Neee help drying and curing

i had an outdoor grow this year and about 2 weeks ago i cut 4 of my 7 plants that were finished and i dryed them in a closed box and screwed up they smell bad.now i finished the rest of my plants and hung them upside down in my bathroom whit the fan on all time for 7 days.2 days ago i took the buds off the branches which where dry and snaped at the bottom but when i tryed to snap em near the colas they were bendy,but the buds seem to be a little to dry.now i placed then in glass jars and now i wanted to know how offten should i open the jars and for how long are there some indicators of how gry or moist the buds are, i dont want to fuck this shit up like the last time,and do i have to open the jars later in the curing proces as often as in the begginig or can i maybe after a week open every 2 days.i wana do this right becouse im starting an indoor setup and would like do learn this till my first harvest indoors

that sucks about the first plants. are they moldy? if so dont smoke em, you could get really sick. open the jars at least once a day everyday. it sounds like they're ready to start curing right now. the stem should break and the buds should be a bit crispy on the outside and bendy on the inside. did you read the FAQ on harvesting and curing? some good info there.

i smoked the first one and nothing happened except the high,now they are grispy on the outside and on the inside alittle to crispy i can almost crumble them some more some less but the stem is bendy.when i open the jar the smell is a little strange,i dont know is it me maybe triping becouse they really have a strong odor.if it was mold how would i know.i really dont have much experience whit this

1, If you dry them too much, you can always add some moisture back.
2, If you do not dry them enough, you can ruin them permanantly.

In my humble opinion, drying whole plants is sort of "old timey" or the old way of drying and curing. (someone will surely disagree)
I always remove and dry my buds individually. I hang them upside down from maskign tape, in a cardboard box, with a fan blowing OVER them, but not on them. AFTER 5 or six days the medium buuds are ready ane after 7 or 8 days, the big tops or colas are ready for the jars. I agree with Freddythekruger, you should open the jars daily for a minute, smell them, and replace the lid. If you smeall a funky moldy smell, take them out fo the jar and dry them another day. I re-open my jars for 30 days.
Once, out of 5 grows, I lost one jar of my biggest bud, by skipping two days of re-opening them, after 4 weeks. The really big ones take longer.
And by the way, I just put my small popcorn buds in a box lid and stir them around daily, until I "jar" them..

I harvested this past Saturday. I have the buds hanging to dry. My question is, why don't they smell like pot anymore? They have a funny smell, can't explain it. What did I do wrong?

my fist plants i hung in a box whitout a fan and they smel like hay

Fuck, you know what? That's what they smell like, hay. Shit I knew the smell but you just jolted my memory. My pops mom had a farm and I used to go and help out. OK I've got the fan going again. Will the odor dissipate?

Im new so ican tell you anything special,this i know couse i did it like 10 days ago and now im in the proces of curing whit my other plants and this time i dryed them in my bathroom whit the fan on all time and they smell great.just dont get a strong fan for a small space maybe u can dry them to fast to much.my space is 18m3and my fan is 163m3/h

Roseman said:

1, If you dry them too much, you can always add some moisture back.
2, If you do not dry them enough, you can ruin them permanantly.

In my humble opinion, drying whole plants is sort of "old timey" or the old way of drying and curing. (someone will surely disagree)
I always remove and dry my buds individually. I hang them upside down from maskign tape, in a cardboard box, with a fan blowing OVER them, but not on them. AFTER 5 or six days the medium buuds are ready ane after 7 or 8 days, the big tops or colas are ready for the jars. I agree with Freddythekruger, you should open the jars daily for a minute, smell them, and replace the lid. If you smeall a funky moldy smell, take them out fo the jar and dry them another day. I re-open my jars for 30 days.
Once, out of 5 grows, I lost one jar of my biggest bud, by skipping two days of re-opening them, after 4 weeks. The really big ones take longer.
And by the way, I just put my small popcorn buds in a box lid and stir them around daily, until I "jar" them..

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Ed Rosenthal says to keep them on main stems so that the bud drys out evenly and allows the proper chemical reactions that cause the THCA to decarboxylate and become THC (the psychoactive form).

Keeping the plant whole allows the moisture to be released and dry without leaving pockets of moisture in the bud that leaves behind chlorophyll and some pockets of THCA, making your herb a little more harsh and less potent.

Greymattertripp said:

Ed Rosenthal says to keep them on main stems so that the bud drys out evenly and allows the proper chemical reactions that cause the THCA to decarboxylate and become THC (the psychoactive form).

Keeping the plant whole allows the moisture to be released and dry without leaving pockets of moisture in the bud that leaves behind chlorophyll and some pockets of THCA, making your herb a little more harsh and less potent.

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Last night I got home and went through 14 books on indoor growing, plus two books by Ed Rosenthal, one old book from the early 80's. In the old book, on growing outdoors, Ed Rosenthal tells how to hang and dry entire plants. In the remaining 13 books, (yea, I collect them) all on in door growing and closet growing, all 13 books say to harvest the buds, to cut the buds off, manicure them first and then hang them to dry.

