When the buds are ready to come out of the shack and off the stem, the real tricky part starts. This is where you can really fuck things up. Your best weapon now is the paper bag. While it is possible to go right into a turkey bag, it's playing with fire. Most people think the buds are drier than they are. Going into a turkey bag too early can cause a moldy smell in just 24 hrs that will NEVER totally go away. I have ruined POUNDS before doing just this.
We like to remove the semi dried buds from the stem and go into paper bags. If you have alot, fill the bags about 1/3 full. Roll up the bag right down to the top of the buds. Let stand for 24 hrs.
After 24 hrs open the bags. The buds should feel much wetter than when they went in. This is the moisture from the bud's center wicking into the outside of the buds. Depending on just HOW wet they feel, you have 2 options. #1 dump the buds into a wide tray and place them back into the drying shcak for an 1-3 hrs. #2 Place the open bag into the drying shack and stir up the buds every 30 minutes or so. #2 is the safest method and should be used if you're not sure what to do. After this the outside of the buds should feel dry again. Roll the bag up and wait another 24hrs.
After 24 hrs remove a bud and break it. If it still tears, repeat step 2. If there is ANY snap to it, you're ready for the turkey bag. If you have any doubt, repeat step 2.
Once in the turkey bag the buds may feel very wet when removed. Ignore this. The real test is to break the buds and feel/listen for that distinct snap...not a tear. After the first 24hrs in the turkey bag I like to remove the buds and place them on a tray in the shack for about 30 minutes. You'll find that every day you do this it will take less and less time for the outside of the buds to feel dry again.
From when my buds are removed from the stems until they are 90% ready only takes me about 3-4 days. Then, I simply open the turkey bag everyday, stir the buds, and re-seal. If the buds are to be stored long term, this process should be done for a week or so. If you are working with pounds to be given to a dispensary, they should be delivered slightly wet. You MUST keep in mind that they will be opening and closing the bag several times. If the buds are delivered to them perfectly dry, they will be petrified by the time they are halfway into the pound. This, of course depends on how long they take to unload the whole LB. But, I assume it will be over a week.
This concept is very simple. You're just trying to evenly dry the buds without overdrying or placing in plastic too early. There is no recovery from either mistake. The beauty of the paper bag is that I have never developed any moldy smell in a paper bag. AND, it is very hard to overdry buds that are in paper bags and are only removed once per day.
Commercial J, who deals with 20+ pounds at a time uses a very objective technique. Once the buds go into the turkey bags, he places a relative humidity gauge in every plastic bag. That's right...he has 30 gauges. I think he uses what's called a calliber 3? It's a meter for cigar boxes. I have used a digital temp RH gauge, as well. After 24 hrs in the bag, he checks the rh. 50% is dry enough for long term storage, 55% - 60% for delivery to a dispensary. If you use this technique it is important to seal the bag while in an environment with an RH under 50%. Otherwise, you'll always read a high RH.
That's it. I'm sure there are folks that do it very different. My method is based on my experience and the experience of many commercial growers much more experienced than myself.
One of the things I've heard people do is to do the initial dry slow. This is wrong! It's a waste of time and risks mold. I have dried buds in am 80F room with an RH of 30% before. It takes less than 48hrs before going into the paper bags, but the end result is just fine.
