Hey fellow future’ers. I’ve been doing some digging on ideal curing processes. I know it’s deemed more of an art then a dialled in process but was curious to hear about how everyone cures their buds! I wanna hear about your burping schedules, what determines a burp, what kind of containers you’re using, and how long your process takes.
I’m on the tail end of a personal harvest and would love to hear from you all how I can might be able to maximize my quality. I know a good cure can mean the difference between dubs and quads. I’m aiming for trips. I’m not quite a quad grower… yet
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There is no art to this.
60 degrees at 60% RH for 10-14 days.
Bag/Jar, whatever until moisture has equalized at your desired moisture level.
The only variable/“art” is bud structure and density. Some need to be more dry than other to smoke properly.
Get a wood stud moisture meter, forget what it says and find the number you like, repeat.
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I used to dry in a dark half bath at about 65-70 degrees 45humidity for 7 days until the stems snap. Then into jars I wouldnt open for 2 days then I burp daily for 2 weeks . But it would be on the dryer side just to be safe.
If you jar to early it can ruin the smell and quality
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I’m a little different for my SOP.
Wet trim
Onto dry racks
78* and 60-65% rh
Rotate 2x daily
Leave on nets for 4 days
Then into 2.5g zip lock bags.
Dumped out daily for 30 mins into metal roasting pans. Do this until rh is stable at 65%. My lung room is usually 73-81* and rh is 50% during this.
Then into 1/2g Mason jars.
Burping daily until rh is stable at 55%rh.
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Thanks for the insight! Everywhere I look I read that it’s an art and majority of it is performed and completed by feel. an experienced grower would be able to spot a cured bud from a mile away but to us average folk (me), we are not so lucky to have had all of that hands on time to get a real feel for it. thank you!
what kind of tech do you use to determine your RH?
I have probably 5 rh meters thruought my area, and 2 master greenhouse controllers for 2 rooms. Plus each jar gets it’s own rh meter. I own probably 75 rh meters.
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Thats what i’m trying to avoid. my yield isnt that great to be honest but the buds look and smell great. I read that curing in the dark is advantageous. I’m basically trying to use all the tricks in the book to push it as high as it can get. I’d hate to blow this part of the process. It’s like driving 3 hours to the beach only to find out you left your swimsuit at home haha
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Wet trim, dry on racks for 3-4 days until remaining fan/sugar leaves break easily. Load into storage bins and close overnight. When they are sweating the next morning, open, leaving lids off. Toss gently and close lid when outside is dry to touch. Repeat until stems snap, about 6-10 days depending on ambient humidity. Seal in turkey bags or food saver bags for long term storage.
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Oh wow it must be hard to keep track of all of those meters… i’m guessing you have some sort of app to help out on that front. I’ve seen a couple wireless RH meters online and they arent too expensive. thats great insight thank you. is there a reason you finish your cure in the jars and not a larger container? is there an advantage to the lower volume?
do you purge your bags with nitrogen for long storage?
They are all gone within a couple weeks. We just do a light vacuum and seal them. Never had any problems.
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Nope, it at all. I am 100% hands on full time, 6-8hrs a day, every day, for just about 10yrs now.
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Has anyone tried freeze drying their buds before curing? I’ve read it can speed the process up quite a bit. But on the other side, I’ve read that freeze drying the bud before curing can have adverse effects in terms of the freeze drying killing of the microbes and enzymes required for the curing process to do it’s job…
Have you looked into automating the process? I know there are a few systems out there that attempted this. I know a guy who bought one of those curing corks. they go on top of the jars and you can program them to burp when you want and for how long as well… that being said, He did not like the results. there was no calibration of the sensor and the curing cork was open to atmosphere via intake tube. there should atleast be a check valve on there to seal it properly i would think… there are more advanced systems that handle a far larger amount of biomass at once too
There is no replacement for hands on growing (or anything). I dont automate anything. Imo, that’s just lazy, and your not able to spot any issues
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That’s fair. I agree with you for sure. I know i’m not planning on automating my cure process… partly because the juice aint worth the squeeze i’d rather get in there and find out for myself how things play out. coming from an automation heavy industry, I am keen on maybe implementing a wireless RH and temp sensor in my jars and having a standalone mini diaphraghm pump (like real mini) and maybe do some little arduino work to have it burp my jars for me. if not for consistency, it’d make a fun side project!
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When “burping” jars, your allowing a “gas” exchange of the air in the sealed jar with flowers for fresh air. You cant “burp” with out air being exchanged. So the diaphram pump can only take air out, not exchange it.
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what differences in bud structure/density should i look out for? i’m assuming more dense = more time?
… I guess in the end, you’re still just trying to get to that sweetspot 60 RH
There was a fairly recent discussion on here about water curing, which is soaking a fresh bud in pure water, and I think swapping out the water a few times. The bud turns a dark color and the weight goes down after it dries, so no one does it, but it is supposed to make the smoothest smoke. I keep meaning to try it, but have not yet.
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