Dry and cure process

cindywhite

Active Member
sorry if this is a noobie question, but I picked a branch off about a month early due to the nugs being very tiny and I also wanted to practice drying and curing. I trimmed pretty much everything off and hung the branch upside down for 3 days in the dark with a fan blowing. I took the branch out when I was able to snap it. I cut the nugs off into a mason jar and the smell is just getting worse. Like hay. Did I not dry/cure properly? Is this normal for a premature plant to do that? I've heard it is because I didn't flush, but I've also heard that flushing is a myth. I did smoke a small nug. The ash was white, it wasn't harsh even though I'd only been curing for a day. The taste wasn't all there, but it wasn't bad either. Sorry for the lame questions but I want to make sure I'm doing the process correctly when it comes time very soon to harvest.
 

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
Your bud isn't ripe as you already know .....and curing for a day isn't guna do anything for taste or anything for that matter ......my burp times are longer than a day at the beginning ......your hay smell is probably do to the fact your buds are immature and didn't have any smell to give yet .....but in normal situations harvesting at regular time you can still get a fresh cut smell that curing correctly will help out with .....but can't expect weed that's been taken early an immature to be the same as good mature buds......everybody is different but drying until the stick brakes in half into two pieces is to long in my personal opinion .....also make sure your fan isn't blowing directly on your buds just softly circulating the air in the room itself ....I do a rough trim hang my buds in a dark room for around 4 to 7 days or until the stems snap when bent but don't brake in half ....rather just have a nice crack and the stem stays broken at a 90 degree angle but not all hella dry and woody breaking in half ......then into cure for several weeks before smoking any and burping accordingly .....I like a long cure ...but that's where patience comes into play ....GL
 

cindywhite

Active Member
Your bud isn't ripe as you already know .....and curing for a day isn't guna do anything for taste or anything for that matter ......GL
Thank you. I was pretty sure it was because they were immature. When I stopped drying that one branch the end had a wood my snap but after I removed the nugs, the branch didn't have a woody snap in the middle. It was a bend that broke the fibers for the most part, so I think I pulled it out around the time you would have. I'm sure it dried so quickly because of how small it was
 

upnsmoke13

Well-Known Member
Every one will have their own process according to their on environment. My room is dry, 2 or 3 days after I hang my plant, I need to place a plastic bag around the plants. I'm trying to slow the drying, by cutting off air circulation - now this requires burbing, just like the jars. You want to hold moisture in your flowers for 5-7 days, at least thats my problem. You have to cure buds that are still moist but firm (if that makes sence) but not dry!
I also smoke my weed before I should. It gets me high!
 

cindywhite

Active Member
Every one will have their own process according to their on environment. My room is dry, 2 or 3 days after I hang my plant, I need to place a plastic bag around the plants. I'm trying to slow the drying, by cutting off air circulation - now this requires burbing, just like the jars. You want to hold moisture in your flowers for 5-7 days, at least thats my problem. You have to cure buds that are still moist but firm (if that makes sence) but not dry!
I also smoke my weed before I should. It gets me high!
This is my first grow and I don't think I'll be patient enough for a long cure haha. I smoked a bowl of the premature stuff and I got a surprise little buzz. The trichomes are still mostly clear too. I can't wait to see what I'm dealing with when they're mature.
 

upnsmoke13

Well-Known Member
I whittled one of my first plants down to a nub, but we was smoking something from the closet and not the street! Love that feeling! Try to save a little - hide a bud in a jar, it's a nice surprise. A nice cure does change the smoke!
 

cindywhite

Active Member
I whittled one of my first plants down to a nub, but we was smoking something from the closet and not the street! Love that feeling! Try to save a little - hide a bud in a jar, it's a nice surprise. A nice cure does change the smoke!
That's a good point. I'm sure that I'll have more than 2 months worth when harvest comes around. so I'm thinking when I start getting towards the end of my stash that the buds will be in their prime.
 

upnsmoke13

Well-Known Member
I've never flushed but always harvested yellow used-up plants. Just started Maxibloom and looks like my plants will be a lot healthier this go around but I'll be flushing - if I can wait that long!
 

upinthesticks

Well-Known Member
Are you a flusher?
I have never done a true flush with gallons and gallons of water. I have in the past just gone water for the last 7-14 days, sometimes way too long beforehand. Has been a learning experience. Ive just started feeding closer to the finish, give them a normal dose or two straight water, then cut them. I havent gotten a good cure on these last batches yet, but the early smoke is most definitely not lower quality than when I let the plants fade more/longer. I havent done a fair comparison yet though. I gotta say though, the more I think about it, basically starving the plant right when its bulking and finishing does seem counterproductive, in my mind. Will take a lot more practice before I know what works best for me though. I dont have a ton of experience.
 

upinthesticks

Well-Known Member
View attachment 3784724
20 years to get my methods rite but I think I'm there ...or at least I'm happy .....into cure they go ....OGK .....keep it up OP you'll get it down there's a little inspiration above to help you with patience .....GL
Looks good man... got a OGK at day 50 Im pretty excited about. Got its own smell, love it. How many days did you flower that?
 

bgmike8

Well-Known Member
I just did my first harvest.

I hung them for 8 days. Don't put a fan right on them....!

You should get some little hygrometers to put in your jars.

Be sure your rh isn't too high or you will get mold.

Don't fucking flush. Unless you can find some biological reason to do it.

Plants can't be flushed of nutes.
You will hear people say that it's better but I can tell you that not only did I not flush, but I ran hot all the way til chop. My shit is good after 3-4 weeks cure. I pulled just over 16 ounces under 1200 hps.
 
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