Hello Gang, I'm days away from my second harvest (2 clones) & have 3 plants to harvest in july.. My first plant (harvested in May) tastes ok (somewhat sweet taste, cerebral high), but looks and smells less appealing than I thought it would... She smells like nothing until you break a bud up & then a sweet aroma can be found on my fingertips, but not until I break the bud up. This last week, (it's been 5 weeks since harvest) the remaining few buds have turned brown (leaves) & is beginning to look like Mexican dirt weed. The strain is unknown, but I did purchase from someone (I know personally) who only grows exotic stuff(up to $450/oz). I started with the cheapest strain that he sells (hoping to become proficient) & the smoke always has a light green look with a super sweet smell.... I followed the curing method in the faq (close enough), with the exception of placing the buds in a plastic back immediately following harvest & I may have put them in the jars a bit early (day 15 of dry)..... My Q is..... Is it genetics, or drying that causes the brown leaves? How do you dry & get the buds like tight nugs? Do you compress the buds while in the plastic bag? I'm gonna keep reading, but was hoping someone could shed some light for me...... Thanks in advance....
Racer, forthis harvest, cut down the trees, then seperate the branches. Do a quick trim down the bud, removing all fan leaves and all or parts of the bud leaves that don't have crystals. Place in the plastic bag for one day. Next day remove from plastic bag, and trim the hell out of your girls. This is the final manicure, and you want little to no leaf left on the bud. Then brown bag it and follow the faq. The tightness of the bud is in the grow, and curing will not help it. You can only compress the bud, which releases trichomes and smell, reducing the desired effects of the bud. Also, just a side note, if you take two identcal buds and slow and cure one, while letting the other dry fast, the cured one will appear darker in color and more brownish looking, while the fast dry one will stay greener looking. Drying too fast or long will reduce the smell. Hope that helps.
Thanks for the knowledge, Useless. Very helpful. Should I also remove as much stem as possible to shorten drying time? Last time I left plenty of stem so the buds could stand up in the bags...I noticed that the buds with long stems took a little longer to dry than buds with short or no stems. All the short & no stem buds were in a separate bag & seemed to dry quicker, Or.... was I just tripping? Thanks again for your reply.
I cut the branches of the still-standing plant, then fully manicure. From there they go into a paper bag til almost dry enought to smoke, then into a plastic bag in side the paper bag for 3 or more weeks, when dry enough to smoke I seal the buds up in humidors and seal-a-meal bags. Throughout the drying, curing process, I gently 'comb' the buds with my fingers for a few seconds, to make sure they dry/cure evenly. Btw, they cure better when they're in contact with other buds. Tight nugs come partially from genetics, but mainly from lots of HPS. I've seen nugs so tight (grown under almost 100 watts HPS sq/ft) that made a sound like a small stone when tossed onto a metal tray.
ranger, is that a RonCo vacuum sealer? THose things are great. Probably the best infomercial product out there. But I don't know, that spray paint hair in a can looks pretty cool too. I wanted to buy some of the grey hair, and spray a couple of my buddies nuggetts so they looked like they were molding!
Not only that, but it also slices, dices, chops, shreds, puree's, roasts, toasts, broasts, bakes, shakes, dehydrates, rehydrates, folds, separates and has an attachment that allows you to use it as alternative power source for the light in your refrigerator.
But wait that's not all!!! if you act within the next fifteen mins you get 2 for the price of 1 thats right 2 for the low low price of $19.95 plus $25 Dollars S/H (enjoy)
Operators are standing by (we don't have any chairs). and if you order immediently you'll also revieve this beautiful faux pearl necklace. (Edited by rangerdanger at 4:28 pm on June 18, 2003)
:LOL: You guys are toooo funny! Useless,I tried an experiment 2 nights ago with a bud in a clear plastic bag for 24 hrs in a dark place..... I noticed that trikes were stuck on the sides of the bag by the end of the 24 hour period....Still unsure if I want to lose any THC, but I am going to try anyway (with one plant)cause I've got an unknown indica dominant mix that is looking great (THC spewing on fan leaves) @ 40 days & I want to be sure I'm comfortable with what I'm doing before that girl comes home. Ranger, your method sounds interesting- do you close the plastic bag inside the paper bag? What diff does the plastic bag make inside the paper bag?? I've got 2 girls this trip, so I may try one each way. Thanks for the help folks..... I'll keep ya posted.
You should place them loosely in a plastic bag, like a trash bag or grocery bag. Try not to press the buds in the bag. TO answer for ranger, the plastic inside the paper bag once partially dry will help slow the drying process. Putting them into a paper bag allows for air flow and a nice slow dry. Then once they are partially dry, putting them into a plastic bag slows it down even more. The paper bag and faster initail dry will prevent mold, then slowing it down will help cure and smooth out the smoke. Basically, its all a balancing act. You need to dry them as slow as possible, but not too slow otherwise you will get bud rot and mold. Too fast and the buds will taste harsh and have that homegrown hay type taste. Try it a couple different ways and see what works best for you and your area. The relative humidity in the air plays the biggest role in how you dry and cure. If you humidity is up around 65-70% or higher, don't use the plastic bags and keep a close eye on them in paper. If you are down between 50-65% humidity, use the bags. If you are lower than 50% RH, use the plastic bags almsot the entire dry process, giving them air 2-3 times a day. Just some general guidelines I like to follow. Hope that helps Racerx.
Useless and Ranger i started a thread in the smokers lounge last week pertaining to vacuum sealing. i know if you suck all the air out in the plastic bag it will compact and crush the buds. Do you remember that Pump-n-seal? I'm going to get one when i get back from vacation because youi can put the bud in a mason jar, punch a hole in the lid with the tool provided,and suck the air out. They have some kind of patented valve you stick over the hole to seal it. The good thing...no crushed buds.
Not $150, not $125, not even $100!! just 4 easy payments of $29.95!!!! CALL NOW!!!!!!!! HURRY!! BEFORE I FREAK OUT! IVE BEEN UP ALL NIGHT ON SPEED AND IM TWEAKING THE **** OUT!!! (Edited by superboy at 6:07 pm on June 19, 2003)
and if you promise to tell at least two people about it, we'll give you one for each of them too.... ptf
Thanks Useless, very helpful. I took one plant down this morning & placed loosely in black trash bag & I'll bring the next one down tonite or tomorrow & go straight to the paper bags... I don't have the means to measure humidity, but I would guess I'm in the 50-60% range. I'll give a smoke report with pictures in 3 weeks...
