Strange smoke/mist in curing jar when shaken

I'm curing some LowRyder#2 in a jar. I made pollen with part of the same plant and gently applied a bit to one branch using a small brush. But just out of curiosity, I blew on the brush afterwards in the general direction of the other buds. I didn't see any pollen as a result of blowing on it. But in fact, it did pollinate other buds. There's well hidden seeds in nearly all of them. One or 2.

Which is fine by me. The buds still cure to nice quality, and "surprise" seeds fall out of them as they dry. Fully grown and well formed S1 seeds I might add.

But I've noticed a strange thing. If I get a little impatient and shake the curing jar to loosen more seeds, at a point when the buds are right on the verge of being the correct dryness, the jar fills with smoke! It's hard to even see the buds at the bottom, the smoke is so thick. I opened the lid the first time, thinking it must be moisture. But when I blew, out came an obvious mist. I was able to repeat this 2 more times, by closing and shaking.

What's up with that? Am I shaking away all the most volatile terpenes? I'm pretty sure it's not moisture, it doesn't behave like water vapor. Water mist/vapor would evaporate rapidly outside the jar, but this smoke behaves like smoke and has to travel to dissipate.

Mold spores?

^^^^

DING DING DING

chemphlegm said:

^^^^

DING DING DING

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Wow, you guys are good!

Yes, indeed that's it. I can see fine mycellium on the leaves if I look very closely.

Guess this batch is going into the sous vide at a mold killing temp for a few days...

In case it's of use to anyone else who's learning, I kind of pushed the line on the curing rules. I got it dry till small branches could be snapped, put it into the jar,and then checked it each day. I left the the lid off as recommended, for how wet it felt.

But I kind of fudged a bit on how wet it could be while sitting in the closed jar. I figured it would keep "curing" a little longer if it didn't dry out as fast.

I guessed wrong.

I don't understand all this curing people seem to want to do, if I try to cure it seems to go yellower on me and the plebs don't like it.
Best results for me is trim big leaves ,rinse it, then hang dry it under 80 degrees and under 60 RH till the stems snap. Usually 3-5 days. Then fine trim and dry on net or shelf or what ever for a couple more days till bone dry. Then bag it and leave it for a couple of days or a couple of weeks. Then before it gets handled spritz one gram of water ( one pull of a normal mister) into the bag and leave it over night . Perfection, great smoke perfect look and humidity.

My logic is you want to shut the plant down quick after harvest because O2 works against you after cutting them down.

Keep it simple folks!

I guess I'll try it both ways, and see what makes the best result! The claim seems to be, it's less harsh if you cure it properly.

Los Reefersaurus said:

I don't understand all this curing people seem to want to do, if I try to cure it seems to go yellower on me and the plebs don't like it.
Best results for me is trim big leaves ,rinse it, then hang dry it under 80 degrees and under 60 RH till the stems snap. Usually 3-5 days. Then fine trim and dry on net or shelf or what ever for a couple more days till bone dry. Then bag it and leave it for a couple of days or a couple of weeks. Then before it gets handled spritz one gram of water ( one pull of a normal mister) into the bag and leave it over night . Perfection, great smoke perfect look and humidity.

My logic is you want to shut the plant down quick after harvest because O2 works against you after cutting them down.

Keep it simple folks!

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Curing enables further processing of thca into thc9 or delta9 as it is also known. This will improve your end product by quite a lot. I hang my flowers on main stem for at least a week to 10 days. I then put the full stem and flowers into large boxes or paper bags. After thick part of stem can be snapped. Then I deflower and start to cure after a day of the flower off then stem in the open.
Slowing down the drying process ensures a smoother smoke. Curing adds to this and can improve strength 25%. Happy growing folks.
DST

DST said:

Happy growing folks.
DST

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It's California where I am. I've got 6 plants, my friend has 6 plants, my niece promised to grow 6 plants once she gets her new apartment. I'm even trying to get my 88 year old mom to grow a few at the retirement community. I figure the rest of the old people will be interested in it themselves.

