Help Me Preserve Sweet Taste, PLEASE!!!

Hello RIU,

Hope someone can have the patience to read this whole post, and not just tell me its in the curing, just because this is a "curing" question. Thanks in advance.

Been growing for 3 years, and sumtimes just wanna throw in the towel! All this risk for no happiness! I grow dank ass nugs looks wise, but I am NOT happy with it. IT HAS NOOOO FREAKIN TASTE! When it does have a taste, it is a funky taste, but still doesn't taste like BUD!

The best way I can describe the awful taste is a powdery woodsy taste. I have heard of people talking about hay, but I have never smoke or really smelled hay, so Im not sure if wat I taste is what they mean.

Now I have followed every drying and curing method, and can't get it done. I have followed EVERY flushing, when to stop using Nitrogen. I even went as far as to stop using Micro a few weeks into flowering, which end results were yellow to white leaves, and still got the same taste. I have dried till bud is dry,and thrown them too wet in the jar, causing white mold to grow, and either way, tastes remain nasty.

This last grow I went with an organic "Super Soil", and and already that taste is settling in.
Hang in Bathroom, with RH at about 50% and temps of 70-75 degrees, with no fans, so I dont dry too quick, cause I feel that even with proper RH and air temp, nugs still dry quicker than wat people say.
I chopped, they hung for 2 days, went in bag for 2, which at this point stems were dry, but NOT cracking. They would sorta snap, but not a break snap. Outside of bud had a dry, "stickyish" feel, I could still tell inside of nug was wet, if I WERE to squish it.

Put them in jars, after 2 days in jar, hygrometer read 85%, and bud were "moist" so I wanted follow "proper curing" procedure. So I removed nugs, placed them back in paper bags for a day, at which point they feel really dry on outside, but stems were still flexible. The way I can describe the texture of the nugs at this point.... It feels like a dry cloth material, but I can tell there's moisture in them. Almost an OILY feel. HONESTLY, it feels JUST like I want my nugs to feel as far as dryness, when they're ready to smoke. Nice and soft.

Returned to jars,and didnt open jars for 24 hours,and RH stabilized at pretty much 65%. which is "curing zone". and 4 days jars and the woodsy powder taste is here to stay...

When I tried a nug a few days into drying, it didnt have the STRONGEST weed taste, but I'll be damned if that nug didnt have the SWEETEST sugar taste. IT TASTED LIKE HEADIES!!!! And even though it was HARD AS HELL to smoke cause it was still wet, it was smooth AS HELL, and it was sweet till it cashed out, AND the ash was white!!!

Now it doesn't burn as well as it did when it was a few days drying, and NO taste.....

So here is where Im torn.... Is it too dry for curing, thought most nugs are flexible?

Can anyone relate to this taste I speak of, and say, yeah its too dry, or not dry enuff.

Cause here's wat I dont understand, and maybe someone can shed some light..........

It has taste when drying, then loses taste somewhere between drying thru curing.. Are u gonna tell me it loses it sweet taste then comes back????

OR!!!!! Are my thoughts right.... That sweet taste I taste needs to be preserved! Wat I mean is this!!!! That taste should remain thru the cure, and only get smoother, improve, and enhance better flavors, but the taste should NOT go from sweet to woodsy back to sweet, AM I CORRECT or IMPATIENT!!!??!!

It just doesn't make sense to me that the taste is there, then disappears COMPLETELY, and turns into a HORRIBLE dry taste, then turn BACK to its original sweet taste??!! That just doesn't make sense to me!!! So is preserving the sweet taste at the moment wat I am trying to do, DESPITE the RH on my hygrometer??


I just want someone to shed some light for me, pls!!! Someone who has gone thru wat I did, knows the taste I'm talkin about, and knows where I'm going wrong, and can help...

And its NOT chlorophyll, I know what that tastes like, and I wouldn't mind that minty fresh taste, with the funky taste. CAUSE THAT'S WHAT MY NUGS TASTE LIKE 3-5 DAYS HANGING DRY! I wouldnt mind keeping that taste..

I hope someone can understand how much it sux to grow killer strains for 3 years, and take a risk, and never get the final proper product, I deserve!!!

Someone plz help ME!!!!!!

Thanks I♥BUD

what can i say.. did i write this? i also have similar problems, if u can call them that. i am alost there, strictly adhering to all proven methods, getting good sticky yield, but!!! as maybe you are experiencing, its not quite right. i have been to amsterdam and very briefly this is what happens, you exit amsterdam central straight to the rasta cafe, buy a bag, 85 sec to skin up.. 6 secs later.. boooooooom!!!! thats where i want to be, skill wise. what am I doing wrong??

im asking for advice too!!

Elenor, THATS WHATS WORST!!!!!! THANKS FOR REMINDING ME OF SOMETHIN, I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS ONE FACT!! I will address to whole post!

I forgot to mention this fact also!!!

When the nugs have been hanging for a few days,and have that sweet dank taste, the high is where I want it!! Its an euphoric buzz, that makes u tingle, and feel warm inside. Nothing can compare to that peaceful happy feeling! Then once it gets to this stage/taste now, the high is COMPLETELY different! More confusing, very edgy, Paranoia. But that warm buzz, that is there a few days after harvest is gone. Not saying potency decreases, its a DIFFERENT high. NOT PLEASING/ENJOYABLE AT ALL!!

when are you harvesting? re.. tricombes..

this time im at 8 weks now, all pistols fully brown, half retracted, but still the tricombes say NOT YET, im leaving them longer than normal, til maybe one third amber trichomes, to see if that helps. im confused also, have u beem to the dam and experienced that??

elenor.rigby said:

when are you harvesting? re.. tricombes..

this time im at 8 weks now, all pistols fully brown, half retracted, but still the tricombes say NOT YET, im leaving them longer than normal, til maybe one third amber trichomes, to see if that helps. im confused also, have u beem to the dam and experienced that??

