ready to cure?

[rhah]

gday all,

this is my first post and its about my plants which im drying in my spare room, ive got three plants that are fairly thick and got its share of nugs, well i put them upside down 6 days ago in my shed and then moved them to the spare room. Now they are all dry to the touch and i cant feel much moisture in the middle of the buds anymore, so i thought now would be the time to cure them as the smell and the taste of the bud right now isnt that great. i put some small and medium buds in a tupperware container and left in the bottom of my cupboard to cure,(just to test before i put the rest in). when i woke up andn checked them the smelled really strange, like still green, they hadnt gained any moisture so i left it with the lid open for an hour. and now im here, asking for help, how do i know if my strange smelling plants are ready to cure? is curing them tupperware style good/bad? will the strange smell go away? anyone help will be greatly appreciated ,cheers

[MaC]

If the branches snap when you bend them they are dry and ready for the jars. If they smell that could be the start of anything. Hopefully not mold. Put a fan blowing on them and wait a few days. If mold is starting and u put them in the jars without being fully dry mold will spread very fast

[WantDaChronic]

for a good cure, you should use a container that you'd trust having tied down in a pool with your buds in it...the more air tight the better

 

that smell will take time to disapear, but you have done the right thing in leaving the container open as it will allow any built up moisture to escape you should only leave it open at the most for an hour a day in the first week, after that you wont need to open it and will get a better cure if you dont

 

give it 2-3 weeks and you should end up with some really good smoko

[SukonmiSkunk]

drying bud and curing bud are two diferent things, youve already found this out... to dry buds I will hang them, whole plant or cut to length..doesnt really matter, untill the stalk snaps.... then I cut the buds from the stalk....

Now the curing can begin...

curing takes between 1-6 months.... there are lots of methods for curing... but really the best way I think is glass jars... really anything airtight will do.. but the buds HAVE to be dry.. other wise they can go moldy... I air my buds 3-4 times a week, then return to the jars.. a little less as time passes, its a long process and cant really be sped up, the best cure is usually about 3-4 months... but really they start getting nice and tasty at about the 4th week onwards...

[nitram]

Hi rhah & welcome to OS,

 

Way to say Hi.

 

MaC ...If the branches snap when you bend them they are dry and ready for the jars.

 

Mac's goot the ultimate test. You will feel and hear the snap.

 

Buds have a lot of differing smells to no smell at all. Thats not a sign they are any better or worse bud to smoke up. The smell even changes over the cure.

 

well i put them upside down 6 days ago

 

A reasonable drying period depending on your humidity and mid to lower temps.

 

when i woke up andn checked them the smelled really strange, like still green, they hadnt gained any moisture so i left it with the lid open for an hour. and now im here, asking for help, how do i know if my strange smelling plants are ready to cure?

 

If they are nice and solid + thick the branches (bud stem) on the bud will take time to dry out drawing the moisture through the buds. Overdrying is when left to go to powder. When you touch the over-dry bud it crumbles.

 

At the end of this I have snapped out of my illusions of your buds. down the cone

 

Now you are sure the process of growing had been followed (I assume so as you have buds).

 

What I mean is was the plant completed (chopped/harvested) at the right time (browning hairs 60+ - 80% ?

 

Which of 2 method used did you determine that harvest time was now! ?

The hair colouring method or by viewing the 'Tichiclomes' ?

 

I cure for approx 3 mths in an air-tight jar and, as you do I pop the top tossing the contents.

 

It souunds like you know everything of what proceedures to follow bUT since you opened your first post whith a query on curining there is no history ........... oh ! AND NO PICS

 

Happy drying & curing

[rhah]

thanks for all the help everyone

i trimmed the branches of the trees last night and hung them up on a peice of rope. the stems on some buds still bend and not snap whilst other do, the smell isnt getting any better but its not getting worse, i checked them all over and i didnt see any mold though im not terribly sure what to look for, i got the fan on them now, so hopefully by tomorrow the should be good to put in the jars i posted some pics that hopefully worked so u can check them out excuse the shitty quality tho.

 

 

 

What I mean is was the plant completed (chopped/harvested) at the right time (browning hairs 60+ - 80% ?

 

my mate gave them to me since he was leaving, so he didnt really have a choice about when to harvest when i got them id say about 70% red hairs, though there are many more now

 

 

also quickly what are important steps to remember when curing bud, i just wanna make sure i dont mess it up and get some good smoking bud out of it

 

thanks heaps for all the help

 

ps do u think i should break my bud up a bit before i put them in the containers?

Edited March 21, 2006 by rhah

[everest]

you could de- stem it for a quicker dry ..... and yea does tend to fit in the jar better

 

happy curing

 

ev

[nitram]

Once in the Jar just pop the lid every soo often, give it a rufle, and replace lid

 

Nothing to it, except I would keep it stored in a dark cool place.

[bushgrower]

hey rhah thout i'd fire in my 2 cents worth with how i'v dryd and cured my bud over da yrs ( no expert here mate but i'v found it works.

1/ hang my plants for a few days

2/ after 2-4 days depending on how dryin goin i remove all branch's from main stem and manicure and sort leaf /small bud/ etc. all the big buds r hung up again for anuther 2 days roughly .

3/ all bud appart from 1's still hangin i put into brown paper bags ( hehe like da 1's u get from liquor store when ya by wine ) the bags keep da lite off the buds but also allow them to breath thus preventing our old enemy mr mould. ( all big buds get same treatment when they are dry enuff to touch )

4/ after a week or so u should have sum nicely dry'd out buds then it into an airtite container.( u should keep eye on it thou mr mould can sneak in anytime all it needs is 1 small bud still retainin little bit of moisture to invite him in !! )

 

everybody has diffrent ways and ideas and i picked alot of useful tips and ideas from hear. thing i like bout da paper bags is you can give the buds a shake up to keep them free ( not to vigourious thou ya don't wanna smash all those nice crystals off ) also found that the buds tighten up nicely when in the company of the rest of there family. anutha wee tip is to handle your buds as less as possible and hold stem when inspectin them gotta save all those nice glissenin crystals.

 

hope this helps a bit and i'm sure you'l find a way that suits you best

cheers

Bushy