<![CDATA[THCtalk.com - Cannabis Growing Forum & Cannabis & Marijuana Discussion Forums - Cannabis Harvesting, Drying & Curing]]> http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/ A place to discuss Cannabis Harvesting, Drying and Curing en Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:47:17 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/images/misc/rss.png <![CDATA[THCtalk.com - Cannabis Growing Forum & Cannabis & Marijuana Discussion Forums - Cannabis Harvesting, Drying & Curing]]> http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/ Q last minute harvest advice. http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99945-Q-last-minute-harvest-advice&goto=newpost Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:02:45 GMT I am about 3 weeks away from harvest. I have a 3 foot tall cream caramel. My question is when doing your final flush do u just water with normal... I am about 3 weeks away from harvest. I have a 3 foot tall cream caramel. My question is when doing your final flush do u just water with normal water in normal amount? Or are u supposed to completely flood or water until it runs from the bottom of the pot. And on a side note. During flush do I discontinue the black strap molasses??? ]]> frosty mcnuggman http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99945-Q-last-minute-harvest-advice ready to flush and harvest? http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99772-ready-to-flush-and-harvest&goto=newpost Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:30:46 GMT i cant seem to tell if their ready:weed: i cant seem to tell if their ready:weed:
Attached Images
]]> circle ting http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99772-ready-to-flush-and-harvest Curing Guide http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99501-Curing-Guide&goto=newpost Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:50:36 GMT Hygrometer is needed. Phase one. 70% RH: This starts out just like any other time you have done it. Once you have harvested your bud and trimmed... Hygrometer is needed.

Phase one. 70% RH: This starts out just like any other time you have done it. Once you have harvested your bud and trimmed it to your liking, hang it in a cool dark place. This is where we will part from tradition. Allow it to hang until the buds begin to feel like they are drying (note the temps and rh as this will rarely be the same during subsequent harvests). They will start to lose their "softness" in favor of a slightly crispy texture. We don't want to allow it to dry until the stems snap. THIS IS WRONG! We want the stems to be flexible. Not totally soft, but not snapping, either. If allowed to dry until the stems snap we risk it drying too much and losing an opportunity to take full advantage of the cure window. You see once the bud reaches the 55% RH range, the cure is dead. No amount of moisture added will revive this. If you are a brown bag dryer you can still use this technique, although I no longer do. I feel it is unneccessary at this point in the drying process. Just make sure you do not over dry. Also, this is a perfect time to calibrate your hygrometers with your new calibrating kit. This phase may take anywhere from 2 to 7 days depending on ambient temp, RH and strain, etc. It is important to be right on top of this phase. Sometimes we will notice thinner stemmed buds getting done quicker. It is ok to take these first and put them in the jar. Just screw the cap on very loosely until the bulk of the bud joins it.



Phase two. 65%+ to 70%RH: This is where the numbers game begins to kick in. Once you have reached the crispy bud/flexible stem stage, it is time to jar it up. Now there are a few options here.. Really you can jar it up just like always. Only, fill your jar 3/4 to 4/5 full so you have room to use your hygrometer. You can leave it on the stem, stem free, whatever. I personally prefer it in it's finished state, no stems. You can leave just a few stems intact for the sake of testing stem flexibility. Also, with more stems comes more moisture. This may fit well with your style, but it also may play havoc if mold is present. Once your bud is in the jar drop in the hygrometer and cap it. Keep an eye on your meter for the next hour or so. What we are shooting for in this phase is 70% RH maximum. If you hit 71% or greater, you will have to take the bud out to dry more. If this seems a little tricky here, it is. The cure, even though we are still in the dry phase, has been happening to a small degree since the moment the bud was cut. Basically now we are juggling time with mold prevention. We want to avoid any instance of mold, but we want to get every second of cure time in that we can. The goal in this phase is to start at a 70% maximum RH and, in a timely and mold free manner, bring the RH down to about 65%. The reason I say "about" is that if there is an issue with mold (i.e. the crop was exposed to heavy mold before and/or during harvest) we may chose to take the RH even lower, like 62%. This won't leave a huge window for curing, but it will keep the bud safe. Ideally, however, 65% will do. Generally you can tell pretty quickly if the bud is still too wet as the hygrometer % will climb pretty quickly (rate: 1% per hour or faster). You will also notice, at this point, that the bud will feel "wetter". That's ok. The reason for this is that while the exposed part of the bud began to dry quicker than the inside during phase one, the inside of the bud and stems retained a good deal of their moisture. Once in the jars (phase two) that moisture can no longer be efficiently evaperated off and moved to a different area, being replaced by dryer air. Once you have determined the RH, which may take up to 24 hours, you can begin burping the jars. This can be done at a rate of one to two hours once or twice a day, depending on initial RH reading. Your room RH, temp, strain, exposure to mold and hygro readings will dictate this for you and wether to go faster or slower. Slower is always better, but precipitating factors, as stated, may trump this.. Also, at the end of this stage is where most commercial bud will hit the open market, if you are lucky. The bud at this stage should have that super sticky icky velvety feel and the 'bag appeal' will be at it's very highest.





