Decarbox and the growing plant...

If I understand this right, you can decarbox a bud right after harvest and it will be just as good as drying and curing. Really? Learn something new every day. I'm experimenting with this right now. My idea that makes me feel like a genius, even though I'm sure someone else has thought of it, is to snip a little bit of bud off the last few weeks of flower, do a few experiments with the decarbox bud, and see exactly when it is really killer. Narrow down the harvest time. I swear, I recently have heard, "I wish I would have waited a week or harvested a week earlier." WTF?? Can we not narrow it down better than this? And I am preaching to the choir. I really after being an experienced (yeah, right) grower of five years now want to say I am still struggling on when to harvest. I've just about given up on the trichome idea for so many reasons. Presently I'm counting weeks of flower and looking at the bud growth and white arms. Again trying to figure out best harvest time. Plus, really? Can you really skip the drying and curing by decarbox? Man that would solve a lot of problems...since most people don't dry and cure the correct way.

vandy12 said:

Can you really skip the drying and curing by decarbox?

Click to expand...

In a word - No.
What you refer to as decarbing fresh weed is what I call "fast drying". It's dry but no chance of a cure, harsh as fuck and will get you high.

Hey Hugo--you mean will NOT get you high? Oh, you burst my bubble. I was not looking for a way to skip drying and curing. I was looking for a way to optimally figure out when the perfect time to harvest would be. Again, I've recently run across several places where experienced growers just keep saying,, "I wish I would have chopped it down a week earlier or a week later." I'm going to have to go back to the website where I got this info. I have read a lot about how to tell if it is harvest time and I'm still unsure about when to do it. So I typically now just read about what the seed seller says and use that as a time guide for flower and then take my best guess from there--typically a week later. Thanks for the response Hugo.

Fresh bud can be decarbed easily in the right conditions, in fact, it’s a good way to preserve more terpenes in the final product (think about the smell of fresh vs. dried flowers).
Decarbing fresh bud takes no less or more time to decarb as cured bud in a controlled setting. And (most importantly!) properly cured bud has not been decarboxylated as a function of the drying and curing process. Hugo, this is from the Ardent website. Am I missing something here?

Decarbing is converting the THCA to THC. Its not drying or curing. Its done so that edibles get ya stoned...
When u have a cone the flame is decarbing so decarbing in the oven is not needed.

Breeders timelines are normally for the desired pheno in a closed room in hydro. If running anything else then expect to run 1 to 3 weeks longer depending on your lights. If your not sure if the plants ready to harvest, wait a week is the old saying. Clones seem to finish faster- not sure why but im sure someone on this site can tell us.

Thanks Lucky for the info. Yes decarb converts THC. So if the THC is activated by decarbox--it won't give you a buzz because it has not been cured and dried? What is it about the curing and drying process that completes the process and what does that do that decarbox does not? Just curious since it seems the people selling decarbox machines say this can circumvent the process of drying and curing. Honestly, I'm not buying it either and think they may have overstated decarbox capabilities to try and sell their product. But it got me thinking about the prospect of using decarbox machine for fresh bud for smoking prep. I am not a hydro grower--just a simple couple plant set up under lights with throw away water waste. I've gone both directions. I've harvested too early and because of that I think I went way too late at a later time. Just trying to find the sweet spot which I am still struggling to find. I thought after a little experience, like a lot of experienced growers, I could tell by looking at the plant, the time grown, trichomes, white arms, weight, etc. Still can't narrow it down. I know my plants have been consistently been pretty weak when it comes to stoneyness and it is driving me crazy. The plants look great, they got good nutrition, light, air, water, etc. and after all that time and effort...basically they are not that potent. I get my seeds from Nirvana which is a pretty reputable place. So I am still in search of the magic combination that will get me some descent weed after four months of work. Not there yet.

You could make butter caps and try, because I don't think you need to cure for that, but I don't think it's worth it. If I was hurrying, it would take me 48hr. I would need 2g cured bud, so probably 6 g wet, decarb it, and use to 2T butter. Harder to do in small quanties like this and tales practice. Maybe a blast chiller modified method would speed up. Then swallow and see how you feel. You also need practice with the edible experience. I don't know if it's realistic.

I also don't know but can you make hash from fresh no cure decarb and do it in small quantities? Would be a pita too though.

you Dry and cure your flower so it smokes properly. Decarbing is for making edibles and tinctures.

I prefer to take it a little later to make sure I can get that Stoney feeling. I think I saw that same misleading statement on a decarb product at the dispensary. Seems like the legal market is more misleading than the traditional one lol

I am experimenting out of curiosity. I decarboxed a bud at seven weeks and eight weeks. A lot of moisture in the container which the decarb site said would happen. It really was not that bad. It did not have harshness and provided an OK buzz. If this is just a sign of my crop's success I will be a happy camper. I am not in any hurry to dry and cure it. I'm just wondering about the claims you can decarboxylate fresh stuff and I wanted to see for myself. I've never had a device to decarb before and want to put it thru it's paces. I am also wondering if it would be better to do edibles the old fashion way or with the decarb device.

You decarb bud with a lighter lol. Storing the THC as THCA preserves it as once decarbed it degrades easily from light, air and heat.

Yes you can Renfro. But you can also decarb it with heat in general if you don't want your lungs to go up in smoke. And from personal experience I can tell you the buzz from eating it is just as good if not better. Which was my concern, because that is the reason I enjoy it so much. Good point about the degradation. I didn't know that. I didn't think decarbed bud would degrade any faster. But this is an easy fix. You only decarb what you use. It only takes an hour. And lastly, the majority of my present grow is going to be dried and cured, but with my new toy I'm seeing what potential it has and I've been egged on by claims on the website...true or false. So I'm experimenting myself.