So far...So good...So what? HUMIDIPAK CURE.

[Rancho Cucamonga]

Jarred three of my four plants on the 1st of March(fourth plant, cotton candy still flowering, damn sativas).

Decided to go the humidity pack route for cure for the first time. Can't really find much info on humidipak cures so I just said f-it and will give it a try. I have read some threads mostly on other forums with people saying you should only use humidipaks after cure for long-term storage, and some saying you need to burp others say no burping, some say you need the 75%, another the 65% and another the 62% packets, and some say don't use them at all. Seems like if you want something done you have to do it yourself.

Now I'm not a gardening master nor do I put out large quantities at harvest but I have been growing this plant for about 6-7 years mostly on and off but about 2 years straight now with my 1 month perpetual setup finished just beginning the harvest before this one. I care about quality, from aroma to potency to taste. About the only avenue in the entire grow process I wish to experiment with, other than added CO2 in the near future mainly in a attempt to gain yield, is the curing process. I've done all the tricks in veg(different light schedules, pruning, lst) all the tricks in flower(more pruning, ice water flush, flush, no flush, dropping temps last few weeks, low rh, 24-72 hours of darkness at harvest, 24-48 hours darkness at 12/12 switch, mh mixed in with hps, ect, ect.) and I've tried all the tricks in dry(hanging entire plant, hanging by each branch, brown bag, high temp low humidity, low temp high humidity, short dry, long dry, ect). Most everything out of the ordinary has been pure bullshit in my experience.

Anyway. For curing I've always done it the same. Glass mason jars mostly full in dark cool place, burped about once a day for 15 minutes for a week then less often over time. I have smoked 3 day cured weed and 1 year old cured weed. More time in cure and storage is definitely a positive all around, no doubts there. So here I go with Humidipak cure.

THC Bomb, White Queen, NL x BB, and Cotton Candy whenever she decides to finish.

Did fan leaf removal one day before cut. Harvested, trimmed well once don't plan to trim again. Hang dried three strains for 8 days at 68 degrees/55-65% RH in custom dry room with darkness and proper ventilation/air circulation.

Here are a few pics of it jarred up. Forgive me for the jar labeling, I'm usually much more anal and have precut circle labels I tape to lids but I was in a hurry. I'm good at eying the dry yield and I guess the three plants(not counting the 350+ grams of popcorn and trim I got) at about 1 lb 1 oz. I will take close-up pics of buds and weight before I store.
First pic shows hygrometer/humidity gauge in 1/2 full jar at 62% RH after 85 hours in unburped jars. Each 32 oz. widemouth mason jar has only two small 62% humidipaks in them, one at very bottom one in middle. I believe they advertise the small packs for 4 grams of herb. I think this is BS so I only threw in two small packets for up to 30+ grams in each jar. So far it's all good. Just for shits and giggles I burped my jars after I took pics. I left them open for about 20 minutes. It's now been 1 hour maybe and another random jar I took about half the weed out to fit in gauge(I just ordered two small hygrometers) and it is reading, 62%.

So far these packs are working well. Upon opening jars for first time in almost 4 days the aroma is amazing. Definitely a stronger smell then usual. I have done THC Bomb before and it has this specific sweet smell to it, and it's much more intensified now using the paks and not burping for so long. No signs of mold, condensation, fogginess or any other typical signs of there being too much moisture inside a sealed glass jar. Buds are of course sticking together as they are caked with trichs and fit it somewhat tight. The bigbud nl smells great but hard to describe and the white queen smells like strong mint. Very strong aroma from each and every jar.

I will continue to monitor RH levels and condition of bud. If the peeps waiting on this bud absolutely need it ASAP I will at least keep one jar of each strain so I can do a long-term test. Time will tell.



EDIT-I'm using the medium packs, not small.

 

[Fruitbat]

We use those in our cigar humidifiers.

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

Ya I've even seen some people use actual humidors to store weed as well. We'll see what the humidipaks do first.

 

[RL420]

awesome man

 

[Mcwhippin420]

hell ya bro....im with ya on the if someone gonna get done you gotta try it yourself...lol asking around here you might get 10 different answers in 10 posts some helpful some not...lol good luck bro

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

Well it is now day 10 of cure using humidipak's. Still have not received mini-hygrometers, but the one shown is accurate it's just a tight fit.
New pic is 1 OZ of white queen, hygrometer has been in this jar for almost 6 days. As you can see two medium sized paks meant for only 16 grams of herb is holding RH at 61% currently for 28 grams. I have seen meter go to 63%, it's mostly sat at 62% and now I'm seeing a steady 61% for the last 24-36 hours. I have only burped jars twice, once at day 4 in jars for only 20 minutes and the second time was just two days ago to do the first weigh reading, so buds were only out of jars long enough to throw on the scale and record.

