# Drying. Darkness necessary?



## Ace Smoking (Feb 7, 2010)

Does it need to be totally dark? What if it's around a corner in a vegetative room that utilizes HOT5 fluorescent panels 3+ ft away?

It's not dark by any means, but there is no direct light shining. What would other options if you must dry in the same room you do perpetual cycles in? Dry boxes?


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## Dan Halen (Feb 7, 2010)

I've always heard it needs to be completely dark, not because of the actual drying process, but because it forces the buds to use the last of any nutrients that may be left over and smoothes out the smoke. I mean if you really wanted to dry them quick and easy, I've heard of using food dehydrators, oven set on the lowest setting, hair dryers, ect. You should be able to dry them fine there, but it won't be as smooth a smoke if you had kept them in pitch black.


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## the widowman (Feb 7, 2010)

totally dark, cool temps about about 18c and let it dry itself. no fans speeding it up.leave for up to 14 days till 95% dry then cure in jars.


peace.


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## McFonz (Feb 7, 2010)

light doesn't do anything for a dead bud.
light and heat encourage mold. and thats something you don't want in your buds.

I always hang my buds around the carbon filter that sucks air out over the flowering room. Never had any issue.
Dried in a dark place - didn't matter at all.
If you don't have enough air flow or if you have moldy buds to begin with, mold thrives in humid, stale air lighted place.

You could hang it in paper bags. poke a hole at the bottom of the bag, pull the stem from it and hang it by the stem. it will make the bud dry in a dark place and the paper will suck the moisture evaporated and spread it to a larger surface to allow faster drying.
however, it is not recommanded as it will dry your buds too fast. they will dry first at the outer part but the center will be very moist still. when it will seem dry it would still need quite a bit of time.
by the time the center dries and out part will crack when touched.

I know people who use it on a regular basis and just know when to put it down and re-distribute the humidity by jarring up the weed. (curing)
They are some fine growers.


If it troubles you so deeply just put something below the buds to block most of the light.
As long as you didn't had mold issue and you have temps below 35°C you should be fine.


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## Fditty00 (Feb 7, 2010)

^^^ good shit mcfonz! U think all that weed youve smoked was cut at night? Like i read somewhere else today.' Mexicans take thier weed and set it in the sun. U think they use jars and darkrooms for 10000 pounds?'.


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## McFonz (Feb 7, 2010)

thanks.

mexicans are also known producer of brickweed.

Heat does damage weed but its pretty normal to kiln dry outdoor weed.
In mexico I wouldn't do that if the temps are too high. beside that I find it pretty normal to put it outside to dry.


If you could dry tomatoes on your window you can surely dry weed in the same conditions.
tomatoes contains much higher emount of water and will rot much faster than MJ in the same conditions.


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## Dan Halen (Feb 7, 2010)

Of course commercial ops won't go through all the trouble of drying in the dark. Think of it like Moonshine, (massive commercial grows) and fine aged scotch, (smaller ops focusing on quality rather than quantity), both get you where you're going, but one is better quality, more refined and rare and usually more expensive.


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## McFonz (Feb 7, 2010)

yet I haven't found any difference between buds dried in the dark and buds dried in light.
I actually like better kiln dried buds as they were way more uniform in humidity content before curing. They get at least 10 hours of light.


not much related but I like keeping my buds over something clean that I can pick any trichomes dropped in the drying process and add it to my trim drying bag to make hash from.
I also chop the dry buds into smaller buds over that bag when I jar them for curing.


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## Fditty00 (Feb 7, 2010)

What about those 500+ plants, harvested monthly in Amsterdam? U think the Canibis Cup weed was cut in the dark? Sure it was prob cured properly. I really doubt they chopped at night tho. Or give it 48 hrs of darkness. Or they would state that, in their strain description on the Tude'


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## hazex (Feb 7, 2010)

Fditty00 said:


> What about those 500+ plants, harvested monthly in Amsterdam? U think the Canibis Cup weed was cut in the dark? Sure it was prob cured properly. I really doubt they chopped at night tho. Or give it 48 hrs of darkness. Or they would state that, in their strain description on the Tude'


exactly..all those cannabis cup winneres and all entries dont do the dark thing or whatever..i think its all mental  people just think it does somehting maby? get some pics to prove it or video then ill believe it a true video or pic


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## Dan Halen (Feb 7, 2010)

No they probably weren't cut in the dark. I've never heard of anyone cutting in the dark....except for emos. But no one really knows too much about how it was dried. Drying is something that varies from person to person, and sometimes depends on the circumstances. 

I don't know. Perhaps it is just a mental thing. But every pot snob, all 9 of them, I've ever known swears that there is a difference. Next time you harvest, dry some both ways, test it and post back in here.


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## Ace Smoking (Feb 7, 2010)

Ok, so general consensus is that you should dry in the dark....... but it's probably not necessary? Would a quick dry in a dark box with a fan be better than a slow dry without a fan in dim lighting?


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## Drr (Feb 8, 2010)

the light will just further degrade your tric's.... now if you absolutely don't want that(harvested late?).. then hang in the dark.. BUT if it's early or you don't care then a bit of light is not an issue.. it will help finish off the trics

In the dark is when the most moisture will come out.. I read before I was big into growing that an incandesent light on in the room works good.. 

The curing process is to break things down.. even some THC.. therefore if things start breaking down early then you won't have to cure as long

Remember a plant isn't dead until it's dry...


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## Drr (Feb 8, 2010)

Ace Smoking said:


> Ok, so general consensus is that you should dry in the dark....... but it's probably not necessary? Would a quick dry in a dark box with a fan be better than a slow dry without a fan in dim lighting?


The slow dry is what helps break things down..
And helps ensure they dry evenly


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## McFonz (Feb 8, 2010)

the coffeeshops suppliers probably DO dry in completely dark place to decrease any chance of mold as most people can't follow each plant for the whole cicle.
Its safer to do it that way. It surely doesn't hurt.

Light does degrade THC, but it will take light alone quite a while to degrade your THC to any noticable level.

If you have a place to dry your buds in the dark, do so. If not, its REALLY not a big deal.


Dan, we ran a taste test for coke consumers to see if they can tell which type of coke is which. Only people that drink coke more than once a day could participate.
From 200 people maybe 2 could tell which brand is which. (and 99% of the people HATED the coca cola zero. That was before they were exposed to advertisments)
People like to believe they could tell the difference in things they regularly consume. That doesn't mean its true.

I know of a test some people i knew made giving people in the mall 2 glasses of wine. One of a pretty good quility that costs quite a bit per bottle and one from a 3 bucks a liter bottle and told the people tasting it that each brand was the opposite.
85% of the people liked the glass with the actual cheaper brand.


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## Kileze (Oct 7, 2021)

hazex said:


> exactly..all those cannabis cup winneres and all entries dont do the dark thing or whatever..i think its all mental  people just think it does somehting maby? get some pics to prove it or video then ill believe it a true video or pic


Light breaks down THC


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## Bstiles (May 9, 2022)

McFonz said:


> light doesn't do anything for a dead bud.
> light and heat encourage mold. and thats something you don't want in your buds.
> 
> I always hang my buds around the carbon filter that sucks air out over the flowering room. Never had any issue.
> ...


Just so people know light is a mold deterrent darkness is a huge necessity in the ability for mold to grow. Mold needs three thing a relative humidity above 55% , no air movement and last and a dark environment . I worked as a mold remediation technician for 10 years so I’m just providing accurate info about what mold truly needs to grow sense it was brought up in this conversation many times . Wish the best to everyone , I’m no expert when it comes to drying buds I just wanted to clarify about the whole mold thing . Happy growing people


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