Whaddup yall, I read simons 'perfect cure everytime' and decided to get 3 caliber III hygrometers. this is my 4th harvest and up til now i've only done by touch, and my buds have come out great, just trying to let them reach their potential. Well, the caliber is reading 73 % but my buds feel dry make a crisy sound when i squeeze them. Does this sound normal? I feel by the time i get them to 60-65 theyre gonna be dirt dry and turn to dust when i touch. HELP MEE PLEASE! any input appreciated.
Caliber III reading 73, but buds feel dry
- Thread starter knox1973
- Start date
Your nugs are in a jar with the Caliber, right? And have you let it sit for 24 hours? The reading will rise over time...
But at 73% I would expect for them to be crispy on the outside and a bit spongy on the inside. I don't think you're seeing anything abnormal, 73% is dryer then you might think...
But at 73% I would expect for them to be crispy on the outside and a bit spongy on the inside. I don't think you're seeing anything abnormal, 73% is dryer then you might think...
60-65 is good to go, at that point you can stop burping and checking on them. Below 60 and you're getting out of the cure zone...
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
I have experienced the exact same thing with the caliber 3. My buddy swears 65 is smoke ready and 60 for long term storage. When I used it 70 was fucking dry. I went back to feel and breaking a few buds in half.
Fellas, properly dried/cured bud should be pretty dry. Too dry means it's brittle and turns powdery when you crush it. Maybe you're comparing it to bags you've gotten in the past, which are almost never cured at all and are frequently too wet. Water weight means more money to commercial growers, but that's why street bud burns like shit and your joints go out all the time.
Dry, not brittle.
Dry, not brittle.
of course i know not to let it get brittle..but at 73% it feels dry and by the time it gets it 60% it seems as it will get brittle by than.. I dried for a week in 65 degrees and 55% humidity. and i've been curing for 2 days. idk what to do..i took lids off for 4 hours than put back on and got right back to 75% than i put in paper bag for 4 hours put back in..and got to 73%...its frustrating, this is alot harder than growing lol
I think you should keep doing what you're doing. The slow drying/curing that you're doing now is awesome, keep dropping it slowly and as you approach 60 you can then just forget about it for a few weeks. Your Caliber III's are in agreement with each other and Simon's guide is reliable, I think you're OK and just second-guessing yourself.
SimonD
Well-Known Member
It sounds like the moisture is still being distributed within the product - dry on the outside, wetter inside. I suggest 60-65% stable humidity, meaning, it remains static for at least 5 days.
Simon
SimonD
Well-Known Member
If you're talking about air curing, all methods are essentially the same. The only thing that differs here is that you're not guessing. Good luck.
Simon
I am having the SAME problem. The answer, I think, is bringing down RH w/o drying the outside buds further. So how do you do this? I have two theories to lower RH and two theories to bring back moisture- someone please chime in here cuz I haven't tested either yet.
LOWER RH
1) Raise the temp a few degrees- the RH goes down. Why? I don't fucking know, but that's what I've read. At the same time, leave sealed for at least 12 hrs. as opposed to 4- this will bring RH up, but hopefully the temp increase will offset this.
2) Fill the jars less- this is a concern to me b/c I feel like it'll dry out the outsides more.
REDISTRIBUTE MOISTURE TO OUTSIDE BUDS
1) Leave sealed for longer, in my case 12 hrs. as opposed to 4 hrs.
2) Re-moisture them either w/ lettuce or tortilla bread. Problem here obviously is RH goes up, so the question becomes can you can burp them back down again w/o getting mold. I dunno.
Anyone have experience doing any of these???
LOWER RH
1) Raise the temp a few degrees- the RH goes down. Why? I don't fucking know, but that's what I've read. At the same time, leave sealed for at least 12 hrs. as opposed to 4- this will bring RH up, but hopefully the temp increase will offset this.
2) Fill the jars less- this is a concern to me b/c I feel like it'll dry out the outsides more.
REDISTRIBUTE MOISTURE TO OUTSIDE BUDS
1) Leave sealed for longer, in my case 12 hrs. as opposed to 4 hrs.
2) Re-moisture them either w/ lettuce or tortilla bread. Problem here obviously is RH goes up, so the question becomes can you can burp them back down again w/o getting mold. I dunno.
Anyone have experience doing any of these???
I was listening to the radio, and Radiohead's, "Don't leave me high, don't leave me dry" came on, and it made me think- What if they're singing about curing weed?
