# Large yield differences between wet and dry buds



## Chen (Dec 28, 2016)

The last few grows my wet yield and dry yield have varied wildly.

Three grows ago, my wet yield was 2,120g and my dry was 612g, or 29%.

Two grows ago, my wet yield was 2,025g and my dry was 779g or 39%.

Last grow it was 2,547g wet and 562g dry or 23%.

This grow it was a whopping 3,581g wet and only 735g dry..


Is it the buds or the drying..?

This time around, the humidity was around 75% and after a week the buds still felt wet so I turned on the AC to heat for a few hours.

The buds became noticeably dry, even brittle.

So, I sat them back in the 75% humidity room and they went back to feeling wet but the weight was the same..

So, did I do something wrong with the drying? Could I have had a better yield? Or is it just how the buds turned out?

And if so.. why? The buds looks great! Thick and full of resin. Doesn't make sense.

Thanks for the help!


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## Lesso (Dec 28, 2016)

Same strain? Do you have hygrometers in your curing jars? Are you sampling between weighing?


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## Rosebud (Dec 28, 2016)

Are you growing the same strain?  I haven't weighed my harvest in a few years but I think mine was usually half dry from wet...  Bovida packs are nice for the cure.   Humidity may be a a factor.  If you over dry a jar and want to put humidity back in the jar, use a fan leaf from a growing plant. it is magic.. good luck chen.


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## umbra (Dec 28, 2016)

So you know...water weighs 8lbs/gal. Wet weight means diddley squat.


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## daftpunk (Dec 28, 2016)

sTRAIN DEPENDENT I HAVE GROWN CHEES THAT WHEN CHOPPED WET ONLY LOST 45-55% TO BEING DRY JUST VERY DENSE BUDS SAYING THAT OTHERS ARE MAINLY 65-70% OF WET WEIGHT ONCE DRY AND CURED.
dAFTPUNK.


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## Locked (Dec 28, 2016)

umbra said:


> So you know...water weighs 8lbs/gal. Wet weight means diddley squat.



:yeahthat:


I don't ever weigh my buds wet.


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## Lesso (Dec 28, 2016)

Hamster Lewis said:


> :yeahthat:
> 
> 
> I don't ever weigh my buds wet.



I used to... I dont see a point anymore. I only did it out of curiosity.


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## Surfer Joe (Dec 29, 2016)

Chen said:


> The last few grows my wet yield and dry yield have varied wildly.
> 
> Three grows ago, my wet yield was 2,120g and my dry was 612g, or 29%.
> 
> ...


The condition of the plants at harvest would be different if you cut them after watering or after lights out or on, etc. 
I harvested a plant when it hadn't been watered in 3 days and it dried out a lot faster than one I harvested soon after watering.


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## Kraven (Dec 29, 2016)

Wet weight is not a viable variable and has no place in the equation....it will return false information. I use a more standard measurement such as gram per watt or Oz per square foot. Peace


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## grass hopper (Dec 29, 2016)

i grew some blackberry dream recently. the buds were  the hardest, denses i ever grew. also by far the heaviest plants i ever grew..   dense = weight..


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## Chen (Dec 30, 2016)

Kraven said:


> Wet weight is not a viable variable and has no place in the equation....it will return false information.



Not sure why people keep saying this.

There is a definitive correlation between wet and dry. It's always somewhere between 20% and 30%.

My question is - what did I do to get 20% this time as opposed to 30% last time.

Someone mentioned harvesting before watering. No, I harvested when the plants were dry.


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## Kraven (Dec 30, 2016)

Good luck, happy growing. Glad you got it all figured out.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 30, 2016)

Regardless of whether harvesting when the plants are "dry", there will always be differences in the amount of water that different plants hold.  Even the RH changing can affect the moisture in plants.  There really is no definitive correlation between wet and dry because of the fact that you will never have the same starting amount of moisture in each plant and there is no way to accurately measure it.  This is an unknown variable that is beyond your control or assessment.  Seriously, it is like different towels holding different amounts of moisture.

And people keep saying that wet weight doesn't mean anything because it doesn't.


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## Kraven (Dec 30, 2016)

I tried THG, looks like OP is not interested in learning right now.


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## Rosebud (Dec 30, 2016)

Chen, what is your reason for caring about wet weight?


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## WeedHopper (Dec 30, 2016)

I dont give a crap about nothing but the end result of my Harvest after its cured. I dont sale so weight really doesn't mean much to me,,just how many jars i got filed and how long it will last me,, in a series of small fires. :smoke1:


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## Lesso (Dec 30, 2016)

Op.... You havent given the info requested by the respondents. We dont have enough info to answer your question.


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## umbra (Dec 30, 2016)

Chen, there is not much point to asking a question if you don't like the answers. Some of the most experienced growers have tried to tell you that the wet and dry weight do not correlate. As a scientist, I am telling you there is no relationship between wet and dry weight. As a grower for 35 years, I am telling you there is no relationship between wet and dry weight. Believe what you want, but clearly you have no idea how any of this works.


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## Lesso (Dec 30, 2016)

Exactly....last grow i had 2 lbs of sticks and one pound of leaves...wet weight of course.


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## orangesunshine (Dec 31, 2016)

no comprende what the heck is happening here---thg hit the nail on the head in her comparison to a wet towel---RH plays a factor in harvest weight---wet or dry medium will also determine harvest weight---since you can't smoke or sell wet weed---what's the point of weighing wet weed---if your just trying to guestimate the final weight of the dry product when it's wet---30% is as good as any #---seems it would be easier to just to wait till it was dry and trimmed to weigh it---proper drying and curing is WAAAY more important than % of moisture your flowers are holding at harvest---we love growing mr chen and will all do what we can to help


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## Kraven (Dec 31, 2016)

I'll second a proper dry and cure, sure will make or break a harvest. I'm all for helping, just gotta convince the horse to drink the water.


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## Hushpuppy (Jan 3, 2017)

The problem here is with the math. Chen, You are looking at the final dry weight as a variable, and you are looking at the moisture as a constant. The dry weight is a constant (because when nothing else can leave the material as it dries, the mass becomes stable). The moisture is the variable. Because the plants have varying amounts of moisture in a continuing cycle, you will always get different percentages. 

There is a correlation between wet and dry weight, but because that correlation is due to the variable of moisture present, the correlation is nonlinear and worthless as a measure of productivity.
I know that's splitting hairs but I believe that's the mechanics of it.

The bottom line: wet weight versus dry weight is not a viable form of measure of how well the final yield will be


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