Sun drying to continue THC production?

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Agronut

Well-Known Member
I have a question, but wanted to share first that I have been growing indoor and out for over 35 years in multiple states/environments/strains, and have three advanced science degrees:

if you chop a plant early (for whatever reasons), and the plant cells in the buds all continue to function for 3-4 days after being chopped, why would drying for 2-3 days in the sun be a BAD thing? Yes I understand how UV breaks down THC and yes I know you’d lose terpenes and flavor, but in theory if you hung your cut branches with buds in the sun for at least a couple of days they’d continue maturing just like the would’ve if still attached to the plant, minus water uptake, Turgor pressure and respiration of course. The cells in the buds should continue to respond to the sun by producing more resin to protect the calyx, and the cannabanoids should continue to convert into THC and CBN for at least for a couple of days…correct? I’ve hung plants outside in the sun for a week and it seemed to be more potent than the same plant grown in my growroom….why? I wish some cannabis production company would try more experiments like this, because in many other countries they do sun dry exclusively and the weed is awful looking but of incredible potency.
Anyone experimented with sun drying (or partial) and if so what were your results?
 
Lordhooha

Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
Agronut said:
I have a question, but wanted to share first that I have been growing indoor and out for over 35 years in multiple states/environments/strains, and have three advanced science degrees:

if you chop a plant early (for whatever reasons), and the plant cells in the buds all continue to function for 3-4 days after being chopped, why would drying for 2-3 days in the sun be a BAD thing? Yes I understand how UV breaks down THC and yes I know you’d lose terpenes and flavor, but in theory if you hung your cut branches with buds in the sun for at least a couple of days they’d continue maturing just like the would’ve if still attached to the plant, minus water uptake, Turgor pressure and respiration of course. The cells in the buds should continue to respond to the sun by producing more resin to protect the calyx, and the cannabanoids should continue to convert into THC and CBN for at least for a couple of days…correct? I’ve hung plants outside in the sun for a week and it seemed to be more potent than the same plant grown in my growroom….why? I wish some cannabis production company would try more experiments like this, because in many other countries they do sun dry exclusively and the weed is awful looking but of incredible potency.
Anyone experimented with sun drying (or partial) and if so what were your results?
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This is how you destroy thc. Once chopped the light degrades thc just like heat causes it to evaporate.
 
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Agronut

Well-Known Member
Lordhooha said:
This is how you destroy thc. Once chopped the light degrades thc just like heat causes it to evaporate.
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i sort of disagree… and LordH, this isnt specific for you but in general I’ve heard the same for years, but my experience has been 2-3 days in the sun then 7-10 days of normal drying actually IMPROVED the quality….I wanted to hear more from those with experience rather than the usual “its terrible” commentary.
 
Wizzlebiz

Wizzlebiz

Well-Known Member
Agronut said:
i sort of disagree… and LordH, this isnt specific for you but in general I’ve heard the same for years, but my experience has been 2-3 days in the sun then 7-10 days of normal drying actually IMPROVED the quality….I wanted to hear more from those with experience rather than the usual “its terrible” commentary.
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The simple conclusion I have come to on this is grow your plants to ripeness so you don't have to degrade THC to try and achieve it after you have chopped.

There is only so much THC a plant can produce. If you grow it to full ripeness you have hit the max potential for that particular plant.
 
lusidghost

lusidghost

Well-Known Member
Agronut said:
i sort of disagree… and LordH, this isnt specific for you but in general I’ve heard the same for years, but my experience has been 2-3 days in the sun then 7-10 days of normal drying actually IMPROVED the quality….I wanted to hear more from those with experience rather than the usual “its terrible” commentary.
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Who does this? I've never heard of anyone drying their plants in the sun. All of the Strain Hunter episodes I've seen show the growers drying them in shacks or open walled shelters at least.
 
Wizzlebiz

Wizzlebiz

Well-Known Member
lusidghost said:
Who does this? I've never heard of anyone drying their plants in the sun. All of the Strain Hunter episodes I've seen show the growers drying them in shacks or open walled shelters at least.
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When I wash my outdoor buds I let them sun dry on a screen for about an hour. That is directly after chop. It's only to help get out the additional moisture from the wash. Then it goes into total darkness.
 
