A perfect cure every time

[high acutance]

More info on the boveda: http://bovedainc.com/solutions/herbal/

Also, by this logic, a cigar humidor should be ideal for curing and keeping marijuana for long periods of time, right?

Yes, although cigars seem to do well with a slightly higher RH. High 60s for cigars, low 60s for cannabis.

 

[DrBuzzFarmer]

Every grower struggles with the perfect cure.
Advice for large scale growers is different than what the process will be for home growers and medical patients growing only for themselves.
I've come to the same conclusions as the OP, but I have ideas about why it works so well for me.
Laziness ruins people's cure, or doing too much at one time.
If you want the perfect cure, which will preserve your carefully crafted Cannabis for months while still getting better and more refined, you cannot give up the last couple weeks of the process.
I've tried all sorts of methods, used all sorts of equipment, but for the buds I keep for myself it's a slow process of stabilizing ph in the plant material, then bleeding off the excess bit by bit over a few weeks. Nothing has proven as useful and as accurate as Mason jars, IMO. They come in several sizes and they are ...... airtight. So many bins, boxes, and jars are not as airtight as they advertise.

The burping process is the skill most people need to acquire.
The longer the process takes, the better the final product. (genetics being the limiting factor)
I was lazy. I let herb get too dry, I let it get too moist. In each case the cure was not up to par at the end. Either it would begin to dry out after a while, or it would slump and lost its taste and flavor.
I am of the opinion that there is no convenient and easy replacement for checking the jars as frequently as they require, to keep the plant material perfectly in the "safe" zone.
You cannot simply decide "I will check them every 6 hours!" and think everything will be just fine.
Practice will inform you when to move from dry to cure, and how frequently to check a jar.
The goal is to maintain the proper ph levels at all time.
When the target ph is reached and seems stabilized, THEN is the time for humidity packs, to maintain over the long term. I prefer to target about 58% or so. the 62% are too wet, and the 55% Integra are too dry. Either seems to make the herb want to powder after a period. Keep it around 58% and it stays pliable and fresh for the long term, has been my experience. This could be because of my ambient humidity due to locality, and is meant as example.
The OP is spot on. It was a gem dropped at your feet.
Take the time, pay attention, devote the time, and serve up your friends some 12 month cure that smokes so smooth they get their feelings hurt when you won't sell them any.
The Devil is in the details.
This is just my personal opinion, and is meant as agreement with the OP only.

 

[colocowboy]

I don't believe you need to burp anything. What would the purpose be? Only reason you would keep letting room air in is if it's still too moist and you want to dry it more, if the room air is the right RH. While it's closed the moisture would equalize through the material and also the air in the container, so if you wanted the material to get drier you would need to open it and let drier air in and close it to let it equalize again. But if you had already dries it to 62% there would be no purpose in opening and closing the container.

The guy in that video about the plastic buckets said he dried his plants in a 62% RH room before he put it in the buckets, so why was he pumping air in the buckets and letting it out? Logically, all that would do is expose the material to more oxygen, which would degrade it. Obviously no "curing" was taking place because the RH was too low at 62%. What he was doing was letting the terps permeate through the material because the vapor is contained in the closed buckets, so you would smell it more. Aside from that it's just "aging" not curing, and aging does not require air exchange, in fact you want to avoid it by keeping the container sealed and preferably under a vacuum.

That guy did all that stuff with the hoses and the pump for no good reason whatsoever, just because people have been known to burp jars because their weed was too wet so he assumed it had something to do with curing, which it doesn't. He could have just left the weed in the closed buckets with a 62% Boveda and not bothered with the hoses. Then after apparently 3 weeks, from what he said, the terps will have permeated the material. In fact, you could sit a small container on top of the weed with some terpenes on paper towel or whatever and it would permeate the material giving it whatever aroma he wanted. You want some orange smelling and tasting weed, you would use orange essential oil. You want it to smell like pine, you would use turpentine. Actually that gives me an idea. I have a little bottle of peppermint oil, I think I'll make me some peppermint weed.

It has to do with ethylene production, posthumous most organic material produces ethylene on death to hasten decomposition, curing is controlled ethylene exposure. If you don’t burp the jars it will over-ripen and turn brown with completely degraded trichomes.
In kind, when you over-dry you can introduce fresh cut flowers that can raise humidity and provide ethylene gas to that group of flowers, essentially allowing for a cure to take place. Provided that some more fresh flower is available.