B/c having high RH (70-74) and the outside of the buds dry SUCKS!
Here's what I've decided to do after talking to Simon. I've been popping lids every 4hrs for a couple min's and they're pretty much at 72-74 RH and temp 65, jars are pretty much filled to top.
This is my FIRST TIME curing, so what I'm about to do is from theoretical knowledge, not experience.
For the next 12 hrs, I'm gonna let them sit while the temp hopefully raises from 65 to hopefully 70 and see if that brings back moisture, my fear of course is mold- but again, those fuckers are dry, and I feel alleviating the dryness is more important than lowering the RH.
If after 12 hrs, the outside buds actually got some moisture, I'm gonna consider this successful, burp em until down to 60RH (max 2 hrs), and close em for another 12 hrs.
If the outside doesn't get moisture, then what the fuck!? How long do they have to sit closed in a jar to get moisture back???? Anyone? Anyone?
Thoughts...
B/c having high RH (70-74) and the outside of the buds dry SUCKS!
Here's what I've decided to do after talking to Simon. I've been popping lids every 4hrs for a couple min's and they're pretty much at 72-74 RH and temp 65, jars are pretty much filled to top.
This is my FIRST TIME curing, so what I'm about to do is from theoretical knowledge, not experience.
For the next 12 hrs, I'm gonna let them sit while the temp hopefully raises from 65 to hopefully 70 and see if that brings back moisture, my fear of course is mold- but again, those fuckers are dry, and I feel alleviating the dryness is more important than lowering the RH.
If after 12 hrs, the outside buds actually got some moisture, I'm gonna consider this successful, burp em until down to 60RH (max 2 hrs), and close em for another 12 hrs.
If the outside doesn't get moisture, then what the fuck!? How long do they have to sit closed in a jar to get moisture back???? Anyone? Anyone?
Thoughts...
SimonD
Well-Known Member
1. Are you using a CaliberIII to gauge humidity?
2. When was the harvest?
3. What are the buds like? Dense, etc? Large/small?
4. Do the stems snap?
Assuming you are, and that your flowers are fairly dense and/or have relatively thick stems, you may want to leave them out to dry until the hydrometer reads in the low-60s and then jar again allowing the mass to rehydrate. If you're not using a CaliberIII, then we'll kinda have take it as it comes.
Simon
2. When was the harvest?
3. What are the buds like? Dense, etc? Large/small?
4. Do the stems snap?
Assuming you are, and that your flowers are fairly dense and/or have relatively thick stems, you may want to leave them out to dry until the hydrometer reads in the low-60s and then jar again allowing the mass to rehydrate. If you're not using a CaliberIII, then we'll kinda have take it as it comes.
Simon
1) I am using two identical hygrometers that I got at the hydro shop- I calibrated them by putting them both in one container until they read identical RH and temp.
2) Harvested 11 days ago. Spent 1 day in a bag in my car, then after 2 days of hanging upside down in my tent, I dried them out too fast - wasn't expecting to harvest
for another 1 1/2 weeks but had an INSPECTION (Drama! Hence why they spent a day in my car). I then upped the humidity to 60, lowered the temp to 65 and was
able to keep em upside down drying for 5 days total, then trimmed and put in brown bags for 2 days.
3) Buds were BIG, I cut many down to size, but kept a few main colas that are 6" long.
4) Half the stems would snap when bent 90 degrees (not in half, but they'd make the SNAP sound)
My concern is they already feel crispy in the airtight containers- I've yet to find any MOISTURE on the lids. So I'm more interested in seeing them get some moisture b4 drying out more... But would love feedback on that.
Thx,
2) Harvested 11 days ago. Spent 1 day in a bag in my car, then after 2 days of hanging upside down in my tent, I dried them out too fast - wasn't expecting to harvest
for another 1 1/2 weeks but had an INSPECTION (Drama! Hence why they spent a day in my car). I then upped the humidity to 60, lowered the temp to 65 and was
able to keep em upside down drying for 5 days total, then trimmed and put in brown bags for 2 days.
3) Buds were BIG, I cut many down to size, but kept a few main colas that are 6" long.
4) Half the stems would snap when bent 90 degrees (not in half, but they'd make the SNAP sound)
My concern is they already feel crispy in the airtight containers- I've yet to find any MOISTURE on the lids. So I'm more interested in seeing them get some moisture b4 drying out more... But would love feedback on that.
Thx,