dc's Simple Drying and Curing Method

d.c. beard

d.c. beard

Well-Known Member
Here's another question that I get asked a lot, "How do I properly dry and cure my bud now that it's harvest time?". Read below for my very simple method. I have kept bud stored in jars for over 6 months this way with no degradation. And my buds always have that 'dank' smell.


One actually wants their buds to take time to release their moisture gradually. Chlorophyll takes time to break down, and I read is somehow then carried away by the evaporating water molecules in the plant matter. So if the water molecules dissipate faster than the chlorophyll can break down, they dissipate alone without taking the chlorophyll along with them, leaving the chlorophyll in your bud making it harsher. They say a rel humidity of approx 50% and a temp of 65 degrees is best. Hang your buds from where ever IN THE DARK (I hang mine from the racks in the closet because I have the doors removed), and put a fan in front of the buds about a foot away blowing AWAY from the buds so that it is drawing air through them rather than blowing on them in any way. Hanging prevents further disturbance of trichomes, and also allows the air to surround the buds entirely keeping mold at bay. Just put the fan on med or med-low, the lowest setting that you can get away with using. You want the hanging trimmed budstalks to gently sway just a tiny bit showing that air is passing through them. Keep them spaced so they at least do not touch each other. They can be very close to one another, just not touching.

After about 6-7 days once the stems snap when bent (the lower branches that are really thin and spindly always take the longest believe it or not) you can start slowly trimming all the actual bud off the now dry branches, placing it into large mason jars. I never fill any jar up over like 2/3 full, you want a little room in there to move it around some every day when you burp them for the first several days after jarring. I just snip off the top cola portion first, then continue down the branch removing the remaining buds.

Once every thing is jarred up tight, for the first 3 days once a day I 'roll' the jars to agitate the bud inside and to loosen it back up again (it will have compacted down into a sponge by now), and then open the lids for about a half an hour. After that, just put the lids back on tight and put the jars back into a completely dark location. Light degrades THC.

That's it. Now just keep the jars sealed up tight in a completely dark location at room temperature. You might want to burp them once or twice more, say once a week after the initial 3 days. But after that just set it and for get it.


Happy growing!

dc
 

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d.c. beard

d.c. beard

Well-Known Member
Another thing guys is that when using this method it's better to get the buds a little bit too dry than it is to leave them too wet. You don't want mold, that ruins your herb.

So like I said, get the herb nice and dry and then start the curing process. You want your bud to be at about 5% humidity when in storage to avoid degradation, and of course stored in the dark. However, the optimal amount of moisture for smoking cannabis is 10 - 12%. So, to raise up the moisture level of the bud just add a couple of leaves from your bud to the jar that you want to re-hydrate and screw the lid back on tight. In about 24 hours the buds will have absorbed a lot of the moisture from the leaves.

If you have a little bit of bud/small jarful use just a leaf or two. If you have a big jar that's bone dry maybe use 4 or 5. You'll get the hang of it. The point is, store your bud at a lower humidity and re-hydrate it later if you want it to burn more smoothly. You have the control over this and it is well within your means. Enjoy!
 
d.c. beard

d.c. beard

Well-Known Member
Yes I guess I should have put this at the very beginning, but I highly recommend trimming all your bud up before hanging it to dry.

It is MUCH easier to trim at this point while it's still fresh, and removing all that unnecessary plant material makes the buds dry quicker and more efficiently. It helps keep the buds from getting moldy, and they take up less space overall when hung, which let me tell you, if you have a big enough harvest becomes a selling point as well.

Trim each stalk up completely, and then hang it to dry in a dark place with the fan blowing away from the buds. This is the best method.
 
guitarjon

guitarjon

Well-Known Member
Really great info. Just a few questions. When you say you place the fan pointing away from the buds, how do they move then? You say you want them to sway just a little bit but how can they move if you dont have the fan blowing on them?
 
d.c. beard

d.c. beard

Well-Known Member
guitarjon said:
Really great info. Just a few questions. When you say you place the fan pointing away from the buds, how do they move then? You say you want them to sway just a little bit but how can they move if you dont have the fan blowing on them?
Click to expand...
Good question. Basically by drawing air through the buds by having the fan in front of the buds but blowing away from them. This will cause them to sway. You are pulling air from behind the buds through the buds, then through the fan, then it gets expelled across the room by the fan. Trust me, just try it and see. This is utilizing the power of passive airflow.
 
guitarjon

guitarjon

Well-Known Member
d.c. beard said:
Good question. Basically by drawing air through the buds by having the fan in front of the buds but blowing away from them. This will cause them to sway. You are pulling air from behind the buds through the buds, then through the fan, then it gets expelled across the room by the fan. Trust me, just try it and see. This is utilizing the power of passive airflow.
Click to expand...
I'll give it a try next time
 
waz666

waz666

Active Member
Well written, short and to the point. I will use this as a guide for my first harvest in a decade, next Tuesday!!!
 
ganjaluvr

ganjaluvr

Well-Known Member
d.c. beard said:
Here's another question that I get asked a lot, "How do I properly dry and cure my bud now that it's harvest time?". Read below for my very simple method. I have kept bud stored in jars for over 6 months this way with no degradation. And my buds always have that 'dank' smell.


