Curing- What's your method?

I cure based on Simon method. Use little Hygrometers (humidity meters) to measure the moisture drop. I hang fresh bud in a box with a fan, like most do. When they get to 69-70, I jar them. Use the same little hygrometers and burp until whatever moisture level you like.

The little hygrometers make this foolproof. Lets you drop the moisture level slow and controlled because you can measure. Anyway, I like it, but curious what others do.

Anyone like drying in cardboard, for example?

To me, fan in room is OK, but fan in a box is a little much.
I like a slower dry (not always possible due to RH of room), but after dried, I find a cure of OVER 4 weeks always gives better smell and taste.
I don't flush my plants, and have never had a comment or complaint about any 'sparking' or 'chemical taste'.

hang dry whole untrimmed for about 2 weeks. i use a grow tent as my drying room with a an oscillatingfan just keeping the air moving. i go by feel as to when to pull'em down and start trimming and then jarring. plan on picking up a bunch of caliber III's to put in the jars so i can be more precise during the cure http://www.amazon.com/Western-Humidor-CALIBER3-Thermometer-Hygrometer/dp/B0007W1EA6/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1376187282&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=caliber+iii+hygrometer

Bakatare666 said:

To me, fan in room is OK, but fan in a box is a little much.
I like a slower dry (not always possible due to RH of room), but after dried, I find a cure of OVER 4 weeks always gives better smell and taste.
I don't flush my plants, and have never had a comment or complaint about any 'sparking' or 'chemical taste'.

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i don't flush either and as with you i have zero complaints and have actually aked my patients to pay attention to ash color and taste and they always come back to me and say nice grey ash and really smooth smoke

hang for 7-10 days in 60- 70f with good circ. Then jar with 62% boveda...

Those are the units I use Mr-B. The Caliber II, actually. <<EDIT- I have the Caliber III and I'm toasted>> I have several. And 1/2 gallon mason jars.

Baka- I use a small little plastic desktop fan this is about all it's good for. But slow circulates. So I totally agree with you on that.

In fact in my next deal I'd like a corner / wall mounted drying box where I can hang bud.

Username- I like the hanging thing in higher humidity for a week. I do that also. I think it helps / allows some chemical and cellular reactions to finish. This makes better smoke-age. IMHO.

Also I keep the temp up at least 65F during that week.

humidity hovers around 70% but will dip to 58-59% during the day. temp is around 68-69. i'm good with that though with the air circulation i don't worry too much about mold and after the 14 days and a trim my patients are already lined up and waiting so i hardly get to do a proper cure most of the time. even without a proper cure it's still a nice smooth smoke

Rrog said:

Those are the units I use Mr-B. The Caliber II, actually. I have several. And 1/2 gallon mason jars.

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the caliber IV's are out now too. wife just picked me up several half gallon mason jars from a barn auction in lapeer. was like xmas for me. ran'em throught the dishwasher twice and good as new.i hate burping 10-20 different jars.

I'm sure it's smooth, allright.

1/2 gallon, and I only half-fill them when I first jar them. Then I lay the jars flat. Then I don't disturb the buds for weeks, unless there's a high Rh prob. The buds really stay perfect and I just like that because I'm a sap.

That 1/2 full-ness allows lots of air above for ready air exchange when burping. They are not packed in.

I've recently started to use the 62% boveda humidi-packs myself. I had been used to getting the buds a little dryer but 62% seems to bring out the most flavor and burns well. I have one caliber III hygrometer and a dozen cheap chinese ones that actually turned out to be accurate.

Do any of you use the drying racks that you hang with all the compartments in them?

This is what I'm shooting for.

EDIT: This pic is from some cool dude's grow, not mine. I like the rack above and shelves below. All open for circulation. With a little fan(s)

Rrog said:

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This is what I'm shooting for

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That looks pretty impressive !! Did you build that box just for drying? The bottom 2 trays would be like a drying rack.

Do you have any kind of ventilation in that box?

i built a walk in humidor in my grow area humidity and temp controlled, I split it 2 compartments 1 larger one for hanging and the smaller compartment I use for curing, I have independent humidity and temp control on both compartments, 10-14 days hanging(I like slower dry) and 1 month in the curing compartment and in the end I get perfectly dried and cured meds.

Skunk Bud- That's a snapshot from the internet. I just like how there's a hanging area using those little Christmas ornament hooks, and trays for popcorn and other embarrassments.

Lionden- shit man! Can you post any pics or elaborate? I have a cool mist humidifier and a Dayton Rh sensor. That works pretty well. Also Johnson Controls for temp controller. I can connect to a heater or AC and it will maintain temp. Sounds like you have it all laid out man.

Could a guy use an old fridge with separate top and bottom sections? Just as you describe Lionden.

A tote with 4 screen/shelves inside, holes drilled in the sides of the tote. There is a little duct fan on the bottom of one end. I believe I got the idea from someone on riu who was from the d area. I modified his plans. They dry ~6-7 days (they are in darkness) in a room ~45-60% humidity. When the branches are still pliable, just before hey will snap, placed in 1/2 gallon jars with the Mark ll or Mark lll you mentioned. % humidity can be 70-75% when first in jars. I will burp them 2 times a day (getting the meter to read ~60%, the stuff is fluffed as to not clump under its weight, not doing this is asking for mold) over the next 2-3 weeks until humidity < 65% (slow steady process). Usually shoot for around 62%. They then may stay in jars 2-3 months or longer. 6 month to 1 yr cure is optimal. The longer the cure, the browner or more golden the color.

A big tote with wires line clotheslines and a little fan was my "proof of concept" test. I had this big plastic tote inside a 55 gal drum trash bag. My device was a pain, but again just a test, really. The concept works really well. Like a drying shed in Cuba for tobacco.

I tend to get a good start on the cure during drying time . Hanging a plant whole is how I usually begin the process while always maintaining relative humidity at around 50-55 % .. I keep my air flow to a minumal and never direct but always constant during this stage and its done in the dark .

I get a bit obsessive about the proper times to place in jars , never bothered with any set rule like a stem cracking as it all depends on the density and size of the material at hand . Some buds are just not the same , in fact none are as we all know . I constantly adjust when I begin the jarring process due to the variables in strains that I am growing .

Regardless of time spent before jarring I am always making mental notes about each cultivar as some are so pleasurable to smoke immediatley while others simply need the aging effects of a good cure . Most of what I grow does not need much of a cure at all besides the basics of slow drying , gotta love hybrids . I have found that often those requiring a cure are better left in a sealed jar once moisture levels taper off with burping . 60 % RH on the hygrometer with an average jar sealed. I open these maybe once a month and have kept them sealed for over a year but in the end I preffer the bud that requires little to no cure at all .. Spoiled rotten I am with so many terpenoids at my disposal lol ..

Landraces are my favorites to grow as this is what I began with and these all to often require a very long cure . I have some Nepalese Hash Plant bud sitting in the open air now aging for a few more months in a cool dark place .. I plan on making hash with this though and am storing it more or less how it is stored in its homeland before being thrashed and made into hash .

i wont water the plant the last 3-4 days, then i take a few ropes, run em across the room and cut off the big water leafs than hang the plants. theres an oscillating fan moving air around and a big carbon scrubber keeping the smell down. in 4-5 days its dry enough to smoke and trim. the dry trimmed bud is placed in a brown paper bag overnight and then transferred to a 2-or 3 gallon jar till its holding 16-20 oz and cap it, than do the next one. burped once a day for a few mins. if it starts sweating too much the first day or 2 itll go back in the brown bag overnight. after 10-14 days its good enough, around 30 days its way awesome been doin it like this for years, never had an issue or complaint