 

[MICHI-CAN]

It has to do with ethylene production, posthumous most organic material produces ethylene on death to hasten decomposition, curing is controlled ethylene exposure. If you don’t burp the jars it will over-ripen and turn brown with completely degraded trichomes.
In kind, when you over-dry you can introduce fresh cut flowers that can raise humidity and provide ethylene gas to that group of flowers, essentially allowing for a cure to take place. Provided that some more fresh flower is available.

Like the man said. Throw a banana in a ziplock and place it on the counter next one that is in open air. Point proven.

It is this decomposition we are trying to harvest and cease at the perfect time after nature converts the materials to our desire. No control and we are smoking stale cardboard.

My last batch in cure since late Oct early Nov. Not ready. Only hand out to those that can finish it properly. Over a year and my faux GG is getting impressive.

 

[colocowboy]

Like the man said. Throw a banana in a ziplock and place it on the counter next one that is in open air. Point proven.

It is this decomposition we are trying to harvest and cease at the perfect time after nature converts the materials to our desire. No control and we are smoking stale cardboard.

My last batch in cure since late Oct early Nov. Not ready. Only hand out to those that can finish it properly. Over a year and my faux GG is getting impressive.

My faux gg is like that too, it likes a long cure.

 

[MICHI-CAN]

My faux gg is like that too, it likes a long cure.

Sorry I retired mine. Hoping for that stray seed I've been fretting about. Flavor and smoothness better every couple weeks. FIRE compared to all but the N.L. . Dry and smoke strain there. But sooooo much more in a month or so.

A perfect cure is only going to be to your opinion. As it is your palate. In my opinion...If it ain't cured it is still not 100%.

Peace and enjoy your work.

 

[SisterMooo]

I just started curing some Grease Monkey. After Harvest, I hung in dark cook closet. temps didn't get over 68 F..... so it was like 62 to 68 F max.
The color of the bud is very nice and green. Others that I dried were in the summer, it was much warmer... bud color got darker....
this will be interesting. Being in the North East it is winter now. we don't keep the house too warm.
I have recently heard that a cool curing process helps with potency ... ?????

 

[MICHI-CAN]

I just started curing some Grease Monkey. After Harvest, I hung in dark cook closet. temps didn't get over 68 F..... so it was like 62 to 68 F max.
The color of the bud is very nice and green. Others that I dried were in the summer, it was much warmer... bud color got darker....
this will be interesting. Being in the North East it is winter now. we don't keep the house too warm.
I have recently heard that a cool curing process helps with potency ... ?????

I'd be happy for those temps. Hate harvesting and drying in the summer in the Northern midwest. The lower temps slow the breakdown to a manageable rate. Hence, generally, a smoother and tastier result. Microwave as opposed to oven baked pizza thing. But hang in there. Even a harsh crunchy home grown bud is better than anything commercial. It is a product of love. Not greed. And I stand behind that.

Best wishes.

 

[MICHI-CAN]

I'd be happy for those temps. Hate harvesting and drying in the summer in the Northern midwest. The lower temps slow the breakdown to a manageable rate. Hence, generally, a smoother and tastier result. Microwave as opposed to oven baked pizza thing. But hang in there. Even a harsh crunchy home grown bud is better than anything commercial. It is a product of love. Not greed. And I stand behind that.

Best wishes.

Long slow flower, health and genetics determine the end potency. The only real effect of drying and curing for me have been head loss and reduced potency due to rough handling.

 

[Medskunk]

Every grower struggles with the perfect cure.
Advice for large scale growers is different than what the process will be for home growers and medical patients growing only for themselves.
I've come to the same conclusions as the OP, but I have ideas about why it works so well for me.
Laziness ruins people's cure, or doing too much at one time.
If you want the perfect cure, which will preserve your carefully crafted Cannabis for months while still getting better and more refined, you cannot give up the last couple weeks of the process.
I've tried all sorts of methods, used all sorts of equipment, but for the buds I keep for myself it's a slow process of stabilizing ph in the plant material, then bleeding off the excess bit by bit over a few weeks. Nothing has proven as useful and as accurate as Mason jars, IMO. They come in several sizes and they are ...... airtight. So many bins, boxes, and jars are not as airtight as they advertise.

