Jozikins
Well-Known Member
Since I like you guys :I know many of us are overwhelmed with our crops, especially when we find pests/fungus on our buds at the time of harvest. Here is a great tip! After chopping, loosely place your buds in large zip bags (2 gal or larger, or tie up trash bags) and remove as much air as possible. Next, you want to completely inflate the bag like a balloon with pure CO2, seal, and then shake the bag to separate your branches, as they will clump together when you initially remove the air before inflating your bag with gas.
This will freeze your buds in time, and completely devastate any insects or molds that may be on your plants. Remember that Gray Rot will never be safe to smoke, but this will completely remove powdery mildew, and kill all pests. Caterpillars will typically drop to the bottom of your bag, but you will want to keep an eye out while trimming. If they get trapped in your buds and die, they will rot in the future.
You can leave your buds in these bags for weeks and weeks, and when you pull it out, the leaves will still be supple and standing up, just like the second you put in the bag, it will be perfectly preserved. This is an excellent way to halt your drying/curing process dead in it's tracks, at any stage of the process, and I've had things perfectly preserved for up to a month. Although, I would highly recommend checking up on your buds, as bags may deflate.
Loosely packed bags are a critical step, and it's important not to get stingy with your bags, if the gas cannot freely circulate, that area will not get the benefit of being packed in CO2.
You can use this with freshly chopped wet buds, or buds that have already begin curing. You can just fill your jars with gas if you are already curing and want to save the crop for the dry season and get a better donation.
