How to deal with the dreaded 'Hay / Fresh Cut Grass' smell. Created for Newbies...

Originally Posted in 'Newbie Central', I moved it to here as I thought more appropriate.

Note: There are countless threads all over the web about the ‘HAY / CUT GRASS SMELL’ when drying MARIJUANA. This one is designed specially for newbies who are probably having a melt down as they read this...

Firstly, STOP PANICKING and gather yourself. Chances are your MARIJUANA IS FINE…

FIRSTLY… The thing you have to remember is that DRYING / CURING is the same thing. Curing is simply DRYING SLOWLY…. Repeat…!! DRYING / CURING is the same thing… GOT IT…..? GOOD…

SECONDLY … Almost ALL (THAT’S ALLLLLLL) marijuana smells a little like hay while its drying / curing. It doesn’t matter whether is still on the branch or in a jar or paper bag. Chances are you’ll get a hay-like smell at some point during the process. If you don’t.. Massive well done.. BUT what I want you to understand here is …. THE HAY SMELL ISN’T A BAD THING… IT’S NATURAL….

OK. Feel better..? Good.. Breath…

Basically the CHLOROPHYLL in your plant is what produces the hay smell. As your plants nears the end of its life the CHLOROPHYLL inside NATURALLY breaks down (leaves go yellow, etc). So, for instance, if you chop your plant TOO EARLY, your plant NATURALLY has MORE CHLOROPHYLL left in it. That’s why EVERYONE says harvesting TOO EARLY creates the hay small. This is true… BUT….

Whether you harvest your plant EARLY, ON TIME, or LATE you will still have to break down any remaining chlorophyll. The BEST way to look at it is…

EARLY HARVEST = Tends to be HIGHER levels of CHLOROPHYLL

HARVEST = Tends to be NORMAL levels of CHLOROPHYLL

LATE HARVEST = Tends to be LOWER levels of CHLOROPHYLL

The CHLOROPHYLL in ALL MARIJUANA needs time to break down REGARDLESS OF STRAIN.

SO, to ENSURE your buds SMELL and TASTE as they should you need break down any remaining CHLOROPHYLL. Once the CHLOROPHYLL is gone NO MORE HAY SMELL… GOT IT? YAY……..!!!!

“AAARRRRRARRR……..GET TO THE POINT MAN….. ARE MY BUDS OK….?”

QUICK ANSWER… PROBABLY… So lets find out..

STEP 1

Are you buds WET or DRY on the outside….?

If you answer WET - NO PROBLEM. They still have plenty of moisture. WAIT until the OUTSIDE IS DRY TO THE TOUCH, then go to STEP 2.

If you answer DRY - ….GO STRAIGHT TO STEP 2

STEP 2

MY BUDS ARE DRY…. Great, put your buds into a jar with a HYDROMETER and seal. You are looking for a reading of around 60-65% RH. If the reading is…

60% (OR BELOW) - LEAVE THEM IN THE JAR
60-65% - PERFECT. LEAVE THEM IN THE JAR
65-70% - LEAVE THE LID OFF for say an hour or two then SEAL AGAIN.
70-75% - Leave them out for 12 to 24 HOURS. (BEWARE OF MOLD)
HIGHER THAN 80% - They are still super damp. Take them out for 24 HOURS. (BEWARE OF MOLD)

KEEP GOING BACK AND FORTH USING THE GUIDE ABOVE UNTIL YOUR BUDS ARE STEADY BETWEEN 60-65% RH….

“OK… I’M THERE….”

CONGRATS!! YOUR IN THE CURE ZONE. When you are in the cure zone ANY REMAINING CHLOROPHYLL will NATURALLY break down and your BUDS will begin to smell and taste as they should. As the days / weeks go by keep and eye on the hydrometer and OPEN the jar to let the air circulate, then RESEAL. Within a few days your get into the groove and you’ll find you’ll be doing it less and less as time goes on . There is NO specific time frame for this process to work, it simply depends on how much CHLOROPHYLL is still in the plant. If in doubt, FOLLOW YOUR NOSE…

Are you feeling better now…?