The burping process is the skill most people need to acquire.
The longer the process takes, the better the final product. (genetics being the limiting factor)
I was lazy. I let herb get too dry, I let it get too moist. In each case the cure was not up to par at the end. Either it would begin to dry out after a while, or it would slump and lost its taste and flavor.
I am of the opinion that there is no convenient and easy replacement for checking the jars as frequently as they require, to keep the plant material perfectly in the "safe" zone.
You cannot simply decide "I will check them every 6 hours!" and think everything will be just fine.
Practice will inform you when to move from dry to cure, and how frequently to check a jar.
The goal is to maintain the proper ph levels at all time.
When the target ph is reached and seems stabilized, THEN is the time for humidity packs, to maintain over the long term. I prefer to target about 58% or so. the 62% are too wet, and the 55% Integra are too dry. Either seems to make the herb want to powder after a period. Keep it around 58% and it stays pliable and fresh for the long term, has been my experience. This could be because of my ambient humidity due to locality, and is meant as example.
The OP is spot on. It was a gem dropped at your feet.
Take the time, pay attention, devote the time, and serve up your friends some 12 month cure that smokes so smooth they get their feelings hurt when you won't sell them any.
The Devil is in the details.
This is just my personal opinion, and is meant as agreement with the OP only.

You speak wisely!

I had some sativa pheno lsd buds in the jar which lasted for about a year.. the RH was 63% after two months from cut and after 11 months it was still 60%. No packs or anything. Just open the jar pick the bud within a few secs and close it store it somewhere dark, with the temperature being as steady as possible. Deep in a cupboard is where i keep it.

I prefer it at 58% like you said, it is just right. But if you dont smoke a lot or have a large stash anyway, if you try to maintain above 60% it makes sure its gonna be a proper smoke even after more than 10 months it ll only drop 2-3 degrees with sensible duration when opening the jar

 

[MR. GiggleShitz]

I pull the plants and just take off the big feeder leafs. Hang dark with all the sugar leaves on. 3 weeks latter at @60RH and 65deg. They are done.
I remove and separate bud from sugar leafs by hand( so much easier than trimming). I put them into jars in the cabinet only bringing them out to burp for 3 to 5 days( jars are only opened mabey 5 to 10mins at a time then lids back on..
They stay in the jars dark for 4 to 6 weeks.
I can't say it's better than other methods but it never smells of fresh cut lawn grass or hay.
Just beautiful sweet candy that's smoother than a carnival con-artist....
( I'm a big fan of 3 week flush before starting the trim party)...

 

[Goomonster420]

This method is particularly effective for folks who are starting out, those looking to maximize quality in a shorter period of time, and folks who's like to produce a connoisseur-quality product each and every time with no guesswork involved.

It's a very simple and effective process:

Cut the product, trim it per your preference, but don't dry it until the stems snap. Take it down while the stems still have some flex, but the product feel dry on the outside. This is a perfect opportunity to drop the dry-feeling flowers onto a screen and collect prime-quality kief that would otherwise get lost in the jar.

Jar the product, along with a Caliber III hygrometer. One can be had on Ebay for ~$20. Having tested a number of hygrometers - digital and analog - this model in particular produced consistent, accurate results. The Hydroset/Xikar hygrometers are also recommend after calibration. Then, watch the readings:

+70% RH - too wet, needs to sit outside the jar to dry for 12-24 hours, depending.

65-70% RH - the product is almost in the cure zone, if you will. It can be slowly brought to optimum RH by opening the lid for 2-4 hours.

60-65% RH - the stems snap, the product feels a bit sticky, and it is curing.

55-60% RH - at this point it can be stored for an extended period (3 months or more) without worrying about mold. The product will continue to cure.

Below 55% RH - the RH is too low for the curing process to take place. The product starts to feel brittle. Once you've hit this point, nothing will make it better. Adding moisture won't restart the curing process; it will just make the product wet. If you measure a RH below 55% don't panic. Read below:

Obviously, the product need time to sweat in the jar. As such, accurate readings won't be seen for ~24 hours, assuming the flowers are in the optimal cure zone. If you're curing the product for long-term storage, give the flowers 4-5 days for an accurate reading. If the product is sill very wet, a +70% RH reading will show within hours. If you see the RH rising ~1% per hour, keep a close eye on the product, as it's likely too moist.


