AK48 harvest ruined. Waited too long to start curing.. buds were too dry.

Son of a bitch.

I think I'm losing my green thumb!!!

Two harvests completely ruined.. the first one that got ruined was my Nirvana Ice.. which I let dry to a crisp.. like a fucking moron!! ughh..

and now, to top that off!! I just fucked up my AK48 harvest as well. I can't seem to figure out when to start the curing process..

I know what I'm doing wrong, I'm letting the buds air dry too long.. before starting the curing process.. which your suppose to start the curing once the buds have dried and lost most of their moisture.. not all of it.. just most of it. I was letting the buds get too dry I guess.. before starting the curing process.

But see, the problem is.. is the internet is LOADED with information about cannabis. How to grow it; harvest; dry; and cure it... and the problem with that is.. is you get conflicting information. You read one article on how to dry and cure... and then I'll read another one.. that tells you something completely different. It's starting to get to me.. and I'm a patient person.

So, if anyone would be so kind to share their knowledge.. and let me know exactly when I should start the curing.. that would be fucking great. Because I can't seem to get it right.. and without a cure.. cannabis is going still have the "hay" smell to it.. which is chlorophyll trapped in the bud.. and gives the bud a yucky smell and a very harsh taste.. which isn't what I want! ugghh.. just frustrating that I can't seem to get the curing process down..

so again.. if anyone could enlighten me on when I should start the curing process.. that would be fucking wonderful!! I'm about to start up another AK48 plant.. in hopes that this one will go better than the last two grows. I'm getting tired of wasting 8 to 9 weeks of my life.. and having nothing to show for it. Almost puts me to tears.. seriously.. because I take so good care of my plants while they're growing.. and to not have anything to show for it.. after 8 or 9 weeks.. is very very depressing.

So again, please.. could someone help me with this?

thanks in advance to anyone that helps.

peace.

I don't see how letting them dry too long ruined your harvest...Take a fresh leaf and throw it in the jar with the curing buds. It will rehydrate them and you can continue curing. The best time to start the cure (for me at least) is the first day the buds seem really dry on the outside, which is about 5-7 days of drying. Put them in the jars, they should be moist again the next day, if not you waited too long. But like I said you can use a leaf or something to rehydrate it.

try lemon peel

Banditt said:

I don't see how letting them dry too long ruined your harvest...Take a fresh leaf and throw it in the jar with the curing buds. It will rehydrate them and you can continue curing. The best time to start the cure (for me at least) is the first day the buds seem really dry on the outside, which is about 5-7 days of drying. Put them in the jars, they should be moist again the next day, if not you waited too long. But like I said you can use a leaf or something to rehydrate it.

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Exactly.. like I said bro. I waited too long to start the curing process.

Thanks for the help though.. peace.

I start curing when the buds are dry to the touch on the outside and the stems splinter a little bit when you bend them. If the stems break you're too dry, if they only bend you are not dry enough.

thanks for the help everyone..

I figured it out though. Curing is nothing more... than simply slowing down the drying process... thats all it is.

but, people tend to make things sound more difficult than they really are.. which confuses some people like myself.

All you gotta remember, is.. curing is pretty much the same exact thing as drying. Only.. curing.. your simply slowing down the drying process in order to get a final product that will taste like it should.. and have the potency that it should.. that's what curing is.

You air dry the buds.. until the outer sides of the buds are dry.. and the stems bend.. but don't snap (too dry)... then

simply throw them into your curing jars.. to slow down the drying process.. to give a nice cure to the buds and to give

the buds a nice smell with no harshness.. only a nice smooth potent smoke.


Hah! Finally... I figured it out.

Thanks for the help Captain!

I've started germinating two more AK48's... and this new grow is going to be magnificent. Thanks for the help everyone.


peace...

dude just put in some fresh leaves or a fresh picked bud inside a mason jar don't leave it closed too long because it doesn't take long at all to moisten it back up! if you dont have any green leaves just moisten a paper towel a little bit and use it .should only take a couple of hours in the jar.

here is what i am doing i think i may have stumbled onto this method by luck or somthing. after hang drying them for 5 days they will still have a moisture in them, put them in the mason jars for 4-8 hours, this will make them sweat in the jars and the buds will get soft again. then put them in cardboard boxs only kind of opened. this is where i am at today. im thinking repeating this process for 1-2 weeks everyday should work pretty good. what do you think?

ganjaluvr said:

thanks for the help everyone..

I figured it out though. Curing is nothing more... than simply slowing down the drying process... thats all it is.

but, people tend to make things sound more difficult than they really are.. which confuses some people like myself.

All you gotta remember, is.. curing is pretty much the same exact thing as drying. Only.. curing.. your simply slowing down the drying process in order to get a final product that will taste like it should.. and have the potency that it should.. that's what curing is.

