Hey everyone, I am on my first grow and have three plants ready to trim and dry. I know the basic technique of trimming the leaves and hanging them upside. But I was wondering how long should I do this for, and is there any other techniques? As far as curing I have some mason jars that I was going to put the bud in once they are somewhat dry. Please let me know of any suggestions or any problems you guys have experienced in your previous harvests... Thanks!
Drying / Curing
- Thread starter rastap0t
- Start date
mcpurple
Well-Known Member
hang dry in the dark until u can snap the braches and they dont bend i like them a lil bendy though i think it makes the bud less dry at the end of curing, then just place in jars for however long u want making sure to open the jars at least once aday for 15 min, the longer the cure the better the smoke
growcheese
Well-Known Member
After you have harvested and trimmed your buds, you will want to hang your freshly cut buds upside-down until the buds have dried a little.
I like to use coat hangers and clothes pins and pin the buds to the coat hangers. Dry them in a cool, dry place. Moisture is your enemy, and can cause mold. Avoid this.
You pot is ready for the next stage of the drying/curing process once you cand use your thumb to gently bend a bud, and you get a dry, crackely snapping from the bud.
The rest is flavor curing specific.
Okay, you will need a few things before we get to this stage.
1. A mason jar or the like.. This can be any type of glass jar that has a lid that can tightly be screwed on. A thouroughly wash glass peanut butter jar will suffice, but I prefer either quart wide-mouth mason jars or large seal jars with a latch lid.
2. Flavoring agent. (We'll get to that in a bit.
3. Cheesecloth or some sort of very thin dish towel. Can usually be found at wal-mart or any chef's supply store. (Psst, you CAN use nylon panty hose, but I just prefer cheesecloth)
4. Some kite string or string of any kind, or even ribbon.
5. POT.
For this tutorial, we are going to use ORANGES. I have found with all my tinkering that citrus seems to give the best bouqet for pot.
So, go to the store and buy either five medium to large oranges. If you can, avoid getting sunkist oranges. You want the natural looking oranges, the ones that aren't covered in wax. If that's all you can get, though, don't sweat it. Its just personal preference.
Thourougly wash your oranges and, using a cutting board, cut each orange in half. If you have an orange juicer, juice each orange or scoop out all the insides. You can drink the juice or or the orange flesh. We are after the skins. You'll want to end up with about ten shells. Its important NOT TO PEEL THE ORANGE. Juicing or spooning out the flesh leaves a layer of oils inside the skin that we want to keep.
Set your orange rinds aside.
Preheat your oven to about 300 degrees F. Put some foil on a cookie sheet and place your empty orange peel halves orange side up on the sheet and bake them for about 6 to seven minutes. Take them out and let them cool.
Now, using a knife, carefully cut each orange rind into little tiny strips, kind of like you are making shoe-string potatoes. The thinner the better. once you have cut up all the peels, set them aside.
Take your cheesecloth and lay it out. Directly in the center, pile up all your shredded peels. Now, as tightly as possible, bring all the corners of your cheeseclothe and tie it off with your string.
The key here is to make a TIGHT ball. So now you got a ball with a about 12 inches of string.
Now, take your pot and put it into your jar. Now, lower your orange bouqet down into the jar so that it is hanging above your pot and screw the lid on. Try not to let the bouqet touch the pot.
Now, every day, unscrew the lid and remove the bouqet. Gently move your pot around, careful not to break any of it. Replace the bouqet and the lid.
Do this everyday for about 30 to 60 days. The longer you cure, the better. I usually don't cure beyond 60 days.
Another key thing to watch out for is MOLD.
I actually like to replace the bouqet about every 10 days or so. You might not have to do it that often, but I live in florida, and mold runs rampant down here. You should empty the cheesecloth and thouroughly wash and dry it before using it a second time.
Your pot will blow you away once you smoke it.
Hey all. This is a follow up to my flavor curing tutorial. This post will ONLY cover different ingredients. This post assumes you've read the TUTORIAL, which can be found by clicking HERE.
Also, recipes include instructions on how to change your flavoring agents throughout the life of the cure.. This is important.
RECIPES:
CITRUS MAGIC...
By far, the best agents I have found are citrus. Using the method described in the tutorial, you can use oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit... Experiement .. Here is what I have found to work.
Also, when you see the term "shelled," this means the fruit has been halved, juiced, and dried in an oven for about 6 or 7 minutes in a 300 degree oven.
The term "julianned" means sliced into very thin shreds life you are making shoe string potatoes.
ORANGES:
Five or so medium to large oranges, shelled and julianned.
Depending on how quickly mold spreads where you live, change out the bouqet completely every 10 to 14 days or so.
Lemons: it takes about 8 or so lemons, shelled and julianned.
