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They are digital hygrometers to monitor the humidity in the jars (about $5 each on eBay). I shoot for an RH of ~62% in the jars. I put the buds in there when they feel slightly "crisp" on the outside and their stems have a snap when I bend them. They should still have a little internal moisture at that point, don't overdry them because there is no coming back from that point.hey are those humidity gauges in the mason jars when you were curing? if so are they there to help you get a good idea when the bud is done curing? if so what was the humidity % when you deemed them cured?
I put them in the jars and seal them up. I check the RH every few hours the first day to see where it is. If it is well above my target of 62% I pull the buds out and let them dry for anywhere from 1 half-day to 2 days. This you have to gauge from your own experience, the RH of your drying area, temp, how dry the buds are when you put them back out. This is where I feel there's more art than science (whereas for me the grow is more science than art).
Once I have a steady RH of ~63% in the jars, I seal them up and give them a "burp" once a day for about 10~30 minutes making sure that I get air moving throughout the jar. After about a week, I leave them sealed up and then only open them for a few seconds to smell them to see how they are curing. You will start to notice a difference it the smell as they start to age.
I think it took me a few grows to really get a handle on drying and curing. In my opinion it is the most important part of the process. Take your time and invest in some gear, it's not very expensive to pick up a hygrometer for each of your curing jars (I use 1/2 mason jars, but will be moving up to 2 gal apothecary jars for next grow). We spend so much time and money on nutrients, pH meters, lights and all of the grow items, but very little on the drying and curing stage--BUT, the drying and curing is where you make your money (or ruin your harvest). It took me a few grows to realize that, and my next major DIY project is a custom built drying system with RH control.
Let me know if that answers your question, or creates more questions for me to answer.