“NO, MY BUDS STILL SMELL LIKE HAY, THE HYDROMETER READING IS WAY DOWN AND CURING SEEMS TO DO NOTHING…

Hummm, OK. Go to STEP 3

STEP 3

YOU NEED TO REHYDRATE YOUR BUDS… There are a number of ways to do this. The best and most common is to use BOVEDA HUMIDITY Packs (B62 is the best one to choose). These can rehydrate your buds (or accentually keep your buds hydrated)…. But…. And I mean but, this might not always get them back to the cure zone… Give this process time… You need to be patience as this is the LAST CHANCE you have to bring your buds back to life…

DID IT WORK? “YES”… Great, go back to STEP 2 (see above)… YOUR BACK IN THE GAME…

DID IT WORK? “FUCK NO…..”… Go to STEP 4

STEP 4… STEP 4 IS BAD…

If your buds are BONE DRY, BRITTLE, AND HAVE FAILED TO REHYDRATE… AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, STILL SMELL LIKE HAY….!!

You basically dried the buds too quickly. This has left CHLOROPHYLL trapped inside and you there is LITTLE TO NO CHANCE YOU ARE GETTING IT OUT…

So… To put in bluntly, if you at this point… YOU ARE FUCKED…!!!

The post by 2ponthephone is a very good guide

AT NO TIME, does my weed smell like hay, it smells awesome from the time i take it down until the time i smoke it
in fact it only gets stronger as it dries and can be smoked as soon as it dries, If you grow good genetics properly, you shouldn't have to deal with hay smell, MY 2 cents

chuck estevez said:

AT NO TIME, does my weed smell like hay, it smells awesome from the time i take it down until the time i smoke it
in fact it only gets stronger as it dries and can be smoked as soon as it dries, If you grow good genetics properly, you shouldn't have to deal with hay smell, MY 2 cents

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Absolutely agree chuck estevez... That's why I designed the thread for Newbie's who have not acquired your own skills for harvesting. Seasoned growers like yourself know how to avoid this issue, but it's easy to forget how much experience you need to have to do so.

Basically, the 'hay' smell can make a Newbie's panic, my thread was designed as a one-stop-shop to help...

2pOnThePhone said:

Absolutely agree chuck estevez... That's why I designed the thread for Newbie's who have not acquired your own skills for harvesting. Seasoned growers like yourself know how to avoid this issue, but it's easy to forget how much experience you need to have to do so.

Basically, the 'hay' smell can make a Newbie's panic, my thread was designed as a one-stop-shop to help...

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THANK YOU. I was about to post a thread. So many people say "You should never smell grass" & "It's normal". Talk about stressful.

I had been drying with all environment items in check, 15% amber and STILL got the grass smell on day 5 of dry. Buds were still full of moisture and for the life of me couldn't figure out what I did wrong. So my only go to was that maybe I wasn't providing enough air circulation &/or not enough air evacuation/replacement. Turns out grass CAN be normal for NEW growers who don't yet have the experience to avoid these solvable issues. Just need some patience and some good thorough thinking individuals like yourself.

Thanks again!

I also do not have a carbon filter, which I imagine keeps people who DO have then from making viable statements for people such as my self. They have a different environment, top notch. Where as I have a fart fan and a 10" fan to move the air around in a 5'x10'x8' space. Fan never directed at the flowers. I think what I experienced was a backing up of chlorophyll due to poor air circulation. I really don't know what else I could have done to avoid it.

Cannabinoid Froyd said:

I also do not have a carbon filter, which I imagine keeps people who DO have then from making viable statements for people such as my self. They have a different environment, top notch. Where as I have a fart fan and a 10" fan to move the air around in a 5'x10'x8' space. Fan never directed at the flowers. I think what I experienced was a backing up of chlorophyll due to poor air circulation. I really don't know what else I could have done to avoid it.

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Some decent thread necromancy here. But not the worst offender we have seen.

Failmore said:

Some decent thread necromancy here. But not the worst offender we have seen.

