# Grassy smell during drying stage!!



## Dour (Jun 24, 2016)

ok, so I chopped my plants whole and hung them up to dry totally intact. Fan leaves and all. I did this because I wanted to try the dry on the vine method in attempts to savor the flavor & smell by slowing down the drying process (advice I've gather over the past few months). Typically I trim wet, but I hear that releases chlorophyll and gives u the hay smelling bud at the end. It is now day 4 of dry and the plants are still hanging in full. Going to take the fan leaves off today. However, now the room smells like a fresh cut soccer field! Smh. I'm thinking that aroma is coming out because the chlorophyll is breaking down in the leaf matter. Is this normal? I didn't f up my smell and taste did I? The dry room is at 70 degrees at like 50% rh. Should I trim the entire plant now or continue with just taking off the fan leaves and trimming once they feel slightly crispy and the stem somewhat snaps? As of now the bud definitely feel moist and the stems are not snapping. Signs of a nice slow dry. However, I DO NOT want that 60's hippy smelling herb. When I cure and put in jars, the grassy smell will breakdown and disappear even more correct? I am growing 6 different strains. Here is a picture of how they currently look in their drying stage day 4. After all this time and energy I definitely want the best tasting bud possibly. Help me out RIU. Thx!


----------



## BlackD.O.G (Jun 24, 2016)

When the buds feel a bit crisp on the outside and the stems bend and almost want to snap move them into jars and place a hygrometer in with them. Keep an eye on it 5-6 hours later and shoot for 60-65% RH in the jars. If your at that target RH then let it cure for at least two weeks. You can burp the jars daily if you want. If your rh is high, above 65% then leave the lids off for an hour or two. If the buds are too wet then you can risk mold. Good luck man


----------



## BlackD.O.G (Jun 24, 2016)

Remember the trick is to let the bacteria do its job removing any chlorophyll left in the buds and that bacteria thrives with very little oxygen, so if your RH is 60-65% then be dissiplined and leave that alone for the cure.


----------



## oteymut (Jun 24, 2016)

The plant itself consumes chlorophyll through metabolic activity after it's been cut. You don't want to dry it out too quick to stop that metabolic activity, nor completely remove all light for first few days.

Also, anaerobic bacteria are generally bad. You want to keep oxygen present so that aerobic bacteria can keep anaerobic bacteria levels in check until the buds are below a homogeneous 15% moisture content, at which point most strains of bacteria will not grow. At that point you can remove oxygen to prevent degredation of THC. 12% water content is considered ideal for smoking.

The hay smell is byproduct of bacteria and needs to be removed with air circulation. You definitely don't want to jar buds smelling like hay.

All those fans are just breeding grounds for bacteria.


----------



## SPLFreak808 (Jun 24, 2016)

Dont over-dry or dry in too hot of a room
Use 50% rh when drying
Dont chop plants too early


----------



## Dour (Jun 24, 2016)

oteymut said:


> The plant itself consumes chlorophyll through metabolic activity after it's been cut. You don't want to dry it out too quick to stop that metabolic activity, nor completely remove all light for first few days.
> 
> Also, anaerobic bacteria are generally bad. You want to keep oxygen present so that aerobic bacteria can keep anaerobic bacteria levels in check until the buds are below a homogeneous 15% moisture content, at which point most strains of bacteria will not grow. At that point you can remove oxygen to prevent degredation of THC. 12% water content is considered ideal for smoking.
> 
> ...


Damn, great info bro! And you know what....I did cut a lot of the fans off 3 days ago and that's when the grassy smell started. I'm cutting the fans back on now. I didn't ruin my buds did I??


----------



## Dour (Jun 24, 2016)

This dry on the vine method definitely slows down the drying process, but I worry about mold everyday because their still real damp. On day 5 of dry. All is good thus far tho


----------



## oteymut (Jun 24, 2016)

The most likely culprit of the hay smell is Staphylococcus Lugdenensis, which are facilitive anaerobes, meaning they can survive through aerobic respiration or switch to fermentation in anaeroibc environments. In aerobic mode, their only byproducts are CO2 and water, but once they consume all the O2 in their immediate environment, they switch to fermentation mode and start producing exotoxins. You want to keep them well fed with O2 (air circulation) so they stay in aerobic respiration mode.

