A perfect cure every time

grow tiger said:

Yea that's OK, if it read that high on your rh then just leave the buds out for 12-24 hours n put them back in n repeat till u get ur rh down, once 65%-68% rh in the jar then just burp them a couple times a day , just leave ur lid off for an hour or so ,move ur buds around in the jar n reseal it , as time goes on ,do it less n less till u get to the "cure zone" which u want it at 62 rh ..... U want to rather have did what u did then to wait to long , cuz once the buds dry,under 55rh ,there's no cure or coming back .....

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UST remember ,too much humidity ,you could run into mold , it seams so much difficult than it is , once u do it ull see that and then ull have ur own opinions and different ways ull find that u personally like ta do, I'll tell you what people told me , read, learn ,and have fun, don't close ur mind to other methods once u find yours .... I'd be on here reading for hours everyday n I just successfully free,harvest,and cured some of the best smoke around ..... Ended up not donateing nothing, just enjoyed the work I put in and it was the best feeling in the world

So I keep having the same consistent cure every time but the problem is it's not great -

it will smell awesome in the jar but not like anything I've had in 20 yrs of smoking -
it gets like a spicy/earthy/coffe smell - not grassy at all and not like any bud i can remember smelling (not skunky) and not musty - but when you take a single nug out of the jar it does smell a little musty and that's the only smell you get - when you break a bud tho it is piney/skunky excellent smelling -

I only have a couple grows I've ever done so not much practice drying and curing - what am I doing wrong?

I'm cutting the last bits of critical kush that were grown in soil with go nutes - rh is not stable here like 30-90% but most of the time I have been drying has been 40-60% except a random 90% half a day here and there - so I have been drying until outside is crispy/dry and then jarring with hygrometer in a 55-60% room - if rh in jar would go up to 67 or 68 I would take back out and bag or rack until the full jar will stabilize at 63-65 and then air for just a few min a day and get the same so so result -

hope I have given enough info for someone to spot what I'm missing - I'm still having problems that's for sure - also anyone have a specific rh that is best to use after initial harvest and trim while it's on racks or hanging or whatever (racks for me)

thx so much to whoever can help - so frustrated cause the grow went so well

I have a jar curing I thought had mold because of the smell.

I just broke down a nug from it to smoke and it smells like straight dab. It's pretty strong smelling cause I normally can't smell a thing.

This time I increased my drying time to 10 days. Made it much easier to trim and gave it less of a grass smell than previous harvest.

SimonD said:

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

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Hey Simon, I like this process you've listed here and I plan on using it on my next harvest. Here's my problem, any input is appreciated. I'm looking at having to cure 2lbs+ at one time. Now in the past I've used mason jars, however it was for a much smaller quantity. I'm thinking about purchasing caliber 3 hygrometer(s) to use as you said, however one for every mason jar isn't an option at 45$ a piece. I've read that using plastic containers such as Tupperware will not give you the same result as glass jars as they don't possess the same impermeable properties like glass jars. My question to you and anyone else with an idea is, how would you deal with this situation? Would you buy a hygrometer for each jar? Can I have a hygrometer in one jar and assume the humidity level of the jars without hygrometers would be relatively the same with good results? Obviously a bigger container is the answer, however finding a jar large enough seems to be a problem... What is everyone else doing with large take down quantities. I'm pretty new to this game and I appreciate any input from the more experienced growers. I'd like to avoid ruining my product with a dumb mistake. Thanks again in advance.

brewster81 said:

Hey Simon, I like this process you've listed here and I plan on using it on my next harvest. Here's my problem, any input is appreciated. I'm looking at having to cure 2lbs+ at one time. Now in the past I've used mason jars, however it was for a much smaller quantity. I'm thinking about purchasing caliber 3 hygrometer(s) to use as you said, however one for every mason jar isn't an option at 45$ a piece. I've read that using plastic containers such as Tupperware will not give you the same result as glass jars as they don't possess the same impermeable properties like glass jars. My question to you and anyone else with an idea is, how would you deal with this situation? Would you buy a hygrometer for each jar? Can I have a hygrometer in one jar and assume the humidity level of the jars without hygrometers would be relatively the same with good results? Obviously a bigger container is the answer, however finding a jar large enough seems to be a problem... What is everyone else doing with large take down quantities. I'm pretty new to this game and I appreciate any input from the more experienced growers. I'd like to avoid ruining my product with a dumb mistake. Thanks again in advance.