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Is "Thread Necromancy" a bad thing? Seems to be a lot that discusses this topic with answers equating to "No, you've ruined it" to "It is normal and will go away through the rest of the cure process" but my scenario appears different than most. First and foremost, my herb is definitely ready for a harvest. 15% amber, Rh/temp in check. Air circulation is the only thing I could find a culprit for what I thought was ruined/damaged flower. Turns out grass smell has not ruined anything, according to this guy's post. I just need to be patient and trust the jar cure process. Maybe ramp up circulation on the next grow? I say this because I have a grass smell. Perhaps from not being able to efficiently off-gas chlorophyll due to poor circulation and instead it built up? I feel like I am in the whole anaerobic vs aerobic battle I think. F I hate being new.

Cannabinoid Froyd said:

Is "Thread Necromancy" a bad thing? Seems to be a lot that discusses this topic with answers equating to "No, you've ruined it" to "It is normal and will go away through the rest of the cure process" but my scenario appears different than most. First and foremost, my herb is definitely ready for a harvest. 15% amber, Rh/temp in check. Air circulation is the only thing I could find a culprit for what I thought was ruined/damaged flower. Turns out grass smell has not ruined anything, according to this guy's post. I just need to be patient and trust the jar cure process. Maybe ramp up circulation on the next grow? I say this because I have a grass smell. Perhaps from not being able to efficiently off-gas chlorophyll due to poor circulation and instead it built up? I feel like I am in the whole anaerobic vs aerobic battle I think. F I hate being new.

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Nope...not really a bad thing. Just a 5 year old discussion. There are much newer threads about the same stuff.

Having more air circulation during the grow will not effect your jarred bud. You have fans to move the air and avoid bud rot. No fans = bud rot.

My weed smells like grass the day after harvest. After a couple days in the tent that is gone. If you still have grass smell you dried to fast.


So couple questions then.

What condition is your bud currently in?

In the jars...in the tent still drying?

You want to jar it "wet" imo. Makes life easier for the lazy like me. After I do I final trim after 5 or 6 days in the tent at 63 Hopefully % RH i jar. I will find that my jar RH is in the 70s after a few hours So I burb them a few days down to 68.

I store them around 65-68. Then bring them down lower when I want to smoke that jar.

Growing weed is easy. Growing amazing weed is not. Takes a couple tries sometimes to get it all sorted out. My first couple grows were not something I would sell to an enemy.

7 grows later i got my stuff dialed in.

15% amber
Soil damp but not wet
Cut lowest limb for test drying
No fans
No light
65F 60RH maintained
Days 1-4 of dry the aromas became rich. Flowers feels moist to touch.
Day 5 of dry, grass smell. Flowers feel the same as days 1-4.
Day 7 flower feels drier but still very moist, leafs sound crispy but are still soft and pliable when squished/bent and I am on like the billionth thread about this with you being the only one to reply and the other helpful fellow being the only one with what seems like solid advice. I just feel like not having a fan did a couple things.
1: No circulation created an anaerobic environment.
2: No circulation reduces plant ability to off-gas to allow proper chlorophyll breakdown, resulting in a strong smell of grass.

*NOTE: The stem I pulled, the lowest on the Xmas shape plant, seems to only have 5% amber. Other than that the only thing I can think of that I have heard mentioned is that the soil of the plant to be harvested MUST be dry, where mine was still moist 1 inch down.

So your still in the tent drying? Just worried that you have hay smell. Your all good. No worries.

Don't go by the stem snap method if that is a thing in your head.

At 65 % with a fan running mine take 5 or so days to dry enough for me to jar. So without a fan they should take longer.

What is your plan for after the tent dry phase?

do you have rh meters for your jars?

From what I've noticed is how you finished the plant has a lot of effect on the final. If you struggled and plant did not have a nice fade. The smoke generally is not as good.

If you had a nice fall fade. And the chlorophyll has mostly leached out...the smoke is excellent.

A grew a cbd for my SO and it had a lovely fade and came out the best smoke I've ever grown. That shit made the room smell like purple drink mix.

Great fade on her. Top to bottom.
Have RH/Temp meters both in tent and for when it goes to jar. I'm with you on the jarring wet. I'd rather burp the jars knowing I have kept RH in check than to over dry and reduce storage duration. Just moved it into a jar this morning and it's hovering around 63% RH. The grass smell isn't as potent as it was on day 4 but Holy Christ, talk about giving a person a heart attack.

What I would like to know is why others NEVER experience this smell. What are they doing different? Is it just one thing or in my case is it several?