Colder temps slows the drying process and also lowers water activity level. Leaving the fans on just reduces air flow and more surface area for bacteria and mold to breed IMO.

EDIT: by all those fans I meant all those fan leaves. I know some say it's a good way to dry but I don't think so.

Here's one of the better guides to drying out there
https://www.dinafem.org/en/blog/drying-and-curing-of-fresh-cannabis-buds/


----------



## qwizoking (Jun 24, 2016)

it takes me 10-14 days ideally to bring the bud down to 60rh


ehhhh...i kinda disagree with that last post but whatever, close enough


----------



## oteymut (Jun 24, 2016)

^ a lot on the forums swear by hanging whole plant leaves and all. 

Did you flush them before harvest? Put them into dark immediately after cut? it could be a lot of chlorophyll/nitrogen still trapped in the plant.

After reading that dinafem guide again, they seem to suggest the hay smell is drying too fast and trapping in the chlorophyll/nitrogen. Your buds look kinda small and airy so seems like it might be easy to do. It could just be the fans full of nitrogen making that smell too though, I'd get rid of them.


----------



## Dour (Jun 25, 2016)

oteymut said:


> ^ a lot on the forums swear by hanging whole plant leaves and all.
> 
> Did you flush them before harvest? Put them into dark immediately after cut? it could be a lot of chlorophyll/nitrogen still trapped in the plant.
> 
> After reading that dinafem guide again, they seem to suggest the hay smell is drying too fast and trapping in the chlorophyll/nitrogen. Your buds look kinda small and airy so seems like it might be easy to do. It could just be the fans full of nitrogen making that smell too though, I'd get rid of them.


Yea the buds themselves are still damp. So maybe it's the amount of leaf matter left giving off that grassy smell. That won't transfer into my buds will they??


----------



## GrowUrOwnDank (Jun 25, 2016)

Grassy smell is normal. If you want a safe way to avoid mold, after a good cure, maybe 2 weeks depending and you get rh down to the low mid 60's try Boveda packs. It's not the best way to get the most flavors I don't think but it's safe and will give you a good loud smell once everything stabilizes.


----------



## qwizoking (Jun 25, 2016)

grassy smell is different than hay smell..

one is green, one is decomposing..
that one.dude was sorta right..
the cure is an aerobic process, keeping stomatas open and facilitating gas exchange the plant is br ok en down through respiration and hydrolysis. when this isnt allowed to occur it starts to ferment. the same thing happens in a bale of hay, you can look up silage fr extreme examples.
nitrogen sugars cellulose, starch, etc breaking down anaerobically with the high moisture content begins toferment. This releases ammonia (essentially formed from.the nitrates not breaking down properly) and acids giving the foul odor.



a grassy smell is not usually correlated so its important to use proper.terms...yes i know my spelling and grammar is a little off, i hate touch screens

but a green smell is from corresponding esters and aldehydes from freshly cut material. they have a high vapor pressure or low boiling point and will go away shortly



you should in general always trim.wet so long as your environment can.handle it.

no it wont somehow transfer into the bud. 
many people.because of their drying environment always have this occur


----------



## oteymut (Jun 25, 2016)

good point on differentiating hay from grass


----------



## Dour (Jun 25, 2016)

I don't think I ever even used the word "Hay". I'm talking fresh cut grassy smell.


----------



## Dour (Jun 25, 2016)

Today I trimmed all the fan leaves off and did some semi trimming. From what I feel in the stem, they may be ready for full trim and jar in about 2-3 days. That would make it a 7-8 day dry period. I know some people say to dry for 10-14 days but I feels like that's a bit much and it's seem more fitting for bigger harvest. Thought on the 7-8 estimated drying period? By the way, the nugs themselves still feel moist, not crispy on the outside: seems like it at first due to the dry leave matter tho


----------



## qwizoking (Jun 25, 2016)

Dour said:


> Typically I trim wet, but I hear that releases chlorophyll and gives u the hay smelling bud at the end.