SMELL IS AMAZING, and only at day 10. No signs of mold or issues. Buds are super sticky.

Will take pics of close-ups(with crappy camera with macro, won't have good camera til spring) and pics of weight.

And believe me or not, my prediction of 1 lb 1 oz I made in original post is dead on. First weigh was 1 lb 38 grams. From experience weight loss in second part of cure is nil, maybe 1 gram per oz. Being I move and use my bud within a month my average cure times are 3 weeks. I do store other bud for later use and have a few strains as old as 9 months currently, but even though the truth is that a longer cure the better aroma and taste, 3-4 weeks is more than long enough for a good cure.

Have to pack most of this stuff up in a few days, but will have a few remaining jars to fully test humidipak's for the longrun. I think I will burp once more for 1 minute or so then no more until packing up.

Cotton candy still not finished, she is looking to be at least a half pound. Have to move her to a corner to make room for Forbidden Fruit clones that need to move into flower now as I have to transplant mid-veg plants into final pots today and my veg 2 room can only handle 6 5-7 gallon sized pots. Oh the hardships.

Forgive the crappy pic, I will do better next ones.

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

OK people. Patients wanted their smoke NOW! So just a bit ago I packed up over a pound for them in oz mylar bags, each containing about an oz plus a large quarter(36 grams).

I was way off of dry weight, I have a QP more then my predicted 1 pound 1 oz. I actually forgot about 4 jars that were stored in a different place after my first burp, so those jars remained air-tight for quite a long-time. No mold at all. These humidipaks really fricking work. So dry weight of buds was 588 grams, add in the 350 grams of popcorn bud and frost trim and we get a grand total of 938 grams off three plants under 1200 watts of HPS. Still have one plant to go from this month's harvest and she looks to be at least a half pound.

I do have about a 1/2 oz of each strain left and will monitor RH with humidpaks long-term. I will also do humidipak test cures on my next girl's buds who just finally showed a spec of amber and will be cut this week, and will test future grows as well.

Still working with a single large hygrometer but have a few minis on the way. Today the one jar I switched the hygrometer to last night reads 62%, this is with only one medium(8 grams of herb recommended) humidipak for about 11 grams of smoke.

Will keep this thread going.

 

[ilikecheetoes]

i dont see a medium pack on their site. small and large. small says for 8gs. I get about 40g in a jar. I think im going to try the large which is for 60g.

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

i dont see a medium pack on their site. small and large. small says for 8gs. I get about 40g in a jar. I think im going to try the large which is for 60g.

I buy my humidpaks locally but here is a site that seems to have everything I can grab and shows all three sizes. Small(4 grams) Medium(8 grams) and Large(60 grams).

http://www.420packaging.com/Humidipaks_c_127.html

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

i dont see a medium pack on their site. small and large. small says for 8gs. I get about 40g in a jar. I think im going to try the large which is for 60g.

I'd just try the mediums, throw in two for 40grams. I did two mediums for 36-37 gram jars and it kept 62%. When I packed smoke into sealable bag I just threw one in and returned one from each jar to my humidipak storage jars. None of the paks had any signs of hardness, a pak that is fully hard(that sounds dirty) indicates the pak is done being effective.

 

[ta2drvn]

yup, when they start feeling like they are getting a sandy silicone feel inside they are gonna need to be replaced soon. most people only think about them as putting humidity in dry bud, but they do a very good job of pulling humidity out of damp buds as well. it takes the humidity down to acceptable levels fast without going too dry. i found that using for too long, buds start to get a stale kind of texture and smell, especially if you let the pack dry out too much before replacing them, if the buds get a good cure let them get all humidity out for long term storage. but short term like a few months it works good.

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

I've been cleared out!

These three jars are all I have left as patients wanted their meds now rather then later, and I'm not one to turn down cash.

Each jar is only like a quarter, but as you can see one medium pack(8 grams) is still keeping 7-10 grams of bud right at 62%. Once I catch up with people in need I will begin a real long-term cure with the humidipaks, meaning a full oz using two medium paks for at least 2-3 months. My cotton candy is drying and my next harvest is all spoken for and I will only be able to cure for about 7-10 days before patient's get it. But I will grab ay least a half oz to experiment with on the cotton or the next harvest due in 2 weeks or so and when I can I will save an oz or more for a real test. Either way this thread will continue on for years with me. But so far these paks have done their job and more for a good 20 days and none of them show signs of hardening which is a sign of them no longer being effective, so I assume they could go 2-3 times longer no problem.

Will post again when I have more to cure!

 

[ta2drvn]

They have a good shelf life as long as you dont leave them out of a sealed container very long, I used them in my old store for six months sometimes depending on how often the jars were opened.

