How To Cure
- Thread starter TyPo
- Start date
mogie
Well-Known Member
Commercial growers take the colas from the plant and manicure them before drying. They usually dry them on a line, upside-down, which is fine.
However, usually airflow is forced, and temps too high, humidity too low. As soon as the buds are considered dry (usually a few days), it is sold. The reason for this behavior is the fact they are, as I said, commercial growers and in a constant hurry to exchange their buds for cash. Every minute counts and they don't want to 'waste' the space or the time needed for drying and curing. This results in harsh, grassy tasting weed that lacks the full-bodied flavor and smooth stone of properly dried and cured bud. To do it right:
At harvest-time all you have to do is cut the plant as low as possible and hang the whole thing upside down to dry on a line. The room you use to dry should be the about the same size you grew in (if not the same room). The humidity should remain a constant 50-60%. Too high and buds will mold, too low and they dry too fast and taste bad. Temperature should be around 65-68 degrees, wherever possible. Make sure the room is dark, as light degrades THC.
All kinds of processes, like the transport of sugars inside the plant still take place, even when you cut it down. These processes will slowly come to an end while the drying progresses, but are the main factor for the end-taste of your smoke. That is the first reason why you don't want to quick-dry your weed. The second reason is the way that a plant dries. Plants are made up of cells and, as we all know, cells contain mainly water. Exposed to air, the (dying) plant's outer cells will dry out first but the above-mentioned processes will still transfer water from the inner cells to the dryer outer cells, thus causing the plant to dry equally all over. By removing the stalk and cutting off the individual colas, you prevent this natural process by taking away the extra moisture that would be drawn from the stem to the leaves and bud. Got it? Good! Moving on...
Make sure you hang the plants so that they do not touch each other (invites mold). With constant temp and humidity, the plants should be ready for manicuring in 3-4 weeks. At this time trim colas from the main stalk, and trim large and medium fan leaves (save them for making hash), leaving most of the smaller leaves sticking out of the bud in tact. Hang them up again and for a day or two, until 'popcorn' dry. The stems should snap when you bend them, and the bud should be dry, but not brittle. Now for the curing...
Trim all remaining leaf (save for hashmaking) tight to the buds, and trim smaller buds from larger stems. Store them airtight; air at this point degrades THC. Note- ziplock bags are not airtight! You could use buckets with an airtight lid like used for food and sauces and such, but the best containers are those glass jars with the rubber seal and latch. Just put as much bud in it as possible using light pressure. The point is to fill it as much as possible, so not too much air remains in the container. The less air, the better. To be safe, check them the next day to make sure it's still dry (did not 'sweat'). Any excess moisture at this point will invite mold. If it did sweat and is moist (soft) again, lay the bud out on something other than newspaper and put in a dry place to get the last water out.
Repack and place the container in a cool, dark place, like a refrigerator. Note- fridges have high humidity so they must be absolutely airtight.
The longer it sits (up to around a month, maybe longer in the fridge) the better it gets, both in taste and potency. At around the month mark, you can move it to the freezer to almost stop the aging and curing process. Once you've got some buds stored in the freezer, you have a private stash that will last a long time. If you've got the patience to wait, the smoke will be sweet and smooth. The high will be mellow, and longer lasting. If you grew enough to last you a while, then after a few harvests you will be able to have properly cured buds at your disposal, with no downtime waiting for the next batch to cure!
If you're not in a hurry to sell your crop you owe it to your head to wait the extra time and have great tasting, very potent bud! Curing is the only way to make harvested bud more potent, so try it, you won't be disappointed!
However, usually airflow is forced, and temps too high, humidity too low. As soon as the buds are considered dry (usually a few days), it is sold. The reason for this behavior is the fact they are, as I said, commercial growers and in a constant hurry to exchange their buds for cash. Every minute counts and they don't want to 'waste' the space or the time needed for drying and curing. This results in harsh, grassy tasting weed that lacks the full-bodied flavor and smooth stone of properly dried and cured bud. To do it right:
At harvest-time all you have to do is cut the plant as low as possible and hang the whole thing upside down to dry on a line. The room you use to dry should be the about the same size you grew in (if not the same room). The humidity should remain a constant 50-60%. Too high and buds will mold, too low and they dry too fast and taste bad. Temperature should be around 65-68 degrees, wherever possible. Make sure the room is dark, as light degrades THC.
