BobCajun
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't actually recommend using the exact method I used, which involved wiping the condensed water out of the container. It's a pretty crude way to do it. I'm sure people could figure out an improved way, like having ventilation fans plugged into an RH relay, like they use for storing tobacco. They're pretty inexpensive. Here's the schedule used for tobacco, which should also work with weed.
To convert the wet bulb/dry bulb temperatures shown to RH just subtract and look up the temperature difference in this table.
Probably a better way to do the curing would be to use a fairly large container or box large enough to actually hang the plants up, like with normal drying but in this case in high humidity and elevated temperatures. To heat it, you could use either a rice cooker or a griddle, something like that, hooked to a thermostat. Should probably have a circulation fan in there too, a small one. I never actually add water to maintain humidity because it's humid enough just from the plants themselves during the "yellowing" phase, at least in the small container I use. I don't do the fairly long part after the yellowing part. I just dry it over about 1 day, not maintaining humidity at all. I may try the longer version sometime but for now I'm just trying to get it brown and smelling like Colombian.
What happens the way I do it with the heating pads is that the weed will only get so hot according to how much water is left in it. At first it will only get up to about 125 but as it gets drier it gets up to 145 at its hottest. I turn the heat down when it starts getting close to dry so it won't over dry. It actually did get a little over dry last time so I had to spray water on it until it got back up to 55% RH. I was sleeping during the final part. Thought it could make it to the morning but it did get too dry, in the 40s.
Afterwards I don't store in jars, just put it in a zip bag, but you could actually use the jar method if you only let it dry to 65% or whatever the usual RH is when people put air dried weed in the jars. Once you get it browned, 48 hours or so, you could simply continue as you would normally do right after chopping, meaning hang them etc. That way there would be less chance of mold. It would be sort of a hybrid between flue and air curing. In fact, you could use the same box used for the yellowing, just without the heat, assuming you put the fan and RH relay in it.
This hybrid method is what I would recommend for most people. Only the first 48 hours require special treatment, after that it's business as usual. That way, you never need a higher temperature than 100 F. So it'll be easier to provide and less potential degradation. It gets that hot outdoors any many places, so it's not really unnatural. May actually cause some more resin to get put out, since the plant is still alive technically. Maybe that's why it seems more potent and has a more resinous texture. So the only difference between this and the usual curing method is the addition of a 48 hour yellowing phase. Not that big a deal really. Might want to give it more than 48 if it still looks too green. I gave it 60 hours last time, it got browner than it was at 48. People will have to establish the best amount of time by experimenting. It may be longer than with tobacco.
To convert the wet bulb/dry bulb temperatures shown to RH just subtract and look up the temperature difference in this table.
Probably a better way to do the curing would be to use a fairly large container or box large enough to actually hang the plants up, like with normal drying but in this case in high humidity and elevated temperatures. To heat it, you could use either a rice cooker or a griddle, something like that, hooked to a thermostat. Should probably have a circulation fan in there too, a small one. I never actually add water to maintain humidity because it's humid enough just from the plants themselves during the "yellowing" phase, at least in the small container I use. I don't do the fairly long part after the yellowing part. I just dry it over about 1 day, not maintaining humidity at all. I may try the longer version sometime but for now I'm just trying to get it brown and smelling like Colombian.
What happens the way I do it with the heating pads is that the weed will only get so hot according to how much water is left in it. At first it will only get up to about 125 but as it gets drier it gets up to 145 at its hottest. I turn the heat down when it starts getting close to dry so it won't over dry. It actually did get a little over dry last time so I had to spray water on it until it got back up to 55% RH. I was sleeping during the final part. Thought it could make it to the morning but it did get too dry, in the 40s.
Afterwards I don't store in jars, just put it in a zip bag, but you could actually use the jar method if you only let it dry to 65% or whatever the usual RH is when people put air dried weed in the jars. Once you get it browned, 48 hours or so, you could simply continue as you would normally do right after chopping, meaning hang them etc. That way there would be less chance of mold. It would be sort of a hybrid between flue and air curing. In fact, you could use the same box used for the yellowing, just without the heat, assuming you put the fan and RH relay in it.
This hybrid method is what I would recommend for most people. Only the first 48 hours require special treatment, after that it's business as usual. That way, you never need a higher temperature than 100 F. So it'll be easier to provide and less potential degradation. It gets that hot outdoors any many places, so it's not really unnatural. May actually cause some more resin to get put out, since the plant is still alive technically. Maybe that's why it seems more potent and has a more resinous texture. So the only difference between this and the usual curing method is the addition of a 48 hour yellowing phase. Not that big a deal really. Might want to give it more than 48 if it still looks too green. I gave it 60 hours last time, it got browner than it was at 48. People will have to establish the best amount of time by experimenting. It may be longer than with tobacco.
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