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

They have a good shelf life as long as you dont leave them out of a sealed container very long, I used them in my old store for six months sometimes depending on how often the jars were opened.

Yes, I store the humidipaks in their own mason jars.

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

Well here is another good example of how this humidipak cure thread can go bad. This bud only cured 36 hours and again the patients wanted it now. But at least the mylar bags I pack it in for them are damn near as good of a curing place as the jars I use.
Not much point to post this and the pics but here they are anyway. If I can catch up with demand here next harvest in a week or so I will begin the long-term humidipak cure test. The oz or so I had been testing was grabbed up to. I just can't grow enough yet to keep up with people's needs.

This was a cotton candy plant, went almost 70 days flower from 12/12. About a half pound and a oz.

 

[EasyPound]

RC, thanks for doing this write up and helping me make my decision about these - very much appreciated!

 

[Lemon Sour]

Well it is now day 10 of cure using humidipak's. Still have not received mini-hygrometers, but the one shown is accurate it's just a tight fit.
New pic is 1 OZ of white queen, hygrometer has been in this jar for almost 6 days. As you can see two medium sized paks meant for only 16 grams of herb is holding RH at 61% currently for 28 grams. I have seen meter go to 63%, it's mostly sat at 62% and now I'm seeing a steady 61% for the last 24-36 hours. I have only burped jars twice, once at day 4 in jars for only 20 minutes and the second time was just two days ago to do the first weigh reading, so buds were only out of jars long enough to throw on the scale and record.

SMELL IS AMAZING, and only at day 10. No signs of mold or issues. Buds are super sticky.

Will take pics of close-ups(with crappy camera with macro, won't have good camera til spring) and pics of weight.

And believe me or not, my prediction of 1 lb 1 oz I made in original post is dead on. First weigh was 1 lb 38 grams. From experience weight loss in second part of cure is nil, maybe 1 gram per oz. Being I move and use my bud within a month my average cure times are 3 weeks. I do store other bud for later use and have a few strains as old as 9 months currently, but even though the truth is that a longer cure the better aroma and taste, 3-4 weeks is more than long enough for a good cure.

Have to pack most of this stuff up in a few days, but will have a few remaining jars to fully test humidipak's for the longrun. I think I will burp once more for 1 minute or so then no more until packing up.

Cotton candy still not finished, she is looking to be at least a half pound. Have to move her to a corner to make room for Forbidden Fruit clones that need to move into flower now as I have to transplant mid-veg plants into final pots today and my veg 2 room can only handle 6 5-7 gallon sized pots. Oh the hardships.

Forgive the crappy pic, I will do better next ones.

View attachment 2563003

What kind of bud is that in the jar here? I'm just getting a feel of what the strains look dry.

 

[Lemon Sour]

OK people. Patients wanted their smoke NOW! So just a bit ago I packed up over a pound for them in oz mylar bags, each containing about an oz plus a large quarter(36 grams).

I was way off of dry weight, I have a QP more then my predicted 1 pound 1 oz. I actually forgot about 4 jars that were stored in a different place after my first burp, so those jars remained air-tight for quite a long-time. No mold at all. These humidipaks really fricking work. So dry weight of buds was 588 grams, add in the 350 grams of popcorn bud and frost trim and we get a grand total of 938 grams off three plants under 1200 watts of HPS. Still have one plant to go from this month's harvest and she looks to be at least a half pound.

I do have about a 1/2 oz of each strain left and will monitor RH with humidpaks long-term. I will also do humidipak test cures on my next girl's buds who just finally showed a spec of amber and will be cut this week, and will test future grows as well.

Still working with a single large hygrometer but have a few minis on the way. Today the one jar I switched the hygrometer to last night reads 62%, this is with only one medium(8 grams of herb recommended) humidipak for about 11 grams of smoke.

Will keep this thread going.

View attachment 2565877View attachment 2565878View attachment 2565879View attachment 2565880

I was also wondering what strain is in the jar in the last photo in this post.

AND, if you aren't super busy, could you show me a photo of some cured, or dried THC Bomb? I was thinking of giving this strain a try. TY

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

The bud in the[h=2]"Looking Good. Steady 61-63% RH" thread is white queen, fairly rare genetic in the states.[/h]

 

[Rancho Cucamonga]

The last photo not counting the one I just put up is Cotton Candy by delicious seeds. If I would of fed her better and got the light closer earlier I would of got 12 ozs instead of 9. Even though I didn't think it looked that great and the claimed "overwhelming cotton candy smell" was only a hint of a candy smell(of course I was only able to cure for 36 hours being I can't keep up with demand) the people that got this strain loved it.

Sorry, no dried bud left at all. I will be starting over next harvest and do a true humidpak test with a couple different strains of about a half oz or oz each.