# Drying my weed



## Track (May 31, 2014)

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or not, but my weed hasn't come out like the pictures I see online.

Now, I quick-dried it by placing it in my grow room with the lights turned on for 3 days. Each day, it was a little dryer until it finally became completely dry.

This is what I see online. As you can see, it's like a small puff ball:






Where as my weed looks like dried oregano, with no puffiness. The leaves are all curled and dry. It feels like there is no substance.






Am I seeing wrong? I'd really like some professional input on this.

Thanks!


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## lowrydergrower775 (May 31, 2014)

what wattage did you grow the plant under? alot has to do with the conditions the plant was grown in also every weed is different and a greater part of those compact buds you see there have to do with light intensity plant health and also strain also always try to dry in a dark area


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## Rosebud (May 31, 2014)

Have you read about curing? You dry in the dark and then jar....


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## Track (May 31, 2014)

Rosebud said:


> Have you read about curing? You dry in the dark and then jar....



Yes, I've realized that the reason my buds don't look as 'juicy' is because of either the lit drying or the lack of curing.

Curing seems to take about a month. Is it worth it?


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## Rosebud (May 31, 2014)

Yes it is worth it to do a nice cure. I understand being in a hurry, but that sounds like some nasty harsh stuff that doesn't need to be harsh or nasty.... over drying isn't good.


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## MR1 (May 31, 2014)

If it has been dried to 57% it is to late for curing. The curing takes place before the bud dries out.that is why you have to dry it slowly.


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## Track (May 31, 2014)

What do you mean 'over drying'?

Eventually, the buds will get to be 100% dry, no? As long as they're not connected to the plant.

So, I'm supposed to put them in the mason jar as soon as they reach 50% dryness?


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## Hackerman (May 31, 2014)

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54451

Check out this thread. It tells you how to cure, step by step.


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## Track (May 31, 2014)

Hackerman said:


> http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54451
> 
> Check out this thread. It tells you how to cure, step by step.



So, if I'm getting this right:

1.) Trim buds, remove leaves.
2.) Hang the buds in the dark until the stem is slightly harder but not dry.
3.) Cut buds into smaller portions and store in mason jar.
4.) Keep in mason jar for about a month, opening for 10-20 minutes a day.
5.) Once buds reach 55% dryness, they are finished curing.

Is that right? I'm not totally clear about how the stem should feel.. it's already kind of hard and when it's dry it doesn't really snap for me..


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## Rosebud (May 31, 2014)

You got it.


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## Track (May 31, 2014)

Rosebud said:


> You got it.



Sorry, the site is telling me I can't rep you again?


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## Hackerman (May 31, 2014)

Yeah, you got it. I put hygrometers in the jars so I could keep track of the humidity.


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## Hushpuppy (May 31, 2014)

It depends on how much you have drying at one time but when I had my grow in ffull swing, I was drying about a pound at a time. I built a cabinet that had shelves in it that were made with window screen. I cut my buds up into good size nuggets after trimming all the leaves off then placed them on a screen and placed in cabinet. The cabinet had holes in the bottom to let in air and a hole in the top with a computer fan connected to a timer. 

When I had my cabinet full, I would turn on the fan continuous so that it would pull the moisture out of the cabinet slowly so as to not create a breeze on the buds. I usually let them set in the cabinet for 4-8 days, depending on the amount of bud and the level of ambient moisture in the atmosphere. But I could tell when the buds were ready to be jarred by gently squeezing a few of them. They would feel slightly soft inside but crispy on the outside. 

At that point I would take them off the screens and put them in jars. Fill the jars about 3/4 full and close lid then place in dark space for 24hrs. Then go back and open jars and feel the buds. If the buds ffeel wet, I dump them out on the screens again and allow them to sit in air ffor a few hours, then put back in jars for 12hrs, then check again. Usually they would be fine at this point for airing them out every 12hrs for 1 week. Then air them every 24hrs for another week. Then air them out every 48hrs for another week. At that point they are ready ffor use but could be kept in jars and continue to be aired every 48hrs for another 1-3weeks for finer curing to really bring out the fflavors.

The key to knowing when to move to the next function is in feeling the buds for "crispiness" and inner "mushiness", then the buds should lose the "crispiness" on the outside while feeling more stiff or firm on the inside. By the 3rd week they should feel a little "leathery" on the outside but very stiff when squeezed.

Your buds looked to be small, "airy popcorn" buds rather than dense "nuggets". If those are the best of your yield then you are doing something wrong. Some strains will produce "acorn" buds or "golf ball" buds but the density and weight, and tightness of the buds is almost always a result of the amount of light that the plants receive while flowering. Yours look as if they didn't get enough lumens during their development and/or were subjected to continually high temperatures.


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## skullcandy (Jun 1, 2014)

Hushpuppy I am also learning how to cure . I am gonna try the method you explained i left mine in a dry rack for like a month there were way dry and i was wondering why the smoke i cured was not so good . thanks HP


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## Track (Jun 1, 2014)

Hushpuppy said:


> It depends on how much you have drying at one time but when I had my grow in ffull swing, I was drying about a pound at a time. I built a cabinet that had shelves in it that were made with window screen. I cut my buds up into good size nuggets after trimming all the leaves off then placed them on a screen and placed in cabinet. The cabinet had holes in the bottom to let in air and a hole in the top with a computer fan connected to a timer.



Sounds like what you created was similar to this:
http://boards.cannabis.com/attachme...2-showing-off-my-new-drying-rack-000_0279.jpg



Hushpuppy said:


> Your buds looked to be small, "airy popcorn" buds rather than dense "nuggets". If those are the best of your yield then you are doing something wrong. Some strains will produce "acorn" buds or "golf ball" buds but the density and weight, and tightness of the buds is almost always a result of the amount of light that the plants receive while flowering. Yours look as if they didn't get enough lumens during their development and/or were subjected to continually high temperatures.