Tangerines: Tangerines are smaller, so you'll need about 6 or 7, and they are more apt to mold. watch them carefully.
LEMON/LIME: This one is fun. Kinda tastes like 7 up. You'll want equal parts of lemons and limes, using about 8 fruits altogether.
Grapefruit: Now, I do not care for the grapefruit so much, but a few buddies of mine like it. We use the pink grapefruit, and when I do, I use about 4 grapefruits and 3 to 4 tangerines. I never like to use just grapefruit by itself.
HERBS:
Whenever using and herb, you will want to use FRESH herbs. The dried really doesn't give an impact. Also, you will want to use a LARGE amount of the herb in addition to using some form of citrus..
You simply cut up you herbs (never crush them, they will bruise and have a bitterness to them) similarly to how you slice up your citrus. Also, since you are using fresh herbs, make sure you change out your bouqet often.
LEMON VERBEENUM AND LEMON: Lemon verbeenum is an herb that anyone who like tea should have around. It smells and tastes exactly like a lemon jolly rancher. Use a handful of lemon verbeenum leaves and about 5 lemons or so. Put them in the same bouqet. Check for mold often!
SAGE: Sage is wonderful to use. You will want to use a handful of it, and you CAN add citrus, but sage on its own is great. Its truly a different flavor, and is what I would call an ACQUIRED taste.
SAGE VARIATIONS: Sage has been bred to have exceedingly strong smells and flavors that imitate fruit. For instance, you can use any sage variation, such as PINK GRAPEFRUIT SAGE, which tastes and smells just like a red life saver. Usually, you will have to purchase these specialty herbs at online stores.
CHOCOLATE: No. No. No. It does not work. Don't even think about it. Unless you like smoking a turd.
Vanilla/Orange: Now this one is TRULY gourmet. I slice up about 5 or so oranges, and put about 10 or so vanilla beans in there. You'll want to slice open your beans and scrape the insides to get them exuding the oil. This is a STRONG FLAVOR..
If you cannot get the beans, lightly toss the orange shreds with a LITTLE vanilla extract. THE REAL STUFF. Don't get the imitation kind. Because using extract creates alot of moisture, watch out for mold. After about ten days, you'll want to remove the bouqet completely and let the pot cure normally the rest of the way for about 10 days, and then re-introduce the bouqet. Alternate 10 days on and 10 days off if you sue extract.
I like to use coat hangers and clothes pins and pin the buds to the coat hangers. Dry them in a cool, dry place. Moisture is your enemy, and can cause mold. Avoid this.
You pot is ready for the next stage of the drying/curing process once you cand use your thumb to gently bend a bud, and you get a dry, crackely snapping from the bud.
The rest is flavor curing specific.
Okay, you will need a few things before we get to this stage.
1. A mason jar or the like.. This can be any type of glass jar that has a lid that can tightly be screwed on. A thouroughly wash glass peanut butter jar will suffice, but I prefer either quart wide-mouth mason jars or large seal jars with a latch lid.
2. Flavoring agent. (We'll get to that in a bit.
3. Cheesecloth or some sort of very thin dish towel. Can usually be found at wal-mart or any chef's supply store. (Psst, you CAN use nylon panty hose, but I just prefer cheesecloth)
4. Some kite string or string of any kind, or even ribbon.
5. POT.
For this tutorial, we are going to use ORANGES. I have found with all my tinkering that citrus seems to give the best bouqet for pot.
So, go to the store and buy either five medium to large oranges. If you can, avoid getting sunkist oranges. You want the natural looking oranges, the ones that aren't covered in wax. If that's all you can get, though, don't sweat it. Its just personal preference.
Thourougly wash your oranges and, using a cutting board, cut each orange in half. If you have an orange juicer, juice each orange or scoop out all the insides. You can drink the juice or or the orange flesh. We are after the skins. You'll want to end up with about ten shells. Its important NOT TO PEEL THE ORANGE. Juicing or spooning out the flesh leaves a layer of oils inside the skin that we want to keep.
Set your orange rinds aside.
Preheat your oven to about 300 degrees F. Put some foil on a cookie sheet and place your empty orange peel halves orange side up on the sheet and bake them for about 6 to seven minutes. Take them out and let them cool.
Now, using a knife, carefully cut each orange rind into little tiny strips, kind of like you are making shoe-string potatoes. The thinner the better. once you have cut up all the peels, set them aside.
Take your cheesecloth and lay it out. Directly in the center, pile up all your shredded peels. Now, as tightly as possible, bring all the corners of your cheeseclothe and tie it off with your string.
The key here is to make a TIGHT ball. So now you got a ball with a about 12 inches of string.
Now, take your pot and put it into your jar. Now, lower your orange bouqet down into the jar so that it is hanging above your pot and screw the lid on. Try not to let the bouqet touch the pot.
