Trying to dry my buds in higher humidity

[Susanne]

Here we go again. I’ve trimmed my beauties down to hash and bud quality (I don’t trim the ‘hash’ material as much. White Widow doesn’t have many popcorn buds. Most of them are good, bud quality, but I make hash & tincture more than I smoke, so have to decide what to sacrifice for hash….such pretty buds, too…anyway).

I can’t get them to dry enough right now. When it was hotter, they’d dry in two days in the hot closet upstairs. Sometimes, they’d almost be too dry to cure by two days. Now, even after three days they’re still bending at the larger buds to the point that the clippers will hardly cut them because they’re so wet. I tried to cut them off the branches yesterday anyway due to time problems and found two jars to have 75% humidity! So, out they came to sit and dry. The humidity in the house has gone up to 62%, so I can’t get them down below 60% even out of the jars.

NOW, my question that my husband has suggested and I’ve been hesitant to try:

Will Silica packets help? Or, will there be a problem with that? I use them for other things, such as drying mushrooms (we live in the country and have cows, so we get our magic mushrooms right here ). Has anyone tried that? I sure need it to dry below 60% so it doesn’t get moldy.

thanks as always!

Peace (please!)

 

[Rurumo]

If you don't have a dehumidifier, see if you can manipulate the RH in a particular spot in the house, like say, by opening a window in a bathroom, and keeping the door shut, something like that. I have no idea if your house is more humid than outside. In the future, a dehumidifier really helps tune in your environment.

 

[Susanne]

If you don't have a dehumidifier, see if you can manipulate the RH in a particular spot in the house, like say, by opening a window in a bathroom, and keeping the door shut, something like that. I have no idea if your house is more humid than outside. In the future, a dehumidifier really helps tune in your environment.

I guess i may just have to do that. We had a ‘cold’ front (daytime got down to 88 degrees ), and the humidity went down for a few days, but that was it. Now, it’s back up outside again…both heat & humidity.

thanks. Off to find a dehumidifier. I remember this from last year now……my memory is getting pretty bad….ooooops. Last year I posted about this & actually bought one that ‘ran’ off silica, but that didn’t work. I ended up finishing all right without one, but really needed it. So…thanks again.

 

[crimsonecho]

no need to get the rh below 60 to dry your buds they will dry eventually why are you trying to dry them faster?

 

[Susanne]

no need to get the rh below 60 to dry your buds they will dry eventually why are you trying to dry them faster?

good question. The ones I have spread out all over my kitchen table in baking pans have been taken down. Needed to find a way to get them dry And off the table. I guess I could have left them in the warmer closet, which is most likely less humid (I didn’t check ). I thought they were dry enough when I took them down. I’m running on ‘empty’ as I had way too many plants for an ill older hippie to be doing, but due to some that were …oh, I had problems & had to plant 10 extra, so I’ve been harvesting since mid August. I’m too tired to think. That’s my excuse & I’m sticking to it.

or, I could even put them back up in the closet….see, I am not thinking. (My illness includes extreme fatigue, LOTS of pain, insomnia, …you name it..and I use the cannabis for nausea and sleep…yes, sleep mostly. I need more. LOL!)

OH: edited …when I tried to dry them a little more before in the closet, they dried too much, so I’m a little ‘gun shy’ to leave them in the closet too much. I forgot that a minute ago….another thing with my illness is cognitive problems, including memory…and, that isn’t from cannabis .

 

[crimsonecho]

good question. The ones I have spread out all over my kitchen table in baking pans have been taken down. Needed to find a way to get them dry And off the table. I guess I could have left them in the warmer closet, which is most likely less humid (I didn’t check ). I thought they were dry enough when I took them down. I’m running on ‘empty’ as I had way too many plants for an ill older hippie to be doing, but due to some that were …oh, I had problems & had to plant 10 extra, so I’ve been harvesting since mid August. I’m too tired to think. That’s my excuse & I’m sticking to it.

or, I could even put them back up in the closet….see, I am not thinking. (My illness includes extreme fatigue, LOTS of pain, insomnia, …you name it..and I use the cannabis for nausea and sleep…yes, sleep mostly. I need more. LOL!)