HTH,
Simon

 

[Goomonster420]

This method is particularly effective for folks who are starting out, those looking to maximize quality in a shorter period of time, and folks who's like to produce a connoisseur-quality product each and every time with no guesswork involved.

It's a very simple and effective process:

Cut the product, trim it per your preference, but don't dry it until the stems snap. Take it down while the stems still have some flex, but the product feel dry on the outside. This is a perfect opportunity to drop the dry-feeling flowers onto a screen and collect prime-quality kief that would otherwise get lost in the jar.

Jar the product, along with a Caliber III hygrometer. One can be had on Ebay for ~$20. Having tested a number of hygrometers - digital and analog - this model in particular produced consistent, accurate results. The Hydroset/Xikar hygrometers are also recommend after calibration. Then, watch the readings:

+70% RH - too wet, needs to sit outside the jar to dry for 12-24 hours, depending.

65-70% RH - the product is almost in the cure zone, if you will. It can be slowly brought to optimum RH by opening the lid for 2-4 hours.

60-65% RH - the stems snap, the product feels a bit sticky, and it is curing.

55-60% RH - at this point it can be stored for an extended period (3 months or more) without worrying about mold. The product will continue to cure.

Below 55% RH - the RH is too low for the curing process to take place. The product starts to feel brittle. Once you've hit this point, nothing will make it better. Adding moisture won't restart the curing process; it will just make the product wet. If you measure a RH below 55% don't panic. Read below:

Obviously, the product need time to sweat in the jar. As such, accurate readings won't be seen for ~24 hours, assuming the flowers are in the optimal cure zone. If you're curing the product for long-term storage, give the flowers 4-5 days for an accurate reading. If the product is sill very wet, a +70% RH reading will show within hours. If you see the RH rising ~1% per hour, keep a close eye on the product, as it's likely too moist.


HTH,
Simon

I could really use some great quality something that sells itself

 

[Ovah]

I'm a bit confused after reading this thread.
Am I suppose the burp the jars or not when the right % is reached?
For example if the hygrometers shows 60% in the jars, should I just keep it closed and that good weed smell will come automatically even If I never burp the jar?

 

[ChrispyCritter]

I'm a bit confused after reading this thread.
Am I suppose the burp the jars or not when the right % is reached?
For example if the hygrometers shows 60% in the jars, should I just keep it closed and that good weed smell will come automatically even If I never burp the jar?

Yes once you are in the cure range of 58-65 with ideal of 62 then you can leave them sealed to cure. Keep checking your hydrometer to make was sure the buds truly are in that range and Let them go.

 

[Tht_Blk_Guy27]

Now that you explain it, I think I've seen others reference that before.

I'm sorry I missed that. Sounds like a wonderful resource. I took a 'little' 14 year hiatus from growing. All we had back then was the "handbook" and each other to talk to. Luckily, there was a pretty good scene going on in San Diego at the time, so I knew a lot of talented growers. Within my circle, I was 'the electrical guy', so I got to help setup a LOT of cool grow rooms. I'm dealing with a little bit of information overload with all these websites that are around now! I'm grateful they are here though. I've found I forgot far more then I remember. I'm so glad there is a way to share information now since otherwise I wouldn't have anyone to ask questions.

are you from the 619????

 

[PinkFlight]

Ignorance is bliss. I still use the squeeze test and use silica packets in each jar, and burp the jars daily. I usually just make weed oil for injestion due to COPD.

Wondering also if a dehydrator at lowest temp works?

 

[EhCndGrower]

Ignorance is bliss. I still use the squeeze test and use silica packets in each jar, and burp the jars daily. I usually just make weed oil for injestion due to COPD.

Wondering also if a dehydrator at lowest temp works?

you would be wiser and invest a little money in a freeze dryer instead. Dry and cure you weed in like 17hrs. I have yet to try on mine, but amazing for live rosin. Buds don’t lose their shape and colour and yet it is super clean and tasty. Love my medium size Harvest Right. Pics from my Barney’s Farm LSD harvest, which I now know should of gone another week longer

Going in Wet

Coming out Dried

 

[PinkFlight]

Really nice pix...thank you. I like your scope.

 

[EhCndGrower]

For the $45Cnd I bought it for off amazon.ca I am happy with the digital scope. Connects easily to my phone for the pics but need a steady hand or the stand that comes with the scope.