Dour said:


> the room smells like a fresh cut soccer field! Smh. I'm thinking that aroma is coming out because the chlorophyll is breaking down in the leaf matter



a little contradictory..

cutting leaf matter releases volatiles.. you need more aie circulation if it bothers you

i trim a couple dozen lbs every 2 weeks qnd never had a mowed lawn in the room



the size of the harveat shouldnt change dry length much it can obviously take longer to get a good range all the way through..which you do through jarring
but even little nugs should get 10-14 days. you never want any part to become crispy



heres what i do

Trim wet, rh ~60%, decent airflow ~500cfm, no light, temps 65-73°f, Hopefully this takes roughly 10-14 days before outside of buds becomes dry. Do not let any part of the bud become dry. if this happens to soon; up rh, lower temp, and/or decrease air flow. When drying is complete, Jar for minumum of 16hrs to get moisture back to the tips. You can now add boveda packs and or "burp" for30 minutes and give airflow to the bud. Airflow is very important to the cure but so is maintaining 55-60%rh

After 2 weeks drying and 1 week "cure" i start to sell or taste test

i burp every other day for 2 weeks then weekly for 2months... then its good to go head stash


----------



## oteymut (Jun 25, 2016)

Yeah you said you typically trim wet but heard it releases chlorophyll giving you the hay smell at the end. Then BlackDOG went on about bacteria and I followed lol. The dinafem guide also mentions trapped chlorophyll giving a smell like stinky hay, but like qwizo pointed out, those are 2 different things, but possibly going on at once. Since you typically trim wet the grassy smell you're not used to may just be all the chlorophyll breaking down in the fan leaves. If no stinky hay smell and just green grassy you're probably doing fine.

I'm just a microgrower so I trim everything soup to nuts all at once.


----------



## Dour (Jun 25, 2016)

qwizoking said:


> a little contradictory..
> 
> cutting leaf matter releases volatiles.. you need more aie circulation if it bothers you
> 
> ...


Ok, so I already trimmed most of the fans off. The room is at 70 degrees 50%rh. The stem seems as if it will begin to crack but not break in about 2-3 days. Is it drying to fast? If so, how should I adjust ? Or am I fine and just need to let them dry longer than 3 more days? Everyone has such a different opinion on this topic. I know it's best to go with what works for you, but u always want to maximize the potential. One out of my 5 strains smells like super fruity, the others u have to kinda squeeze to experience the smell. I want that out and smelling through the bud. I kno it will happen in the cure, but it's weird how the one is just intense.


----------



## Dour (Jun 26, 2016)

If it is dry and ready to put in jars by day 7 do think my buds could not be as tasty or fragrant ??


----------



## mo841 (Jun 27, 2016)

Just dry the shit, throw it in jars with bovida and call it a day. Ive never had a problem with my shit smelling like grass or hay after it was fully dryed.


----------



## Dan Drews (Jun 28, 2016)

The other potential cause I don't see anyone mentioning here is if you harvest too early, you're more likely to get a grassy smell. Do you have any pics of right before you chopped the plant?


----------



## Dour (Jul 1, 2016)

Everything is coming along well! After 5-6 days of burp and cure the buds are now stable between 60-65% rh in the jars. Going to let them sit and plan to only open every 5 days or so. Going to do that for two weeks and than give a legit taste test. I snuck a taste test after one strain was in the jar for 3 days, still really wet but I could taste the potential. One thing I will say is this....thus far I vouch for DNA genetics.


----------



## qwizoking (Jul 1, 2016)

i like DNA, ive grown almost the entire line up including their other branches i guess.
i think their slh and snowcap are to this day some of my favorite strains

i dont think they have snowcap available anymore though


----------



## Dour (Jul 1, 2016)

qwizoking said:


> i like DNA, ive grown almost the entire line up including their other branches i guess.
> i think their slh and snowcap are to this day some of my favorite strains
> 
> i dont think they have snowcap available anymore though


 Grow anything from their GYO line? I'm curing white walker as we speak


----------



## Woyaboy (Jul 1, 2016)

BlackD.O.G said:


> Remember the trick is to let the bacteria do its job removing any chlorophyll left in the buds and that bacteria thrives with very little oxygen, so if your RH is 60-65% then be dissiplined and leave that alone for the cure.


