Where did the stink go?

[awkinpup]

I was wondering if it's normal that when I cut my plants down and trimmed of the leaves and hung them to cure in a dark area humidity about 30% temp around 60 to 65 deg and a light fan to move the air around.
I went in to check them out (they've been hanging for about two days) they don't smell as strong as they did when I cut them down. is that normal? should the smell be getting stronger?

sorry but first time hanging and curing bud

 

[Dayzt]

Lol...love the subject title by the way!

I've noticed this happen to me as well when drying. I do normally have a filter drawing air out of the drying area though, so I think it pulls some of the smell out... But not to worry - some strains are so stinky that they never lose the 'odor', even through drying - but some does - this is completely normal! One thing to note - make sure you don't have your circulation fan hitting the hanging buds directly - that will cause them to dry 'too fast' which can result in crispy/crumbly bud afterwards. A nice slow 7-10 day dry seems to give the best result afterwards. You want to leave a bit of moisture in them before they go into curing jars so they can dry 'evenly' - this way you won't have a crispy outer-bud and a softer (wetter) result inside the buds near the stems.

You may also have some of that 'hay' smell after drying is complete - this should go away once it's had time to cure in your jars as well. Many times we've had bud that didn't smell that great until it had cured for a month or more...which always leaves us wishing we'd left more of it to cure longer... =)

 

[awkinpup]

Dayzt,
Thanks dude for the info. I was starting to freak out, months of work I thought would be down the drain. Then the stink would have surly been in my pants lol. I appreciate your info and input.

 

[Chester B. Green]

I was wondering if it's normal that when I cut my plants down and trimmed of the leaves and hung them to cure in a dark area humidity about 30% temp around 60 to 65 deg and a light fan to move the air around.
I went in to check them out (they've been hanging for about two days) they don't smell as strong as they did when I cut them down. is that normal? should the smell be getting stronger?

sorry but first time hanging and curing bud

30% RH is a little too dry for drying or curing.

For drying, you want a RH level between 45% to 55%. Any lower than that and it will dry too fast therefore locking in the starches and chlorophyll, which in return gives the final product a nasty 'green' taste and is harsh on the smokers throat and mouth.

For curing, the cure doesn't start until the RH hits 55%. Anything lower than 55% and the cure dies. For curing purposes.. you want your RH levels between 55% and 68%. The idea is to keep the RH levels within that range for as long as possible because this is the range in which the cure takes place.

Anything above 68 to 70% RH and your just asking for mold problems as well as other bacteria and molds to begin growing and developing on the harvested product.

So again, the best thing to do when curing is to keep your RH values between 55% and 68%. This is what I do personally and its never failed me.. so why try and fix something thats not broken, right? Right.


peace and good luck.

P.S. - Just want to wish everyone a kick ass New Years! Party your ass off.. but at the same time, BE SAFE!