One actually wants their buds to take time to release their moisture gradually. Chlorophyll takes time to break down, and I read is somehow then carried away by the evaporating water molecules in the plant matter. So if the water molecules dissipate faster than the chlorophyll can break down, they dissipate alone without taking the chlorophyll along with them, leaving the chlorophyll in your bud making it harsher. They say a rel humidity of approx 50% and a temp of 65 degrees is best. Hang your buds from where ever IN THE DARK (I hang mine from the racks in the closet because I have the doors removed), and put a fan in front of the buds about a foot away blowing AWAY from the buds so that it is drawing air through them rather than blowing on them in any way. Hanging prevents further disturbance of trichomes, and also allows the air to surround the buds entirely keeping mold at bay. Just put the fan on med or med-low, the lowest setting that you can get away with using. You want the hanging trimmed budstalks to gently sway just a tiny bit showing that air is passing through them. Keep them spaced so they at least do not touch each other. They can be very close to one another, just not touching.

After about 6-7 days once the stems snap when bent (the lower branches that are really thin and spindly always take the longest believe it or not) you can start slowly trimming all the actual bud off the now dry branches, placing it into large mason jars. I never fill any jar up over like 2/3 full, you want a little room in there to move it around some every day when you burp them for the first several days after jarring. I just snip off the top cola portion first, then continue down the branch removing the remaining buds.

Once every thing is jarred up tight, for the first 3 days once a day I 'roll' the jars to agitate the bud inside and to loosen it back up again (it will have compacted down into a sponge by now), and then open the lids for about a half an hour. After that, just put the lids back on tight and put the jars back into a completely dark location. Light degrades THC.

That's it. Now just keep the jars sealed up tight in a completely dark location at room temperature. You might want to burp them once or twice more, say once a week after the initial 3 days. But after that just set it and for get it.


Happy growing!

dc
Click to expand...
yeah, or! you could skip all the mumbo jumbo stuff.. and do it in a more simple fashion.

Get a cardboard box. Get a couple of those cheap wire clothes hangers and bend them straight. Next, poke each wire hanger.. through the side of the box.. until it reaches the other side of the box (long ways).. and poke that end.. through that side of the box as well (this will be the support wires.. where you will hang your buds to dry them).

Now that you have the wire hangers mounted inside the box.. next thing is critical. Put some kind of small fan inside the box.. (cut a hole with a box-cutter knife.. just big enough for the exhaust (fan) to fit in). Once you have the hole cut, then install your fan. This fan will simply suck out any moisture from the buds..and push the moist air out of the box through the exhaust fan.

Once you have your buds hung onto the wire hangers you installed into the box, and have the exhaust fan installed, turn on the exhaust fan, and simply close the top of the box. I haven't tried this method yet, I actually found a post on here where someone was using this method.

It all makes sense to do it this way... because there's a limited amount of space inside the box, especially with the top of the box closed. So when you have the exhaust turned on.. its sucking and blowing all that moisture that the buds create.. and blowing it out of the box. I can't really think of how it works.. scientifically, but you get the point right?

I have to give all the credit for the 'cure/dry box', I gotta give all the credit to 'Drella' here at RIU. He's the the one that uses this method.. and has helped me with building my own dry box as well. Props to you Drella!

peace.
 
d.c. beard

d.c. beard

Well-Known Member
Mumbo jumbo stuff huh? Haha yeah I know Drella well and I've seen his box. It's ok, but not for me. WAY too much work. Nothing's easier than just hanging buds in the dark. That's it, you're done.

Plus no disrespect to anyone, but you want your buds to dry slowly, not quickly. Buds in a paper box with constant airflow are going to dry too quickly and not carry off enough chlorophyll during the process IMO. You can't rush the good stuff.
 
cannabisguru

cannabisguru

Well-Known Member
d.c. beard said:
Another thing guys is that when using this method it's better to get the buds a little bit too dry than it is to leave them too wet. You don't want mold, that ruins your herb.

