# drying buds



## 6060 (Aug 8, 2005)

yo could anyone please tell me the best way of drying the buds


----------



## GanjaGuru (Aug 12, 2005)

see my other post here on curing.


----------



## Themanwithnoname (Aug 12, 2005)

place in a brown paper bag and let dry for a week or two in a dark cool place....

space them so they dont get mold


----------



## Jack*POT (Aug 26, 2005)

hang them up-side down for about a week or two. "more potent this way"


----------



## GanjaGuru (Aug 26, 2005)

I disagree Jack.  
I perfected my method thru more than 20 years of trail and error.
A friend and I stumbled upon paper-bag drying and in the last 5 years since I've been touting it on the internet it has become widely-used.
I think it will eventually replace the old "hanging" method because
-It takes up far less space.
-Is way less conspicuos(sp).
-Jump-starts the curing process.
-Promotes more even drying.


----------



## hemp319 (Dec 11, 2009)

so is it better t put wet buds directly into paper bag without hanging first?


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 11, 2009)

hemp319 said:
			
		

> so is it better t put wet buds directly into paper bag without hanging first?



This thread is over 4 years old, however, no I do not agree.  I hang my buds, skip the paper bag, and then jar them.


----------



## mojavemama (Dec 12, 2009)

I have major, major problems with curing. I've tried hanging, paper bags, but I can't keep them damp enough. I live in an extremely arid climate, single digit humidity most of the year, and run several humidifiers all the time. I can't get the humidity up to over 40% in the grow room, and that's after the room has been closed off for hours. Everything dries here at warp speed. I can put wet jeans outside in the shade and they will be bone dry in half an hour, including the seams. 

So my problem is one of how to keep the buds from drying too quickly. 

Any fresh and humid ideas for this desert dweller?


----------



## leafminer (Dec 12, 2009)

I use the paper bag method, but mainly because there's nowhere in the house I can hang the bud up to dry without risking unwelcome attention. Besides it is too smelly like that. I find it works fine ... I have used both methods, no diff as far as I'm concerned.


----------



## leafminer (Dec 12, 2009)

mojavemama: Depends on how much bud you are drying. I also have a very arid climate much of the time, had the same problem. I place the bags in a closed drawer in an old chest of drawers. That works well. I like mine to take about 10 days to dry before I jar them. If it is REALLY dry, I use bubble-pack bags but just leave them open.


----------



## BBFan (Dec 13, 2009)

mojavemama said:
			
		

> I have major, major problems with curing. I've tried hanging, paper bags, but I can't keep them damp enough. I live in an extremely arid climate, single digit humidity most of the year, and run several humidifiers all the time. I can't get the humidity up to over 40% in the grow room, and that's after the room has been closed off for hours. Everything dries here at warp speed. I can put wet jeans outside in the shade and they will be bone dry in half an hour, including the seams.
> 
> So my problem is one of how to keep the buds from drying too quickly.
> 
> Any fresh and humid ideas for this desert dweller?


 
Hello Mojavemama!

Have you tried skipping the hanging and going straight to bags, keeping the bag tightly rolled at the top?  That may help slow down the drying problem.  I'm trying it now (based on another posters suggestion) and it has really slowed down the dry process compared to the one's I'm hanging, though my humidity is around 40%.

I sometimes have that problem with really dense buds- the outside gets bone dry, almost crispy- but it's still very damp inside.  I rotate it between hanging (or bagging) and jarring.  I'll put the buds in a jar for up to 12 hours (check it frequently), and it gets pretty damp again- the dry outer plant draws the moisture from within.  It's a real pita and you really have to stay on top of it to avoid mold- but it works.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Qman (Dec 13, 2009)

mojavemama said:
			
		

> I have major, major problems with curing. I've tried hanging, paper bags, but I can't keep them damp enough. I live in an extremely arid climate, single digit humidity most of the year, and run several humidifiers all the time. I can't get the humidity up to over 40% in the grow room, and that's after the room has been closed off for hours. Everything dries here at warp speed. I can put wet jeans outside in the shade and they will be bone dry in half an hour, including the seams.
> 
> So my problem is one of how to keep the buds from drying too quickly.
> 
> Any fresh and humid ideas for this desert dweller?



Yeah, I would try the bag trick and roll the bag tight so the budz are a little compact, and in the dark. Make sure that you 'fluff' a lot - goodluck

Personally, I hang for about 7 days (or until the stems snap) then they go into jars to bring some moisture back out, then they go on a screen for the finish (a couple days) then back into their jars. Then from that point I 'burp' the jars a few times a day for the next couple weeks, that's it...

:48:


----------



## chuckdee123 (Dec 29, 2009)

bump.
hey experts, you should maybe talk about why paper bag drying is good/bad. 
i would appreciate it. this dude GanjaGuru sounds very convincing, but i consider THG's opinion trustworthy too... ???


----------



## BBFan (Dec 30, 2009)

I often skip the bags myself.  But there are occassions when I find them useful.

IMO, if you have dense buds and you have let them hang dry, when you go straight to jars, you'll find they will often feel moist again as the moisture in the center of the bud wicks out towards the outside.  This can sometimes happen within hours, depending on conditions.

If you stay on top of your jars, you'll be fine.  But if you let them go too long, you risk mold.

By putting them in bags first (before the jars), you reduce the risk of mold by letting them "sweat" in a less enclosed environment than the jars provide.

Based on the recommendation of another grower here on MP, I dried some bud from a recent harvest by skipping the hanging and putting them right in bags fresh off the plant.  I left them in there for about 2 1/2 weeks (checking them daily) and they dried nice and slowly and didn't end up with that crispy exterior that can sometimes happen by letting them hang dry too long.

I think in a more arid environment (like here in the winter or like _MojaveMama_'s conditions year 'round), the outside of the bud dries quickly while the inside stays moist.  Using bags sweats the bud at a slower rate than the jars will.

Just my thoughts.


----------



## chuckdee123 (Dec 30, 2009)

very solid reply BB. 

at this point (even though i have a long time until i need to cure) i'm leaning towards the paper bags...seeing as i'm growing indica only and i also plan on using Gravity when it comes time, i (hopefully) will have some very dense nugs. 
on my first grow, i hung them for 4 or 5 days, and they felt real dry to the touch, i took them down and trimmed it. and after it was trimmed i found that it felt moist and the stems did not break, so i jared them. its been about a month and it seems okay... but i felt like i could have screwed it if i let them hang for much longer, getting all crispy dry on the outside and what not....

on your successful paper bag dry, did you trim all the bud as soon as you cut the plant, then throw them in the bags fully trimmed?


----------



## BBFan (Dec 31, 2009)

Hi chuckdee123-

I always trim before I hang and when I tried the straight to bag method I actually not only trimmed, but also removed the buds from the stems / branches.  Each day I would turn them slightly in the bag.

I want to point out that in the test I did I used about 125 grams wet, which yielded about 3/4 oz or so.  I didn't want to risk my entire harvest.

That being said, I'll probably do the whole harvest that way next time.  Like QMan said earlier, I have all too often had to take bud out of the jar after the first day or so of cure and do additional drying on a screen- which can sometimes be a real pita. 

Good luck with your current grow and upcoming harvest.

And Happy New Year!


----------

