How to dry my buds?

I am currently growing for my first time and need help with drying. I have 4 plants but 2 are going to be done first. can I dry with growing buds under 12/12 or will light mess them up. can I use a portable canvas storage closet I have to dry them sense its breathable fabric and if so do I need a fan on them.

Use the fan, keep'em away from lights

You can also use a cardboard box with vent holes in it. Then tie a string at the top to hang them upside down. If you decide to use a fan, don't blow directly on them.
You don't want the fan to knock trich's off or dry it too quickly.

I made a dying box out of a wardrobe cardboard box, 2 pc fans powered by a 12v adapter plug (from old router).
One fan for intake one for exhaust. Then I lined the bottom of the box with salt rock.
Then all I had to do was hang all the cuttings upside down from a string at the top (lost the metal bar that came with the box lol).
I used this my last 2 grows and works very well.

Not sure of your setup but here is my plan for my early finishers:

Cardboard box placed outside my tent, with the passive air intake duct for the tent running in towards the bottom of the box and another duct out on the other side towards the top, and into the tent.

This will keep them dark with good yet gentle airflow all over the drying fruits.

Don't believe the hype. Hang em up in ya flower room but make sure temps aren't too high and certainly no fans pointing at them. Light don't degrade shit, they have been under ligfht for the last 3 months. Just hang em up and leave em. 4-5 days and ya will be done.

MrMeanGreen said:

Light don't degrade shit, they have been under ligfht for the last 3 months.

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it only begins to degrade when its separated from the plant, while its on the plant its still developing.

but as for drying method, most these people got the basic idea which is dont blow directly on the buds, have good air flow and low humidity, and darkness.

id also leave off as much stem and leaf matter as it retains water and will redistribute back into the buds during cure(although some dry with bud leaves on, supposedly it affects taste in a positive way), and when i cure in jars for the first few days i leave a paper towel on the lid of the jar, if its wet then they need more drying. brown paper bags or a wooden box also help wick out moisture at this stage, however if they're really wet id continue to hang them. and during the cure process, allow the jars to air out for a few hours a day.

The reason for the salt rock is because its a natural dehumidifier. I tend to leave all the cuttings intact (fan leaves and all) while drying to make the drying as slow as possible.
The salt rocks at the bottom keep the humidity down and the fans keep clean air moving though to prevent mold.
I trim off the extra once 80-90% dry to the touch. Then they go into mason jars that get buds turned and jar burped every other day for the few weeks.
Burped and turned every other day first week.
... every 3 days 2nd week.
and once a week on 3rd week.
After that I don't have to touch it anymore and I leave it alone (unless I'm smoking it) .
My total dying/curing time is about a month and a half before its ready to smoke.
But that's just the method I use.
Just remember the slower you dry it without getting mold , the better the smoke will be.
If you do get something with whitish mold, don't smoke it!

Roscko said:

The reason for the salt rock is because its a natural dehumidifier.

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thought of doing a similar thing except with rice on the lid of a mason jar, sounds like a good idea.

Roscko said:

Just remember the slower you dry it without getting mold , the better the smoke will be.
If you do get something with whitish mold, don't smoke it!

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very true. also forgot to include make sure the jar is packed loosely.

Yah I heard of using silica gel as well but you need to bake them in the oven after every use.
They use this method for drying regular flowers but not sure how well it would work for cannabis.
Hmm rice, I will have to check that one out and see which does best, they are both about the same price.
I also wonder is the rice would go bad as it collects moisture.

I would put the rice at the bottom though, if it collects moisture it may drip it back down.
Under my salt rock I have a plastic bag because it collects a bit of moisture and would water bog my box.
I found this out the hard way and almost stained my carpet lol

Roscko said:

Yah I heard of using silica gel as well but you need to bake them in the oven after every use.
They use this method for drying regular flowers but not sure how well it would work for cannabis.
Hmm rice, I will have to check that one out and see which does best, they are both about the same price.
I also wonder is the rice would go bad as it collects moisture.