So like I said, get the herb nice and dry and then start the curing process. You want your bud to be at about 5% humidity when in storage to avoid degradation, and of course stored in the dark. However, the optimal amount of moisture for smoking cannabis is 10 - 12%. So, to raise up the moisture level of the bud just add a couple of leaves from your bud to the jar that you want to re-hydrate and screw the lid back on tight. In about 24 hours the buds will have absorbed a lot of the moisture from the leaves.

If you have a little bit of bud/small jarful use just a leaf or two. If you have a big jar that's bone dry maybe use 4 or 5. You'll get the hang of it. The point is, store your bud at a lower humidity and re-hydrate it later if you want it to burn more smoothly. You have the control over this and it is well within your means. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with your method. I don't see how your benefiting at all.. from the cure. I mean, you say.. "Another thing guys is that when using this method it's better to get the buds a little bit too dry than it is to leave them too wet. You don't want mold, that ruins your herb."

The problem with that is.. is if you don't leave at least SOME moisture in the buds and or stems... your not going to benefit at all from the curing process. In fact.. without some moisture.. the curing process won't even take place.. it won't happen. It needs some moisture for the curing process to work correctly.

Just wanted to get that out there.. and its possible that I might even have taken it the wrong way. I mean.. you don't dry your buds out completely do you? You do leave some moisture in them before you start curing right?
 
D

dan2581

Active Member
As I was reading this method I thought it was funny because i basically cure the same way with great results! My biggest problem is over drying because the winter is so dry, but I have also had small patches of mold so finding the right time to jar is crucial. I would definitely rather put too wet of buds in the jar and check them more frequently, always airing and turning over buds to prevent mold, rather than over drying the bud. I overdried my last crop because I was gone for 3 days I used grapefruit peel to re moisturize it, it got a good smell back but not as strong as before it was dry. Curing is really just finding out what works best for YOU in YOUR conditions. Experience beats any method. I cannot stress enough how different the drying and curing process will be based on bud size and density. Most people writing the guides are good growers pulling thick heavy nugs, while many readers are on their first CFL sativa bagseed, and they will need a whole different approach. Either way, good job dc.
 
d.c. beard

d.c. beard

Well-Known Member
cannabisguru said:
I have to disagree with your method. I don't see how your benefiting at all.. from the cure. I mean, you say.. "Another thing guys is that when using this method it's better to get the buds a little bit too dry than it is to leave them too wet. You don't want mold, that ruins your herb."

The problem with that is.. is if you don't leave at least SOME moisture in the buds and or stems... your not going to benefit at all from the curing process. In fact.. without some moisture.. the curing process won't even take place.. it won't happen. It needs some moisture for the curing process to work correctly.

Just wanted to get that out there.. and its possible that I might even have taken it the wrong way. I mean.. you don't dry your buds out completely do you? You do leave some moisture in them before you start curing right?
Click to expand...
No, that's actually agreeing with my method Guru...you see, if you read what I posted, the thing I stressed the most is letting the buds dry SLOWLY at 50% humidity. If you put buds in a paper box with a fan drawing air across them, they're in a very dry, confined area that is prob 10% humidity at best and you're rushing the process, not giving the buds the time to evaporate the chlorophyll. They'll be bone dry in 3 days. If done per my method, trust me, there'll still be plenty of moisture to get a nice cure going on. Enough so that if you don't roll the jars to decompress the bud within and burp them for 20-30 mins you'll get botrytis (bud rot). So, you're actually agreeing with me in your statement. Not to be argumentative, but you disagreed in the polar opposite kind of way almost exactly a year ago. If you read your two posts here, you actually argue two different positions...just spaced one year apart. So which is it lol?

dan2581 said:
As I was reading this method I thought it was funny because i basically cure the same way with great results! My biggest problem is over drying because the winter is so dry, but I have also had small patches of mold so finding the right time to jar is crucial. I would definitely rather put too wet of buds in the jar and check them more frequently, always airing and turning over buds to prevent mold, rather than over drying the bud. I overdried my last crop because I was gone for 3 days I used grapefruit peel to re moisturize it, it got a good smell back but not as strong as before it was dry. Curing is really just finding out what works best for YOU in YOUR conditions. Experience beats any method. I cannot stress enough how different the drying and curing process will be based on bud size and density. Most people writing the guides are good growers pulling thick heavy nugs, while many readers are on their first CFL sativa bagseed, and they will need a whole different approach. Either way, good job dc.
Click to expand...
Thanks bro, nice to hear some good feedback. Just trying to save people some of the time and headache that I had to suffer, you know. ; )
 
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