
Does the smell leak out of the fridge or does the low temps cause the smell to dissipate similar to foods in the freezer/fridge?