I can’t keep abusing cannabis

[AmatFumusViriditas]

It seems my grow game has been slowly improving with the exception of the dry/cure phase. I am missing something which unintentionally leads to unacceptable cannabis abuse, preventing any hope of maintaining the potential they deserve. I’m getting to the point I feel guilty growing. I’ve read copious tutorials, controlled temp and humidity, etc. Last harvest, I thought I finally found success when early testers were awesome, though still too wet. It didn’t last. Somewhere along the way the aesthetics dissipate.
I typically aim for mid 60’s temp and humidity, tighter than a lot of reported successful methods, in the dark, a week plus, then trimmed down from branches or whole plant to containers or jars to slow further, open and closing if moisture surfaces. I will get to a finished product that grinds and burns well, relatively smooth and effective, but with little or no remaining odor/flavor. I am stumped and frustrated, it shouldn’t be this difficult. If it were not for the flavor of early samples, I would doubt there had been any to begin with. I may not deserve the help but the plants do.

 

[manthatreeks]

I think you may be over thinking this. It's not rocket science. Your parameters seem fine enough to be. Mid 60's temp and humidity, nothing wrong with that. You say your herb grinds and burns well, check. You say relatively smooth and effective, check. Perhaps it's the quality of your herb?

Bud should never be "wet", not by my definition anyway. At chop, I strip all fan leaves away, break the plant down into branches to eliminate the excess stem. No sense in drying that. Get rid of anything that doesn't have flower attached to it. Hang branches off of coat hangers (I use coat hangers so I can separate, label and identify specific strains) in a lightly ventilated area around the same parameters you're in... Mid 60's to low 70's n temperature and low to mid 60's humidity. The buds hang for 7 to 10 days until the branches don't necessarily snap, but aren't soft either. This is when the buds are snipped from their branches and go into jars.

Once in jars I burp about once a day, sometimes every other day for about another 10 days. That's when I'll test the first nugs for flavor. and burn. Some lack the discipline to wait, and that's fine, but I do. After that they get a check about once a week as I pull a gram or two from each jar to roll joints. After that they're good to go and only get better with time.

Again, your environment sounds decent enough to me. Could it be you're being impatient or maybe you're expecting fillet mignon flavor from from cube steak?

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

Don't be too hard on yourself, preserving cannabis is an art form. And like most art forms, the masters rarely imitate others.

First thing I'll mention is you say you do 60s for temp and RH for a little over a week. Thats not long enough imo. 10 days minimum, probably 14 or more for whole plants. Especially if you have decent size nugs.

One of the hardest things for me to learn when I first started was to dry the nugs way longer than I thought. Until they seemed way too dry. Then jar them.

Beyond that I don't want to give too many pointers, mostly because I ignore all the "rules" about drying and curing and do what works for me, and results in nugs the way I like them. I do nothing to maintain my drying environment anymore beyond running a dehuey in the summer to prevent mold. Otherwise they just deal with the ambient temps and RH. And I let the buds tell me when they're ready.

I remember early on in my growing I had some nugs I was finally really happy with. So I shared them with a couple friends. One messaged me, the nugs are too damp still, I have to leave them out to smoke them. The other messaged me, the nugs are too dry, you should put an orange peel in there. I said fuck both of them, I grow for myself and I'm happy.

Keep tweaking your process, but only change one thing at a time, until you find what works for you.

 

[Frimpong]

It seems my grow game has been slowly improving with the exception of the dry/cure phase. I am missing something which unintentionally leads to unacceptable cannabis abuse, preventing any hope of maintaining the potential they deserve. I’m getting to the point I feel guilty growing. I’ve read copious tutorials, controlled temp and humidity, etc. Last harvest, I thought I finally found success when early testers were awesome, though still too wet. It didn’t last. Somewhere along the way the aesthetics dissipate.
I typically aim for mid 60’s temp and humidity, tighter than a lot of reported successful methods, in the dark, a week plus, then trimmed down from branches or whole plant to containers or jars to slow further, open and closing if moisture surfaces. I will get to a finished product that grinds and burns well, relatively smooth and effective, but with little or no remaining odor/flavor. I am stumped and frustrated, it shouldn’t be this difficult. If it were not for the flavor of early samples, I would doubt there had been any to begin with. I may not deserve the help but the plants do.

