Need some help with harvesting.

Medicated Bonsai

Medicated Bonsai

Well-Known Member
Hello all, I'm currently on my second grow and plan to cure in paper bags this time. I purchased a couple paper grocery bags but they're pretty big and thick. Will the size/thickness of the bag have any negative effects? How often should I open the bag? Will I need bovida packs?

Also, I think the majority of my problems come from the hang dry. I live in SoCal so the air is very dry. I'm having troubles keeping my tent above 35% rh when i'm hang drying. Is there any way I can bump this up without risking mold?
 
Maybe you're making it more difficult than necessary? I would just hang them until the outside feels a little dry, then put them in the bags for a couple days, then jar them up and keep an eye on the humidity in the jars.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 15
Medicated Bonsai said:
Hello all, I'm currently on my second grow and plan to cure in paper bags this time. I purchased a couple paper grocery bags but they're pretty big and thick. Will the size/thickness of the bag have any negative effects? How often should I open the bag? Will I need bovida packs?

Also, I think the majority of my problems come from the hang dry. I live in SoCal so the air is very dry. I'm having troubles keeping my tent above 35% rh when i'm hang drying. Is there any way I can bump this up without risking mold?
Click to expand...

Those bags will be fine, and you won't need bovedas or any other silly nonsense. If you turn the fans down on the tent it should build up more humidity when it has fresh wet plants in it. If you leave more of the leaves on it, then it will hold more moisture and dry slower. 7-10 days later the outside should be slightly crispy and the stems should crack when bent, but not actually break off. That when I take them off the stems and into the paper bag. They stay in there until they are all the same moisture and are about perfect to smoke in a joint. Thats when they go in jars or bags for storage. If you did the hang and the bag time correctly, they won't need any further messing with in the jars, they will just be nice.
 
Thundercat said:
Those bags will be fine, and you won't need bovedas or any other silly nonsense. If you turn the fans down on the tent it should build up more humidity when it has fresh wet plants in it. If you leave more of the leaves on it, then it will hold more moisture and dry slower. 7-10 days later the outside should be slightly crispy and the stems should crack when bent, but not actually break off. That when I take them off the stems and into the paper bag. They stay in there until they are all the same moisture and are about perfect to smoke in a joint. Thats when they go in jars or bags for storage. If you did the hang and the bag time correctly, they won't need any further messing with in the jars, they will just be nice.
Click to expand...
Sounds good, this way seems a lot easier and more efficient than curing in jars. Hopefully I can avoid the hay smell and nasty taste.

Would it be bad to turn off all my fans other than the carbon filter fan?
 
I use paper bags to dry in.
Just plain ole Safeway or Kroger paper bags. About a week in the bag, then into cure containers(some use sealed jars, I use "Tight Vac" containers.)
In this pic of my latest harvest, is my drying bag.
IMG-3903.JPG
 
jeepster1993 said:
I use paper bags to dry in.
Just plain ole Safeway or Kroger paper bags. About a week in the bag, then into cure containers(some use sealed jars, I use "Tight Vac" containers.)
In this pic of my latest harvest, is my drying bag.
View attachment 4356916
Click to expand...
Dang man, those buds stacked up nicely. I wish I could get my nodes/buds to stack. I’m jealous of the guys who grow only big fat coalas with minimal popcorn buds.
 
Medicated Bonsai said:
Would it be bad to turn off all my fans other than the carbon filter fan?
Click to expand...

They just need a little airflow. Not blowing in them, and it doesn't need to be huge amounts. A single fan on the carbon filter would be more then enough. Don't blow it on the plants, excessive air flow will make them dry faster, and can drop the RH easily if you are extracting the air.
 
I use doubled paper bags like the lunch bags you can get a 100 in a pack of at the grocery store.

