Long term storage

Indfireguy

Indfireguy

Well-Known Member
Hey guys, looking for some help. I love the grow, but honestly don’t smoke a ton. Partake here, and there.
I have my last years grow that was harvested between Oct-November. Cured, and RH % maintained in air tight mason jars.
My question is, Do I just keep my buds in these air tight jars? I’ll post a pic, but you can see I don’t smoke a lot. March tomorrow, and already looking into next strains for this years season. Only growing 2.
Should I vacuum seal, and freeze at this point? Or as long as I hold my RH% I can leave in mason jars indefinitely? I should note I haven’t had any of my buds drop below 56% RH. And that was just 1 strain in the jars. All the rest 60-64 RH and this is maintained as of today 4-5 months since harvest.
Thanks DF38DD71-BCDC-479B-AD14-8C3C123C09DE.jpeg
 
G

Gro-n-again

Well-Known Member
Exposure to oxygen causes oxidation and degradation, same with most food goods.

Survivalist pack all of their dry food goods in aluminized mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Makes sense to me, remove all oxygen and stop the introduction of new. Keeps stuff fresh for years.

I use premade mylar bags (5"x7" or so), fill with 1oz (you determine the amount), drop a food grade oxygen absorber in and seal them with an impulse sealer ($20ish).

When I open up bags that are 2-3yrs old it looks and smells exactly as it did when I packed it away. I store on a shelf in the basement inside a cardboard box.

Cheap, easy and effective
 
Indfireguy

Indfireguy

Well-Known Member
Gro-n-again said:
Exposure to oxygen causes oxidation and degradation, same with most food goods.

Survivalist pack all of their dry food goods in aluminized mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Makes sense to me, remove all oxygen and stop the introduction of new. Keeps stuff fresh for years.

I use premade mylar bags (5"x7" or so), fill with 1oz (you determine the amount), drop a food grade oxygen absorber in and seal them with an impulse sealer ($20ish).

When I open up bags that are 2-3yrs old it looks and smells exactly as it did when I packed it away. I store on a shelf in the basement inside a cardboard box.

Cheap, easy and effective
Click to expand...
So this is different than vacuum sealing? I have one. It would also remove all the oxygen no?
my mason jars are air tight. And relative humidity sits at 60% in all jars.This doesn’t matter?
 
G

Gro-n-again

Well-Known Member
Indfireguy said:
So this is different than vacuum sealing? I have one. It would also remove all the oxygen no?
my mason jars are air tight. And relative humidity sits at 60% in all jars.This doesn’t matter?
Click to expand...

Jars would work fine with an o2 absorber. Easier to store bags though. But jars aren't completely air tight, the seal at the top isn't impermeable.

The problem with foodsaver bags is the % of oxygen permeability. Aluminized mylar has a super low rate of permeability (near zero, close to glass). That's why potato chips are sold in aluminized mylar bags.

The way I do it doesn't vacuum the bags before sealing. I just try and squeeze as much air out while I seal. The o2 absorber does the rest. Doesn't compress the flower.
 
Indfireguy

Indfireguy

Well-Known Member
Gro-n-again said:
Jars would work fine with an o2 absorber. Easier to store bags though. But jars aren't completely air tight, the seal at the top isn't impermeable.

The problem with foodsaver bags is the % of oxygen permeability. Aluminized mylar has a super low rate of permeability (near zero, close to glass). That's why potato chips are sold in aluminized mylar bags.

The way I do it doesn't vacuum the bags before sealing. I just try and squeeze as much air out while I seal. The o2 absorber does the rest. Doesn't compress the flower.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. Is it possible to seal these bags using the vacuum sealer? Not the vacuum part. But the heat seal I guess? As for mason jars and this is just curious. If there not air tight, how has it maintained the RH%
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
Gro-n-again said:
Jars would work fine with an o2 absorber. Easier to store bags though. But jars aren't completely air tight, the seal at the top isn't impermeable.

The problem with foodsaver bags is the % of oxygen permeability. Aluminized mylar has a super low rate of permeability (near zero, close to glass). That's why potato chips are sold in aluminized mylar bags.