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I bought a 3 dollar humidity reader from a pet store, they use em for reptiles to know the humidity, fits right in the jar n is I think more accurate then a digital one, over time I think the digital ones loose there calibration... I had the same problem n this is how I solved it and very cheap but accurate

They sell larger glass jars. Also, the newer Caliber IV is $25 each free shipping if you purchase more than one on amazon. I don't know what the differences are between the iii/iv.
edit: I had 4 jars this season, 3 meters, honestly they were packed so similarly, I could have estimated the other 3 with one good meter. But don't be cheap. This part is so damn important.

grow tiger said:

I bought a 3 dollar humidity reader from a pet store, they use em for reptiles to know the humidity, fits right in the jar n is I think more accurate then a digital one, over time I think the digital ones loose there calibration... I had the same problem n this is how I solved it and very cheap but accurate

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Good idea, I'll have to check the local pet stores for that kind of hygrometer.

WeekendSupervisor said:

They sell larger glass jars. Also, the newer Caliber IV is $25 each free shipping if you purchase more than one on amazon. I don't know what the differences are between the iii/iv.
edit: I had 4 jars this season, 3 meters, honestly they were packed so similarly, I could have estimated the other 3 with one good meter. But don't be cheap. This part is so damn important.

Click to expand...

Yeah I seen the calibre iv on Amazon but unfortunately our prices up here in the northern half of the Americas are quite a bit higher on Amazon. Amazon.com is so much better than Amazon.ca ... As far as I know we're stuck ordering from Amazon.ca north of the border. But you're definitely right, a guy can't be cheaping out on this process..

Here is a nice cheapy http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00026053Y/ref=gno_cart_title_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I have noticed that the bud gets better with time. The color does brown forthemost part but the taste is better? Ive had some but in jars for over 2years and they taste better! The high is the same.
color is brownish but the taste is better. Could it b? Am i doing something wrong? Cant i have the best of 3 worlds?

My suggestion would be to get your buds into the "cure zone" using the techniques here in larger buckets or whatever and then once they are curing and safe to the point of not being moldy.... I would then put the buds into your jars for the final portion of your curing...Or find some better acrylic containers at a chef supply.... But I would personally get the nugs into the safe/cure zone and then jar them for the final portion if you really wanna stick with glass.. Good luck..

I did not have time to read this entire thread but it seems that the same "issues" and "problems" keep coming up but I think they're more like misunderstandings...

If your house where you will be curing your buds is permanently above 70% RH..... there is no possible way to bring your buds down to 55-60%... because honestly, for the Moe-Ron that had a drying room and not a curing room.... you gotta be dumber than a rock... keep on doing things the way you are, better growers will supply the ones you cant... but for the most part, curing is more important than drying however they essentially require the same conditions so I have no possible clue why these cant be done in the same room but hey.... you know what youre doing... I definitely dont...

But first off...you need to dedicate a space like a bedroom or wherever you would like to store and cure your buds safely or roll around in them naked or whatever is you do with your buds... and purchase and plug in a device called a "DE-humidifier"... They're these wild and crazy devices that will bring DOWN the humidity to a desired level in a pretty large area if need be... you can even buy more than one and they'll do more sq. footage... insane right?.... But lets say turn it on and bring down the RH to anywhere below 50% for shits and giggles... Store your jars/containers wherever ... And when you think its the appropriate time to bring the RH levels down to 45-50% in the jar... so they have some breathing room depending on where you are in the curing process obviously, you pop the top in the room where the RH is appropriate and figure it out.. But the area where you open the jars/containers needs to be less than whats inside the jars... if you cant make that connection, I really have no idea how you've manged to get old enough to read without walking in front of a train.... thats been blowing its horn for a really long time.... But seriously? if the room has a higher RH than your jars, How could opening them in said room; ever lower the RH in the jars and cure your buds? They are going to be moldy all of the time...