I even drive down the street with 4 heavily budding plants on the seat next to me in my truck, not worried about the police.

It's all good here.

Send it sean spicer and tell him to speak about it !

I like a slow dry. I want mine to hang for around 7 days. Then to jars. Depending on moisture level I burp daily for a week to ten days then open once every few days for a couple weeks then its good to go. I prefer mine to cure in jars for 6-8 weeks.

The smoke vets smoother.

The whole thing about air and even light hurting the buds is not completely accurate. A member here had a bud tested that sat in the open air in light for a couple months and the degradation was negligible.

DST said:

Curing enables further processing of thca into thc9 or delta9 as it is also known. This will improve your end product by quite a lot. I hang my flowers on main stem for at least a week to 10 days. I then put the full stem and flowers into large boxes or paper bags. After thick part of stem can be snapped. Then I deflower and start to cure after a day of the flower off then stem in the open.
Slowing down the drying process ensures a smoother smoke. Curing adds to this and can improve strength 25%. Happy growing folks.
DST

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a lot of people took over tobacco curing , or fermenting, into their weed, have it it of course, some cure by burying in mud for months, some soak in water , so any curing methods and results become subjective too.

If I knew someone who didnt have to sweat or ferment their buds for smoother smoke, or stronger smoke, .....I'd be figuring out how to do that instead... my buds never see a jar unless traveling

Don't do anything crazy. Just put the buds in a paper bag or cardboard box (lined with wax paper), let it dry, and then smoke the weed.

chemphlegm said:

a lot of people took over tobacco curing , or fermenting, into their weed, have it it of course, some cure by burying in mud for months, some soak in water , so any curing methods and results become subjective too.

If I knew someone who didnt have to sweat or ferment their buds for smoother smoke, or stronger smoke, .....I'd be figuring out how to do that instead... my buds never see a jar unless traveling

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i suppose its about the climate. i lived in dry conditions where unchecked your crop could be turning to powder upon contact. i find in this super humid climate im in, i use jars more so to protect the buds from the humidity outside and seems like paper bags or newspaper help with controlling the excessive humidity.

I run a dehumidifier in my drying room because of the humidity here. They dry on the rack from 4-7 days and that's it. No cure, no bud washing, no fermentation. No complaints.

i dont have a consistent method yet... my first harvest here i hung with no fan for 10 days only to find mold forming.... so now i know to atleast always have a fan but theres such potential to over dry and then find yourself struggling to draw the rest of the humidity out before finishing... basically i get a good cure regardless i just want a faster more consistent dry/cure... i may consider a dehumidifier

I once was desperate enough to try smoking moldy weed. Never again.
I like pre-drying mine outdoors under a little awning outside, humidity outside is just great that time of year.

ThaProdiG said:

i suppose its about the climate. i lived in dry conditions where unchecked your crop could be turning to powder upon contact. i find in this super humid climate im in, i use jars more so to protect the buds from the humidity outside and seems like paper bags or newspaper help with controlling the excessive humidity.

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not really the climate. when the ends are really important a controlled room is a must. same with the garden space.
My dry room is a simple grow tent in a closet the room has an ac and a dehuey. I set it and forget it for
an exact repeatable result every time. My patients deserve it. growing for myself things would be different I imagine.

cindysid said:

I run a dehumidifier in my drying room because of the humidity here. They dry on the rack from 4-7 days and that's it. No cure, no bud washing, no fermentation. No complaints.

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me too!
I did wash my buds a few times, still doesnt feel good.

ANC said:

I once was desperate enough to try smoking moldy weed. Never again.
I like pre-drying mine outdoors under a little awning outside, humidity outside is just great that time of year.

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Back when I was doing outdoor, and before I bought a dehumidifier, I smoked quite a bit of mold. I also had some serious lung issues. Like you said, never again.