All kinds of processes, like the transport of sugars inside the plant still take place, even when you cut it down. These processes will slowly come to an end while the drying progresses, but are the main factor for the end-taste of your smoke. That is the first reason why you don't want to quick-dry your weed. The second reason is the way that a plant dries. Plants are made up of cells and, as we all know, cells contain mainly water. Exposed to air, the (dying) plant's outer cells will dry out first but the above-mentioned processes will still transfer water from the inner cells to the dryer outer cells, thus causing the plant to dry equally all over. By removing the stalk and cutting off the individual colas, you prevent this natural process by taking away the extra moisture that would be drawn from the stem to the leaves and bud. Got it? Good! Moving on...
Make sure you hang the plants so that they do not touch each other (invites mold). With constant temp and humidity, the plants should be ready for manicuring in 3-4 weeks. At this time trim colas from the main stalk, and trim large and medium fan leaves (save them for making hash), leaving most of the smaller leaves sticking out of the bud in tact. Hang them up again and for a day or two, until 'popcorn' dry. The stems should snap when you bend them, and the bud should be dry, but not brittle. Now for the curing...
Trim all remaining leaf (save for hashmaking) tight to the buds, and trim smaller buds from larger stems. Store them airtight; air at this point degrades THC. Note- ziplock bags are not airtight! You could use buckets with an airtight lid like used for food and sauces and such, but the best containers are those glass jars with the rubber seal and latch. Just put as much bud in it as possible using light pressure. The point is to fill it as much as possible, so not too much air remains in the container. The less air, the better. To be safe, check them the next day to make sure it's still dry (did not 'sweat'). Any excess moisture at this point will invite mold. If it did sweat and is moist (soft) again, lay the bud out on something other than newspaper and put in a dry place to get the last water out.
Repack and place the container in a cool, dark place, like a refrigerator. Note- fridges have high humidity so they must be absolutely airtight.
The longer it sits (up to around a month, maybe longer in the fridge) the better it gets, both in taste and potency. At around the month mark, you can move it to the freezer to almost stop the aging and curing process. Once you've got some buds stored in the freezer, you have a private stash that will last a long time. If you've got the patience to wait, the smoke will be sweet and smooth. The high will be mellow, and longer lasting. If you grew enough to last you a while, then after a few harvests you will be able to have properly cured buds at your disposal, with no downtime waiting for the next batch to cure!
If you're not in a hurry to sell your crop you owe it to your head to wait the extra time and have great tasting, very potent bud! Curing is the only way to make harvested bud more potent, so try it, you won't be disappointed!
mogie
Well-Known Member
There are many methods to dry and cure plants, what I am going to explain is just my method of doing it. First off let me say how nugs dry depends on the strain, some dry tight and hard, others dry soft and fluffy. There is many ways of drying your herb and each has its good points and solid methods. This is simply the way I do it.
Heres what I do:
Once the plants are mature and ready for harvest, cut the plants down and hang them upside down in dark & dry area.
Remove all fan leaves and other big leaves.
Let the plants hang for about 3 days or until the outsides of the bud begin to feel dry. You can gently squeeze the buds and you should be able to feel that they are still soft and wet in the middle.
Remove all the buds from the plant, then clip and manicure them as normal. The left over material from this step is excellent for making oil, hash, and bubble!
I then place the buds on empty cardboard beer flats in a dark and dry area so they may continue to slowly dry.
I like to flip the buds over daily until they are nearly brittle dry, sometimes this will take over a week for the bigger buds and colas. Again you can gently squeeze the buds to ensure they are dry in the middle.
Once the buds have dried on the flats, put them into paper bags. I like to use the large paper bags that you can find at most grocery stores. Put about 3 inches of buds into the bottom of a bag and roll the top over as though it were a lunch bag.