For those that dont understand why their buds arent so primo once they get into the "cure zone"... its because even though its in the "cure zone" based on the hygro..... it still needs to cure until the chlorophyll breaks down and that hay/ammonia smell is gone when you open the jars... Once you get into the "cure zone"... the longer you go between opening the container the better but a week at a time between opening it once in the curing zone would be good probably, the same methods that you used prior to having a hygro still apply but now you know its safe to leave the jar/container closed for a week at a time... I would suggest 2-3 weeks minimum (overall).. but then again... I have not completed my first go round with this method so I'll post back when I'm satisfied... But the strain and a host of other factors are going to dictate how long you will need to cure in your situation...

This process does not shorten the curing process, it makes it fool proof and more accurate, you are getting your buds into a curing stage more accurately and it takes the guess work out of knowing if they're gonna get moldy or not.... However, It still requires the time for curing... If your buds arent as aromatic or whatever you think theyre missing.... chances are you need more time... I decided to make a top that fit into my mason jar lids and I found that the jar lids leak like a bitch if you dont replace them once in a while and were the cause of me having shitty tasting herb for the past couple grows... The jars kept enough moisture in to cure them enough that they wouldnt turn to dust basically but i decided to try a new option and this one is pretty sound if you ask me...

I think most people that miss the point of this thread think that once you get the buds into the "cure zone" based on the hygro, that means the buds are cured... it just means they're in the process OF curing... your nose/sense of judgement is what says ok "its cured XX amount of days now... they dont smell like hay anymore" or whatever the fuck it is you feel like saying at that moment.....


Also for the people that arent 100% up to speed on drying...

I understand that a lot of you are just starting out and not everyone has the coin to setup a special room (I definitely dont thats for damn sure) but you have to be able to dedicate an area that you can get the temp and humidity pretty close to optimal for drying... 70 degrees and 50 to 55% humidity is where its at... I told a friend this and he happened to be going on vacation when he was just getting done with his first grow... I told him it takes about 5-7 days usually and the room needs to be at 70 degrees and 50% humidity... He turned the heat on 70, and put a commercial dehumidifier on 50% wherever he was doing this..... and went on vacation.... needless to say he came back to nothing but crunchy bud that turned to dust....

But the moral of that story is.... you may need to incorporate a HUMIDIFIER as well to balance out the situation... or a couple of 5 gallon buckets with an airstone and some water... as long as the dehumidifier is running it will maintain the appropriate levels with the buckets... I used a 4x4 tent with a drying rack and 1 water bucket/airstone and a dehuey was perfect... But you need to keep the temps at or below 70... the more above 70 you go, you need to increase the humidity... I dont wanna get into "my calculations" of what I think is safe for drying when dealing with higher temps but I would suggest keeping RH at or below 60% but my thoughts are +5% RH for every 2 degrees above 70... I dont like living that way but in the summer I have to deal with heat issues myself.. However, also is true for the opposite... if the temp is lower you can cheat with lower humidity (slightly... very slightly) as well and it will keep drying times on sch... . All boils down to experience... but again.. 70 degrees and 50% RH is on the money for drying... this will usually take anywhere between 3 and 7 days... I tend to lean towards slower is better but 90% of my plants dry in 5 days or less but bud density etc... will all be factors as well as how much stem you leave..

I see postings of what people are doing as far as keeping the plants in the dark for 3 days and watering with pixy dust 2 weeks before harvest....waving a magic wand in front of the plant 3 times, spin around a couple times and say rubber baby bubby bumpers 5 times fast before you light a fart on fire and say "by the power of grayskull...... I have the power"....Come on people... Think green and get serious....

