Curing Method

Hi RollItUp Community,

I'm new to this site and though been smoking for years, I've decided to give growing a go as the quality of the weed I buy varies almost every time, but the price unfortunately doesn't.

As mentioned this is my first attempt and I've been kinda winging it until now and my crop is almost due to be harvested. So I've been doing a little research on Curing and I've come across a few methods but most seem to require constant attention, which i cant guarantee and don't want to ruin the crop due to my laziness...

So, my question is:

What is the point of curing? If it is for drying purposes whilst keeping the crop fresh... How about I store the weed in a glass jar and instead of opening and allowing it to breathe every so often, I could rather store it together with a few of those sachets found in medicine bottles? These sachets would absorb all the moisture released from the weed and prevent mold...

Could this work? or is my understanding of the curing process flawed?

maybe this wil help...
the cure is important and the fowl taste associated with not flushing is simply a poor cure..a harsh hot acrid taste is from burning starches and chlorophyll....also associated with newbs overfeeding making the cure that much harder..keeping the plant moist enough to stay alive and still maintain gass transfer..through this natural process of hydrolysis and respiration the components are broken down and becomes smooth..this process is known as the cure

Night and day difference in curing ..
Reduction in Chlorophyll content, doesn't taste like smoking veggies
Reduction in plant starch content,and sugars, creating a smooth smoke that will just expand nicely in your lungs, won't even feel it go down
Reduction in nitrate levels,less carcinogenic, always good right and cleaner high/taste
polycyclic aromatization and oxidation of terpenoids altering the flavor profile more robust with a lower ppm sensory threshold , less perfumey even soapy or "green" from corresponding aldehydes and ketones
Reduction of and consistent moisture content, even slow burn and no smoldering or black ash unwilling to burn



I typically dry 10-14 days at or just below 70°…i do this till the outside of the leaves get dry. Jar then maintain as close to 60% humidity as possible..to do this get a mason jar lid that reads humidity..burp or empty jars to air if necessary

Optimum cure length is 4 months...smoke able/sell able after 3 weeks curing

Thanks Qwizoking. I will have to read and then reread your comment with a dictionary handy LOL.

I think I'm getting close to the harvest time and am a little worried that I do it too early or too late and my efforts would have been in vain. I don't have a microscope or a jewelry Loupe but went out this morning and bought a Magnifier... which turned out to be a waste of money because its not nearly powerful enough to properly examine the trichomes.

From the Picture I've provided below are you able to tell if I should be harvesting now or should I give it a bit more time? Unfortunately I dont know the strain... Shes been flowering for 7 weeks now.

As long as she's growing she can only get bigger. Give her a few more watts of hps.

I use a large beer cooler because I'm not into cracking a half a million jars. Leave the buds on the stalk for the first couple of sweats so it's easy to hang after the sweat. Do this in a room that is between 65-70F.
I personally always dried the plant as whole but the cheese and all the cheese's other growers got onto me and insisted the fans come off just before the chop. Something about the bad taste going from the leaves into the bud. Could be true.
Now in addition to all that I also do a twenty-four hour roots off RO water flush. Each plant will suck up about .5 litres of RO water during this proccess. I feel better knowing that my bud is drying with purified RO water inside of them instead of res water.
When the bud is done with the sweat and dry proccess to a point where it can be smoked trim the bud from the stalk and finish the cure by opening and closing the beer cooler(s) or jar etc.
I go by touch and appearance and how it burns. The trim and complainable buds are kept for grind and the bunk is boiled to make the binder.

qwizoking said:

... Jar then maintain as close to 60% humidity as possible..

Click to expand...

How do i control the Humidity? Will I achieve a humidity of 60% provided I maintain a temp of 70F (if contained in a Glass Jar)?

I just ordered some Boveda 62 packs just in time for curing. They are supposed to keep the jar a constant 62% rh. Anbody have experience with these?

nrc.nerdzo said:

I just ordered some Boveda 62 packs just in time for curing. They are supposed to keep the jar a constant 62% rh. Anbody have experience with these?

Click to expand...

I use these with religious fervor. They work like damn magic. I usually dry my buds for 5 days @ 50% RH and 65f degrees. At this point the buds will be crispy on the outside, but stems will still bend a bit. I chunk them in my cvaults (these are way overpriced for what they are) with the boveda packs and forget about them for a month. After a month i'll open them up and be amazed to find perfectly cured and delicious smelling bud. I have abandoned every other method. The packs last about 3 months like the manufacturer says surprisingly. Fresh packs are about $11 bucks shipped on Amazon for 12 and worth their weight in weed to me.