Soggy Buds

Sdh777

Sdh777

Well-Known Member
I’m getting ready to harvest a small RDWC crop in the next week & the colas look & smell amazing. A few days after my previous harvest, the buds got really soggy, so to prevent mold I lowered the humidity & increased air circulation. In the process the crop ended up drying out too quickly which effected the aroma & likely the potency as well. I want maintain the aroma & quality as much as possible & I’m in no rush...just want to get it right.

My questions are
1) Is that post harvest soggy bud stage typical?
2) can that be avoided?
3) Will it cause mold
4. How do I retain as much aroma & trichomes as possible?

Any input to maintain the highest quality during harvest and to follow would be greatly appreciated! I’ve got the curing end down with large mason jars with hygrometer lids & Broveda packs. It’s the harvest & drying I’m most concerned about.

Thanks!

Strain: Aloha Limone
Born: 11/19/2020
Flower: Day 63
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Headgrinder

Headgrinder

Well-Known Member
I've had good success drying by breaking the plant down into branches. then removing the large fan leaves and hanging everything so nothing is touching each other. then when the buds feel dry, but the inner stems are still moist and green, I clip them off of the branches, and put them in airtight containers. then the moisture level balances after maybe half a day, and the buds get moist again. from here you keep them covered "burping" regularly and moving them around a bit. I am not sure what you mean by soggy buds, but if you do things like i described you should be on your way to some good smoke. this stuff is a serious art. what I said is very basic, textbook stuff. I have a ton to learn about drying and curing myself. so you might want to get some good info from some other people too.
 
Snoopy808

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
1. Soggy bud stage not typical. Mantain a gradual drying over 7-10 days with out getting to hot. Dehumidifiers help. If its going to fast decrease dehum, and heat if needed.
2. Big leaf as much as possible. A reasonably well sealed room or space to start with. Air circulation, heat if needed and reccomend dehumidifier for large harvests. No dehumidifier or not large enough harvest go passive with Damp-rid if drying space is small. Otherwise gentle airflow around the colas and ventilation out should suffice.
3. Soggy buds can cause mold. Bud rot can start or powdery mildew can come back when drying. No flush or poor flush leaves more nitrogen in tissues. That can feed molds and affect the taste and burn of your herb. Another thing about nitrogen is it loves water, so if theres a lot in the dried flowers it will reabsorb moisture easier than well flushed flowers will.
4. Flush,flush and flush well. Handle your harvest as little as possible. When ive dried my crop to "stems snap" dryness I put it all in ostrich bags and in totes till it can be trimmed. Or for my head stash, i trim it when I'm ready to smoke it.
 
Sdh777

Sdh777

Well-Known Member
Thanks for your input Snoop
1. It’s in a closed room and tent in the basement in Colorado so it’s already cool, but also very dry, so I typically have to use a humidifier to keep humidity above 20% & currently have it between 35%-40%.
2. I have good ventilation & airflow in place for Drying. Not sure what you mean by “big leaf as much as possible”?
3. I grow in RDWC Hydro and started the flush 2 days ago including Clearex Flush Solution.

The plants & Colas are in mint condition & I could harvest at any point now, but I will likely wait a few more days or so as I’m in no rush. The buds show at least 75% red hairs and trichomes are mostly cloudy, but minimal amber.
 
Snoopy808

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
The big leafs are the fan leaves at nodes. No trichomes on them. Us farmers big leaf before hanging to dry. Saves some space. Allows the flower to dry better as not covered by big leaf. And for outdoor growers its easier to spot bud rot. Keeps the trim cleaner for better extracts as well.

Might need some heat when drying. If its too cool, it can take forever to dry and almost guarantee soggy buds. And I would not use the humidifier when trying to dry. If you're adding moisture to a cool place it can be bad for drying and quality will suffer.
 
Sdh777

Sdh777

Well-Known Member
Oh gotcha. I do trim all the fan leaves at harvest and my basement store room is usually around 72°
Thanks for all your help! I’ve done several harvests now...just trying to dial it in. Nothing worse than screwing up a harvest after 4 1/2 months of growing!!!
 
L

LinguaPeel

Well-Known Member
This may be hard to grasp for typical internet growtards, but buds are soggy and hard to dry if they get rained on before harvest. Or watered before harvest.


Too many people want that water weight, aka "brovida dankness". Lots of people have problems drying their water weed. Anyone good at puzzles?
 
Sdh777

Sdh777

Well-Known Member
LinguaPeel said:
This may be hard to grasp for typical internet growtards, but buds are soggy and hard to dry if they get rained on before harvest. Or watered before harvest.


Too many people want that water weight, aka "brovida dankness". Lots of people have problems drying their water weed. Anyone good at puzzles?
Click to expand...
1. It’s an indoor grow so they’re not getting rained on
2. It’s an RDWC/Hydro so the plants are not getting watered
3. I’m not looking to add water weight. I’m going strictly for quality
 
Snoopy808

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
Water weight at harvest? No grower talks about water weight at harvest.
Talk about retards....water weight is only an issue with units too fresh. Thats is trimmed and weighed into turkey bags. You can get half a point off on a case or box. But not worth the risk to buy still wet weed. Mold, losing 30+ grams per unit, and loss of quality as nose can disappear and buds get "hulk smashed " easy.
 
Headgrinder

Headgrinder

Well-Known Member
LinguaPeel said:
This may be hard to grasp for typical internet growtards, but buds are soggy and hard to dry if they get rained on before harvest. Or watered before harvest.


Too many people want that water weight, aka "brovida dankness". Lots of people have problems drying their water weed. Anyone good at puzzles?
Click to expand...
I doubt he is soaking his crop after when he's harvesting. This is supposed be a place where we can get helpful info, not making assumptions and name calling. growtards? Come on. His buds look awesome.
 
F

Fevs.

Well-Known Member
Harvesting too soon can make the plant lose some of the smell. I remember when I was new to growing and somebody told me to just pick 2 plants out of the bunch I had and run them for an extra 2 weeks until there were 50% ambers. They were far better buds than the weed harvested too early.
 
Sdh777

Sdh777

Well-Known Member
Fevs. said:
Harvesting too soon can make the plant lose some of the smell. I remember when I was new to growing and somebody told me to just pick 2 plants out of the bunch I had and run them for an extra 2 weeks until there were 50% ambers. They were far better buds than the weed harvested too early.
Click to expand...
They’re at 9-1/2 weeks flower now & I’m letting them go another 2 weeks. I’m going for full dank overload.
 
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