Need Some Help With Curing

i finally harvested. and i have a lot more then i was expecting. that is a good thing. here is the shitty part. im trying to keep all the different plants i grew separated. so far i have filled 13 quart mason jars. and i have 3 plants to jar still, the weight is not my issue. but i have been noiticing there is no hey smell. at all!!! its not bothering me. but i do have a fresh weed smell in some of the jars. im filling the quart jars about half way. and ever 12 hours i am removing the buds from the jar and laying on a tray for 10-20 minutes. so far, this is working. but i feel that i am trying to speed it up, and i not that is no good. i actually am not purposely trying to rush things. i am taking the buds out of the jars. my reasoning for doing this is because i have a feeling the buds on the bottom are not getting any air, just by taking the lids off. so every 12 hours i throw all 13 jars on clean drain trays. its starting to become a huge pain!! i have a hygrometer in one of my jars. the first one i jarred. i know i should have one for every jar, and i will be picking up another 10 as soon as i can. i know the cure takes 2+ weeks. and that taking it slow is better, then trying to speed things up. should i just take the lids off?? can i get larger jars and combine strains to make it easier? i have a buddy that uses 5 gal buckets, but he gets mold all the time. and his shit sucks ass! i just bought seeds and until i am 100% for sure on my methods i aint popping any of them. so, i have gnarly genetics just chilling, waiting for me. i have noticed when i squeeze the buds the smell is very present, but only if i squeeze a nug, and only out of the first few jars. will the smell and flavor def come out in 2 weeks? is burping the jars enough? is throwing the buds on a tray every 12 hours too much?? by the way. i hang dry them in my bathroom for 3-4 days. i hang dry until crisp on the outside, but still a little bendy in the center. then i jar. then every 12 hours i remove from the jar and sit on a plate for 10-20 minutes. then i put back into jar. i was told that you want a relative humidity of about 65-70% in the jar. and anything below 50% and you killed it! so i stop curing at like 67%. the 1st plant i harvested is oddly like nothing i have every encountered. it appears brittle to the touch, but when you squeeze it is really moist, like not moist, but its def not as dry as it appears to first touch. and when you squeeze, nothing falls off, no crumbs!! its practically perfect in my opinion. and im still slowly curing it, just not as much, and there is only a few buds left. any info will be rewarded with +rep. i appreciated all comments and statements. so please, provide me with some info on if what i am doing is overkill or not. i dont mind cutting the curing back to once a day, lol, i really don't.

**im a little ripped, so sorry for the rambling**

nobody wants to help? wow??? what a helpful community...

Ppl have a short span of attention. And your post was lengthy. No offense. At like 60% Rh I put a bud in the grinder and turn it. When you open it up you can smell the sweetness. I stop curing at near 50-55%. Then it flies out the door. I don't store anything.
Ganjaluvers cure method explains it pretty well. Did that help at all?

i have never cured bud straight off the plant, but have had bud shipped to me that was not ready yet and have had successful results with lower humidity, in the 25-40% range. anyone feel free to correct me if im wrong but, you need to keep burping until dry. even leave it out over night. put it back in the jar for 24 hours and see how it is. it will progressively dry and smell should come back as it dries. i currently have a jar i am smoking out of that was a sent a few weeks ago with two kinds. the first i put into a jar and did the method i just explained and it smells and tastes great. the other buds, from the same package, were left in their airtight bags until two days ago. the difference between the two is very noticeable. one is smoking great and the other just needs a little more time to ripen up. hope this helps-99

I imagine your main issue must be the possibility of mold. In your situation, if it permits, I would just designate one room, closet or small tent (definitely not your bathroom) equipped with an air conditioner, a thermometer (that obviously measures humidity), and maybe a 4''-6'' max fan or something moving that air out. You could do it properly, and do it slow and end up with real proper buds that are ready to go to the jars right away. Or you could do it quicker and end up with the same situation, but lacking that real serious smell, unless broken apart.

Also, go to Wal-Mart or even a dollar store or something and look for big ass glass jars. Those quart mason jars are good for ounces and shit, and are cheap, but you can get some awesome jars out there that are huge. The ones that I cure in now, I can fit like 4 in each jar. It's convenient. After cured, I like transferring them to the quart jars.

Well my own limited experience with curing is that after it was in the jar for awhile the smell increased and became much more complex and intense. I did what you have been doing, emptying the jar a few times for air for a week or little longer before putting the jars away. After about 6 or 8 weeks whenever I opened a new jar the smell was very noticeable and nice.

