ok, so I chopped my plants whole and hung them up to dry totally intact. Fan leaves and all. I did this because I wanted to try the dry on the vine method in attempts to savor the flavor & smell by slowing down the drying process (advice I've gather over the past few months). Typically I trim wet, but I hear that releases chlorophyll and gives u the hay smelling bud at the end. It is now day 4 of dry and the plants are still hanging in full. Going to take the fan leaves off today. However, now the room smells like a fresh cut soccer field! Smh. I'm thinking that aroma is coming out because the chlorophyll is breaking down in the leaf matter. Is this normal? I didn't f up my smell and taste did I? The dry room is at 70 degrees at like 50% rh. Should I trim the entire plant now or continue with just taking off the fan leaves and trimming once they feel slightly crispy and the stem somewhat snaps? As of now the bud definitely feel moist and the stems are not snapping. Signs of a nice slow dry. However, I DO NOT want that 60's hippy smelling herb. When I cure and put in jars, the grassy smell will breakdown and disappear even more correct? I am growing 6 different strains. Here is a picture of how they currently look in their drying stage day 4. After all this time and energy I definitely want the best tasting bud possibly. Help me out RIU. Thx!
Grassy smell during drying stage!!
BlackD.O.G
Active Member
When the buds feel a bit crisp on the outside and the stems bend and almost want to snap move them into jars and place a hygrometer in with them. Keep an eye on it 5-6 hours later and shoot for 60-65% RH in the jars. If your at that target RH then let it cure for at least two weeks. You can burp the jars daily if you want. If your rh is high, above 65% then leave the lids off for an hour or two. If the buds are too wet then you can risk mold. Good luck man
BlackD.O.G
Active Member
Remember the trick is to let the bacteria do its job removing any chlorophyll left in the buds and that bacteria thrives with very little oxygen, so if your RH is 60-65% then be dissiplined and leave that alone for the cure.
The plant itself consumes chlorophyll through metabolic activity after it's been cut. You don't want to dry it out too quick to stop that metabolic activity, nor completely remove all light for first few days.
Also, anaerobic bacteria are generally bad. You want to keep oxygen present so that aerobic bacteria can keep anaerobic bacteria levels in check until the buds are below a homogeneous 15% moisture content, at which point most strains of bacteria will not grow. At that point you can remove oxygen to prevent degredation of THC. 12% water content is considered ideal for smoking.
The hay smell is byproduct of bacteria and needs to be removed with air circulation. You definitely don't want to jar buds smelling like hay.
All those fans are just breeding grounds for bacteria.
Also, anaerobic bacteria are generally bad. You want to keep oxygen present so that aerobic bacteria can keep anaerobic bacteria levels in check until the buds are below a homogeneous 15% moisture content, at which point most strains of bacteria will not grow. At that point you can remove oxygen to prevent degredation of THC. 12% water content is considered ideal for smoking.
The hay smell is byproduct of bacteria and needs to be removed with air circulation. You definitely don't want to jar buds smelling like hay.
All those fans are just breeding grounds for bacteria.
SPLFreak808
Well-Known Member
Dont over-dry or dry in too hot of a room
Use 50% rh when drying
Dont chop plants too early
Use 50% rh when drying
Dont chop plants too early
Damn, great info bro! And you know what....I did cut a lot of the fans off 3 days ago and that's when the grassy smell started. I'm cutting the fans back on now. I didn't ruin my buds did I??
The most likely culprit of the hay smell is Staphylococcus Lugdenensis, which are facilitive anaerobes, meaning they can survive through aerobic respiration or switch to fermentation in anaeroibc environments. In aerobic mode, their only byproducts are CO2 and water, but once they consume all the O2 in their immediate environment, they switch to fermentation mode and start producing exotoxins. You want to keep them well fed with O2 (air circulation) so they stay in aerobic respiration mode.
Colder temps slows the drying process and also lowers water activity level. Leaving the fans on just reduces air flow and more surface area for bacteria and mold to breed IMO.
EDIT: by all those fans I meant all those fan leaves. I know some say it's a good way to dry but I don't think so.
Here's one of the better guides to drying out there
https://www.dinafem.org/en/blog/drying-and-curing-of-fresh-cannabis-buds/
Colder temps slows the drying process and also lowers water activity level. Leaving the fans on just reduces air flow and more surface area for bacteria and mold to breed IMO.
EDIT: by all those fans I meant all those fan leaves. I know some say it's a good way to dry but I don't think so.
Here's one of the better guides to drying out there
https://www.dinafem.org/en/blog/drying-and-curing-of-fresh-cannabis-buds/
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^ a lot on the forums swear by hanging whole plant leaves and all.
Did you flush them before harvest? Put them into dark immediately after cut? it could be a lot of chlorophyll/nitrogen still trapped in the plant.
After reading that dinafem guide again, they seem to suggest the hay smell is drying too fast and trapping in the chlorophyll/nitrogen. Your buds look kinda small and airy so seems like it might be easy to do. It could just be the fans full of nitrogen making that smell too though, I'd get rid of them.
Did you flush them before harvest? Put them into dark immediately after cut? it could be a lot of chlorophyll/nitrogen still trapped in the plant.