If it is when I picked, then it is the amount of amber. Maybe they all pick at 30% Amber or better where MOST of mine was at 15%, with the lowest limb being 5%/10% at max.

If the soil has to be bone dry, that was another.

If there has to be a fan, that is another.

But if it all is natural and goes away with a proper cure then all I can do is wait and see, then adjust for the big test.

Cannabinoid Froyd said:

What I would like to know is why others NEVER experience this smell. What are they doing different? Is it just one thing or in my case is it several?

If it is when I picked, then it is the amount of amber. Maybe they all pick at 30% Amber or better where MOST of mine was at 15%, with the lowest limb being 5%/10% at max.

If the soil has to be bone dry, that was another.

If there has to be a fan, that is another.

But if it all is natural and goes away with a proper cure then all I can do is wait and see, then adjust for the big test.

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You will be fine after a lil time in the jar. At 63 dont burp. Just leave it. Maybe exchange the air a few times. But def don't need to burp to get the rh down.

Got any pics?

I would LOVE to send pictures but I do not trust these devices.

Thank you so very much for yapping with me about an issue that is decades old and tiring to discuss at times. I will update thread when I have finished flower or when smells have changed during the jar cure. Hopefully the jar cure works it out.

Cannabinoid Froyd said:

I would LOVE to send pictures but I do not trust these devices…

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I hear you. Up to you, but if you turn off the location services for your device camera app, it pretty well is anonymous.
I only recently overcame my own hesitance on posting weed growing pics, but I’m in a rec-legal state and not as afraid of “the man” coming to my door to lock me up anymore. Your situation is undoubtedly different but pics will really help folks on here help you.

Cannabinoid Froyd said:

I would LOVE to send pictures but I do not trust these devices.

Thank you so very much for yapping with me about an issue that is decades old and tiring to discuss at times. I will update thread when I have finished flower or when smells have changed during the jar cure. Hopefully the jar cure works it out.

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Best of luck with the final product. Hope it works out.

Get that medical card and let go of those worries for ever.

I also am in a Rec-Legal State but I still don't trust it. Still Federally illegal. I'd trust a fart after laxatives more than I ever will of the federal government.

I appreciate everyone here being so helpful.

If description helps,

Fade - 70% Most leaf with stem protruding from flower have turned yellow or are yellowing. All Large fan leafs have been dead and gone for 2-3wks. Sugar leaf still green with some purple-ing.

Hairs/Stigmas - 80-90% orange/brown 75% curled back into bud, 15% still standing slightly straight and out from flower. Virtually ZERO white hairs.

Trichome - 15% Amber at top sight, 10% around middle and about 5% at the bottom. ( This is where I pulled my test flower)

Soil - 50/50 FoxFarm Happy Frog/The one with guano...can't remember the name. No bottle newts used at any point. Last transplant was 1 1/2 weeks prior to first week of flower. Soil was damp when test sample was taken.

Plant appears to be hybrid but leaning towards Indica based on the amount of stigmas and more dense bud structure. Not all loose and airy.

Cannabinoid Froyd said:

I also am in a Rec-Legal State but I still don't trust it. Still Federally illegal. I'd trust a fart after laxatives more than I ever will of the federal government.

I appreciate everyone here being so helpful.

If description helps,

Fade - 70% Most leaf with stem protruding from flower have turned yellow or are yellowing. All Large fan leafs have been dead and gone for 2-3wks. Sugar leaf still green with some purple-ing.

Hairs/Stigmas - 80-90% orange/brown 75% curled back into bud, 15% still standing slightly straight and out from flower. Virtually ZERO white hairs.

Trichome - 15% Amber at top sight, 10% around middle and about 5% at the bottom. ( This is where I pulled my test flower)

Soil - 50/50 FoxFarm Happy Frog/The one with guano...can't remember the name. No bottle newts used at any point. Last transplant was 1 1/2 weeks prior to first week of flower. Soil was damp when test sample was taken.

Plant appears to be hybrid but leaning towards Indica based on the amount of stigmas and more dense bud structure. Not all loose and airy.

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Trichs are only indicators on the buds not on stems or leaves
My bet you chopped early especially if outdoor in Michigan

EDIT: WELCOME to RIU