GDB's Express Grow

[Azimuth]

Thanks Azimuth. (Way to pick the easy question! )

Yeah, I got nothing on the other one.

 

[LKABudMan]

How do you calibrate your hygrometers. I use a salt buffer at 75%. I bought some of those cheap ones and they were all over the place.

 

[Azimuth]

How do you calibrate your hygrometers. I use a salt buffer at 75%. I bought some of those cheap ones and they were all over the place.

And how does one calibrate them using a salt buffer?

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

How do you calibrate your hygrometers. I use a salt buffer at 75%. I bought some of those cheap ones and they were all over the place.

I don't BudMan.

I've heard of some putting them in a jar with a 62RH Boveda and marking on them +/- however far they read from 62. I choose not to go through that.

I have a "good" hygrometer. (Translation: One that I paid a bit more money for.) When my jar-sized ones are not in use, I set them on the same table as the good one. If they're within +/- 1 of the reading on the "good" one I just assume they're okay. Those that are not okay get tossed.

I also keep on hand an ample supply of those little button-sized batteries they require. I put in new ones whenever the displays begin to fade. My thought is that at least some of the deviation folks get from them is related to weak batteries.

 

[LKABudMan]

In a sealed container, put a dish of salt. Add a few drops of water to the salt. You want wet salt, not salt water. Seal everything up it should read 75% rh. My Govees were within 2%. Some of those cheap hygrometers were 10-15% off.

 

[StoneOtter]

Not understanding the question, I'll have to ask you to phrase it differently please?

 

[No Pain]

Hello growers.

I have questions.

This Wood (Weed) Moisture Meter has me a bit perplexed!

In late June I jarred up a Grape Ape and a Black Domina. I had been burping them and just recently got the hygrometers down to 62ish RH. But when I checked the buds with the WMM they read at 15%. So I emptied the buds out on some newspaper and let them sit out under a ceiling fan for about 5 hours. They both then measured between 10 and 11 percent on the WMM.

I put them back in jars with the hygrometers and after a few hours the meters were reading in the mid 50s and it appears that's where they're going to stay. I thought that an RH in the low 60s was the sweet spot for curing. But is that the case?

These buds feel much better since I let some more of the moisture out and they are not overly dry or crispy. So I'm just a bit confused. Maybe the hygrometers will slowly creep back up to the low 60s but I've seen little change in the hours since the buds have been back in the jars.

@No Pain, @LKABudMan and anyone else, what's your opinion?

Next question:

I use tap water to feed my plants. Per the latest water report issued by the city, my tap waters contains 38ppm of calcium and 8ppm of magnesium. It's the reason I always go under the recommended dosage when supplementing with Calmag.

But as of late, I've begun to use the water from my dehumidifier to water my plants. (Seems a shame to waste it.) And I assume that that water has nothing in it.

So is a slight increase in the dosage of Calmag called for?

Thanks for any input.

Peace.

Alrighty ...first not all Hygrometers are built the same ..i bought a pack of 6 one time and put them in some bags with some new boveda packs and these thing where all over the place im talking like reading 5% rh deference between them and not even close to what my boveda pack was ..so i suggest you check it .. Second yes the sweat spot for curing is 58-60 % rh . all the above is why i love Grove bags ...just check the moisture level of the buds and get it to the right amount before snipping and bagging them and you are done ..no meter, no burping necessary. The only thing that is required is the paitence to let them dry to the correct moisture level .

Now in regards to your dehumidifier water ...If it has a drain line and the line stays clear everything is good in the garden and feel free to use it ...if the line develops a fiilm inside it means that something is in the air in your garden and me personally I wouldn't use it .
Now as far as what to add ..you need add regular doses of everything as the water should be stripped of any nutrients . As its water that is evaporated off of coils and should test out like distilled water .
Hope this helps @Grand Daddy Black

 

[Carmen Ray]

Alrighty ...first not all Hygrometers are built the same ..i bought a pack of 6 one time and put them in some bags with some new boveda packs and these thing where all over the place im talking like reading 5% rh deference between them and not even close to what my boveda pack was ..so i suggest you check it .. Second yes the sweat spot for curing is 58-60 % rh . all the above is why i love Grove bags ...just check the moisture level of the buds and get it to the right amount before snipping and bagging them and you are done ..no meter, no burping necessary. The only thing that is required is the paitence to let them dry to the correct moisture level .

Now in regards to your dehumidifier water ...If it has a drain line and the line stays clear everything is good in the garden and feel free to use it ...if the line develops a fiilm inside it means that something is in the air in your garden and me personally I wouldn't use it .
Now as far as what to add ..you need add regular doses of everything as the water should be stripped of any nutrients . As its water that is evaporated off of coils and should test out like distilled water .
Hope this helps @Grand Daddy Black

Hi No Pain,
Do you measure the moisture content of the bud before bagging it, or do you go by rule of thumb? I have been wanting to try grove bags for a while. I have just read that in order for the grove bags to work, the bud must be dried to .45 w moisture level or below. I am not familiar with that measurement.

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

Alrighty ...first not all Hygrometers are built the same ..i bought a pack of 6 one time and put them in some bags with some new boveda packs and these thing where all over the place im talking like reading 5% rh deference between them and not even close to what my boveda pack was ..so i suggest you check it .. Second yes the sweat spot for curing is 58-60 % rh . all the above is why i love Grove bags ...just check the moisture level of the buds and get it to the right amount before snipping and bagging them and you are done ..no meter, no burping necessary. The only thing that is required is the paitence to let them dry to the correct moisture level .