Click to expand...

Ive done it all dude... Harvested at all peaks. Honestly it seems my plants have stop producing weeks before thrichs change. Ive even grown strains that seem to never go amber, and even grown strains where trichs are cloudy and amber early, than a bunch of cloudy follow.

I read a great thread today, where dude brings up a good fact. He takes a pic of his trichs, and they're cloudy, amber, and dark. He asks the question "is this plant ready for harvest?) followed by a pic of the plant, and the facts of the plant. The plant was 4 weeks into flowering, and looked nowhere near ready, proving that the appearance of the plant is a better indicator for plant maturity(not THC maturity). If u wanna control the high, then I guess it would be fine to harvest 4 weeks early, do to trich color. I honestly, at this point am more concerned with the taste, more than the high. I have waited for trichs, and that didnt improve any taste.

As a matter of fact I chopped a Plushberry at day 49, with 90%+ cloudy and some dark trichs, and all pistils were red. and its a 60-70 day strain. Still no taste once start curing, though it had a sweet slight fruit taste before drying was done. Same thing with the Vortex. It tasted like a sweet sweet lemon, now it(all of them) tastes like CARDBOARD.. Thats the taste that best that taste, come to think of it. A WOODSY CARDBOARD!!

The only strain that has a taste that I might "enjoy" is the Dairy Queen, its a funky taste, but it doesn't taste like bud. Its a wired funky taste, and if left in bowl too long, becomes the same woodsy taste.

But once again the bud that has hung dry for a couple of days, if I pack a bowl, and come back the next day, the bowl will still taste the same. Tho the weed has become harder to pull on cause it was still wet!

As a matter of fact the thread I mention that I read on harvesting was from this community. I kinda agree with this dude. If u wanna have a "head" high go for a Sativa and ripen it, same with Couch Lock highs, grow out an Indica till its ripe. Here's the link, so u can read it. Good reads! Zues' take on harvest link.

Theres a thread on here called - If your about to cure then you gotta read this- Very very very interesting and excellent info regarding curing- Its a MUST read if your having problems curing. It shows you how to cure by numbers not guess work. And I use this method every single time now with massive success. You will need a hygrometer to whack in your jars tho to measure the humidity.

I find that most people chop the ladys when 80% 90% of the pistils have changed colour- now Ive cropped at this stage and my end product wasnt the best in terms of smell and taste.

So for the last few years ive been judging on the apprearence of the buds rather than trichomes. When I crop now, ALL my pistils have receeded in and fully changed colour- So when i chop the bud, it actually looks like the end product on the plant.

All the little(trim) leafs that comes out of the bud needs to be die-ing off and turning yellow etc. If I crop before this happens then the end product isnt as Dank. If i leave it to mature properly literally buds on there last legs, for me everytime its super good shit!! And using the curing method with the hygrometer works every single time. You cant go wrong.

HOpe that helps!

Yea i have seen that poat on these forums and i think logically speaking that dude is 100 pct right i mean think about it makes perfect sense

alright-

first fdd has a thread about when to chop that has some good pics. all strains are different and best flavor/high combos will be discovered through experience. the reason the bud is making you nervous and HIGH is it is a strain that is high in thc. high thc, without much of other cannabinoids, will tend to make oyu feel that way. i call it space trucking.

any way. all this new thing with jars is crazy, and in my opinion wrecks more weed than anything. until you understand the technique and their role in it don't even use them. you have to think about how weed has been dried and cured previous to this whole medical thing.

fermentation is what you need to research and it's role in the processing of cannabis.

the reason people say your bud smells like hay (handful of cut, DRIED lawn clippings straight to your nose, that's hay), is because it dried to fast. just like the brown lawn clippings you just had in your hand.
this is what i do, and i produces amazing results every time.

hang the largest pieces of the plant you can. if you can hang the plant all in one piece, great. don't trim anything of the plant. it will need this vegetation to ferment.
next make sure your drying area is clean and dark. i keep temps at 68, and RH at 60-80%. depending on the wetness, or stage in the process this value will change. also keep in mind indicas with dense flowers will require less humidity as they will mold on the inside.

keep it dark.

leave that plant there for two weeks, at least. when you take it down trim it. the bud will be great right then. if i think it needs some more cure (not smooth, harsh, still sugar left in the bud), i'll put it into paper grocery sacks, with the top sealed over and a paper clip to hold it. the bud is dry at this point so opening or shaking the bag all about really isn't necessary. leave until it is satisfactory to your liking.

i only use jars for long term storage, after the dry and cure is complete.

happy growing.

Trimming after a couple of weeks dry- Ive trimmed when dry and its a right pain in the ars*IMO. And I defo wouldnt want to endure all that again. And i certainly wouldnt recommend it to anyone.
I know if ya trim before hand it does speed up the drying process, but as long as you jar it at the right time, there s still enough moisture in the bud to continue the cure slowly there for still preserving taste and flavor.
If your drying the plant out for two weeks, i bet by the time you come to cure, buds are gonna have a lower moisture content meaning not much left for cure time.
On top of if you dont trim before you dry chances are theres gonna be a shit load of trim leaf wedged in btw the buds making it smoke more harsher resulting in a less dank product.
Each to their own tho