Open the bag once or twice daily, mixing and shaking the buds around. They'll sweat out the moisture from the insides of the buds to the outside where they will dry. Doing this ensures they will dry slowly which leaves a nice smooth product.
Once the buds are dry in the paper bags, I like to place them into plastic zip-lock bags for two or three days.
Watch the buds to see if they become wet again or the bag sweats after leaving them in the plastic. This tells you that they are not dry and should be placed back into the paper bags for further drying. One sure way to tell if the buds are completely dry is to bend the buds. If the stem within the bud snap when bent, they you know it is dry. If the stem bends and does not snap or crack then it is a pretty good indication that there is still moisture within the bud.
Once you are certain the buds are dry by leaving them in the plastic bags for two or three days, then you can place them into mason jars to cure. Using this method eliminates having to open the jars daily and letting excess moisture dry which can form on the glass. I find it can mould too easily in the glass if not watched carefully.
At this point when everything is bone dry, I like to package up my herbs into appropriate sized bags and store in tupperware containers which I place into my freezer. A warning if your ganja is not bone dry, it can and will mould and spoil in the freezer if you are not certain everything is absolutely ready for this type of storage.
If you decide to place your buds into jars I would suggest to continue to check the jars every day for a week or two until you're sure they are dry. Then you can vacuum seal and store the jars away in a safe and dark location for a rainy day.
Now you can open one jar at a time and enjoy. I've found that nugs kept in jars for 6+ months cure well and taste great, however nugs sealed in jars for over a year are incredible.
Heres what I do:
Once the plants are mature and ready for harvest, cut the plants down and hang them upside down in dark & dry area.
Remove all fan leaves and other big leaves.
Let the plants hang for about 3 days or until the outsides of the bud begin to feel dry. You can gently squeeze the buds and you should be able to feel that they are still soft and wet in the middle.
Remove all the buds from the plant, then clip and manicure them as normal. The left over material from this step is excellent for making oil, hash, and bubble!
I then place the buds on empty cardboard beer flats in a dark and dry area so they may continue to slowly dry.
I like to flip the buds over daily until they are nearly brittle dry, sometimes this will take over a week for the bigger buds and colas. Again you can gently squeeze the buds to ensure they are dry in the middle.
Once the buds have dried on the flats, put them into paper bags. I like to use the large paper bags that you can find at most grocery stores. Put about 3 inches of buds into the bottom of a bag and roll the top over as though it were a lunch bag.
Open the bag once or twice daily, mixing and shaking the buds around. They'll sweat out the moisture from the insides of the buds to the outside where they will dry. Doing this ensures they will dry slowly which leaves a nice smooth product.
Once the buds are dry in the paper bags, I like to place them into plastic zip-lock bags for two or three days.
Watch the buds to see if they become wet again or the bag sweats after leaving them in the plastic. This tells you that they are not dry and should be placed back into the paper bags for further drying. One sure way to tell if the buds are completely dry is to bend the buds. If the stem within the bud snap when bent, they you know it is dry. If the stem bends and does not snap or crack then it is a pretty good indication that there is still moisture within the bud.
Once you are certain the buds are dry by leaving them in the plastic bags for two or three days, then you can place them into mason jars to cure. Using this method eliminates having to open the jars daily and letting excess moisture dry which can form on the glass. I find it can mould too easily in the glass if not watched carefully.
At this point when everything is bone dry, I like to package up my herbs into appropriate sized bags and store in tupperware containers which I place into my freezer. A warning if your ganja is not bone dry, it can and will mould and spoil in the freezer if you are not certain everything is absolutely ready for this type of storage.
If you decide to place your buds into jars I would suggest to continue to check the jars every day for a week or two until you're sure they are dry. Then you can vacuum seal and store the jars away in a safe and dark location for a rainy day.
Now you can open one jar at a time and enjoy. I've found that nugs kept in jars for 6+ months cure well and taste great, however nugs sealed in jars for over a year are incredible.
mogie
Well-Known Member
NOTE: The following methods are for “quick drying” purposes only, and results should not be compared to cannabis, which would normally be dried and cured correctly. Also, buds that are removed before maturity will reduce your plants potential yield.