Once at 60-65 do you stop burping altogether?


----------



## Dour (Jul 2, 2016)

Woyaboy said:


> Once at 60-65 do you stop burping altogether?


Yes, maybe open them up once a week, just for a couple minutes, to remove gasses. I also like to reposition the buds as well.


----------



## Dour (Jul 7, 2016)

How long do u personally cure until u start getting that dank smell? 2 out of 5 smell nice but he others seem as if the scent is somewhat still trapped. Could be genetics.


----------



## Six9 (Jul 13, 2016)

Good info Qwiz, thanks for the tips!


----------



## Americanadian420 (Mar 22, 2020)

Dour said:


> ok, so I chopped my plants whole and hung them up to dry totally intact. Fan leaves and all. I did this because I wanted to try the dry on the vine method in attempts to savor the flavor & smell by slowing down the drying process (advice I've gather over the past few months). Typically I trim wet, but I hear that releases chlorophyll and gives u the hay smelling bud at the end. It is now day 4 of dry and the plants are still hanging in full. Going to take the fan leaves off today. However, now the room smells like a fresh cut soccer field! Smh. I'm thinking that aroma is coming out because the chlorophyll is breaking down in the leaf matter. Is this normal? I didn't f up my smell and taste did I? The dry room is at 70 degrees at like 50% rh. Should I trim the entire plant now or continue with just taking off the fan leaves and trimming once they feel slightly crispy and the stem somewhat snaps? As of now the bud definitely feel moist and the stems are not snapping. Signs of a nice slow dry. However, I DO NOT want that 60's hippy smelling herb. When I cure and put in jars, the grassy smell will breakdown and disappear even more correct? I am growing 6 different strains. Here is a picture of how they currently look in their drying stage day 4. After all this time and energy I definitely want the best tasting bud possibly. Help me out RIU. Thx!


Don’t you love how everyone has an answer... but not one to your question? I’m in the same boat as you... on my first harvest of some fiiire I put so much time effort and research into growing this properly and even more into drying and curing. I cut whole plant hung with fans on 3 days ago... in my bathroom temps between 61-68 F with 52-60% at a pretty steady 56% I had a mini fan blowing under the buds on high and I made sure not to have any direct air flow and have had my bathroom exhaust running here and there and today at the end of day 3 i can smell that harsh fresh grass smell. Stems not snapping, nugs still wet but the chlorophyll smell is getting stronger. When I squeeze a nug tho and smell my fingers ohhh my god does it smell good but when I just lean up and smell the buds it doesn’t smell? I’m assuming this is the process of chlorophyll breaking down and just being released into the air... and that at the end of this slow dry in about a week the bathroom will smell like OG! How did yours turn out? How many days did you end up hanging them?!


----------



## LinguaPeel (Mar 22, 2020)

You cannot smell chlorophyll in plant level concentrations. Youre signaling jasmonate hormones, which are produced instead of fatty acid derivatives that actually provide good Cannabis flavors. The soccer field smell is normal only if you chop wet, growing plants. It's the same signal being sent. The only time I smell the soccer field is from male flowers that fall off while collecting pollen, because I'm harvesting fresh pollen from a growing plant.

If you leave them rooted and cut off supplies slowly you can soon pluck buds right off and theyre already delicious, and ready to be cured into something even better. Drastic changes are weeds enemy. I don't even want my crop to know when it's been harvested. All the people who talk shit about skewering, flushing,boiling, etc, the soccer field smell is normal only to them. I'm about to go pick a skunky sugary,cotton mouth inducing bud off a rooted plant right now.


