Found this in the Harvesting and Curing Thread.... I need to remember this... This person knows how to dry...
Drying is the most key part of the whole smell and flavor department,
not flush.
Smell and flavor are related to the chloraphyl in the plant matter, while
the harshness, and burning of the throat and lungs is described when
smoking herb which hasn't been flushed properly.
You need to allow all of the chloraphyl to release while drying, but the problem
is that chloraphyl is only released and a certain rate, which is much slower
than water is allowed to release,you must allow adequate time to dry, and
the humidity needs to be around 35-45%, this allows the buds to stay moist
long enough to allow the chloraphyl to escape. It should take around 8 days
for the stem between the buds to be dry enough to snap when bent.
Tips:
Do not cut up individual branches when harvesting and hanging, this
allows the moisture to escape too quickly!
Do not trim the buds of their leaves before they are completely dried,
this also allows moisture to escape. Also this is KEY for the curing process,
a properly dried bud will smell MAGNIFICENT right after it is done being
trimmed. Trimming allows the terpenes to really expose themselves and
this causes excess moisture within the leaves and buds to allow the bud
to "sweat" and this is needs to happen right before the buds are jarred,
if you do this before you dry them, what happens to the terpenes? They are
released in to the air and dissipate, you need to do this before you jar them
and then the buds sit and bask in their own dankness..... This is how the
curing process begins.
They should be ready to go by the time I chop down, clean everything and prepare the room again...
Even cones don't make me feel better, that's just sad...
Congrats!
