Question on Drying - Loss of smell

Hoping someone can help me out and learn me with some solid drying info..

I cut off a few test buds last Thursday of some MK Ultra. I normally remove all fan leaves for ease of trimming right when I chop but since it was small branch with a only a couple small/mature buds, I decided I would leave them on.

I planned on drying for a week and sampling this Thursday and curing the rest that I don't test.

Last night, I decided to go ahead and trim the fan leaves being that it's been 4 days so they could dry slowly and let them dry for the next few days without the fan leaves.

The bud have been smelling SUPER DANK/GASSY for the past several days since I cut them off however, this morning upon checkin on them - ALL I SMELL IS HAY and the dank/gas smell is GONE!

I know that a good/proper dry/cure will bring that smell back but just wondering if chopping those fan leaves caused the dramatic change in smell and if so, why?

Any advice/input/recs are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Sounds like it was dried too fast,drying and curing is like an art ive noticed lol

mattman089 said:

Hoping someone can help me out and learn me with some solid drying info..

I cut off a few test buds last Thursday of some MK Ultra. I normally remove all fan leaves for ease of trimming right when I chop but since it was small branch with a only a couple small/mature buds, I decided I would leave them on.

I planned on drying for a week and sampling this Thursday and curing the rest that I don't test.

Last night, I decided to go ahead and trim the fan leaves being that it's been 4 days so they could dry slowly and let them dry for the next few days without the fan leaves.

The bud have been smelling SUPER DANK/GASSY for the past several days since I cut them off however, this morning upon checkin on them - ALL I SMELL IS HAY and the dank/gas smell is GONE!

I know that a good/proper dry/cure will bring that smell back but just wondering if chopping those fan leaves caused the dramatic change in smell and if so, why?

Any advice/input/recs are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

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Time isn't how you determine if buds are ready to be jarred up. Bend some of the smaller branches of your drying buds. If it snaps, then it's ready to jar. Buds will feel really dry and crumbly, but that's normal. Buds will rehydrate themselves over a couple weeks.

Read up on drying and curing. Try the GrowWeedEasy site. It is one of the most important steps, and can wreck all the hard work if not done correctly.

Also, if the season in which you're drying has low humidity, you want to leave some leaves on the branches, to slow drying time. Do the opposite for the humid season.

mattman089 said:

Hoping someone can help me out and learn me with some solid drying info..

I cut off a few test buds last Thursday of some MK Ultra. I normally remove all fan leaves for ease of trimming right when I chop but since it was small branch with a only a couple small/mature buds, I decided I would leave them on.

I planned on drying for a week and sampling this Thursday and curing the rest that I don't test.

Last night, I decided to go ahead and trim the fan leaves being that it's been 4 days so they could dry slowly and let them dry for the next few days without the fan leaves.

The bud have been smelling SUPER DANK/GASSY for the past several days since I cut them off however, this morning upon checkin on them - ALL I SMELL IS HAY and the dank/gas smell is GONE!

I know that a good/proper dry/cure will bring that smell back but just wondering if chopping those fan leaves caused the dramatic change in smell and if so, why?

Any advice/input/recs are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Click to expand...

mattman089 said:

Hoping someone can help me out and learn me with some solid drying info..

I cut off a few test buds last Thursday of some MK Ultra. I normally remove all fan leaves for ease of trimming right when I chop but since it was small branch with a only a couple small/mature buds, I decided I would leave them on.

I planned on drying for a week and sampling this Thursday and curing the rest that I don't test.

Last night, I decided to go ahead and trim the fan leaves being that it's been 4 days so they could dry slowly and let them dry for the next few days without the fan leaves.

The bud have been smelling SUPER DANK/GASSY for the past several days since I cut them off however, this morning upon checkin on them - ALL I SMELL IS HAY and the dank/gas smell is GONE!

I know that a good/proper dry/cure will bring that smell back but just wondering if chopping those fan leaves caused the dramatic change in smell and if so, why?

Any advice/input/recs are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Click to expand...

if possible leave the shrouded buds alone for longer. the outer leaves will cover up the buds & allow the moisture to seep out from the inner parts. no direct air blowing on them if possible. the hardest part of what we do is taking the time to be patient.

mr. childs said:

if possible leave the shrouded buds alone for longer. the outer leaves will cover up the buds & allow the moisture to seep out from the inner parts. no direct air blowing on them if possible. the hardest part of what we do is taking the time to be patient.

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Thanks for the response! I've always read that leaving the fan leaves on can increase the chance of bacteria and mold???

Tnm1912 said:

Sounds like it was dried too fast,drying and curing is like an art ive noticed lol

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They were drying nice and slow not fast at all there's still very moist and Stems are still very moist.