I think that you will find the smell and tastes will improve somewhat after it has been stored a little while. Good Luck !

im sorry why is the bathroom a bad place to have as a dry room? its not in use, i covered the window with cardboard so its light sealed. i have a therm/hygro in there. i want and will be gettng a 3x3x7 tent with a exhaust, once i make some room in my bedroom. i dont sleep in there either, i have 2 rooms. 1 is not a grow room, but my office and my website stuff (i run my own website) so once i get organized in there, i will get a small tent and an exhaust fan for a dry area. but for now, the bathroom is safe. in my eyes it is. i have a tiny little hall, i can leave the door cracked and there is a box fan in there. i have been using it for about a month now, and so far, soooooooo gooood!! but please, if you have insightful info on why i really shouldn't use it then please, im all ears.

so storage will make this weird smell go away. its hard to explain. ive smelt it before in herbs ive gotten years ago. the "beasters" always smelt like it. it def is an un-finished smell. i think. i just hope in a few weeks the smell will go away. its only in one jar, and i know its not mold. i have examined every bud very carefully.

thanks for the info!!!

Regarding the bathroom: I thought that you were using a bathroom that you used. My bad. But even if it is not actively used, be sure that there is no mildew or mold in there before drying out any more buds. But overall, your plan sounds pretty good. You should consider a dehumidifier as well.

Regarding the weird smell: Does it smell like dead grass or something akin to that? Kinda schwag-like? If so, I would leave the tops off of those containers or even dump the buds out and spread them out on something until they are completely dried out. Mold isn't always visible but that doesn't mean the spores are not there. I'd be safe and sacrifice a little taste and smell for the actual buds themselves. Because once the mold develops, it spreads rapidly, and then you're fucked.

No showering in the drying bathroom. bwahahaha.

At least you didn't over dry.
The smell, define "weird". I never get the grass smell. Maybe a day or two after hanging but then it's all bud. did you trim dry?

i trimmed wet. what i do is i cut the all the leafs with no frost on them. if there is even a little, depending on size of leaf, it def gets cut, but i save them into 2 piles, no frost at all and clippings to make hash with. im rather meticulous with my trimming.

the smell is almost a fresh pungent smell. i wish i could record smell and upload it. none of my jars ever got the grassy smell. and yes, i did fuck up and fastly cured a few jars. but that is better then getting mold. i got scarred and i guess i removed them from the jars too much. i only have 1 hygrometer for now. i just ordered 3 more, they will be here Monday. i need 1 for each jar, i think that would help me, since i harvest in stages. i also throw my plants into veg in stages, hence the harvesting in stages. so i have dates on all my jars. it was quite difficult to keep up with and i think that is how i over dried them. live and learn i guess. i have the remaining jars at about 67-71% RH. and have those dated and will be keeping a close watch on them. the stems do not snap yet, and are still on a daily burp. DAMN!!! i must admit though. what ever i did, i did something correctly, cuz the small nugs ive been sampling have been seriously, seriously rocking my fucking world. and im no rookie. i honestly can not remember the last time i ran out of herbs. its got to be at least 4-5, maybe 6 years. and even that was only for a day or 2. so my tolerance is rather massive. sorry for the rambling. but massive appreciation for the help. back to my sampling, lol!!

if im this ripped now, i do not think i can imagine how high i will get when the bud has a nice even long cure, woo-wee!!!!

Sounds like the curing are going great, on some of the jars at least.

Curing is hard, really - at least I find it so. It's an art, even after Simons RH-in-jar thread.

My guess about that smell is it happened because you jarred a bit early.

But that way you got lucky, some of your jars are in perfect shape (those with the weird smell - my guess only).

Those smelly jars might be close to mold-zone, which is great as long as you don't cross it. So my guess is that the smell is simply high-RH-jarring (at FIRST), which gives best result if you avoid the avoid the mold.

The earlier I jar the best result I get, but only if I manage to keep it mold free.
The earlier I jar the weirder the smell, if too early - mold.

So I guess you got lucky (thinking 65-70% RH was optimal, when 60-65% are better), so watch that smell (I think know what you mean, had it myself - was not mold but I belive I was a sign of being close).

So be careful, and just get it down now, no more above 65, IMHO.

I might be completey wrong. Curing is one thing I've not consistenly managed to do.

Some people think curing is successfull because the smoke is "smooth", well believe me - when you smoke some real cured weed for the first time you go "WOW! I used to believed I cured my buds".
Most people simply put weed in jars, and think they have cured, and are satisfied.