Hey everybody! Well as my first indoor grow comes to a halt, I'd like to express my views and personal experience with different methods of quick drying out some buds straight off the plant. I’ve tried tons of different methods as none of the first ones I tried ever satisfied me. Now before I start I must state that air-drying your buds is THE best way to dry and curing is certainly advised. Additionally the ideal way to smoke buds right off the plant would be a vaporizer. But for those who might not like vaporizers or don’t have the money to buy/make one, and who are running short on the stash but have a plethora in the closet so close to being done. To all of you I offer my experiences and maybe a few methods you haven’t tried before. Ill start simple and go through and share my views.
The Oven
The only thing I can say to this is 'hey it does work' you can smoke pot dried in the oven. Taste and potency all goes to crap, but smoke will go out of your mouth as you exhale. If that’s all you crave, then this is the simplest way to dry your herbs out, just keep an eye on it. I find oven-dried weed to be lacking in everything, including the high.
Microwave
When used on lower power settings (40-50%
can do an adequate job. Mind you it still tastes like crap and certainly not as potent as air-dried, but in a pinch it will work. Keep an eye on it and go for short 5- 10 second bursts.
Dankmaster's Microwave Steam Method
A vast improvement in quick dry technology. It does a satisfactory job fairly quickly. Trichomes don’t burst and flavor while not great isn’t awful anymore -- which is all I can say for any of the previously mentioned methods. What the method does is use steam to dry out the weed.
Necessary items
*Tupperware container with lid.
*Buds fresh off the plant (cut into small pieces, don’t shred them – cut into nice little chunks).
*3-paper towels.
*Microwave with power setting options.
*Water.
First, take 1/4 piece of a paper towel and lay it on the bottom of the Tupperware container. Then put your cut up weed on the paper towel. Next, take two paper towels, fold them several times and get them wet. Wring out most of the water. You want the paper towels wet but not dripping. Now, you lay the paper towels over the top of the Tupperware making sure that you completely and evenly cover the top. Then take the lid and squeeze it almost all the way on. When I say almost I mean to get all sides and corners on tight except for one corner to allow the steam to exit. Now your ready to put your steam dryer in the microwave.
Set the microwave power to 40 or 50 %. I recommend 40% -- I tried it on full power the first few times and it didn’t work nearly as well. Now set it for a minute and let it go. Take it out and let the steam evaporate out and let sit for 15-20 seconds. If the bottom paper towel (the one that the buds are on) is wet change it. If the two paper towels you were using are dry make sure to re-wet and wring out and put back over top and put lid on in same way.
Now microwave at 40-50% for another minute and repeat process for typically 3-5 minutes. This is the best method if you need the herb in less than 20 minutes.
Ballast Drying Method
Cut up fresh buds and place them in an envelope evenly spread out. Close the envelope and place it on top of your ballast. Obviously you need a remote ballast to do this. Built in ballasts typically get too hot. I've tried this a few times. I typically left it on the ballast while the light was on for 2 to 3 hours. As I remember I always kept over or under drying the buds. On retrospect I would say go for a little bit too dry because you can put it in an airtight container and allow the moisture to be sucked out of the stem. Taste was good for a quick dry, and potency seemed acceptable.
My Toaster Oven method
Turn your toaster oven onto bake on the lowest setting it has. Take your herb and cut it up small similar to the steam method. Then take the tray you would use to say, toast peanuts and put the cut up herb onto the tray. Next place the tray ON TOP of the toaster oven NOT inside it! Turn the pieces of herb over every 5 minutes or so. This typically takes a good 20-30 minutes but is well worth the wait. When dried right the taste still isn’t great, but its the best of the already mentioned methods. The high is great, the trichomes remain intact and the smoke is semi-smooth. I like it and it works pretty well.
The Quick Dry Toaster Technique
Contributed by:Apollo11Genius
I have tried most of the quick dry methods in the current quick dry FAQ. The quicker ones usually didn't produce good quick dried bud (oven, microwave, etc) and the longer ones did produce quicker dried buds but not QUICK dried buds When I say quick, I mean I need my buds ready in at least less than half an hour!!!