Slow and steady brother . Slower the better . You try to get that air just barely moving. You shouldn't feel a draft over your plants. 60 and 60 is perfect. Hope u crush it man ?

 

[thesunnyvalekid]

Don't be too hard on yourself, preserving cannabis is an art form. And like most art forms, the masters rarely imitate others.

First thing I'll mention is you say you do 60s for temp and RH for a little over a week. Thats not long enough imo. 10 days minimum, probably 14 or more for whole plants. Especially if you have decent size nugs.

One of the hardest things for me to learn when I first started was to dry the nugs way longer than I thought. Until they seemed way too dry. Then jar them.

Beyond that I don't want to give too many pointers, mostly because I ignore all the "rules" about drying and curing and do what works for me, and results in nugs the way I like them. I do nothing to maintain my drying environment anymore beyond running a dehuey in the summer to prevent mold. Otherwise they just deal with the ambient temps and RH. And I let the buds tell me when they're ready.

I remember early on in my growing I had some nugs I was finally really happy with. So I shared them with a couple friends. One messaged me, the nugs are too damp still, I have to leave them out to smoke them. The other messaged me, the nugs are too dry, you should put an orange peel in there. I said fuck both of them, I grow for myself and I'm happy.

Keep tweaking your process, but only change one thing at a time, until you find what works for you.

Well said G, fuck everyone else, do it for yourself.

 

[thesunnyvalekid]

I tell my grandkids this all the time it applies to most things it’s part of life, here goes, “sometimes you have to kill your babies”
You have to fail or you can’t learn, it’s just inpatients that’s the hardest. When a plant does not do what I WANT, I kill it, really I do, even at $20 a seed, you have kill your babies sometimes.

 

[thesunnyvalekid]

I tell my grandkids this all the time it applies to most things it’s part of life, here goes, “sometimes you have to kill your babies”
You have to fail or you can’t learn, it’s just inpatients that’s the hardest. When a plant does not do what I WANT, I kill it, really I do, even at $20 a seed, you have kill your babies sometimes.

And I suppose that’s not much help, sorry about that. I think curing is a skill like growing, personally I’m not good at it, never have been my whole grow career, I’m lazy and impatient. I let my son do this part of the grow, drying and curing is boring. He is no good at growing so it’s a good trade off, he prefers the whole plant method. He hangs it for 7 days, in a room no fan no nothing. Then separates the branches, cutting into smaller sections as he removes any big leaves around the buds. He continues to dry until it’s crispy, yes it feels crispy to the touch. Then he trims for the jarring burps everyday until dry. Then puts it away, he likes a month. I think it’s crazy if it burns we are fucking smoking it, ha
This is honest does some smell like hay, yes it does sometimes. It’s not a perfect science, but I still smoke it, it’s all mine.

 

[Hitch]

If you can just get the dry down, you should try Grove bags. I am an avowed mason jar guy, and still use them mainly, but A few months ago I purchased some Grove bags for “archival” purposes and testing. I have to say that 3 months later I am very impressed. No burping or anything. Shit smells and tastes awesome. I may get some more.

 

[Skunky Dunk Farms]

I dry mine on a rack until I touch them and say oh chit, there overdry and jar em.
I burp 3 or 4 times and seal till use.
For sure no science or patience but nothing ever goes to waste.

 

[Rosinallday]

I agree with @Gentlemancorpse a week isn't enough at that temperature. 10-14 days, buck down and then I still put them in paper bags for a couple more days. If ur storing in bags be sure to double triple bag.

 

[manthatreeks]

I agree with @Gentlemancorpse a week isn't enough at that temperature. 10-14 days, buck down and then I still put them in paper bags for a couple more days. If ur storing in bags be sure to double triple bag.

I've gotten away with a week when the plant is smaller and thinner stemmed, but you're right, 7 days is generally too short. Of course I pretty much trim mine from the gate, like I said, I break the plant down to their branches, removing all stem and fan leaves. If she's an easy trimmer, I'll go ahead and remove the sugar leaf. It's literally buds on a stick at this time.