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DrOgkush

DrOgkush

Well-Known Member
Agronut said:
i sort of disagree… and LordH, this isnt specific for you but in general I’ve heard the same for years, but my experience has been 2-3 days in the sun then 7-10 days of normal drying actually IMPROVED the quality….I wanted to hear more from those with experience rather than the usual “its terrible” commentary.
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You can disagree all you want. But science is to prove otherwise. As for your personal experience. That’s does not count for any of us. That’s all you and only your experience. You can say it’s the best weed in the world. But reality. Science says it around 5%.
 
Lordhooha

Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
Agronut said:
i sort of disagree… and LordH, this isnt specific for you but in general I’ve heard the same for years, but my experience has been 2-3 days in the sun then 7-10 days of normal drying actually IMPROVED the quality….I wanted to hear more from those with experience rather than the usual “its terrible” commentary.
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Ok well have fun I guess. Apparently you only want to hear what you want rather then actual science. Light and heat destroy thc no matter what you want what you want to believe. I have plenty of experience and it simply degrades said bud.
 
madvillian420

madvillian420

Well-Known Member
Id be interested if you did a side by side, from the same plant, replicating the conditions exactly with one space being dark and one in the sun. Ive always been more wary and concerned of the degradation more than any possible (maybe placebo even) benefits.

What if your trichs are just degrading further in the sun and turning more amber, therefore giving you a more couchlock high that you perceive as "improved quality". Without actual testing its all just conjecture tbh.
 
lusidghost

lusidghost

Well-Known Member
DrOgkush said:
And. No. once you cut the water supply completely off. Plant dies. Does not continue to grow for 2-3 days, Wilts and dies.
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If you aren't giving them direct light they can live for a surprisingly long time without being watered. I have a bunch of bonsai plants in 4" rockwool cubes that I decided to get rid of on Tuesday. I moved them to a table that wasn't getting direct light and they're still looking healthy. I noticed one was finally wilting last night.
 
Lordhooha

Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
Herb & Suds said:
It seems to me someone with “three advanced science degrees”
As well as 35 years growing experience would have taken a more scientific approach to this
As opposed to a here is what I think thread on a weed site
I smell something funny here
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I'd like to know what these advanced degrees are. I mean I have my computer science, horticultural degrees and all of my certifications to boot. Not to mention I grow professionally......
 
C. Nesbitt

C. Nesbitt

Well-Known Member
Agronut said:
…the plant cells in the buds all continue to function for 3-4 days after being chopped, why would drying for 2-3 days in the sun be a BAD thing?
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I don’t think you’re going to find many other people that sun dry. If it works for you and you like the result, more power to you though.
My experience with the plant cells continuing to function after buds are chopped is that it really doesn’t continue for 3-4 days, unless the stems are in water or it’s humid. Respiration keeps going for a short period, but as soon as the available water is gone, leaves wilt and become non-functioning quickly. They are shriveled and mostly dead the next day.
 
A

Agronut

Well-Known Member
Herb & Suds said:
It seems to me someone with “three advanced science degrees”
As well as 35 years growing experience would have taken a more scientific approach to this
As opposed to a here is what I think thread on a weed site
I smell something funny here
Click to expand...
You should study up a bit on plant cellular function then, and I even mentioned in the original post that I had done side by side studies, short of taking them to the testing lab. Nice inference and thanks for taking shots at me just because I asked what some other long-term growers might be doing.
 
C. Nesbitt

C. Nesbitt

Well-Known Member
Agronut said:
You should study up a bit on plant cellular function then, and I even mentioned in the original post that I had done side by side studies, short of taking them to the testing lab. Nice inference and thanks for taking shots at me just because I asked what some other long-term growers might be doing.
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You asked a kind of oddball question and 7 or 8 long term growers all piped in and said they didn’t think it was a good idea. No need to be testy or butthurt about the responses. It’s a conversation, it doesn’t t need to be a pissy back and forth debate just because we all grow, harvest, dry, and cure (or don’t cure) differently.
Maybe someone who also sun dries and is pleased with the result will chime in but unlikely.
Maybe if we had a Mexican highland growers forum, sun drying was popular in those regions and some old heads still swear they loved some of that stuff more than anything around today.
 
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