After reading that dinafem guide again, they seem to suggest the hay smell is drying too fast and trapping in the chlorophyll/nitrogen. Your buds look kinda small and airy so seems like it might be easy to do. It could just be the fans full of nitrogen making that smell too though, I'd get rid of them.
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Yea the buds themselves are still damp. So maybe it's the amount of leaf matter left giving off that grassy smell. That won't transfer into my buds will they??
GrowUrOwnDank
Well-Known Member
Grassy smell is normal. If you want a safe way to avoid mold, after a good cure, maybe 2 weeks depending and you get rh down to the low mid 60's try Boveda packs. It's not the best way to get the most flavors I don't think but it's safe and will give you a good loud smell once everything stabilizes.
qwizoking
Well-Known Member
grassy smell is different than hay smell..
one is green, one is decomposing..
that one.dude was sorta right..
the cure is an aerobic process, keeping stomatas open and facilitating gas exchange the plant is br ok en down through respiration and hydrolysis. when this isnt allowed to occur it starts to ferment. the same thing happens in a bale of hay, you can look up silage fr extreme examples.
nitrogen sugars cellulose, starch, etc breaking down anaerobically with the high moisture content begins toferment. This releases ammonia (essentially formed from.the nitrates not breaking down properly) and acids giving the foul odor.
a grassy smell is not usually correlated so its important to use proper.terms...yes i know my spelling and grammar is a little off, i hate touch screens
but a green smell is from corresponding esters and aldehydes from freshly cut material. they have a high vapor pressure or low boiling point and will go away shortly
you should in general always trim.wet so long as your environment can.handle it.
no it wont somehow transfer into the bud.
many people.because of their drying environment always have this occur
one is green, one is decomposing..
that one.dude was sorta right..
the cure is an aerobic process, keeping stomatas open and facilitating gas exchange the plant is br ok en down through respiration and hydrolysis. when this isnt allowed to occur it starts to ferment. the same thing happens in a bale of hay, you can look up silage fr extreme examples.
nitrogen sugars cellulose, starch, etc breaking down anaerobically with the high moisture content begins toferment. This releases ammonia (essentially formed from.the nitrates not breaking down properly) and acids giving the foul odor.
a grassy smell is not usually correlated so its important to use proper.terms...yes i know my spelling and grammar is a little off, i hate touch screens
but a green smell is from corresponding esters and aldehydes from freshly cut material. they have a high vapor pressure or low boiling point and will go away shortly
you should in general always trim.wet so long as your environment can.handle it.
no it wont somehow transfer into the bud.
many people.because of their drying environment always have this occur
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Today I trimmed all the fan leaves off and did some semi trimming. From what I feel in the stem, they may be ready for full trim and jar in about 2-3 days. That would make it a 7-8 day dry period. I know some people say to dry for 10-14 days but I feels like that's a bit much and it's seem more fitting for bigger harvest. Thought on the 7-8 estimated drying period? By the way, the nugs themselves still feel moist, not crispy on the outside: seems like it at first due to the dry leave matter tho
qwizoking
Well-Known Member
a little contradictory..
cutting leaf matter releases volatiles.. you need more aie circulation if it bothers you
i trim a couple dozen lbs every 2 weeks qnd never had a mowed lawn in the room
the size of the harveat shouldnt change dry length much it can obviously take longer to get a good range all the way through..which you do through jarring
but even little nugs should get 10-14 days. you never want any part to become crispy
heres what i do
Trim wet, rh ~60%, decent airflow ~500cfm, no light, temps 65-73°f, Hopefully this takes roughly 10-14 days before outside of buds becomes dry. Do not let any part of the bud become dry. if this happens to soon; up rh, lower temp, and/or decrease air flow. When drying is complete, Jar for minumum of 16hrs to get moisture back to the tips. You can now add boveda packs and or "burp" for30 minutes and give airflow to the bud. Airflow is very important to the cure but so is maintaining 55-60%rh
After 2 weeks drying and 1 week "cure" i start to sell or taste test
i burp every other day for 2 weeks then weekly for 2months... then its good to go head stash
Yeah you said you typically trim wet but heard it releases chlorophyll giving you the hay smell at the end. Then BlackDOG went on about bacteria and I followed lol. The dinafem guide also mentions trapped chlorophyll giving a smell like stinky hay, but like qwizo pointed out, those are 2 different things, but possibly going on at once. Since you typically trim wet the grassy smell you're not used to may just be all the chlorophyll breaking down in the fan leaves. If no stinky hay smell and just green grassy you're probably doing fine.
I'm just a microgrower so I trim everything soup to nuts all at once.
I'm just a microgrower so I trim everything soup to nuts all at once.
Ok, so I already trimmed most of the fans off. The room is at 70 degrees 50%rh. The stem seems as if it will begin to crack but not break in about 2-3 days. Is it drying to fast? If so, how should I adjust ? Or am I fine and just need to let them dry longer than 3 more days? Everyone has such a different opinion on this topic. I know it's best to go with what works for you, but u always want to maximize the potential. One out of my 5 strains smells like super fruity, the others u have to kinda squeeze to experience the smell. I want that out and smelling through the bud. I kno it will happen in the cure, but it's weird how the one is just intense.