CURING/DRYING THE BUDS

[johnnyboy]

Hey people.

 

I am relitively new to the growing game, but been smoking for 1 year now....

 

Generally i just hang the buds in the grow room and leave the fans running to get good circulation...

 

Whats the best way to keep the most weight in the buds??

 

Thanks for any replies...

[Guest weekprik]

The FAQ contains alot of info, Harvesting, drying curing.

 

but my 2c is to help keep the weight in them, make sure you dry them very slowly and use Potash or add weight etc in the grow. dont have the fan blowing on the plant, use only the extractor fan, and dry in the room it grew in if possible.

 

WP

Edited January 22, 2004 by weekprik

[pipeman]

they say to dry as slow as possible, start with high humidity and gradually lower it. But growing with too high humidity or too slowly can leave your buds susceptible to mould. Just something you need to decide yourself.

 

If you got big fat colas maybe drying too slow is asking for trouble, but lots of little colas slow dry would be OK.

 

Heavier buds just could be wet buds. I'd rather have lighter, properly dried and cured buds.

[jackfrost]

Hey bro,

 

Put all your buds in a dark room with no fan at all maybe the very most ventiliation would be a crack in the window.

 

If you live in a really humid area, for the first couple of days some more ventiliation may be required, but if you can do without it the better taste and more stronger your buds will be.

 

The trick is to dry those buds very slowly first then start the curing lockdown process.

 

Depending on time of year and where you live this first time frame will vary.

 

But the very minium for a dry and cure is 60days. 30 days of drying time (which i usually hung on a line across the room and left in the dark. following a lockdown peroid of 30 days total.

 

The lockdown peroid is very important and most people dont do it. Try this method:- losely put buds into a airtight and light tight container, put lid on and leave for about 20mins before taking lid off again for about 20mins (that is your first lockdown). The second lockdown leave for about a hour, third for about 3 hours, forth 8 hours then start with 2 to 3 times every 24 hours for five minutes, finally the last week once every 24 hours for five minutes.

 

Warning:- if you dont do it right - you can loose all your bud to mould and rot. - if you start to smell a ammounima smell take the buds out of the lockdown and allow to dry some more.

 

What you are trying to do is promote a very small amount of vacteria to eat all the starchey sugars out of the green chlorofill, which will give you a very smooth and strong high. Done right your buds will taste like chocolate when smoked and they will take on a very golden colour.

 

JF, Peace

[boulder]

For the "lock down" period i use the common black plastic garbage bags as this tends to get the buds to sweat and then when open, the excess moisture evaporates. IMO.

 

cheers

[Guest weekprik]

I read not to use plastic bags boulder,

Something to do with it being electrically charged and this destroying the trichomes??

Edited January 25, 2004 by weekprik

[johnnyboy]

SO basically dry for a wek or two hanging in a room...

 

Then do the lock down oncw the buds are dry...

 

Is that right?

[BULLET]

my tried and tested method;

hang plants upside-down in dry, dark room until the bud feels dry, use a small fan to agitate/spread air around room, but not directly on the hanging plants.

when the bud feels dry to the touch, in my experience about 5 to 7 days at temp 70-75f ,envelope the still hanging plant in a large black plastic bin-bag for approx 48hrs. when you remove the bag the bud should feel a little damp again; this is because the bag has drawn the moisture situated deep within the plant to the surface.

leave bag off and wait a few more days until buds feel dry.

 

then put into sealed box for about a month, somewhere cool and dark.

for the first week open box everyday to get fresh air in, I usually transfer from one box to another and back again next day to make sure.

the difference is incredible. stronger, sweeter, smoother, more flavour everytime.

[Infinitee]

Well my method prob ain't the best, but it's simple and it works for me.

 

I just dry out my bud/leaf (which isn't too hard living in aus, ) put it in an airtight container (100CD holders for small amounts/tupperware bowls for bigger amounts (note: room is a problem for me, any other medium to put them in would be fine)), Then put it inside a box, and inside a dark cupboard, i give it acess to fresh air 6 hrs for every day (or two, if i'm lazy). After 4-6 weeks they have a great smell and give a preme smoke.

 

Keep

It

Simple

Stupid

(unless you can afford to do otherwise)

[Dohmar]

Howdy folks

I add another little trick to the common method....

 

The dry room should, as mentioned, just be a dark room with a bit of ventillation. I agree with bullet, never put the fan directly on the buds...you dont want them disintegrating from too much wind!

 

After hanging the colas and nugs on the wire for a couple of days, we cut them down till theyre around handful sized at most...they should be dry to the touch but still moist on the inside....then I add them to a 50 litre bucket...every few hours I put my hand in it and move the buds around...they stay in there for around 3-4 days, by which time they should be dry to the touch. This method does take longer, and there is a risk of mould if you're not on the ball, however you get more weight (I cant prove this unfortunately, but I seem to get a better end result) and the smoke is just a little smoother...general theory is that the moisture leaves the wet parts of the buds and re-enters the outside where they are dry (drier), keeping the potency, and the extra few grams of moisture (remember, you can overdry the buds and lose potency..)

 

Smoke is probably smoother because of the extra time involved to allow for chlorophyll breakdown, but this is no substitution for the curing, which I use the exact same method Jackfrost has posted above.

 

One other note, direct heat on buds kills potency. Try and keep the temperatures low and humidity low. A 30'c room will dry the buds much quicker than a 25'c room, but the end result will be worth it!

 

-Doh