BTW: Jarring early does not mean I dry for a short period, I dry for as long as I can.

i see what you saying. the smell has slightly gone away. it hit me this morning, that it may me a slight mildew or mold smell, but i didnt see any mold and didnt think i was in any danger. i really need to get me my 20 hygrometers, one for each jar here quick like...but i think i over dryed a bunch of jars, there is no smell at all. none. no weed stank, and no mildew smell. and the jar i tested was at 44%, bummer! oh well, it still smokes really good, and i have 5 jars that WILL be perfectly cured, no questions asked. and the few nugs ive been testing have been keeping my picky ass plenty high all day and night long. so no complaints. i really can not imagine what "cured" buds are going to do to me. shits pretty potent today. since i have all the numbers down, i think the few % around 65-70 is a personal preference. and hopefully this Skunk finishes soon....

what should i do if i have big huge nugs? i mean like 10g and up. i swear this skunk plant has a nug on her that is going ot be at least 20g. im hoping for a full zone, but i doubt it.

also, is it better to get a big jar and fill half way as oppose to many little jars?

i have a buddy who drys and i think he cures as well in a plastic 5gal bucket. is that safe? i would think not. he has mold issues ALL the time. and hes a shitty grower in my book. but how safe is that really, if you know what your doing?

thanks for all the helps!

I've had the same problem, no smell. Last year and this year are the first times I've tried curing, and even when the cure is done and the buds are dry (I don't let them dry completely for about a month) and there is little to no smell at all on the buds.

so, you dont get any smell ever?? that is strange, what strains are you growing? id like to know how growers who grow tens of hundreds of pounds for commercial use can get the buds to stink my entire house up, and the stuff i have is way stonier, but with hardly any smell. its really boggles my mind. some of my jars have a really nice smell to them, and i will always cure my bud. i just harvested over a pound and i have other herbs i get on the regular. i never pay for shit, and wont ever turn away a sack. so i have variety, and i can be as patient as i want with my own, so i will cure, and for as long as possible. except with a few buds here and there.

I grew purple trash, pre 98 bubba, Kardashian Kush, SSSDH and Larry OG

oHsiN666 said:

i see what you saying. the smell has slightly gone away. it hit me this morning, that it may me a slight mildew or mold smell, but i didnt see any mold and didnt think i was in any danger. i really need to get me my 20 hygrometers, one for each jar here quick like...but i think i over dryed a bunch of jars, there is no smell at all. none. no weed stank, and no mildew smell. and the jar i tested was at 44%, bummer! oh well, it still smokes really good, and i have 5 jars that WILL be perfectly cured, no questions asked. and the few nugs ive been testing have been keeping my picky ass plenty high all day and night long. so no complaints. i really can not imagine what "cured" buds are going to do to me. shits pretty potent today. since i have all the numbers down, i think the few % around 65-70 is a personal preference. and hopefully this Skunk finishes soon....

what should i do if i have big huge nugs? i mean like 10g and up. i swear this skunk plant has a nug on her that is going ot be at least 20g. im hoping for a full zone, but i doubt it.

also, is it better to get a big jar and fill half way as oppose to many little jars?

i have a buddy who drys and i think he cures as well in a plastic 5gal bucket. is that safe? i would think not. he has mold issues ALL the time. and hes a shitty grower in my book. but how safe is that really, if you know what your doing?

thanks for all the helps!

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Don't worry too much about those overdried jars, curing is hard. I'm sure they are a great smoke anyway.

If you get it 100% right, what you'll experience is not weed that is a lot more potent (although it might feel that way) - but weed that has really AMAZING taste and smell compared to "normally stored in jars". It's soo good you almost smoke only to taste it, not to get high. It happen to me in about 5 out of 10 jars, I really need to figure this out - so I'm not be the correct person for advice.

Regarding big buds, I would break'em up. It can be done loosely (open up it's "fingers" so it gets more air - it's easier after some drying, or chop it into smaller pieces imediately. Depending on size of bud and RH in drying room).
Take a picture first, if you want to brag

I don't know about plastic for certain, but I don't think it's dangerous short term. I store trim that I pluck off buds when I smoke in plastic, which I make hash out of when I'm out of weed. But this is not curing.

BTW: nothing wrong with big jars, but you should fill about 3/4 full anyway (that's my way, but like I said I suck at curing). If you have several smaller jars, you'll have several attempts to get the cure just right

yeah, im tripping out on it. i think i have it down a little more then i did before. some jars have really good good smells in them, some don't, but i was told that good smell will come back if cured properly, so maybe its a little to soon to tell. all i know, is that it IS SUPER STONEY ASS WEED!!!!! and most of it taste decent, some has no taste, and some has a little big of good flavor.