Efficient jar curing

Apostatize

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
When curing, where along the RH range do You operate?

What's your typical Day 1 jar RH, Week 1 jar RH, Week 2 jar RH, Week 3 jar RH?

And what about buds tell you they are done curing?

The RH in the drying/curing area and the bud are both between 45 and 65%. If I dry until a drywall meter indicates the biggest buds are between 6 and 10%, I can pretty much tell where Day 1 curing RH will be. So, I'm getting closer to being able to consistently start curing where I want RH. Recently, I've been aiming for 52-55% RH for Day 1 curing.

I could be wrong, but it seems like a Day 1 curing RH of 60-65% in the jar just adds time to the cure. And I don't think it's necessary to burp across the entire curing RH range (45-65%). Letting a plant hang an extra day or two is a lot less labor than burping throughout a week. Also, burping just seems like a means to an end -- being able to keep the lid shut on a stable RH at or near 50% (where mold is avoided) appears to be the primary goal. Within a few days of burping once or twice daily, I should be able to confirm a relatively stable jar RH and then seal the jar until curing's complete (occasionally rolling/tumbling the jar).

YouTube and even Rollitup threads that I've read provide general ranges with wide variations in curing time.
 
Apostatize

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Put another way, I feel like I'm kicking it between the goal posts but I want to be shooting a high caliber weapon at a bullseye from close range.
 
B

Bud man 43

Well-Known Member
I hang dry for 10 -14 days until the small stems snap.
Then I jar up with a 58% #8 boveda and forget it. No burping- everything has been great.
I prefer the 58% over the 62 as the 62 weed has to be broken up and left in the tray a bit to smoke good. The 58 is perfect right out of the jar.
I have also used a moisture meter into a big stem- I have found 11-12% is a good target but honestly I only used it once and now go by experience.
 
wakeNbaker46

wakeNbaker46

Well-Known Member
i've been drying until the leaves are crispy but stems bendy. at this point i take the weed out of the drying space for trimming, which i spread out over a couple of days. when i'm trimming, the buds are exposed to the humidity of the house, which is about 53-55%. as i trim, i pop the nugs in a jar with a humidity meter so i can keep an eye on things. this method has given me trimmed weed at about 58-63% according to the meters. at this point i keep the jars in a space that i pass by multiple time a day so i can burp and continue to monitor the readings. i find i'm burping about 2-3x a day over the course of a few days. when the jar reads 60% consistently for two days straight, i move the weed to grove bags for curing. after two weeks in the bags, i will break ounces down into smaller bags for personal use and gifting, and heat-seal the extra grove bags for longer term storage.
 
Apostatize

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Bud man 43 said:
I hang dry for 10 -14 days until the small stems snap.
Then I jar up with a 58% #8 boveda and forget it. No burping- everything has been great.
I prefer the 58% over the 62 as the 62 weed has to be broken up and left in the tray a bit to smoke good. The 58 is perfect right out of the jar.
I have also used a moisture meter into a big stem- I have found 11-12% is a good target but honestly I only used it once and now go by experience.
Click to expand...
I have no doubt that you can cure effectively at 10% moisture -- some online sellers advertise that they do. But, at least in my climate, you're not finishing (i.e., unlocking the flavors) within a month.

Unlike common retail bud, apparently competition bud is dried to ~5% moisture. It just so happens that when I dry until all big colas are dried down to at least 6% moisture (using a 2-pin drywall meter), Day 1 RH in whatever container you use is ~52%. At least for me. Within a day or two, I can seal it and forget about, aside from the occasional tumble. That's how I will ensure that smell, flavor, and texture are how I want them -- within a month.

I'm trying my approach on 4 Cherry Pound Cake that are finishing now (much eaelier than the rest of this round because I started them 1/2-way through the previous round...).

It also helps that mold is virtually eliminated at 50% RH and I'm already at 52% on Day 1 and finishing between 46 and 49% RH.

I recently finished a round dried to ~ 6-10% moisture and it had to air out for a few days before that last bit of RH/vapor around it evaporated, unlocking more of the flavor. Smelled great though.
 
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