Drying at low humidity

M

Mike_B

Member
First time grower, never harvested before. I see a lot folks saying that you should hang up the cut stems and dry them in a dark room with about 50% humidity.

I don't have any fancy set up nor own a humidifier so I'd like to know what would happen if I dry my cannabis in a room that has a RH of 20%?

Mind you, the cannabis that I'm growing is not used to a much higher RH anyway. I'm growing a couple of autoflowers on a window sill in a room that has between 20 and 30% RH, using only the outside daylight and sunshine. My plants are over 2 months in and started to (pre-) flower a couple of weeks ago, so I'm guessing I'll be harvesting in about 2 to 4 weeks from now.
 
Creature1969

Creature1969

Well-Known Member
Anything you can do to keep RH as close to 60% as possible will help.
Cardboard box, paper grocery bags, etc. Basically using the moisture in the buds to raise humidity.
I've done the grocery bag deal before when I was in a an apartment. Put the buds in with a hygrometer and lightly roll the top closed. Check 'em daily and shake the bag around a bit (will allow air exchange in bag). Keep 'em as close to 60F as possible.
20% RH will dry them out way too fast.
 
K

Kgrim

Well-Known Member
Mike_B said:
First time grower, never harvested before. I see a lot folks saying that you should hang up the cut stems and dry them in a dark room with about 50% humidity.

I don't have any fancy set up nor own a humidifier so I'd like to know what would happen if I dry my cannabis in a room that has a RH of 20%?

Mind you, the cannabis that I'm growing is not used to a much higher RH anyway. I'm growing a couple of autoflowers on a window sill in a room that has between 20 and 30% RH, using only the outside daylight and sunshine. My plants are over 2 months in and started to (pre-) flower a couple of weeks ago, so I'm guessing I'll be harvesting in about 2 to 4 weeks from now.
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20-30% RH while growing won't hurt at all, but drying is another story. You need to get it raised for drying otherwise it'll dry too fast and taste like chit.
As far as when you'll be chopping them down, I really doubt that they will be ready in 2-4 weeks, especially if they've hit the pre-flower point a couple weeks ago. I'd suspect they will go longer than you think they will.
 
dank'd

dank'd

Well-Known Member
trim the buds into loosely closed bags and put in a clean fridge. will be ready in two to three weeks. keep a hygrometer in one of the bags and adjust the openings so the rh is anywhere from high 70's to low 90's

after two weeks do a check and seal a bag with the hygrometer in it for an hour (still in fridge) and if the rh is low 70's the bud is ready for mason jars and consumption. otherwise continue for a few days until low 70's/sealed is reached

never worry about drying again no matter the season/location
 
altaran

altaran

Well-Known Member
dank'd said:
trim the buds into loosely closed bags and put in a clean fridge. will be ready in two to three weeks. keep a hygrometer in one of the bags and adjust the openings so the rh is anywhere from high 70's to low 90's

after two weeks do a check and seal a bag with the hygrometer in it for an hour (still in fridge) and if the rh is low 70's the bud is ready for mason jars and consumption. otherwise continue for a few days until low 70's/sealed is reached

never worry about drying again no matter the season/location
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Maybe im high right now.....but 70% rh into jars? Thats asking for rot.
 
dank'd

dank'd

Well-Known Member
altaran said:
Maybe im high right now.....but 70% rh into jars? Thats asking for rot.
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not at these temperatures with a typical modern fridge that keeps drawing moisture out of the air. i trim plants straight to turkey bags and into a fridge. they stay between high 70's and high 90's for two to three weeks until low 70's/sealed and kept in a fridge after that

once i trim the plants the weed is forever at fridge temp until consumption

not a trace of anything mold during the entire process and the weed stays moist and fresh and much of the volatile compounds are preserved
 
M

Mike_B

Member
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I tried the cardboard box method and that seemed to work pretty good. I cut holes near the bottom and placed a fan on top to keep a steady airflow going and placed some wet tissues at the bottom. I hung up the weed on a string near the top of the box. I managed to bump up the RH from 20 to between 30 and 40. Still not ideal I guess but better than nothing.

Now my question is when should I jar the weed? I harvested 17 days ago and I thought it should be dry by now, especially in my case with the too low RH. I see everyone talking about snapping the stem and if it makes a crack but doesn't break it's dry. My stem just bends. It feels just as elastic as when I started to dry the weed 17 days ago.

Am I doing something wrong?

Here's a photo:

day100.jpg

It also started to produce a strong hay smell about 1 week into drying.
 
VincenzioVonHook

VincenzioVonHook

Well-Known Member
ive had decent luck raising humidity with wet cloth over the intakes of the tent and the fan set to its lowest. Itll suck enough air/water through the cloth to raise the humidity inside a small tent.
 
C

Cynister

Well-Known Member
Mike_B said:
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I tried the cardboard box method and that seemed to work pretty good. I cut holes near the bottom and placed a fan on top to keep a steady airflow going and placed some wet tissues at the bottom. I hung up the weed on a string near the top of the box. I managed to bump up the RH from 20 to between 30 and 40. Still not ideal I guess but better than nothing.

Now my question is when should I jar the weed? I harvested 17 days ago and I thought it should be dry by now, especially in my case with the too low RH. I see everyone talking about snapping the stem and if it makes a crack but doesn't break it's dry. My stem just bends. It feels just as elastic as when I started to dry the weed 17 days ago.