You can also speed up the process by harvesting plant when the pot and medium are light, which is when I do it... I see no sense in loading the tissue up with a bunch of moisture before hanging it up.

All in all time really isn't even a factor, for me it's the bend of the stem. I like them to feel like bending a plastic straw, that break it makes before it buckles... They don't so much snap, it's more of a light "pop" as they break softly. The flower will be slightly soft, not quite spongy but not anything close to brittle or flakey either.

Like Gentlemancorpse said, do whatever makes you happy, but don't beat yourself up trying to reinvent the wheel.

 

[Rosinallday]

I've gotten away with a week when the plant is smaller and thinner stemmed, but you're right, 7 days is generally too short. Of course I pretty much trim mine from the gate, like I said, I break the plant down to their branches, removing all stem and fan leaves. If she's an easy trimmer, I'll go ahead and remove the sugar leaf. It's literally buds on a stick at this time.

You can also speed up the process by harvesting plant when the pot and medium are light, which is when I do it... I see no sense in loading the tissue up with a bunch of moisture before hanging it up.

All in all time really isn't even a factor, for me it's the bend of the stem. I like them to feel like bending a plastic straw, that break it makes before it buckles... They don't so much snap, it's more of a light "pop" as they break softly. The flower will be slightly soft, not quite spongy but not anything close to brittle or flakey either.

Like Gentlemancorpse said, do whatever makes you happy, but don't beat yourself up trying to reinvent the wheel.

Agree it depends on the bud and the way you harvest. I still have some sugar leaf on my bud and make big hooks so hanging with plenty of stem. Going by the snap is a good measure. I wait until the thin stems that are left from the sugar leaves snap. If they are still bendy I wait but I think it's different when ur hanging with plenty of stem. I've hung whole plants before and it took more than two weeks.
If you can wait a month from harvest to smoke that seems to be about right. Something about the chlorophyll.

 

[AmatFumusViriditas]

I think you may be over thinking this. It's not rocket science. Your parameters seem fine enough to be. Mid 60's temp and humidity, nothing wrong with that. You say your herb grinds and burns well, check. You say relatively smooth and effective, check. Perhaps it's the quality of your herb?

Bud should never be "wet", not by my definition anyway. At chop, I strip all fan leaves away, break the plant down into branches to eliminate the excess stem. No sense in drying that. Get rid of anything that doesn't have flower attached to it. Hang branches off of coat hangers (I use coat hangers so I can separate, label and identify specific strains) in a lightly ventilated area around the same parameters you're in... Mid 60's to low 70's n temperature and low to mid 60's humidity. The buds hang for 7 to 10 days until the branches don't necessarily snap, but aren't soft either. This is when the buds are snipped from their branches and go into jars.

Once in jars I burp about once a day, sometimes every other day for about another 10 days. That's when I'll test the first nugs for flavor. and burn. Some lack the discipline to wait, and that's fine, but I do. After that they get a check about once a week as I pull a gram or two from each jar to roll joints. After that they're good to go and only get better with time.

Again, your environment sounds decent enough to me. Could it be you're being impatient or maybe you're expecting fillet mignon flavor from from cube steak?

I have the ability for patience, I definitely overthink, especially now. In the past sampling earlier was motivated by enthusiasm and the learning process. I’m more a visual learner so interpreting things like “almost dry”, barley snap- etc are open to interpretation. By no means do I have unrealistic expectations at this point, I’m a humble guy, decent works for me, but I do like the good-good. Seems that flavor just doesn’t “lock in” so to speak. If I absolutely had to guess, I’d think I’m closing up when there was still too much moisture which then causes negative changes? I’ve even tried the mini hygrometers, but still stash to trash. Genetics have definitely changed my game, that is the beginning of my smaller successes. I follow very similar to the first part of your described method-

 

[Polyuro]

It seems my grow game has been slowly improving with the exception of the dry/cure phase. I am missing something which unintentionally leads to unacceptable cannabis abuse, preventing any hope of maintaining the potential they deserve. I’m getting to the point I feel guilty growing. I’ve read copious tutorials, controlled temp and humidity, etc. Last harvest, I thought I finally found success when early testers were awesome, though still too wet. It didn’t last. Somewhere along the way the aesthetics dissipate.
I typically aim for mid 60’s temp and humidity, tighter than a lot of reported successful methods, in the dark, a week plus, then trimmed down from branches or whole plant to containers or jars to slow further, open and closing if moisture surfaces. I will get to a finished product that grinds and burns well, relatively smooth and effective, but with little or no remaining odor/flavor. I am stumped and frustrated, it shouldn’t be this difficult. If it were not for the flavor of early samples, I would doubt there had been any to begin with. I may not deserve the help but the plants do.