I just take enough buds that I can trim in an hour or so and after trimming each and breaking up the colas put around 100g of buds in each sack and let them dry slowly somewhere cool like my basement. A fridge would do too. For the first few days I'll dump them out into a clean pan to air dry for 15 min or so gently breaking up any clumps then back into the bags. Can go a month like that before putting in cans for another month of burping. Still moist enough when they go into the cans that they will form a big mass and need to be dumped out once in a while to loosen it up.

No green left in the buds and they smell great and smoke really smooth even after a couple years sitting around at room temp.

The secret is never letting them dry out. The curing is in the early part right after the trim and the buds have to be moist for the chlorophyll and starches to break down properly. Burping in the cans prolongs that process and ages them to perfection.

Nothing says you can't be pulling out a few buds to use as testers as you go along and you have to keep an eye on them to prevent them going moldy but the wait is more than worth it.

From this freshly trimmed off the plant.

OG18HarvestPreCure.jpg

To this after only 7 weeks or so. Still too moist to bust up in a grinder but I like snipping of small bits for my pipe.

OG18BudzWellCured.jpg
 
I usually hang 3 days with a slight trim before. Pull them down give them a decent trim again and then into paper bags for 3-4 days moving them around 2-3 times a day and then into jars opening them occasionally. By about 8-10 days they’re ready to smoke and sticky as can be. Longer the cure the better however
 
Thundercat said:
They just need a little airflow. Not blowing in them, and it doesn't need to be huge amounts. A single fan on the carbon filter would be more then enough. Don't blow it on the plants, excessive air flow will make them dry faster, and can drop the RH easily if you are extracting the air.
Click to expand...
Hm, hopefully I’m not extracting air too fast. I’m running a 6inch fan/filter combo and I run it at the lowest speed.

I have a 3 inch USB desktop fan. Perhaps I could turn off the exhaust and use this fan(air flow facing towards the ground/upside down).

The only other fan I have is a 5 inch Vivosun clip fan and this thing seems rather powerful haha. It has 2 speeds but the lowest is about triple the power as my mini usb fan.

OldMedUser said:
I use doubled paper bags like the lunch bags you can get a 100 in a pack of at the grocery store.

I just take enough buds that I can trim in an hour or so and after trimming each and breaking up the colas put around 100g of buds in each sack and let them dry slowly somewhere cool like my basement. A fridge would do too. For the first few days I'll dump them out into a clean pan to air dry for 15 min or so gently breaking up any clumps then back into the bags. Can go a month like that before putting in cans for another month of burping. Still moist enough when they go into the cans that they will form a big mass and need to be dumped out once in a while to loosen it up.

No green left in the buds and they smell great and smoke really smooth even after a couple years sitting around at room temp.

The secret is never letting them dry out. The curing is in the early part right after the trim and the buds have to be moist for the chlorophyll and starches to break down properly. Burping in the cans prolongs that process and ages them to perfection.

Nothing says you can't be pulling out a few buds to use as testers as you go along and you have to keep an eye on them to prevent them going moldy but the wait is more than worth it.

From this freshly trimmed off the plant.

View attachment 4356999

To this after only 7 weeks or so. Still too moist to bust up in a grinder but I like snipping of small bits for my pipe.

View attachment 4357000
Click to expand...
Dang the difference in appearance is crazy. I think I’ll just leave my room air conditioner on while I hang dry. Hopefully this will help with prolonging things.


I’m beginning to learn that drying and curing is much more important than the actual growing process. Regardless of skill level and the amount of mistakes made, the plant will produce buds regardless.. unless you do something crazy like water with bleach.

It’s a little nerve racking to think that big beautiful buds can go to waste via improper drying and curing.

Thank you everyone for the insight and suggestions:leaf:.
 
Medicated Bonsai said:
It’s a little nerve racking to think that big beautiful buds can go to waste via improper drying and curing.
Click to expand...

They aren't going to go to waste but after all the time and effort spent growing them it's nice to have a product you really like.