People... Grow your plants properly... if you use synthetics... "rinse" your dirt or whatever it is thats required... but let the plants dry out the best you can (outdoor growers cant always do this)... usually try to time it where the lights are just about to come on and the plant would need a watering... if you normally water your plants are the "right" time (cough cough morning... or simulated morning cough...) this will not be a problem... If you wanna let your plants sit in the dark for 24-48 hours... go for it... but when a plant is done.... its done... wait for the pistils to brown and retract.... once the pistils retract and the calyx's swell.... get your scope out and check the trichs... when you get your desired trich color, you harvest the next time the plant would require water first thing in the am...

But letting it sit for several days before cutting it down is kinda crazy... 24 hours I can see but anymore than that is a waste of time... There is too much variation in growing for any "home" growers without a PHD to tell me that letting a plant sit in the dark increases resin production... Letting the plant run out of water almost to the point of what would normally lead to death is more important than letting it sit in the dark feeling punished... lol.. to me anyhow.. It also makes drying a little quicker as the plant has already started drying but too long will make it tough to trim...

Trim it, hang it (in your 70/50% room) for however long it takes and follow the methods in this thread and as stated by the OG poster.... you will grow connie nugs erry-time.... I am trying it for the first time, and so shittily so happens to be my "last time" for a while and I can already tell this method is a winner and I wished I started using it sooner...

Also FYI... I used a 2 gallon bucket and lid ($5-6), as well as a $8 hygrometer/thermometer from home depot along with some light plastic epoxy that I sealed the square hygros into the lid... This worked out perfect for like a 4-6zipper plant.. These containers can be made with any hygrometer, into basically any sized container as long as your capable of installing the hygro into the lid and sealing it appropriately to it without removing any of your fingers... its pretty easy and a little thought will go a long way... Personally, when I get back into growing I will be going to a "chef" supply store and getting a better grade of plastic type containers (they have squares, round, octagon.... basically any fargin shape you want) with a better lid... Also some loctite "heavy duty" epoxy worked perfect for sealing it and its not anything that will every come off into my nuggage...

Thanks again to the original poster and the other contributors...

Whitney, thank you. For basically putting into layman's terms. Second grow in canna/hydro, 24 plants first real cure. Room is 72 and the RH is 57 with a small box fan. Half still on a drying rack, lower half of plants, others in 1/2 gallon ball jars. One jar in the zone, 12 jars are opened and at 69_ 70.rh. people it took me a solid week of back and forth, but a cold front came in, got the room temp right, and things are going smoothly. I think a lot of growers overlook the drying room temperature. I was able to have the time to work with them. Under dry is better IMO. Pain in the ass, back and forth, but the RH Will get there. Be patient. We did end up with 6#'s of cannabutter. But that's for another thread. BTW, 24 plants was a part-time job. Shitload of work and expensive to grow in canna.

The perfect way to ruin you crop. Wow.. To wet! Will turn brown in short time or mold out. What crack are you smoking. From the very first line you are wrong. Can't even make sense of that first sentence. Here it is:

"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"

For long storage if your bud is not real dry, and I mean real dry it will rot in one way or another in a few months.
Brown is not gold btw. It is garbage.
Any water left in your stored buds will ruin the buds in storage so to repeat this is in no way a good way..

SimonD said:

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

Click to expand...

thanks for this. this is exactly what I was looking for!

sheeit - hang it til it snaps and smoke dat shit.cureing can ruin bud if done incorrectly.snapitsmokeit..

I don't suppose anyone knows of a completely Stainless steel or glass hygrometer for sale ? Doesn't matter if it's analog or digital just as long as the outer casing materials are relatively inert. I'm trying to eliminate as much plastic from my life as possible and the same goes for my prized homegrown.
Thanks

That guy with no name said:

Hey guys - am pretty new to growing and curing - was just wondering could this be made more simple by just saying dry your bud until rh reads 60-65% when sealed in a jar and then leave it alone for as long as possible or until needed? I'm just not 100% on when and why to ever open the jar other than needing to dry more because it's still over 65% rh. Will I have problems leaving a jar sealed at 64/65% for an extended period or must it be under 60% for that? Thanks - hope someone can clear that up for me and sorry if this has been mentioned before