Those are definitely not my biggest buds. I took small ones just for a test.
However, I do agree that my buds aren't as big as some I've seen.

The light can't be the reason. I have 5 plants under a 1000w HPS.

The temperature could be the reason. I didn't have an airconditioner until about 3 weeks ago, and the temps were high.
But even now, I only have the air conditioner working every half hour, not continuously.. so there are spikes - something hot sometimes cold. Is that okay?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 1, 2014)

The buds are not going to try tight and nuggy if they are not tight and nuggy to begin with.  If the buds are airier, it is most likely because you simply did not have as dense as the bud you posted.  There is simply no way to cure and/or dry that will make buds that did not start out dense denser.  If anything they get a little more open and airier.

I also trim off far more leaf material than you did--virtually all the leaf material that I can.  Leaf material makes the bud smoke harsh.  And it is not like you are wasting it--you can make hash when you get enough.


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## lyfespan (Jun 1, 2014)

I was looking into a system like this one for drying my nugs. 

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Quick-Cure-Drying-Rack-Flowers/dp/B004MS4L5G/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1401644836&sr=8-12&keywords=herb+drying+rack[/ame]


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## Track (Jun 1, 2014)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> The buds are not going to try tight and nuggy if they are not tight and nuggy to begin with.  If the buds are airier, it is most likely because you simply did not have as dense as the bud you posted.  There is simply no way to cure and/or dry that will make buds that did not start out dense denser.  If anything they get a little more open and airier.
> 
> I also trim off far more leaf material than you did--virtually all the leaf material that I can.  Leaf material makes the bud smoke harsh.  And it is not like you are wasting it--you can make hash when you get enough.



Yeah, the hash idea was given to me by a friend. I'll look into that.

I gave it to a good friend of mine and he said it's as good as what he's used to buying around here.

So, that means that a bud that has been light-dried, not cured and left hanging in my grow room for 6 days is easily sell-able, which is very good news for me


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## Hushpuppy (Jun 2, 2014)

Lyffespan: I think that is a good drying rack, even though I have never used one like that. Mine was similar, just home-made. It is important to have very little air movement but just enough to pull the moist air away from the buds without creating a breeze that would over-dry them.

Track: it is certainly possible for the high temps and temp swings to cause the buds to be airy. You really have to maintain a balanced environment with very little extremes or wild temp swings. It also makes a difference that the water is kept cool, 65-72f(18-22c). The plants don't like water above 75f(23c). If what you have done so far is on par with the local stuff then you are on your way. As you get more experience and knowledge, you will be able to produce buds that blow away the commercial stuff.


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## Track (Jun 4, 2014)

Hushpuppy said:


> Track: it is certainly possible for the high temps and temp swings to cause the buds to be airy. You really have to maintain a balanced environment with very little extremes or wild temp swings. It also makes a difference that the water is kept cool, 65-72f(18-22c). The plants don't like water above 75f(23c). If what you have done so far is on par with the local stuff then you are on your way. As you get more experience and knowledge, you will be able to produce buds that blow away the commercial stuff.



So, you're saying that by turning the airconditioner on and off I am actually doing more bad than good?

In that case, I should set it to a lower temperature and keep it on 24/7?


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## orangesunshine (Jun 4, 2014)

old school harvest---clip off all fan leaves and hang upside down on a clothesline in a dark cool place with fans indirectly moving the air under the hanging branches and not directly blowing on them---when you feel the flowers are no longer wet but not completely dry---time to trim for bag appeal, collect keif, and trim for hash---jar, bag, or bucket for storage in a cool dark location burping the containers every few days---some will plug in a dehumidifier if the climate has a high RH

happy harvest 

View attachment IMG_0185.JPG


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## bwanabud (Jun 4, 2014)

*Density*
Strain is the biggest difference in the 2 pictures, genetics play a big part in density, taste, smell, yields, etc... Along with growing conditions & health(too hot in room=fluffy....healthy root systems are needed...correct nutrients when plants need them).

We all work at getting our rooms tweaked, finding the right strain(then narrowing down the exact pheno), nutrient schedule, etc. When you find the "perfect" formula, it will all come together.

*Drying*
Everyone drys & cures a little differently, based on past success...but mainly the difference is how much product you're cycling. A small 2-3 plant operation is done simply(hang, trim, jar, smoke)...a larger operation needs to dry in larger bulk, and sometimes more quickly with controls maximizing humidity levels.

I bulk dry on racks, I speed dry in a controlled dehumidified & fan box....I use 2' x 3' racks. 

View attachment rack1.JPG


View attachment DSCN1585.JPG


View attachment DSCN1586.JPG


View attachment DSCN1568.JPG


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## Track (Jun 4, 2014)

Hey, that's awesome.

My design is actually similar to yours - pipes, what an interesting idea.

I plan on using 8mm hardwood to create frames on top of which I will staple the netting. The buds are only 5-15mm, so I can save a ton of space this way.

As for the lights, I thought the buds are supposed to dry in pitch darkness. Am I wrong or is that just for drying really fast as you said?


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## jewboy (Jun 7, 2014)

Bwanabud man how much time and money did that drying rack cost you!! Very impressive steel container for a groom and Track your bud isn't in the same league as the online photo you have shown that has substance and density compared to yours which looks like it was taken down far too early, although some strains are wispy and some are solid nugs top to bottom.
Not too bad though i dry the same way although not directly under the lights but above in the flower room.
Jewboy


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