I found the most convenient, quick, and least destructive way to quick dry weed for me is with a piece of equipment that almost all of us have -- a plain ol' TOASTER!
What I do is set my toaster on a low setting (1-3). Mine also has a 'defrost' setting which is supposed to make it cook for a longer time, although that's not necessary for this method. You'll need to expiriment with your particular toaster to find out which settings works best for you.
The goal is to heat the bud enough so that the moisture within the bud evaporates, but without vaporizing or bursting the THC-laden trichs by overcooking them (or burning the bud itself!). The low toaster settings usually will accomplish this.
My method is to take a piece of foil about 4"x4" or so. I take small buds no wider than a finger and no longer than your thumb or pinky and place them into the foil. I make essentially a dugout out of the foil for the weed to go into so it doesn't fall into the toaster (essential!) the foil on the sides and going up to the top of the bud and maybe a little over but not completely enclosing it (enclosing the foil will cause it to retain moisture). Also do not wrap tightly we don't want to burn the bud on the foil. Personally I use the new nonstick foil, but that's also not necessary.
Put the foil dugout containing the weed lengthwise onto the top of one of the toaster slots and let it sink down about 3/4-1" into the toaster. Use the wide foil on the top/side to spread over the top outside of the toaster to keep the foil/weed from falling down into the slot.
Run the toaster. Allow it to set a couple of minutes until it starts to cool down (a lot of RESIDUAL heat is used to evaporate the moisture... we want to heat it up as much as possible without burning or vaporizing trichs, then let the residual heat absorbed by the toaster and foil and radiated by the toaster coils slowly bake the weed in between operating the toaster. Optimally I run the toaster about every 4 or 5 minutes. Repeat until the bud is dry to your likings. I usually flip the bud in the dugout every 2 or 3 gos to make sure it doesn't burn and dry the bud evenly. Within a half an hour you will have decently burnable bud. The smaller the buds the quicker the drying.
To get the best results, let it sit longer between operation (like closer to 10 minutes) to allow the heat to full dissipate and go for about an hour instead of 30 minutes. The bud will be much more thoroughly dried (the quicker method can leave the insides a bit moist still on thicker buds, but no moisture than i've bought many bags of KB ) with the longer method.
I find using this method I usually get about 80-90% of the potency of properly dried (but not cured) bud -- with a slower dry you can keep almost all the potency. The key is not overheating.
As far as the taste goes, if you grow with chems I don't know what your buds will taste like as I don't. I grow 100% organic and my quick dried buds are perfectly tolerable and as tastey as most commercial sensemilla and definitely better tasting than schwag! If you are wanting to do a lot of quick drying, I recommend going organic as I wouldn't want to taste unflushed chem buds!
My buds quick dried look like my regular dried buds... they aren't all messed up from some freaky quick dry and they can be dried on short notice!
One final note, much like regular dried buds they do retain some moisture inside unless you take the longer time to completely dry them out with the quick dry (which IS possible -- just takes longer), so if you do not smoke them immediately, they may regain some of the moisture lost just as fresh dried buds put in a mason jar will regain some moisture when you first put them in a mason jar.
A word of caution AND advice -- as many will tell you, drying is part of the process of activating the THC in the trichomes. Smoking wet weed is a WASTE as it doesn't burn well and you barely get high off of it (unless you don't have a tolerance) -- be sure to give it at least 20-30 minutes and make sure the outside is dry to the touch and inside is no moister than a bag of kb you've gotten that's on the 'moist' side -- and for advice, taking the longer time to completely dry the bud will result in more potent buds than only a partial drying.
Hey everybody! Well as my first indoor grow comes to a halt, I'd like to express my views and personal experience with different methods of quick drying out some buds straight off the plant. I’ve tried tons of different methods as none of the first ones I tried ever satisfied me. Now before I start I must state that air-drying your buds is THE best way to dry and curing is certainly advised. Additionally the ideal way to smoke buds right off the plant would be a vaporizer. But for those who might not like vaporizers or don’t have the money to buy/make one, and who are running short on the stash but have a plethora in the closet so close to being done. To all of you I offer my experiences and maybe a few methods you haven’t tried before. Ill start simple and go through and share my views.