Now, every day, unscrew the lid and remove the bouqet. Gently move your pot around, careful not to break any of it. Replace the bouqet and the lid.
Do this everyday for about 30 to 60 days. The longer you cure, the better. I usually don't cure beyond 60 days.
Another key thing to watch out for is MOLD.
I actually like to replace the bouqet about every 10 days or so. You might not have to do it that often, but I live in florida, and mold runs rampant down here. You should empty the cheesecloth and thouroughly wash and dry it before using it a second time.
Your pot will blow you away once you smoke it.
Hey all. This is a follow up to my flavor curing tutorial. This post will ONLY cover different ingredients. This post assumes you've read the TUTORIAL, which can be found by clicking HERE.
Also, recipes include instructions on how to change your flavoring agents throughout the life of the cure.. This is important.
RECIPES:
CITRUS MAGIC...
By far, the best agents I have found are citrus. Using the method described in the tutorial, you can use oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit... Experiement .. Here is what I have found to work.
Also, when you see the term "shelled," this means the fruit has been halved, juiced, and dried in an oven for about 6 or 7 minutes in a 300 degree oven.
The term "julianned" means sliced into very thin shreds life you are making shoe string potatoes.
ORANGES:
Five or so medium to large oranges, shelled and julianned.
Depending on how quickly mold spreads where you live, change out the bouqet completely every 10 to 14 days or so.
Lemons: it takes about 8 or so lemons, shelled and julianned.
Tangerines: Tangerines are smaller, so you'll need about 6 or 7, and they are more apt to mold. watch them carefully.
LEMON/LIME: This one is fun. Kinda tastes like 7 up. You'll want equal parts of lemons and limes, using about 8 fruits altogether.
Grapefruit: Now, I do not care for the grapefruit so much, but a few buddies of mine like it. We use the pink grapefruit, and when I do, I use about 4 grapefruits and 3 to 4 tangerines. I never like to use just grapefruit by itself.
HERBS:
Whenever using and herb, you will want to use FRESH herbs. The dried really doesn't give an impact. Also, you will want to use a LARGE amount of the herb in addition to using some form of citrus..
You simply cut up you herbs (never crush them, they will bruise and have a bitterness to them) similarly to how you slice up your citrus. Also, since you are using fresh herbs, make sure you change out your bouqet often.
LEMON VERBEENUM AND LEMON: Lemon verbeenum is an herb that anyone who like tea should have around. It smells and tastes exactly like a lemon jolly rancher. Use a handful of lemon verbeenum leaves and about 5 lemons or so. Put them in the same bouqet. Check for mold often!
SAGE: Sage is wonderful to use. You will want to use a handful of it, and you CAN add citrus, but sage on its own is great. Its truly a different flavor, and is what I would call an ACQUIRED taste.
SAGE VARIATIONS: Sage has been bred to have exceedingly strong smells and flavors that imitate fruit. For instance, you can use any sage variation, such as PINK GRAPEFRUIT SAGE, which tastes and smells just like a red life saver. Usually, you will have to purchase these specialty herbs at online stores.
CHOCOLATE: No. No. No. It does not work. Don't even think about it. Unless you like smoking a turd.
Vanilla/Orange: Now this one is TRULY gourmet. I slice up about 5 or so oranges, and put about 10 or so vanilla beans in there. You'll want to slice open your beans and scrape the insides to get them exuding the oil. This is a STRONG FLAVOR..
If you cannot get the beans, lightly toss the orange shreds with a LITTLE vanilla extract. THE REAL STUFF. Don't get the imitation kind. Because using extract creates alot of moisture, watch out for mold. After about ten days, you'll want to remove the bouqet completely and let the pot cure normally the rest of the way for about 10 days, and then re-introduce the bouqet. Alternate 10 days on and 10 days off if you sue extract.
hardroc
New Member
well you can leave them in the jars as long as you want, as long as they're in a dark place, light destroys thc.
A good month and they are good and ready, but the longer you leave them the better, I usually keep the one I'm gonna smoke first in the jars for 2-3 weeks and that holds me over till a month or so till they are nice and frosty
Heads Up
Well-Known Member
When hanging your buds to dry, avoid having your humidity to low. This will dry the outside of your buds and the inside will be wet. Air circulation is imperative, you want to keep the air moving in your drying area. Humidity around fifty five percent is good. It will take your buds a bit longer to dry, but after all the time you took to grow your girls this is the part you really don't want to rush. When you feel your girls are dry enough jar them like everyone says and make sure to burp them once or twice a day. After a day or so if you feel your buds are to wet, you can take them out of their jars and put them into a brown paper bag for a day and then put them back into their jars. If in a couple days you still feel they are to wet, repeat the brown paper bag process.