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gotta learn what cureing actually is .... I dnt wanna get into it to much cuz its all over the forums but the point is to dry slow as possible n when it feels dry on the outside u want to keep like 15 % moister inside the bud... You put it in a glass jar when u think there ready , seal it n leave it fover night... If ur RH reads anything in the 70s just leave all ur buds out of the jar over night .then do it again. Once u get it to like 65% u just open the jar and burp the buds ,putting new oxygen in the jar. Its like a light cycle, u open the jar n burp it for like an hour a day. The point is to SLOWLY DRY N CURE ur buds as slow as possible.... There's alot of science that goes into curing, u can simplify it but u should understand exactly what n y ur doing it to fully understand the cureing prosess

damn dude that's why bud tastes life hay or green n its harsh or smcrackles when u smoke, drah the most important part of growing is the dry and cure prossess , three months plus of growing is for nothing if its not cured right .... U need to google cureing n gas xfer. ... IV known people to cure there bud for a year and one hit n it was the highest IV ever been .... And it was smooth ,tasted amazing , burned evenly , get facts befor u put bad info on here n noobies trying to get answered r gonna think once thebe grown there done

its like saying ohhhh why would u let wine age, drink that shit now, the smoothness,taste and potenicy cureing does is amazing

lucytacos said:

The perfect way to ruin you crop. Wow.. To wet! Will turn brown in short time or mold out. What crack are you smoking. From the very first line you are wrong. Can't even make sense of that first sentence. Here it is:

"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"

For long storage if your bud is not real dry, and I mean real dry it will rot in one way or another in a few months.
Brown is not gold btw. It is garbage.
Any water left in your stored buds will ruin the buds in storage so to repeat this is in no way a good way..

Click to expand...

What crack are you smoking my friend?

"For long storage if your bud is not real dry, and I mean real dry it will rot in one way or another in a few months."

Whats "real dry" to you? Can you put a # on that? Any form of description besides "real dry"? If you realized we are all talking %'s of RH (humidity) and temps.... If you removed all the moisture from the buds we smoke, you would have a jar of dust.... Not a jar of buds... It needs to maintain some moisture, and the methods in this post have been proven time over by the users here...

So move on, or read on..... and learn some more before you make

statements like that on a 23 page sticky... Its bad enough theres so much conflicting (false) information out on the internet about growing... we dont need people like you fucking up the good information...

America Spearit said:

Whitney, thank you. For basically putting into layman's terms. Second grow in canna/hydro, 24 plants first real cure. Room is 72 and the RH is 57 with a small box fan. Half still on a drying rack, lower half of plants, others in 1/2 gallon ball jars. One jar in the zone, 12 jars are opened and at 69_ 70.rh. people it took me a solid week of back and forth, but a cold front came in, got the room temp right, and things are going smoothly. I think a lot of growers overlook the drying room temperature. I was able to have the time to work with them. Under dry is better IMO. Pain in the ass, back and forth, but the RH Will get there. Be patient. We did end up with 6#'s of cannabutter. But that's for another thread. BTW, 24 plants was a part-time job. Shitload of work and expensive to grow in canna.

Click to expand...

I do my best, sometimes I make things worse... All parts of the grow are necessary and important but the point of harvest, drying, and curing are kinda the most important if you've successfully made it there... Its where you can blow your whole crop in 24 hours or less if you arent on your game. I got sick a few weeks ago after harvesting a beautiful SAGE plant with a couple donkey dicks on her... I had it in the drying tent for 2 days the morning I woke up puking my brains out... I couldnt get out of bed if I wanted to, but I figured because it was only in for 2 days that being day 3... I'd be ok... I didnt close the drying tent all the way... the heat in the room was on and running exessively because it was literally below 0 out and when i got back in there to check on things the following day, the tent was running 30% RH and 73 degrees... needless to say I barely salvaged it... I threw it into the bucket and it ran up to about 50% RH after 4 days of being in the buckets so it was screwed... But it got me high as all hell, it just didnt taste so hot and was crunchy-ish...