Am I doing something wrong?

Here's a photo:

View attachment 5210451

It also started to produce a strong hay smell about 1 week into drying.
Click to expand...
In my experience you can't go by the snap or bend of the stem, it's just too inaccurate and inconsistent. That being said, I still try it on every dry cycle. I've seen buds placed into jars and when the RH balanced out it was at 42% with no snap or break in the stem. In your case I would jar it now with a hygrometer and see how it measures in 24 hours. If it's low, don't panic, it's just not ideal.

As it dries the hay smell comes out then it will dissipate, sometimes to almost none at all. After jarring and curing the odor then starts to develop, at least in my experience.
 
VincenzioVonHook

VincenzioVonHook

Well-Known Member
Cynister said:
In my experience you can't go by the snap or bend of the stem, it's just too inaccurate and inconsistent. That being said, I still try it on every dry cycle. I've seen buds placed into jars and when the RH balanced out it was at 42% with no snap or break in the stem. In your case I would jar it now with a hygrometer and see how it measures in 24 hours. If it's low, don't panic, it's just not ideal.

As it dries the hay smell comes out then it will dissipate, sometimes to almost none at all. After jarring and curing the odor then starts to develop, at least in my experience.
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Second this. Every plant has a different cellulose structure. Some have stems which are more woody, solid and will snap, some strains just have more pliable, fibrous makeup and have hollow stems which lead to a gentle fold, even when dry.
 
M

Mike_B

Member
Thanks, guys. Okay I'll jar the buds and will monitor the RH.

Indeed, my strain seems to have hollow stems. Here's a photo of the bottom where it has split ends from the many snap attempts over the past weeks:

day100b.jpg
 
obijohn

obijohn

Well-Known Member
After all these years I still struggle with drying/curing, shit always dried too fast. I'm in Nor Cal. I learned quickly that hanging for a few days in a closed closet dries them to a crisp, so I've typically hung them for maybe a day until the outside feels like it's starting to get crispy and the leaves shrink. I then roll them up in a grocery bag and stick in a drawer or something (I do this with buds still on the branches, thinking it may slow the drying process). But still within a few days they dry out a lot. Did that this year, then jarred. They don't seem to need burping or opening more than every 2-3 days. The stems snap easily. I don't have any moisture meters or realistic way to generate a certain humidity. I've never gotten a cure I've been satisfied with.
 
TCH

TCH

Well-Known Member
obijohn said:
After all these years I still struggle with drying/curing, shit always dried too fast. I'm in Nor Cal. I learned quickly that hanging for a few days in a closed closet dries them to a crisp, so I've typically hung them for maybe a day until the outside feels like it's starting to get crispy and the leaves shrink. I then roll them up in a grocery bag and stick in a drawer or something (I do this with buds still on the branches, thinking it may slow the drying process). But still within a few days they dry out a lot. Did that this year, then jarred. They don't seem to need burping or opening more than every 2-3 days. The stems snap easily. I don't have any moisture meters or realistic way to generate a certain humidity. I've never gotten a cure I've been satisfied with.
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I have zero experience, just what I have learned on here as a beginner, but it seems to me that it would be a good time to pick up a humidifier and a hygrometer and try to work towards a cure that you are proud of. Like I said though, just a beginner and that's just my 2 pennies. Best of luck, man.
 
D

Dark_Hatchling

Well-Known Member
I live in Northern California and I've had drying issues every harvest so far. I'm currently on my 4th grow. It's gotten better and better every year, but even last year was not that good.

I got myself an Inkbird controller and a humidifier this year. It's worth every damn penny and then some. My homemade dry tent is on point all day now.
 
TCH

TCH

Well-Known Member
Dark_Hatchling said:
I live in Northern California and I've had drying issues every harvest so far. I'm currently on my 4th grow. It's gotten better and better every year, but even last year was not that good.

I got myself an Inkbird controller and a humidifier this year. It's worth every damn penny and then some. My homemade dry tent is on point all day now.
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Which controller did you get? I'm gonna pick one up on their prime day sale. What humidifier are you running? What size tent for drying?
 
P

pahpah-cee

Well-Known Member
TCH said:
Which controller did you get? I'm gonna pick one up on their prime day sale. What humidifier are you running? What size tent for drying?
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Get the wifi one. I have the regular one and the interface sucks. The wifi one allows your to adjust it via your phone.
 
TCH

TCH

Well-Known Member
pahpah-cee said:
Get the wifi one. I have the regular one and the interface sucks. The wifi one allows your to adjust it via your phone.
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Is there a wifi one for just the humidity? Or would I have to get the temp and humidity controller to get the wifi capabilities?
 
D

Dark_Hatchling

Well-Known Member
TCH said:
Which controller did you get? I'm gonna pick one up on their prime day sale. What humidifier are you running? What size tent for drying?
Click to expand...
Inkbird controller: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GQWY9HM/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Humidifier: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NSFNF58?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Exhaust fan for Dehumidification: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZL6FDYG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Dry tent is a homemade PVC frame that I wrap in black plastic. It's about 36" W x 40" L x 5.5' H

Nothing fancy and I'm sure there's better options out there. But I think this is the year I finally dry some fire. I trimmed a couple test buds last weekend and they're coming along real good.

Good luck.
 
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