----------



## Americanadian420 (Mar 23, 2020)

Dour said:


> ok, so I chopped my plants whole and hung them up to dry totally intact. Fan leaves and all. I did this because I wanted to try the dry on the vine method in attempts to savor the flavor & smell by slowing down the drying process (advice I've gather over the past few months). Typically I trim wet, but I hear that releases chlorophyll and gives u the hay smelling bud at the end. It is now day 4 of dry and the plants are still hanging in full. Going to take the fan leaves off today. However, now the room smells like a fresh cut soccer field! Smh. I'm thinking that aroma is coming out because the chlorophyll is breaking down in the leaf matter. Is this normal? I didn't f up my smell and taste did I? The dry room is at 70 degrees at like 50% rh. Should I trim the entire plant now or continue with just taking off the fan leaves and trimming once they feel slightly crispy and the stem somewhat snaps? As of now the bud definitely feel moist and the stems are not snapping. Signs of a nice slow dry. However, I DO NOT want that 60's hippy smelling herb. When I cure and put in jars, the grassy smell will breakdown and disappear even more correct? I am growing 6 different strains. Here is a picture of how they currently look in their drying stage day 4. After all this time and energy I definitely want the best tasting bud possibly. Help me out RIU. Thx!


Hey man what happened??! I’m on day 4 of my first harvest and I did the exact same thing as you but my temps are 65F/55% and today it started smelling like straight lawnmower clippings!! When I squeeze the bud and smell my fingers it still smells super stanky like OG but all I’m guessing is it’s the chlorophyll breaking down and being released into the air and after I’m done curing it will go away


----------



## Grow So High (Mar 31, 2020)

Americanadian420 said:


> Hey man what happened??! I’m on day 4 of my first harvest and I did the exact same thing as you but my temps are 65F/55% and today it started smelling like straight lawnmower clippings!! When I squeeze the bud and smell my fingers it still smells super stanky like OG but all I’m guessing is it’s the chlorophyll breaking down and being released into the air and after I’m done curing it will go away


Did you chop early? What did your results end up being now after I assume they are dried?


----------



## Dour (Apr 26, 2020)

Americanadian420 said:


> Hey man what happened??! I’m on day 4 of my first harvest and I did the exact same thing as you but my temps are 65F/55% and today it started smelling like straight lawnmower clippings!! When I squeeze the bud and smell my fingers it still smells super stanky like OG but all I’m guessing is it’s the chlorophyll breaking down and being released into the air and after I’m done curing it will go away


years later I respond....lol! Gotta love RIU. 4 out of 6 of the strains ended up coming out great! The other two I came to realize were Sativa dominant and could of easily went another 2 weeks or so before being chopped. They were aired and bland in taste. I will also add that those were the 2 strains I was most weary about from the start. All and all a good grow and I learned from it. Other 4 strains came out DANK with great flavors profile.

I do have questions surrounding peoples theory of curing with bovida packs. Do you think those take away from the smell and taste of your buds given the pack is “salt” based??


----------



## Boatguy (Apr 26, 2020)

Dour said:


> years later I respond....lol! Gotta love RIU. 4 out of 6 of the strains ended up coming out great! The other two I came to realize were Sativa dominant and could of easily went another 2 weeks or so before being chopped. They were aired and bland in taste. I will also add that those were the 2 strains I was most weary about from the start. All and all a good grow and I learned from it. Other 4 strains came out DANK with great flavors profile.
> 
> I do have questions surrounding peoples theory of curing with bovida packs. Do you think those take away from the smell and taste of your buds given the pack is “salt” based??


Imo, it's another pointless product that i wont waste my money on again.
I bought some boveda's with the intention of using them once i got the jar humidity down to where i wanted it. A month later, the jars are still at 60, and i havent bothered adding them.


----------



## martiannbeanz (Mar 1, 2021)

LinguaPeel said:


> You cannot smell chlorophyll in plant level concentrations. Youre signaling jasmonate hormones, which are produced instead of fatty acid derivatives that actually provide good Cannabis flavors. The soccer field smell is normal only if you chop wet, growing plants. It's the same signal being sent. The only time I smell the soccer field is from male flowers that fall off while collecting pollen, because I'm harvesting fresh pollen from a growing plant.
> 
> If you leave them rooted and cut off supplies slowly you can soon pluck buds right off and theyre already delicious, and ready to be cured into something even better. Drastic changes are weeds enemy. I don't even want my crop to know when it's been harvested. All the people who talk shit about skewering, flushing,boiling, etc, the soccer field smell is normal only to them. I'm about to go pick a skunky sugary,cotton mouth inducing bud off a rooted plant right now.


so you recommend letting plant die on the vine ?


