BobCajun
Well-Known Member
That's the thing, it takes a year at room temperature (or soil temperature) as opposed to a few days or weeks at 125 F. Similar results, just a vast difference in how long you have to wait. I have heard of people burying weed and Aspergillus growing on it, which is quite toxic. Maybe they didn't do it right, I don't know.Burying does not mold the bud if it is prepared properly. In this process the bud is rolled in a corn or other plant husk, then tightly wrapped with fiber, creating a bundle called a cob. Cobs are gathered together in a larger bundle, which is buried in the ground for a year. The anaerobic fermentation type process creates the exact same type of profile your buds display-- golden brown, super potent and aromatic. The process has been used in Africa for ages. Similar types of anaerobic cure can take place in Mex brick weed when it is harvested in large piles which are left to lie in the field under a partial canopy.
By the way, I applaud your sense of adventure and experimentation. I myself like to keep my buds curing for months before I sample them, and during that time many strains do cure down to a golden brown color-- but this is a different type of cure. I think your flue cure is much closer to an anaerobic process.
Personally I don't even let it ferment long enough for ammonia to be noticeable. It's not anaerobic conditions anyway other than being a pile, so maybe there is very little if any fermentation. It's just in a short pile and I mix it regularly. Never smelled ammonia at all. But I figure the ammonia will react with the THCA to form the ammonium salt and then when you smoke it the ammonia will be released and you'll inhale it. If you can smell ammonia then that means all of the THCA must have been made into the salt and then there was excess. The fact that I can't smell ammonia may mean that some was formed and did make the salt but it didn't reach the point of excess. Couldn't taste ammonia when I smoked it though. As I said, my goal is to get rid of the chlorophyll and give it the smell of Colombian. Fermenting might make it mellower like tobacco, but tobacco doesn't have an acidic active ingredient like weed does. It may not be a good thing to ferment weed.