The way I do it doesn't vacuum the bags before sealing. I just try and squeeze as much air out while I seal. The o2 absorber does the rest. Doesn't compress the flower.
Click to expand...
A mason jar with the standard 2-piece top is 100% air-tight.
 
Indfireguy

Indfireguy

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
A mason jar with the standard 2-piece top is 100% air-tight.
Click to expand...
You can see in this pic what I’m using. Also after 4 months in this hat. The 61% RH it maintains. I use the 2 piece. The flat Bernardin lid. And the twist on thread piece. So your saying I could leave in these jars like this indefinitely with no issues?
7C183962-0D07-49FF-92DB-B6D6A13539A6.jpeg
 
G

Gro-n-again

Well-Known Member
Indfireguy said:
Thanks for this. Is it possible to seal these bags using the vacuum sealer? Not the vacuum part. But the heat seal I guess? As for mason jars and this is just curious. If there not air tight, how has it maintained the RH%
Click to expand...

Don't know.. When I started growing again I discovered upon harvest that my foodsaver died on the shelf. It was my plan also.

But after research and deciding on mylar bags and buying the sealer...I doubt it would seal the mylar bags. They are thick af.

The impulse sealer is a weird thing. It has an adjustment knob that controls temperature and when sealing it has a light that goes out when it's done, an audible click as well.

It only takes about 1.5sec to seal though. It's all pretty rapid. And the sealing strip never seems to get very warm.
 
Indfireguy

Indfireguy

Well-Known Member
Gro-n-again said:
Don't know.. When I started growing again I discovered upon harvest that my foodsaver died on the shelf. It was my plan also.

But after research and deciding on mylar bags and buying the sealer...I doubt it would seal the mylar bags. They are thick af.

The impulse sealer is a weird thing. It has an adjustment knob that controls temperature and when sealing it has a light that goes out when it's done, an audible click as well.

It only takes about 1.5sec to seal though. It's all pretty rapid. And the sealing strip never seems to get very warm.
Click to expand...
Great info. Cheers. I guess when it comes to storage. My closet is full of these jars. So this may be a better option in terms of space. But also sounds like the way I jar using the two piece isn’t a bad thing according to @Billy the Mountain
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
Indfireguy said:
You can see in this pic what I’m using. Also after 4 months in this hat. The 61% RH it maintains. I use the 2 piece. The flat Bernardin lid. And the twist on thread piece. So your saying I could leave in these jars like this indefinitely with no issues?
Click to expand...
Yes, no issues from air infiltration at least.

If canning jars weren't airtight, the entire canning process wouldn't work.
 
G

Gro-n-again

Well-Known Member
Indfireguy said:
You can see in this pic what I’m using. Also after 4 months in this hat. The 61% RH it maintains. I use the 2 piece. The flat Bernardin lid. And the twist on thread piece. So your saying I could leave in these jars like this indefinitely with no issues?
View attachment 5093771
Click to expand...
I'd still toss a o2 absorber in with it if planning to keep it around a while. Honestly I've kept jars full for 1yr+ and saw minimal degradation (sure there's some but not bad). I think the key is keeping it in a dark place where uv rays can't get to it.
 
madvillian420

madvillian420

Well-Known Member
I did a bit of an accidental side by side test on 2 jars of 7 Sins last year, one went into the freezer and one kept at room temp. Some of the freezer nug got pretty dry but the majority was tastier and fresher and had better color than the air temp jar after a few months.

*I should note the room temp jar had a Boveda pack
 
Last edited:
bam0813

bam0813

Well-Known Member
Indfireguy said:
Thanks for this. Is it possible to seal these bags using the vacuum sealer? Not the vacuum part. But the heat seal I guess? As for mason jars and this is just curious. If there not air tight, how has it maintained the RH%
Click to expand...
I think depends on your model. Mine lets me seal or even stop the vac and seal at any point. Now that I think some it should as you have to seal one end before vac so maybe if yours can’t just turn it around and seal
 
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