Just find it coincidental that as soon as I chopped the fan leaves off the next morning they smell like hay! There were smelling dank AFFF before I chopped the fan leaves.

The fan leaves I'm talking about are the very small Sugar Leaf fan leaves - not huge fan leaves.

mattman089 said:

Thanks for the response! I've always read that leaving the fan leaves on can increase the chance of bacteria and mold???

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it can in a overly humid room without any airflow. i always feel that just because we chop down our plants, theyre not dead, like an apple that is picked from the tree, i mean its still alive.

mattman089 said:

They were drying nice and slow not fast at all there's still very moist and Stems are still very moist.

Just find it coincidental that as soon as I chopped the fan leaves off the next morning they smell like hay! There were smelling dank AFFF before I chopped the fan leaves.

The fan leaves I'm talking about are the very small Sugar Leaf fan leaves - not huge fan leaves.

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youll be ok, i have been in the same boat. just keep the drying area cool, with a little non direct air movement. like always the smell will come back.

mattman089 said:

They were drying nice and slow not fast at all there's still very moist and Stems are still very moist.

Just find it coincidental that as soon as I chopped the fan leaves off the next morning they smell like hay! There were smelling dank AFFF before I chopped the fan leaves.

The fan leaves I'm talking about are the very small Sugar Leaf fan leaves - not huge fan leaves.

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Your buds aren't going to smell good for a couple weeks in the jars, so don't worry about how hey smell right now. If your smaller twigs/branches don't snap when you bend them, not ready.

Was the MK Ultra from seed or clone?
I grew a few clones and it was excellent smoke.

Hopefully with some curing your hay smell will go away.

mattman089 said:

Thanks for the response! I've always read that leaving the fan leaves on can increase the chance of bacteria and mold???

Click to expand...

The ideal drying environment is 75 degrees, 50% relative humidity, and a fan circulating air around the room, but not on the drying buds.

Trim the big leaves off, but leave the smaller leaves (on the buds themselves). Leave more for slower drying, when RH is below 50%, and less when RH is above. That's just a general guideline. You'll get the hang of it.

Read up on how often to burp your jars when curing. That's an art as well. I burp them every few hours, for the first couple days, a few times a day, for the next couple, twice a day, for a few days, and once a day, until the buds tumble around in he jar, without getting stuck to each other. That's when you can start enjoying. Before that, and it can be really harsh. Store your jars in a cool, dark place, and they will continue to cure over time, much like an aging wine.

Before opening your jars, tumble and shake the buds loose from each other. If things are moist, like at the beginning, I like to wave fresh air into the jars, with my hand, and leave them open for a couple minutes.

Everyone's going to have their own little technique, but that should give you an idea of what's involved. Curing starts as soon as you cut your branches, including the drying process. A couple weeks in jars will bring out the awesome smells and flavors. Don't worry if things are still smelling grassy in the jars. One morning you'll open them, and it's like a fresh new can of coffee

TintEastwood said:

Was the MK Ultra from seed or clone?
I grew a few clones and it was excellent smoke.

Hopefully with some curing your hay smell will go away.

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Straight from seed I prefer that method personally.

I definitely think the hay smell go away after a proper cure I just found it interesting that it occurred immediately after trimming off small fan leaves / manicuring. I don't even plan on Jarring these as they're just test buds.

I'm definitely looking forward to trying these girls out there super Frosty and smell(ed) dank LOL. Im mostly a sativa guy myself but the wife has been wanting to try some Indica so happy wife happy life right? Lol

Harvesting early is the #1 reason for loss of smell.

The smell will change during the drying curing process.
Just dont jar too early.. Thats how you get a grassy/hay smell that doesn't go away or worse you'll get that sour musty smell.
Extreme over-drying will also evaporate terpenes.. Some terps being more volatile than others.
If you harvested weeks prematurely than the smell will never be up to par.

Renfro said:

Harvesting early is the #1 reason for loss of smell.

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Rookie mistake, being impatient

I have been drying my harvests fast with no cure process for years and it always smells incredibly dank, only a glass jar can contain the odor. So I know that you can dry weed quickly and not lose terpene content. Terpenes evaporate, thats why you smell them. If the smell of your weed goes away when drying then it is very likely that you chopped too soon before the terpene levels really peaked. The weed will smeel great fresh that way but will small like lawn clippings when dry.

Sometimes the weed may smell a little like lawn clippings / hay when drying but you can still smell the terps a little and after it's dry it smells good again. That is normal. If the smell doesn't come back then you could have chopped early.

My drying room is not ideal temps, in the summer it hits high 80's in there. Humidity can get pretty low, like 35%. My weed reeks. So drying isn't as big a deal as people make it out to be.