The Oven
The only thing I can say to this is 'hey it does work' you can smoke pot dried in the oven. Taste and potency all goes to crap, but smoke will go out of your mouth as you exhale. If that’s all you crave, then this is the simplest way to dry your herbs out, just keep an eye on it. I find oven-dried weed to be lacking in everything, including the high.
Microwave
When used on lower power settings (40-50%
can do an adequate job. Mind you it still tastes like crap and certainly not as potent as air-dried, but in a pinch it will work. Keep an eye on it and go for short 5- 10 second bursts. Dankmaster's Microwave Steam Method
A vast improvement in quick dry technology. It does a satisfactory job fairly quickly. Trichomes don’t burst and flavor while not great isn’t awful anymore -- which is all I can say for any of the previously mentioned methods. What the method does is use steam to dry out the weed.
Necessary items
*Tupperware container with lid.
*Buds fresh off the plant (cut into small pieces, don’t shred them – cut into nice little chunks).
*3-paper towels.
*Microwave with power setting options.
*Water.
First, take 1/4 piece of a paper towel and lay it on the bottom of the Tupperware container. Then put your cut up weed on the paper towel. Next, take two paper towels, fold them several times and get them wet. Wring out most of the water. You want the paper towels wet but not dripping. Now, you lay the paper towels over the top of the Tupperware making sure that you completely and evenly cover the top. Then take the lid and squeeze it almost all the way on. When I say almost I mean to get all sides and corners on tight except for one corner to allow the steam to exit. Now your ready to put your steam dryer in the microwave.
Set the microwave power to 40 or 50 %. I recommend 40% -- I tried it on full power the first few times and it didn’t work nearly as well. Now set it for a minute and let it go. Take it out and let the steam evaporate out and let sit for 15-20 seconds. If the bottom paper towel (the one that the buds are on) is wet change it. If the two paper towels you were using are dry make sure to re-wet and wring out and put back over top and put lid on in same way.
Now microwave at 40-50% for another minute and repeat process for typically 3-5 minutes. This is the best method if you need the herb in less than 20 minutes.
Ballast Drying Method
Cut up fresh buds and place them in an envelope evenly spread out. Close the envelope and place it on top of your ballast. Obviously you need a remote ballast to do this. Built in ballasts typically get too hot. I've tried this a few times. I typically left it on the ballast while the light was on for 2 to 3 hours. As I remember I always kept over or under drying the buds. On retrospect I would say go for a little bit too dry because you can put it in an airtight container and allow the moisture to be sucked out of the stem. Taste was good for a quick dry, and potency seemed acceptable.
My Toaster Oven method
Turn your toaster oven onto bake on the lowest setting it has. Take your herb and cut it up small similar to the steam method. Then take the tray you would use to say, toast peanuts and put the cut up herb onto the tray. Next place the tray ON TOP of the toaster oven NOT inside it! Turn the pieces of herb over every 5 minutes or so. This typically takes a good 20-30 minutes but is well worth the wait. When dried right the taste still isn’t great, but its the best of the already mentioned methods. The high is great, the trichomes remain intact and the smoke is semi-smooth. I like it and it works pretty well.
The Quick Dry Toaster Technique
Contributed by:Apollo11Genius
I have tried most of the quick dry methods in the current quick dry FAQ. The quicker ones usually didn't produce good quick dried bud (oven, microwave, etc) and the longer ones did produce quicker dried buds but not QUICK dried buds When I say quick, I mean I need my buds ready in at least less than half an hour!!!
I found the most convenient, quick, and least destructive way to quick dry weed for me is with a piece of equipment that almost all of us have -- a plain ol' TOASTER!
What I do is set my toaster on a low setting (1-3). Mine also has a 'defrost' setting which is supposed to make it cook for a longer time, although that's not necessary for this method. You'll need to expiriment with your particular toaster to find out which settings works best for you.