Now in regards to your dehumidifier water ...If it has a drain line and the line stays clear everything is good in the garden and feel free to use it ...if the line develops a fiilm inside it means that something is in the air in your garden and me personally I wouldn't use it .
Now as far as what to add ..you need add regular doses of everything as the water should be stripped of any nutrients . As its water that is evaporated off of coils and should test out like distilled water .
Hope this helps @Grand Daddy Black

If the sweet spot is 58-60 RH why does Boveda make 62RH packs as if that's where you want them to stay? That's a rhetorical question. I don't expect you to answer for Boveda.

Anyway, I read a few articles today that stated the sweet spot for curing is between 55-60RH. There doesn't seem to be a lot of certainty about exactly where the sweet spot is!

You're the only person who tried to answer the question. So thanks for that!

 

[Chuckeye]

If the sweet spot is 58-60 RH why does Boveda make 62RH packs as if that's where you want them to stay? That's a rhetorical question. I don't expect you to answer for Boveda.

Anyway, I read a few articles today that stated the sweet spot for curing is between 55-60RH. There doesn't seem to be a lot of certainty about exactly where the sweet spot is!

You're the only person who tried to answer the question. So thanks for that!

Some smokers prefer a "wetter" product @62%, I find mine smokes/grinds better @ 58%.

The "sweet spot" is actually the target rh and you dry/cure down to it.

More info in my signature below....

Cheers

 

[No Pain]

Hi No Pain,
Do you measure the moisture content of the bud before bagging it, or do you go by rule of thumb? I have been wanting to try grove bags for a while. I have just read that in order for the grove bags to work, the bud must be dried to .45 w moisture level or below. I am not familiar with that measurement.

Yes before bagging the buds it has to be at the right moisture content and i stuck my meters prongs in the flower...we discussed the meter and the bags the last several pages of LKABUDMAN'S grow here .

 

[No Pain]

If the sweet spot is 58-60 RH why does Boveda make 62RH packs as if that's where you want them to stay? That's a rhetorical question. I don't expect you to answer for Boveda.

Anyway, I read a few articles today that stated the sweet spot for curing is between 55-60RH. There doesn't seem to be a lot of certainty about exactly where the sweet spot is!

You're the only person who tried to answer the question. So thanks for that!

I see what you are getting at ...the recommended range for curing is 55-60 RH ...why ? because at that level the flower will continue to process chlorophyl, which is what you are looking to leach out in the cure and those that flush before harvest ...as leaching it out properly during the drying and curing process make the smoke smooth as well as brings out other flavors .
...if the flowers go below that level during the drying and curing process it is said that the process stops and the cure process is over ..... now aging and curing do run parallel to one another but they are different things .

Was this more of what you where looking for @Grand Daddy Black ?

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

Was this more of what you where looking for @Grand Daddy Black ?

I'm not sure what I'm looking for. This issue only arose because when I used the moisture meter and let the buds get down to 11% when I jarred them again their hygrometers were (are) reading in the low 50s. I may rehydrate them.

Anyway, next time I use the WMM I'll go for a target of 14% and see what they do once jarred.

Thanks, @No Pain. Every little bit helps!

 

[Chuckeye]

Perhaps the confusion comes from the difference between moisture content and relative humidity.

If the moisture meter is used on the branches, I don't believe that gives me an accurate enough assessment of whether or not the buds are ready for the next stage of drying/curing. Still, can't be any worse than feeling up the bud to judge "crispiness"

If used on the buds the reading will rely on the size/density of the bud tested.

On the other hand, once the buds are in the jars after a period of drying/curing and the relative humidity has had say twelve plus hours to get a good reading of the moisture in the air, it will tell me when no further burping is required.

BTW > Chlorophyll is said to have a half life of two days and needs darkness to break down. And flushing before harvest does nothing to it....

Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

In other words, after a period of time in the jars all the buds will give and take until they are all at the same moisture content. This will be reflected in the relative humidity reading.

Clearer ?

But I think what you are looking for is more of an accurate time to go from hang drying to container dry/cure ?

If I hit it right, once the buds are cut from the branches and placed in a container the relative humidity is ~70%.

Any higher and there is the chance of mold....

Cheers

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

Perhaps the confusion comes from the difference between moisture content and relative humidity.

If the moisture meter is used on the branches, I don't believe that gives me an accurate enough assessment of whether or not the buds are ready for the next stage of drying/curing. Still, can't be any worse than feeling up the bud to judge "crispiness"

If used on the buds the reading will rely on the size/density of the bud tested.

On the other hand, once the buds are in the jars after a period of drying/curing and the relative humidity has had say twelve plus hours to get a good reading of the moisture in the air, it will tell me when no further burping is required.

BTW > Chlorophyll is said to have a half life of two days and needs darkness to break down. And flushing before harvest does nothing to it....

Cheers

I wondered about how far in to stick the prongs. Seems the deeper you probe the higher the reading. But that's a question men have dealt with for ages when using certain "tools:" How far to stick it in to get the correct result!

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

But I think what you are looking for is more of an accurate time to go from hang drying to container dry/cure ?

Yes, this!

 

[Chuckeye]

Yes, this!

For me, it is a feeling kinda thingee

Crisp on the outside with some give on the inside. Takes some experience and I still get it wrong once in a while, but always on the wet side !

You could try your moisture meter on a bud at a higher percentage.

For me, the quickest way would be to find a narrow tallish container. Ideally the container should be about 3/4 full.
Place a couple of branches in and measure the relative humidity the next day...

Cheers

 

[StoneOtter]

It's truly one of those questions. I'm very similar to Chuckeye. It's a feel to get to know. Dense bud goes faster than fluffy ones. That throws a wrench in the works and you have to use different rules. I don't think there can be strict rules for it. I end up sticking them in a bag or jar and look every time to judge if it's time.

 

[7Dust2]

Checking in and very confused . Have to go back and re read some. I missed something.