Want Bag Appeal? Curing Matters

Odis

Active Member
great tread ! I have some questions.. curing my first harvest as well, I could not be more happy for my first harvest ! started with seven diferent stains from clones. I thought for sure that i would kill them all dead dead dead.. to my suprize they all made it and have given me some wounderful buds. everyone of them had there own look and smell during flower as well as color. the only complaint at this point is that after dry/curing for a bit over a week all strains(not all were harvested at same time but withen a week or so of each other) are basicaly the same color. dont get me wrong they look good, but was hoping to really have a varity of colors as well. for exsample i have some blue berry that look really lime green after triming (trimed tightly at harvest) and i like the lime green look of some of the blue berry that i have smoked in the past. Really the best B.B i have smoked was a light lime green color, unreal taste. so far all of my strains are darker green lots of orange hairs but none of them look as if the will lighen in color much from were they are now. with all of them i trimed,hung a day or two, put in paper bags for a few more days and then to jars i have been dumping them out to air for 1-3 hr each day and then back to the jars. is there something that im doing that is giving the buds a darker look. from my estament i say there about a week or so out from the best cure time, before storage. anyone have some input on the effects of good color of your lovely buds?? if i find time ill try and post some pics. if i can fig out how to? HA..

the B.B about 2 weeks before harvest. hope i posted this pic right dont have any pics of the curing bud yet

 

MostlyCrazy

New Member
Part of the drying/curing process is distribution and degrading of the clorafil (the green part in plants). Things kind of even out as the cure progresses and I would think by the time you are done they will show color variations.
 

mr.woodes

Active Member
great info....+rep


Cash cropper? Personal user that wants to show off their harvest? Want your bud to have bag appeal? Then PROPER curing is a must. Along with curing it is also necessary to manicure and dry your buds properly too. Proper manicuring, drying and curing will get you the most out of your weed. Not only does it make the nugs look, taste, and smell better; it makes them more potent.

Think of this: As a grower you spent months of your time, a good sum of money to grow sinsemilla with great genetics, a high THC content, and a fantastic high and in the end it looks, tastes, and smokes like shit; yeah it's gets you high but don't you want it to LOOK like it will get you high. Remember too that properly dried and cured buds are more potent too. Proper drying and curing is a must if you are looking to cash in. I don't know about you but I won't pay top dollar for something that just looks like uncompressed or unbricked mids, tastes and smells like hay or leaves, and is harsh as hell to smoke.

Now think about yourself as a buyer. Is there nothing worse than a grower who's bud is still wet? You have to pay $50-60 for a 1/8th and you have to leave it out overnight to dry because it won't burn right. You get up in the morning and it weighs 2.5 grams now instead of the 3.5 that you paid for. Do you like paying for moisture? I don't. Do you like smoking weed that tastes like hay or leaves? I don't. Do you want the weed you buy to look and smell DANK? I do. Nothing worse than greedy growers who can't wait 2 more weeks to cash in! You don't want that reputation do you?

Here's the steps I was taught by an experienced grower, I have been doing this everytime for quite a few years.

Step 1: Rough Manicuring. You'll want to remove fan leaves and larger leaves in the bud before you start drying. You can throw them out or save them to make hash. Be sure to leave the small inner leaves though.
EX: My rule of thumb is if I can see the leaves' stem, it gets cut. Leaves with green arrows get cut, leaves with red arrows stay.
View attachment 218627
Green Go, Red Stay
View attachment 218628
Green Go, Red Stay

Step 2: Slow drying. Drying your buds properly means drying them slowly but not so slowly that mold develops. Drying should be done is a COOL, DARK place with plently of ventilation and low humidity. Ideal drying conditions are temperatures between 60-70 degrees F and humidity below 60%. A fan is a great way to have good air circulation but you don't want the fan/s to blow directly on the buds, this will cause them to dry too fast or cause the outside to become extremely dry and brittle while the inside is still too moist. Buds dried too fast tend to taste like leaves or grass, and smoke harsh.