#1 Freeze dryer.

#2 Cut early if inflorescence seems to be extreme

#3 Smoke it all before it cures

#4 Lower your expectations

Some terpines are lost over time from volitilizaton more than other, which is the selling point on freeze drying.

Good luck.

 

[Willie]

Don't be too hard on yourself, preserving cannabis is an art form. And like most art forms, the masters rarely imitate others.

First thing I'll mention is you say you do 60s for temp and RH for a little over a week. Thats not long enough imo. 10 days minimum, probably 14 or more for whole plants. Especially if you have decent size nugs.

One of the hardest things for me to learn when I first started was to dry the nugs way longer than I thought. Until they seemed way too dry. Then jar them.

Beyond that I don't want to give too many pointers, mostly because I ignore all the "rules" about drying and curing and do what works for me, and results in nugs the way I like them. I do nothing to maintain my drying environment anymore beyond running a dehuey in the summer to prevent mold. Otherwise they just deal with the ambient temps and RH. And I let the buds tell me when they're ready.

I remember early on in my growing I had some nugs I was finally really happy with. So I shared them with a couple friends. One messaged me, the nugs are too damp still, I have to leave them out to smoke them. The other messaged me, the nugs are too dry, you should put an orange peel in there. I said fuck both of them, I grow for myself and I'm happy.

Keep tweaking your process, but only change one thing at a time, until you find what works for you.

Nice post, I concur. Particularly about putting the weed away too damp, that is the bane to curing and spawns curing debate everywhere.

 

[Psychobilly]

If you can just get the dry down, you should try Grove bags. I am an avowed mason jar guy, and still use them mainly, but A few months ago I purchased some Grove bags for “archival” purposes and testing. I have to say that 3 months later I am very impressed. No burping or anything. Shit smells and tastes awesome. I may get some more.

I too can say that at least so far, I'm liking Grove Bags. They say 60 % humidity and put them in so it's pretty straight forward. If you are interested though; don't give up on learning to cure even if you have bags, just experiment with some you're not as concerned about until you are comfortable.

 

[18B]

How are the grove bags for you?...what about the boveda packs? I'm always stressing my drying and curing...i always have...I don't need that many edibles...lol...I always manage fine...it's just stressful at times.

 

[chiefer888]

I’m pretty happy with the Grove Bags so far. They are more forgiving than Boveda packs. I dried my last harvest too fast and thought ir was going to negatively impact the bud quality, but after a few weeks in the bag they normalized really nicely.

 

[Jewels]

relatively smooth and effective, but with little or no remaining odor/flavor

Genetics have definitely changed my game

Some dank just dont hold their stank.

I have found forgotten buds hanging in the rafters months later that were still as tasty as Thanksgiving dinner. Conversely I have had bud that was babied and burped from start to finish that barely scored above 'mild potato' flavour.

It does not have to be your fault, just keep shopping around for something that works for you.

 

[Psychobilly]

The Grove bags are doing pretty good for me; I still kind of feel like a proper burping could do better, but when you have 60 jars full and no where to put them all; they're working nicely lol.

I generally jar mine after the branches snap, but don't break, but with weed hanging all over, they do sometimes get pretty dry before they go in the jar.

A lot of them moisten back up after a day or so in the jar, and burping generally entails me feeling with my hands how most they are, and the jars can spend an hour or two sideways and open, and then I feel them, shake the jar, and then put the lid back on.

By comparison I've got Blue Cheese that smells almost like cat piss, and I've got some that started out Sour Skunky Cheese and is now getting a very pleasant almost nacho cheese and berries smell going.

If the weed is still kind of wet, I cure it more, but it's nice to see the difference between different cures.