----------



## Rurumo (Mar 1, 2021)

martiannbeanz said:


> so you recommend letting plant die on the vine ?


We were just talking about this the other day. I like hanging the whole plant, though I do chop off at the base, but I'm going to try leaving one plant in the tent and just stop watering it, until it's "dry", or rather, ready to cure. Leaving the roots on would only slow down the drying process, which is the reason some of us whole plant dry, and dry trim. I have no idea if it will improve the final product, but a nice slow dry is more important than the cure, imo.


----------



## Star Dog (Mar 1, 2021)

I've not read all of the replies (eye strain headaches) forgive me if it's been said, I don't think curing can make good weed bad, or bad weed good. 
Curing brings out the more subtle tones but it's not going to make or break weed imho/ime.


----------



## martiannbeanz (Mar 1, 2021)

Rurumo said:


> We were just talking about this the other day. I like hanging the whole plant, though I do chop off at the base, but I'm going to try leaving one plant in the tent and just stop watering it, until it's "dry", or rather, ready to cure. Leaving the roots on would only slow down the drying process, which is the reason some of us whole plant dry, and dry trim. I have no idea if it will improve the final product, but a nice slow dry is more important than the cure, imo.





Rurumo said:


> We were just talking about this the other day. I like hanging the whole plant, though I do chop off at the base, but I'm going to try leaving one plant in the tent and just stop watering it, until it's "dry", or rather, ready to cure. Leaving the roots on would only slow down the drying process, which is the reason some of us whole plant dry, and dry trim. I have no idea if it will improve the final product, but a nice slow dry is more important than the cure, imo.


You are right, curing is overrated i think. No magical taste or smell will appear if it was never even there to begin with. I think im going to try the same on my next harvest. I did have the issue of a chlorophyl smell when drying before and the bud ended up being just okay. Nothing amazing, but also not bad. Did not taste like chlorophyl, just didn't smell and taste nearly as good as the smells i got when it was in end of flowering. Probably dried a bit to quick because of my exhaust fan being to powerfull? But you learn by making mistakes, right? Next time i will not hang my plant in my tent but just in the growroom with slight air movement in the room at right rh and temp and hope for the best


----------



## Budzbuddha (Mar 1, 2021)

I believe his grassy smelling “ grass “ killed him back in 2016.


----------



## Star Dog (Mar 1, 2021)

Idk how many times I need to be caught with new members responding to old posts. 
No disrespect to @martiannbeanz we've all done it, when your new all the posts are new. 

Well spotted @Budzbuddha (thumbs up)


----------



## Budzbuddha (Mar 1, 2021)

Star Dog said:


> Idk how many times I need to be caught with new members responding to old posts.
> No disrespect to @martiannbeanz we've all done it, when your new all the posts are new.
> 
> Well spotted @Budzbuddha (thumbs up)


I like zombies


----------



## Soul Dwella (Mar 1, 2021)

Almost got me too... Dang... Think he still drying that plant tho??


----------



## Budzbuddha (Mar 1, 2021)

I think he would be smoking twigs right about now .....


----------



## Star Dog (Mar 2, 2021)

I checked on new posts and posts I've replied to when I log in if they're bold I never think to check the date


----------



## martiannbeanz (Mar 2, 2021)

Star Dog said:


> Idk how many times I need to be caught with new members responding to old posts.
> No disrespect to @martiannbeanz we've all done it, when your new all the posts are new.
> 
> Well spotted @Budzbuddha (thumbs up)


All good haha


----------



## Dougal1 (Dec 28, 2021)

Theres a whole lot of factors to consider here. How much nutes where they getting, how qas the ph, did u flush, how were they being grown, what strain etc....
If you want a specific answer, provide the specifics of your grow, otherwise, who knows. 
Not tryin t be a diik, just saying details are vague. Wish i cpyld help


----------



## Grow So High (Dec 28, 2021)

Rumor has it his crop is still drying from 2016


----------



## cannabineer (Dec 28, 2021)

Grow So High said:


> Rumor has it his crop is still drying from 2016


Oh haaay


----------