Most people I know have smoked nothing but buds that are all done in a week or so after harvest and are used to green pot that makes them cough up a lung after a big toke. They think the pot is stronger because of that but it's not. It's a bit tedious taking your time and commercial growers don't have time for that but I only grow for myself and I got plenty of time. Having lots of other bud to play with while waiting helps too. :)

:peace:
 
First off thank you to Medicated Bonsai for this thread, I have looked at almost daily for the last week. I have a question though.

@OldMedUser

Sir,
When you say "I just take enough buds that I can trim in an hour or so and after trimming each and breaking up the colas put around 100g of buds in each sack and let them dry slowly somewhere cool like my basement." I assume after you have hung the plant for sometime? Or are you doing this the day of chop? Could you explain it a bit more, or am I missing something? This is my first harvest and am trying to learn. Thank you for your time.

@pthobson

I am also trying some with your method. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Flatrate said:
First off thank you to Medicated Bonsai for this thread, I have looked at almost daily for the last week. I have a question though.

@OldMedUser

Sir,
When you say "I just take enough buds that I can trim in an hour or so and after trimming each and breaking up the colas put around 100g of buds in each sack and let them dry slowly somewhere cool like my basement." I assume after you have hung the plant for sometime? Or are you doing this the day of chop? Could you explain it a bit more, or am I missing something? This is my first harvest and am trying to learn. Thank you for your time.

@pthobson

I am also trying some with you method. Thanks.
Click to expand...
No problem. I hang dry 3 days in 70 degree F 40-50% humidity. When I hang i chop each branch individually.
By day 4 ready to go in bags. Leave em in the bags 3-4 more days, each day opening them up moving buds around twice. Put em in jars after that. Opening them to smoke whenever I feel the need, which is usually twice daily. I am on a very small scale so my harvest usually don’t even usually make it to the next one.
 
Flatrate said:
First off thank you to Medicated Bonsai for this thread, I have looked at almost daily for the last week. I have a question though.

@OldMedUser

Sir,
When you say "I just take enough buds that I can trim in an hour or so and after trimming each and breaking up the colas put around 100g of buds in each sack and let them dry slowly somewhere cool like my basement." I assume after you have hung the plant for sometime? Or are you doing this the day of chop? Could you explain it a bit more, or am I missing something? This is my first harvest and am trying to learn. Thank you for your time.

@pthobson

I am also trying some with your method. Thanks.
Click to expand...

No hanging to dry. I just snip off buds into a big mixing bowl then take them upstairs to my mancave to sit and trim. I have a wide desk drawer I pull out and lay parchment paper across for a trim tray. Buds get their final trim fresh off the plant.

I used to use these cigarette tube boxes lined with wax paper with holes in both but the bags are quicker tho dry faster. 2 weeks seems long enough to let the buds slo-dry and I can do that in the bags. Could go up to 5 weeks in the boxes.

Trimboxes01.JPG


I think I'll be doing it different for the current crop as I'll be rushed for time. I'll likely dry first in an upright position then use my Trimpro Unplugged to do most of the trimming work. It doesn't work well with fresh buds but should be fine if they are semi-dry when they're run through the machine. Expecting a couple pounds from this crop and my arthritis is getting pretty bad so hand trimming all that will be torture. Will still have to use scissors to break the big colas down to bite sized chunks but that's fairly easy to do.

unplugged-big.jpg

:peace:
 
how big is yo yield homie gotta keep those bags the same size of your harvest you dont gotta worry bout mold in cali yo if you do you got some problems with that wetness dawg
 
Flatrate said:
Whats your method Jeepster? I realize you use the paper bags, but could you explain it further?
Click to expand...
I trim the same day I harvest.
Put the trimmed buds in paper bags until the stem just starts to crack when bent but not completely breaking.
Then the buds go into sealed jars about 1/2 full, burping those jars for an hour a day with no lid on the jar for that hour(or so... more at the beginning, less later until I just leave them sealed.)
It takes a few weeks to do the cure. The longer the cure, the less "green" color and flavor there will be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top