You air dry the buds.. until the outer sides of the buds are dry.. and the stems bend.. but don't snap (too dry)... then

simply throw them into your curing jars.. to slow down the drying process.. to give a nice cure to the buds and to give

the buds a nice smell with no harshness.. only a nice smooth potent smoke.


Hah! Finally... I figured it out.

Thanks for the help Captain!

I've started germinating two more AK48's... and this new grow is going to be magnificent. Thanks for the help everyone.


peace...

Click to expand...

There is a lot that goes on in the curing process other than drying. There are chemical reations taking place that makes the bud um um good.

Actually, if the stems snap when you bend them they still aren't over dried. Like everyone keeps telling you, you can easily rehumidify buds. I personally like a fresh carrot for 24 hours in the bag. And it doesn't contribute any aroma of its own like lemon peel can.

some of the answers are very interesting, and collide a bit with some other curing info i have seen
that being if you dry too far, curing will not happen even if you add humidity
i don't claim to know the answer, but i have seen good posts arguing for it
curious on the experiences of adding humidity to dry bud

My last three grows I have had good luck using paper grocery bags to start the drying/curing process. I first cut and trim the buds and put them directly in the paper bags only filling the bottom of the bag so there is one layer of buds. I then fold over the top of the bag to close it up, and put it in a cool dry place. Open the bags every 24 hours and move the buds around to promote even drying. The paper bag will wick away extra moisture to prevent any problems with mold and the bud will dry very slow since there isn't a lot of air flow. When the outside of the buds are crisp but the stems still bend (but don't quite snap) put the buds in big mason jars. Open the mason jars every 24 hours to exchange the air and move the buds around. If you see any moisture on the inside of the jars, put the buds back in the paper sacks and wait a little longer. When the stems snap you can stop opening the jars every day and keep them sealed until you're ready to use them. Just store in a dark, cool, dry place. I just cracked open a jar of Jack Herer that was sealed 18 months ago and it has lost no potency or flavor.

You can easily bring those buds back to life. I use orange peels, bread, or even soaked cotton balls to bring it back to life. I gotta say though two big fuck ups in a row?? This shit is so easy, I really don't "get" people who continually fuck shit up, while still trying to come off like they know what the fuck they're doing. You might want to relearn your basics man.

BTW even re-hydrated though, they'll never be as good as they could have been. You'll never get back the full smell either, but if they were true KBs to begin with you should still end up with some potent smoke.

shit sorry guys I posteed this in the wrong place.

best way ive found to cure is this.....kinda long,but in detail....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 hygrometer. 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.

djruiner said:

best way ive found to cure is this.....kinda long,but in detail....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 hygrometer. 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.

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wow, alright.. doesn't seem like it could get much easier than that. Ahh yes, I've got a good feeling about this new AK48 grow. I've got two babies.. which are just now starting to spit out their first set of true leafs. I can feel it!!!! It's gonna be a good grow...

Thanks goes out to all of ya's that came in and helped out a fellow smoker/grower. I appreciate it!!!

Peace..

In my opinion what the internet does not tell you everyone drying area is differnt. I found letting them dry till the stem snaps is to long. FYI once the bud is to dry you cant bring it back. Curing is allowing the the mositure to slowy escape once it's all escaped the process is done. I let mine dry to the touch I want some mositure in the stems so when I jar it the bud it will burn consistent once you see the grey ash once smoked you got a good cure just my 2 cents.

Jdubb203 said:

In my opinion what the internet does not tell you everyone drying area is differnt. I found letting them dry till the stem snaps is to long. FYI once the bud is to dry you cant bring it back. Curing is allowing the the mositure to slowy escape once it's all escaped the process is done. I let mine dry to the touch I want some mositure in the stems so when I jar it the bud it will burn consistent once you see the grey ash once smoked you got a good cure just my 2 cents.

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this actually a very good point, where you are is huge
i didn't find it all that simple to dial in to the exact zone, it took a few tries
but well cured bud is one hell of nice way to take your medicine

ganjaluvr said:

So, if anyone would be so kind to share their knowledge.. and let me know exactly when I should start the curing.. that would be fucking great.

Click to expand...

I hang mine until they're dry to the touch, then I put my personal stash into mason jars to start the 'sweating' process. After 24 hours, the buds become moist again and I'll air dry them again for a few hours, then put them back into the jar. I repeat this until they are totally dry and this process takes a few weeks I guess. In all honesty, curing probably makes your smoke smoother, but it doesn't make it more potent in my experience. Once the bud is 100% dry, it's as potent as it will ever be. All I've ever noticed with curing is added smoothness.

Id throw a fresh fan leaf in the jar