Phase three, 60% to 65% RH: Your buds are in the jar and RH is 65% or less. Perfect. The object of the game, as stated before, is to slowly release the moisture from the jar over time. Your buds are now in the cure zone. At this point we are looking for a much slower release than phase two and will shift to a short burp once a week. Your buds will deliver a nice smoke at around 60%, so the speed at which this is done (which translates directly to duration of burpage) is entirely up to you. It is at this stage that small stems should snap in two. It is also in this stage that you will meet true stability, or equalization, in RH. What that means is that the amount of moisture in the stems is no longer disproportionate to the buds, and moisture transfer or persperation (sweat) slows dramatically. This also means it will take much longer to get a true reading from your Hygrometer. A true reading at this point might take up to 36 hours, but that's ok.

So, do you know what your idea of a perfect smoking bud is? If you have followed the phases as you have read them, then this is the stage where you can find out. It may be as specific as a stationary RH value, or even a "window" between different values. Everyone one should know there ideal smoking range. I prefer mine on a slightly dryer cure, say between 55 to 57%.




Phase four - 55%+ to 60%RH: Even though a true cure is far from over, your buds are truly ready to smoke if you wish. They are also ready to face long term storage. As stated before, the cure dies at -55%. It's ok for the cure to be dead if you have reached your desired cure level as later remoisturing can easily bring that bud back into your prefered smoking range. But, you can also continue the cure for long time periods and the trick to this is to stay above the 55% level. Unfortunately even claimed 'air tight' jars will allow bud to continue losing moisture over time. The trick here is to guarantee air tightness. Simon has suggested that he jars in air tight jars and double vacuum bags it as a way to ensure cure integrity. I am less picky. It is a good idea, though not neccessary, to leave a hygro in the jar and check it from time to time. I would start with once a week for the first month then, if everything is stable, once every month after that should suffice.

MT ]]> MT http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99501-Curing-Guide Curing! http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99443-Curing!&goto=newpost Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:17:27 GMT I thought I'd post this as iv used it with great success!

It's a very simple and effective process:

Cut the product, trim it per your preference, but don't dry it until the stems snap. Take it down while the stems still have some flex, but the product feel dry on the outside. This is a perfect opportunity to drop the dry-feeling flowers onto a screen and collect prime-quality kief that would otherwise get lost in the jar.

Jar the product, along with a Caliber III hygrometer. One can be had on Ebay for ~$20. Having tested a number of hygrometers - digital and analog - this model in particular produced consistent, accurate results. Then, watch the readings:

+70% RH - too wet, needs to sit outside the jar to dry for 12-24 hours, depending.

65-70% RH - the product is almost in the cure zone, if you will. It can be slowly brought to optimum RH by opening the lid for 2-4 hours.

60-65% RH - the stems snap, the product feels a bit sticky, and it is curing.

55-60% RH - at this point it can be stored for an extended period (3 months or more) without worrying about mold. The product will continue to cure.

Below 55% RH - the RH is too low for the curing process to take place. The product starts to feel brittle. Once you've hit this point, nothing will make it better. Adding moisture won't restart the curing process; it will just make the product wet. If you measure a RH below 55% don't panic. Read below:

Obviously, the product need time to sweat in the jar. As such, accurate readings won't be seen for ~24 hours, assuming the flowers are in the optimal cure zone. If you're curing the product for long-term storage, give the flowers 4-5 days for an accurate reading. If the product is sill very wet, a +70% RH reading will show within hours. If you see the RH rising ~1% per hour, keep a close eye on the product, as it's likely to moist! ]]> GoTgReEn http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99443-Curing! Bad timing cutting down http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99048-Bad-timing-cutting-down&goto=newpost Mon, 03 Jun 2013 21:00:59 GMT Hello my plants will be ready to cut down this weekend (more than likely by Wednesday) but I am out of town for the weekend on a trip I booked months... Hello my plants will be ready to cut down this weekend (more than likely by Wednesday) but I am out of town for the weekend on a trip I booked months ago, unlucky that its fell at the same time the plants are ready. With me working all week the only chance I will get to do it is the weekend after which means that they have had an extra 7-10 days added on before I can cut them down, do you think this will cause much damage to the plants & smoke?