When I harvest, I, like everyone else, I want it done fast as possible. BUT, I also want it done right. I use cardboard boxes. I cut the buds off, anything over one and half inches long, and I manicure them right then and there, closely trimming off the bud leaves.. Then, using cheap masking tape, I make rows 3 or 4 inches apart, across the box opening and I hang them from the tape. I run an oscilating fan on low, blowing OVER but not on them, just to keep air moving. Do not allow the buds to touch each other. There are FASTER ways, but FAST is not best. There are SLOWER ways, like hanging up entire plants, but that is just a waste of time. If you hang the entire plant,t he big shade leaves will make the buds mold by covering them. By drying just the buds alone, I can dry them in 5 to 7 days. The big buds are 7 days, the small buds in 5 days, til I can snap the stems. I also trim the trim leaves, the leaves close to the buds, the leaves with trichiomes, and I keep them separate, in shoe boxes, with the fan blowing over them too. I stir them around daily. I save them to make HASH. I also save the large shade leaves, and dry them too, to make oil.
What I want to do is dry them first, and then CURE them, by placing them in jars, and opening the jars daily for a few minutes, to smell them, for 30 days. IF they smell moldy, I take them out of the jar and dry them again two more days, then back in the jars.
I've done 9 crops in 3 years, and I lost one jar, on the 30th day, it smelled funky like mold. It had my biggest bud ( a big cola cut in half) in it and did not dry enough before I put it in the jar. You have to watch those big colas close.
Again, I 'd say that 99% of indoor growers all do it the same way, by drying the buds and not drying entire plants.

KiloBit said:

Fuck, you know what? That's what they smell like, hay. Shit I knew the smell but you just jolted my memory. My pops mom had a farm and I used to go and help out. OK I've got the fan going again. Will the odor dissipate?

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Don't trip too much that happens. Once you cure them for 2-3 weeks if not longer the hay smell will dissipate.

Damn I hope your right calicat. I don't want my first grow turning into crap. Roseman, thanks for your input I appreciate it and will definitely do the bud and trim next time. I let them dry on the branch.

They will lose that fragrant "good smelling" smell, while they are out drying, because they are not in a confined space. "Shit" out in the open doesn't smell like "shit" in a jar! LOL..................
But, after they are dry and start curing, that yummy smell comes back. AND, it always amazes me how a bud out of the jar for one week is no where as smooth, as fragrant or as potent as it is after curing for 4 weeks.

Roseman said:

Last night I got home and went through 14 books on indoor growing, plus two books by Ed Rosenthal, one old book from the early 80's. In the old book, on growing outdoors, Ed Rosenthal tells how to hang and dry entire plants. In the remaining 13 books, (yea, I collect them) all on in door growing and closet growing, all 13 books say to harvest the buds, to cut the buds off, manicure them first and then hang them to dry.

When I harvest, I, like everyone else, I want it done fast as possible. BUT, I also want it done right. I use cardboard boxes. I cut the buds off, anything over one and half inches long, and I manicure them right then and there, closely trimming off the bud leaves.. Then, using cheap masking tape, I make rows 3 or 4 inches apart, across the box opening and I hang them from the tape. I run an oscilating fan on low, blowing OVER but not on them, just to keep air moving. Do not allow the buds to touch each other. There are FASTER ways, but FAST is not best. There are SLOWER ways, like hanging up entire plants, but that is just a waste of time. If you hang the entire plant,t he big shade leaves will make the buds mold by covering them. By drying just the buds alone, I can dry them in 5 to 7 days. The big buds are 7 days, the small buds in 5 days, til I can snap the stems. I also trim the trim leaves, the leaves close to the buds, the leaves with trichiomes, and I keep them separate, in shoe boxes, with the fan blowing over them too. I stir them around daily. I save them to make HASH. I also save the large shade leaves, and dry them too, to make oil.
What I want to do is dry them first, and then CURE them, by placing them in jars, and opening the jars daily for a few minutes, to smell them, for 30 days. IF they smell moldy, I take them out of the jar and dry them again two more days, then back in the jars.
I've done 9 crops in 3 years, and I lost one jar, on the 30th day, it smelled funky like mold. It had my biggest bud ( a big cola cut in half) in it and did not dry enough before I put it in the jar. You have to watch those big colas close.
Again, I 'd say that 99% of indoor growers all do it the same way, by drying the buds and not drying entire plants.

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I was speaking from a piece he wrote in a magazine, CC, in 96.

Your right though, all thats important is that a main branch be connected so that the bud dry's evenly. This is the difference between good and GREAT bud. Having those pockets of moisture=chlorophyll and that means harsh smoke, green taste.

Roseman said:

They will lose that fragrant "good smelling" smell, while they are out drying, because they are not in a confined space. "Shit" out in the open doesn't smell like "shit" in a jar! LOL..................
But, after they are dry and start curing, that yummy smell comes back. AND, it always amazes me how a bud out of the jar for one week is no where as smooth, as fragrant or as potent as it is after curing for 4 weeks.

Click to expand...

I had my first conflict on this forum with al b funct arguing this very point.

He was trying to say curing doesn't increase potency.

I cited a few sources explaining decarboxylation, and like a moron, he continued to argue as if curing doesn't do anything.

Anyone who is a connoisseur knows that curing your bud vastly improves the taste and potency.

Greymattertripp said:

I had my first conflict on this forum with al b funct arguing this very point.

Anyone who is a connoisseur knows that curing your bud vastly improves the taste and potency.

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ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVILY! NO DOUBT! CURING ENHANCES AND IMPROVES TASTE AND POTENCY.
I've only done 9 indoor Hydro grows and I bet AL B has done ten times that many grows. IN SOIL Growing, he knows as much as anybody on the planet about growing. BUT, he loves to argue and I do not. He loves to debate and I do not. AND, more importantly, and evidently, I think you and me know more about curing.