I would put the rice at the bottom though, if it collects moisture it may drip it back down.
Under my salt rock I have a plastic bag because it collects a bit of moisture and would water bog my box.
I found this out the hard way and almost stained my carpet lol

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sounds like an interesting method, would likely work well with buds if it does with normal flowers, just gotta make sure it doesnt affect the smoke.
i got the rice idea from drying out wet electronics in it, doesnt seem to retain a lot of moisture so i dont think it would drip if there was a good amount, and i would likely do it after knowing its pretty dry from the hanging. it would do the same thing the paper towel method does(but hopefully more effective). and damn that would be unfortunate, cardboards tendency to wick out moisture can have its cons i can see lol

I use a big cardboard box as well, that is how roseman does it

I use lights to dry but it takes some getting used to,because too much heat and you could end up with dust,i would dry for a few days just with fans and then put them in the room with lights on for a couple of days but have a fan blowing on them and try to not have the plants drying directly under the lights.

Hang the full plants upside down,by doing this you will not be cutting all the small sugar leaf off far to much thc is wasted by wet trimming i'm not saying leave all the leaf on but just hand prune back to where the thc is thick nearest the bud on the smaller leaves,the smaller leaves if ya dry the whole plant will incase the bud.

But i think wet trim makes better hash,also get a screen to prune over then your catching the thc that will fall of only when you prune over screens is it that you get to see the thc that is prob just left to fall on the floor of where ever ya prune get some screens.

Sift if done right will blow your nut off,but also good to make butter and add it to oil try and get used to useing every single part of the plant,even put the stems in a blender and put them out side some where let nature re use them.or i use them in compost

Drying with lights?? Why not just throw it in the oven?? lol

nothing wrong with drying with lights has long has it is done right,my room aint no oven,i just dail the temps down. the bud i do is all ways pukka bone dry and i aint got two weeks or even 7 days to wait my next set is ready to go straight away.

If i was only getting a couple of oz of each plant i might just use fans,but has long has you dry in a room with lights and you do it right then all is good.

I use all the plant so need it drying right last thing i want is sticky bud,sticky bud =m not dry bud,ya from the uk dude because here things are a little bit harder ya want it done has fast has possible.

But i do have the lights dimmed that way they do not run has hot 18/20

I know people who have been turned over while it was drying i would be gutted

tyke1973 said:

nothing wrong with drying with lights has long has it is done right,my room aint no oven,i just dail the temps down. the bud i do is all ways pukka bone dry and i aint got two weeks or even 7 days to wait my next set is ready to go straight away.

If i was only getting a couple of oz of each plant i might just use fans,but has long has you dry in a room with lights and you do it right then all is good.

I use all the plant so need it drying right last thing i want is sticky bud,sticky bud =m not dry bud,ya from the uk dude because here things are a little bit harder ya want it done has fast has possible.

But i do have the lights dimmed that way they do not run has hot 18/20

I know people who have been turned over while it was drying i would be gutted

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LOL You have months to grow it but don't have 7 days to properly dry it??? WTF sort of backwards ass logic is that? Nobody... Let me repeat it 'cause your slow ass seems to have some problems with the reading comprehension.. NOBODY this side of the lake wants your "pukka bone dry" buds.. We don't want it wet, but if it's not a little sticky it's not even close to top shelf.. Whatever though, if it works for you more power to you.

blowincherrypie said:

LOL You have months to grow it but don't have 7 days to properly dry it??? WTF sort of backwards ass logic is that? Nobody... Let me repeat it 'cause your slow ass seems to have some problems with the reading comprehension.. NOBODY this side of the lake wants your "pukka bone dry" buds.. We don't want it wet, but if it's not a little sticky it's not even close to top shelf.. Whatever though, if it works for you more power to you.

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are you haveing a laf dude where are the photos i put ya a few up

I would not advice drying under lights if you have never done it but has long has you have all the right equipment to get the temp really low eg fan speed light dimmer,air con humidifer ext then don't do it because it is not easy to master but it can be done to good effect.i have smoked bud all over the world dude and i can tell if bud is not dry because its sticky dry bud is not sticky at all to the touch once its been in a grinder then it should get a little tackie.

Ya see my problem dude ya have a permit to grow on that side of the pond

still though I am not experienced and need to know if a portable storage closet will do the trick