The best way to dry is to hang the colas and large buds upside down on a line by their stems. Your smaller buds or buds without longer stems can be laid out on a drying screen. Be sure to check them daily for any signs of mold or other problems. When the tips of the buds feel crisp to the touch you will want to remove the from the stems. This is the point at which you'll want to finish trimming or manicuring you buds. Take off all big and medium leaves if you haven't already, trim the larger inner leaves as close to the bud as you can. Really small leaves can stay.
View attachment 218629
Red stays, Green gets trimmed.

Step 3: The next step after your buds trimmed up nicely is the second step of the slow drying process. Brown paper bags. Grocery bags are fine. Put the buds that are crisp on the tips into the bags, I make sure the buds I put in aren't stacked more than 2-3 inches high off the bottom. If you put too many buds in you won't get enough air circulation, which could cause mold. Another reason not to layer too many is that your buds weigh more since they are still somewhat moist, this will cause the buds at or near the bottom to compress. You can leave the bags open at this point so they are getting fresh air; some people prefer to close the bags and punch holes in them. Whichever you choose, be sure to rotate them every day. After the first 2-3 days you can close the bags, you should still check daily. The bags absorb excess moisture and allow the buds to dry very evenly. The amount of time depends on the conditions in your area and the density of youe buds. Extremely dense buds will take much longer than light wispy, airy buds. Just check them everyday.

Step 4: Once your buds are dry, they are ready to be cured. Curing is what gives your buds the DANK smell and taste. It also evens out the coloring, "brings out the crystals", and makes your smoke smoother. Loosely fill Mason jars with the buds and put the lids on tightly. You should open the jars once daily and rearrange the buds for the first 7 days. After that it is only necessary to open the jars daily. Curing should be at least 2 weeks. Some strains can take up to 2 months to completely cure. But as a rule of thumb, 2 weeks should give you primo looking, smelling, tasting, and potent DANK buds.


Here are some pictures of some Jack Herer nugs, all pictures are the same strain, same mother plant, grown by the same grower, in the same room.

View attachment 218651
Uncured Jack Herer
View attachment 218652
Uncured Jack Herer
View attachment 218653
Cured Jack Herer (2.5 weeks)
View attachment 218654
Cured JAck Herer (2.5 weeks)
 

Flo Grow

Well-Known Member
If properly dried, you shouldn't have to open the jars after 2 weeks of curing.
Assuming of course that you burped properly during the 1st week in the jars.
Mine have been good for months, until all smoked, after 2 - 3 weeks in the jar.

They only get opened when I want some dank.
 

mustangmaddi

Active Member
yeah me too, also needed somehwere to order auto ak47 lowriders females as well. and i wanted to know if anyone has done it THEMSELFS?


p.s this is by FAR the BEST post i have Ever seen on here. rollitup.org should have the check in the mail to you by now.... Thanks again
I know you didn't ask me, but I'm offering a review of Nirvana. They are an outstanding source for seeds. Even when they mess up and sell seeds that don't produce as well as expected, they offer you substitutions. Also they are very discreet.

This site really was very helpful to me. I live in one of those 10% humidity states and was wondering if it made sense to drop little hygrometers in your canning jars to check humidity.
 
28 page [days] later dum dum dum lol
Really enjoyed reading the whole thing props on every1
& really useful, cant believe the thread died out a bit tho?
A little question tho, if i put the buds in a mcd's paper bag and
leave it in my door-less[but dark] wardrobe floor level, will i just need to leave
the window slighty open for a cool breeze as my room as can get high RH
rather quick if i dont open the window daily! but wont that same cool breeze
dry out the bag rather quick ?

NB: if i leave a dry ass bud on the side, in 30mins or so it feels like moist paper in a high RH room? - but if i leave the window open it stays pretty much dry... so thats
why i also say slightly open....
Any help would be super, thanks for asking :D
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Used the cut and hang>paper bag>glass mason jar technique. No freezer or refrigeration. 10 months later and buds are still fresh and prime. From cut and hang to final burp took about 8 weeks. First time I did it this way and I doubt I would change methods. Maybe slow down the dry time on the line somewhat if I can.
 

FarmerKT

Member
This is one of the best post I've seen so far, I'm actually using this as a tool right now as we speak... +rep from me def!
 
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