Afterharvest (Drying and Curing)

[Illegalsmile]

i wanna talk about the different ways to dry and cure bud after harvest. the reason i started the topic was because last batch of homegrown me and my friends split was not done right. Good high but crackling joints, harsh hits,and a light headache if u smoked too much. i could taste what the weed could've been if done right. the next batch acomin looks even better than the last so we really dont want to fuck up.

i know the crackling came from nutrients or starches or something in the bud that we didnt give long enough time to break down so before harvest i should flush with water for one but lets stick to the subject.

if someone could biologically explain what goes on during the drying and curing and how that improves taste and burning quality, i could use that understanding to figure out what went wrong. but anyone with anything to add on the topic of drying and curing harvested marijuana please feel free. thank you

 

[Illegalsmile]

information like this, http://www.francogrow.com/web2/pages/grow-area/drying-and-curing-cannabis.php

After drying, commercial growers package the crop. They usually like to dry the buds to 15% water content; this results in a heavier product (more water equals more money). Connoisseurs, on the other hand, like their bud between 12 and 10% water content because the flavour improves and the weed burns better. If the buds are to be smoked pure, lower water content is preferable (down to 8% for good burning). On the contrary, when weed has to be vaporized, it is best to leave a higher water content (12 to 15%) to prevent easy combustion of smaller particles at vaporization temperature. So, after the drying is finished, the connoisseurs will still dedicate a month or two to curing. Curing weed corresponds to ageing a good wine. If the weed quality is average, it is not worth the effort and waiting necessary for curing it. On the contrary, if the buds are high grade it is well worth waiting a little longer to get the best out of it.

Once the flower clusters have formed and the plant is focusing on making the buds compact and heavy and on resin production, the thc-acid starts converting into delta-9 thc, and the delta-9 thc starts degrading and transforming into CBN, CBG and other cannabinoids. Also CBD levels change during ripening, as well as terpens.
If you would harvest one branch of a plant each day for a week, you would discover that the flavour and effect are slightly different each time.

 

[im1badpup]

when its all crispy dry on outside but wet in middle, seal it in something to pull the moisture out and even the content,
expose back to air as many times as it takes till ur smoke kinda crumbles but sticks all over ur fingers, then seal it and only expose occasionly for a minute or two..
if ur bud dries in 7--10 days then u seal it another week or so itll be quite a nice smooth smoke, the best would be about 14-21 days drying then the same for curing.
its just not practical when you might have 1kg+ drying/curing in jars for legal reasons dont forget it weighs 3-4 times as much when wet,

id rather get caught with 1xkg than 36x1oz

the diference is possesion/cultivation for 1, and possesion, cultivation, intent to supply for the other, and possibly warehouseing.

 

[ophiuchus]

i wanna talk about the different ways to dry and cure bud after harvest.

if someone could biologically explain what goes on during the drying and curing and how that improves taste and burning quality, i could use that understanding to figure out what went wrong. but anyone with anything to add on the topic of drying and curing harvested marijuana please feel free. thank you

i mean, there aren't REALLY that many different ways. you dry it. then you cure it. dont underestimate the curing. once it's totally dry, ie the weed SNAPS in half when you break it down. no bending. THEN you should move to curing. i dont know retarded numbers, and humidity levels and all that crap. if the weed SNAPS, it's good. if it bends THEN snaps, keep drying it.

curing. dont skip it if you have bud that you value. i cure even my mids and it makes them better undoubtedly.

i could be talking out of my ass here, but i think someone once told me here that the leftover nutrients from the leaves are what the curing process aims to fix. pulling them FROM the leaves, the plant (doing what it does all day anyways) converts those nutrients into more thc, as well as normal plant waste (nothing that the plant doesn't do anyways, just creating a good environment for it to do it in) is what the curing process aims to help the plant do.

a side note that pup probably already knows. you should not give your plants nutrients for *some* (not sure exactly) time before harvesting, (like days or a week or so) as to flush out "impurities" that you would undoubtedly taste in the smoke if you knew what to look for. (black ash vs grey ash, etc etc usually means you are smoking the phosphates and such that you were feeding your plant)

i know this is not the most precise post, just like i know that i am not a weed grower just because i can read a grow guide. hopefully someone can build on my post.