OH: edited …when I tried to dry them a little more before in the closet, they dried too much, so I’m a little ‘gun shy’ to leave them in the closet too much. I forgot that a minute ago….another thing with my illness is cognitive problems, including memory…and, that isn’t from cannabis .

well i hope your illness gets more managable each day but i have to say keeping them in an hot closet is bad for the thc however if you’re ok with keeping them in an hot closed you can also use fermentation setting on your oven and dry them like that, if its mostly for tinctures dryer the better right so you can decarboxylate in an oven directly and do tinctures right away. there are other options such as using a fan to blow gently around them which should cut down on your drying time significantly. i guess you can also use silica packs too as per your original idea.

 

[Susanne]

well i hope your illness gets more managable each day but i have to say keeping them in an hot closet is bad for the thc however if you’re ok with keeping them in an hot closed you can also use fermentation setting on your oven and dry them like that, if its mostly for tinctures dryer the better right so you can decarboxylate in an oven directly and do tinctures right away. there are other options such as using a fan to blow gently around them which should cut down on your drying time significantly. i guess you can also use silica packs too as per your original idea.

Oh, it isn’t that hot. I imagine it gets about 85-90 degrees up there. But not enough to decarb them.
The fan is a good idea, too.
And, yes, I don’t mind the ones I’m going to use for tinctures and hash getting too dry. But, what I’m going to smoke outright, which is the least amount, I like to cure properly.

thanks!

 

[OSBuds]

Drying and Curing Cannabis: The Art of Enhancing Effect and Flavor — Ed Rosenthal

How to improve the flavor and the high of your cannabis buds by implementing a controlled drying and curing process. By Franco, the strain hunter.

www.edrosenthal.com

 

[Susanne]

Drying and Curing Cannabis: The Art of Enhancing Effect and Flavor — Ed Rosenthal

How to improve the flavor and the high of your cannabis buds by implementing a controlled drying and curing process. By Franco, the strain hunter.

www.edrosenthal.com

That is really interesting. It’s the first time I’ve seen instructions to dry at such a low temperature. I can see why, however I’m not sure how I’d get it that cool. I don’t have a window for a window AC unit where I can dry them. Gonna have to think about that, too. The temperatures I’ve been drying have been waaaay to high if this is truly the best way, too.

I’ll do more research. thanks.

 

[Susanne]

Ooooooops. I thought I researched things before I did them. I’ve been googling since I read the post above. I had NO idea I was drying them way too fast! I’m glad I asked about the humidity question (which, it turns out the humidity is all right in the drying room, but the heat is way too high!). Unfortunately it’s the only room in the house that’s 1) dry and 2) a place to put them. We live in a temporarY, very small house …..those closets were the only place to put them where they’d be out of sight…… . Just one more thing that’s ‘happened’ this year I’m going to have to contend with.
It’s also been the hardest ;& not intended to be, largest garden I’ve ever had with the most problems ever, too. Now this at the end. I’ve got 10 newer plants to dry later. At least it’ll be cooler by then, and I’ll have both dry and cooler in the closets .

 

[Susanne]

Just found out why I’ve been drying in too warm of a room.

The ‘sticky’ threads I used are on THIS forum for drying. It’s under Harvesting, and are in the top stickies. NOTHING is mentioned about the temperature. I know I’m careful with instructions, and it’s been bothering me since this thread was ‘going’. NOW I know.

I wonder if there is any way to ‘fix’ the top part of those stickies…of course, I know there isn’t, but others I’m sure are making the same mistake. I’ve looked at YouTube, and they all mention the 68-7X degree temps to dry, but it sure would be nice if it were mentioned in those.

Rollitup is my ‘go to’ forum, and it is concerning that one of the main sources is so inept and missing such critical information. I think I’ll quit using it for ‘instructional’, and just get some opinions here and there.

thanks for your opinions!

 

[Three Berries]

I live in a high humidity area and just got the last bunch cured down to what I want before I freeze them. Took almost a month. I had to put them in the Veg tent when the lights were on to get an area under 60%.