The goal is to heat the bud enough so that the moisture within the bud evaporates, but without vaporizing or bursting the THC-laden trichs by overcooking them (or burning the bud itself!). The low toaster settings usually will accomplish this.
My method is to take a piece of foil about 4"x4" or so. I take small buds no wider than a finger and no longer than your thumb or pinky and place them into the foil. I make essentially a dugout out of the foil for the weed to go into so it doesn't fall into the toaster (essential!) the foil on the sides and going up to the top of the bud and maybe a little over but not completely enclosing it (enclosing the foil will cause it to retain moisture). Also do not wrap tightly we don't want to burn the bud on the foil. Personally I use the new nonstick foil, but that's also not necessary.
Put the foil dugout containing the weed lengthwise onto the top of one of the toaster slots and let it sink down about 3/4-1" into the toaster. Use the wide foil on the top/side to spread over the top outside of the toaster to keep the foil/weed from falling down into the slot.
Run the toaster. Allow it to set a couple of minutes until it starts to cool down (a lot of RESIDUAL heat is used to evaporate the moisture... we want to heat it up as much as possible without burning or vaporizing trichs, then let the residual heat absorbed by the toaster and foil and radiated by the toaster coils slowly bake the weed in between operating the toaster. Optimally I run the toaster about every 4 or 5 minutes. Repeat until the bud is dry to your likings. I usually flip the bud in the dugout every 2 or 3 gos to make sure it doesn't burn and dry the bud evenly. Within a half an hour you will have decently burnable bud. The smaller the buds the quicker the drying.
To get the best results, let it sit longer between operation (like closer to 10 minutes) to allow the heat to full dissipate and go for about an hour instead of 30 minutes. The bud will be much more thoroughly dried (the quicker method can leave the insides a bit moist still on thicker buds, but no moisture than i've bought many bags of KB ) with the longer method.
I find using this method I usually get about 80-90% of the potency of properly dried (but not cured) bud -- with a slower dry you can keep almost all the potency. The key is not overheating.
As far as the taste goes, if you grow with chems I don't know what your buds will taste like as I don't. I grow 100% organic and my quick dried buds are perfectly tolerable and as tastey as most commercial sensemilla and definitely better tasting than schwag! If you are wanting to do a lot of quick drying, I recommend going organic as I wouldn't want to taste unflushed chem buds!
My buds quick dried look like my regular dried buds... they aren't all messed up from some freaky quick dry and they can be dried on short notice!
One final note, much like regular dried buds they do retain some moisture inside unless you take the longer time to completely dry them out with the quick dry (which IS possible -- just takes longer), so if you do not smoke them immediately, they may regain some of the moisture lost just as fresh dried buds put in a mason jar will regain some moisture when you first put them in a mason jar.
A word of caution AND advice -- as many will tell you, drying is part of the process of activating the THC in the trichomes. Smoking wet weed is a WASTE as it doesn't burn well and you barely get high off of it (unless you don't have a tolerance) -- be sure to give it at least 20-30 minutes and make sure the outside is dry to the touch and inside is no moister than a bag of kb you've gotten that's on the 'moist' side -- and for advice, taking the longer time to completely dry the bud will result in more potent buds than only a partial drying.
reeffermadness
Well-Known Member
awesome post! am going to have to experiment this next time around!
hondaturbo
Active Member
has anyone tried putting their buds in a room with a dehumidifier(Sp?)
soloudithertz
Active Member
i remember once i sat a bud on top of my ballast for about an hour and it was ready to smoke
stickyhits
Well-Known Member
mogie what kind of camera do you have that was a good close up pic
guitarman7311
Well-Known Member
Curing shmuring, just leave ur plant in a dark closet for a month it will smoke and taste great. If it dries too much then pop it in sum jars but for the most part my weed always taste and smokes killer, why should I be opening a friggin jar every day lmao !!! Oops !!.
boggermania
Active Member
could a food dehydrator work? i was wondering because i have a nice dehydrator for makin jerky