 

[ophiuchus]

correction on my part: i think that the nutrient flushing timespan is a range roughly of 5 days to 10 days or so. and also during the end of that timespan, you should not water them. for much less time though. i want to say dont water them for maybe 3-6 days prior to harvest.

it totally and entirely depends on what you know YOUR PLANT can handle, not what you think someone said. you do not want your plant to become yellow, nor brown. you dont want it to look unhealthy at all. THE MAIN FOCUS IS YOUR PLANT, not a grow guide, because the guide doesn't know what strain of weed you're growing. unlesss it does, in which case, follow the guide

dont think of it as "starving" the plant, instead, think of it as "fasting" the plant. if you dont know what that means then go to websters.com and look it up to get a good sense of what you are trying to do. you want pure healthy plant material, with as little else in it as possible.

oh and i believe that black ash (typically harder ash) is the sign for nutrients leftover in your weed, and grey, softer, ash would signify purer smoke.

there are smarter folk than me on this topic, but that should *more than* enough to get you going the right direction.

 

[Illegalsmile]

i heard drying too fast leaves chlorophyll and stuff still inside and the bud will look dry and crumbly but taste harsh and smell like dead hay. if that happens, can the orange peel trick work?

and what about flavor? does the bud taste and smell gradually go up and up, then begin to fade? if so, at what point does the flavor reach its peak?

thanks for the replies so far

 

[im1badpup]

the chlorophyll doesnt die straight away, and exposing the "drying" plant to light will set it off synthesising leaving a harsh smoke ( so i was told) dont take my word for it lol.

the flavour of the bud comes out more as the other things like the chlorophyll break down, about 21 days. tell you what though,
by 1 month.. what a fucking smoke!! thats when you can roll a nice pure skunk spliff, feel your cheeks flush, hands warm, and feet, nail yourself to the couch, every smooth toke is a wonder, no coughing ( someone was asking me this earlier funnily enough :wink: ) as it cures it becomes more "narcotic" and relaxing in its effects, thc breaking down to the cbds cbns? as adrianhaffner said.

if yuve got well cured bud in a large container like i used to have.. the dust at the bottom dont waste that, scrape around with some cardboard n bang it in a rizla!

i forgot about a plant drying for a couple of months once... ive never been so happy when i rediscovered it.

the problem is waiting that long.. when desperation sets in i had a habit of throwing half oz in the microwave and helping it dry, low power, start stop.. and so on till dry. now thats harsh lol. the amount of excellant weed ive wasted like that, i deserve clubbing to death!

i have to add it does depend on your variety, to what kinda kick your gonna get, what the tastes gonna be like. ( i cant smoke haze varieties they choke me, i have no idea why)

oh ye, dont dry ya bud in some stinky shed, itll pick up the smell

 

[Illegalsmile]

i also read light speeds up the breaking down of thc and the other cannabinoids.
and do we understand how cbns and stuff affect our high, or is it a "grey" area for now? That seems like important medical information.
i think i would like an early harvest,so when the trichs are milky, and barely any ambers would be the time right? getting a cerebral high from what ive read.
how long have you been in the game pup, you sound like an OG

 

[ophiuchus]

i heard drying too fast leaves chlorophyll and stuff still inside and the bud will look dry and crumbly but taste harsh and smell like dead hay. if that happens, can the orange peel trick work?

and what about flavor? does the bud taste and smell gradually go up and up, then begin to fade? if so, at what point does the flavor reach its peak?

thanks for the replies so far

orange peel trick is pointless. unless your trying to rip someone off. it can make the bud fluffy again, but why the fuck would you want that when you just spent a month taking all the moisture OUT?? what exactly have you heard about the orange peel???

in curing, that is what makes up the entire concept. the whole idea is to get the thc to you in it's best form (best form for smoking, that is). so to answer your question more directly, the flavor just gets better and better, unless you dont take good care of it, but that would be your own error and has nothing to do with the curing process. the flavor probably reaches it's peak maturity around 1 year im going to guess, but can easily be stored beyond that if you are periodically releasing the gasses that are a result of the curing.

so, important things:

dont put anything in with your bud, especially if it's moist like a peel. that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard if you're goal is to have dry, cured bud. if anything, put silica gel in there (the little packets you see in pepperoni or beef jerky bags), but not one that's actually been used in food, unless you want spicy meat flavored bud

take the top off your jar to release the gasses that build up. once a month is fine, sometimes more in the beginning can be good too. but if it's really still soft and squishy bud, you shouldn't have it in a jar period. unless you like moldy bud. put it in a PAPER bag or napkin until it's dry. as in, snaps in half.

no plastic, it will rot the bud just like a jar will

also, i would NOT reccomend you harvest early at all. do you like unripe melons, oranges, bananas, nectarines?

you dont consume other things that are not ripe, simply because it SUCKS DICK compared to what it would have been if you waited. that "cerebral high", is a thc high devoid of any real properties. if you can still think "clearly" normally" then you aren't fucking high . thc is supposed to get you ridiculously high, and if you choose to get ridiculously high, then be prepared for the aftermath.

dont blame your plant.