Or do you have any other ideas? Could I just chop all the branches off towards then end of this week which shouldn't take long and hang them to dry then next weekend they will be dry and I can trim the leaves off?

But stuck as to what to do here!

Cheers ]]> secretloftgarden http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?99048-Bad-timing-cutting-down Flushing hydro IWS http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98601-Flushing-hydro-IWS&goto=newpost Mon, 27 May 2013 20:25:16 GMT hello, Due to time restraints I may only have a few days to flush my plants would 3 days be enough to flush them? Some places I read say that you... hello,

Due to time restraints I may only have a few days to flush my plants would 3 days be enough to flush them? Some places I read say that you don't need to flush at all others say flush for 2 weeks. I usually flush for one week but might not get the chance to this time as if I don't cut down this coming weekend then I won't have chance to for another 3 weeks. ]]> secretloftgarden http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98601-Flushing-hydro-IWS Curing help please http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98529-Curing-help-please&goto=newpost Sun, 26 May 2013 23:31:12 GMT Hi, I have just harvested my ladies and hung for 5 days till they were touch dry and put in jars yesterday, but when i opened them after about 12... Hi,
I have just harvested my ladies and hung for 5 days till they were touch dry and put in jars yesterday, but when i opened them after about
12 hours they were sticky as fuck and sticky but spongey damp lol.
So i left the lids off till they were slighty crispy (about 10 hrs) but manly at the top of the jars and resealed, is this normal as its my first time curing
and didnt want to come this far to fuck up lol.

Thankyou in advance :p ]]> herbsteins http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98529-Curing-help-please Harvest time am i crazy lol http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98496-Harvest-time-am-i-crazy-lol&goto=newpost Sun, 26 May 2013 12:39:51 GMT Hello guys i am really new to this and would love you to tell me how much yield i could expect? see thats not what i wanted to ask :satan: shut up... Hello guys i am really new to this and would love you to tell me how much yield i could expect? see thats not what i wanted to ask :satan: shut up yes it was, fuck you dont start now! no fuck you il do what i like! grrrrrr.

What i wanted to know if you got this far :barmy: is does anyone else feel guilty come harvest?

Thing is i had a mate treating his lady bad so i took his girl "with his permission of course" and his light lol and his feed lolol anyway she was in real bad shape made it my mission to save her and this i did,
loved the experience little closet under a 120w led she called home.

I spent alot of time with her amazed by the way she was pulling threw it was wierd i had grown to love her more than the bitch is this normal?

I didnt have sex or nothing with her :jawdrop: you just said it! know you did stop it! She just wanted so little and gave so much in return!

but then comes harvest i feel like a muderer or worse i had to give her back to my friend so he could do it!?

Apart from the harvest time i loved it and knew il be doing it again i done it again without thinking il have to deal with the end again Doh i dont like this as explained,, is this normal is he normal are any of us normal? i dunno anymore please help the crazy person! ]]> Bouncing Blue Dude http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98496-Harvest-time-am-i-crazy-lol Watercuring http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98283-Watercuring&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 23:15:08 GMT I had a cola growing too close to the bulb and was starting to be a little burnt. I hadnt started to flush yet so decided to chop the cola and... I had a cola growing too close to the bulb and was starting to be a little burnt.
I hadnt started to flush yet so decided to chop the cola and water cure it.
used a 5 litre water bottle with the top cut off,submerged the bud for 6 days changing the water everyday.then quick dried it over night.
well happy with it.for unflushed quick dried weed its pretty good.
it looks like outdoor weed you get in spain.kinda brown not much smell,earthy taste.does the trick for stone.
gonna get a pic of it now.... and rest of the plant is is flushed and just chopped air curing so will be nice to compare

anyone else tried this ??? pics to follow ]]> sabar http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?98283-Watercuring