how and what do you use to keep your buds fresh and mold free?

[stinkytofus]

i find myself using boveda 62% and it can get my buds moist, should i go lower? i was afraid of mold growing so i took it out and air dried it for 2 hrs during summer so its not that moist anymore

do you open up your buds time to time to let it air dry?

how do you keep your buds fresh and mold free?

 

[howie105]

If the bud was grown correctly, dried, cured and stored correctly there is no need for much more. I know this because at some point I have screwed up every one of those steps and messed up various amounts of weed Thats not to say you can't add precautions to improve you odds of success humidity control packs, ultra air tight containers the list goes on and on. My take is if you attend to the basics and use the MJ in a reasonable amount of time the process is fairly plain and simple.

 

[FlyingLow]

Is one better off leaving their cured dry plant without a humidity pack for long term storage, then reintroducing humidity before use?

 

[Squiby]

After harvesting, trimming and drying the buds until the twigs snap, I begin jar curing. The jars contain little hygometers and the jars are opened and burped regularly and less and less frequency until the RH can be maintained around 60% without burping. Once fully cured, the buds are vacuum sealed in a Mason jar along with a 62% bodeva pack and oxygen pack and kept in a cool dark place.

Bud stored this way will last for years.

 

[stinkytofus]

Doesnt ur buds get too moist even with 60% boveda? Im using 62 and its pretty moist, when u squeeze it i can feel slight dampness and stickiness

Why oxygen packs ?

 

[Squiby]

Doesnt ur buds get too moist even with 60% boveda? Im using 62 and its pretty moist, when u squeeze it i can feel slight dampness and stickiness

Why oxygen packs ?

Your bud must be fully dry and cured before introducing bodeva packs for long term storage. If your bud feels damp it has not been dried and cured. The stems should be brittle and snap when bent. Bud should have some give, be dry to the touch without becoming crumbly. Get a cheap $3 hygrometer to test the relative humidity. Dry your bud to about 60%rh BEFORE introducing a bodeva pack. Bodega packs are not meant to dry and cure your bud, but rather to prevent the bud from becoming too dry.

Bud lasts longer when stored at the right humidity, away from light, heat and oxygen. An oxygen pack absorbs oxygen inside the container. I vacuum pack my mason jars of bud so the oxygen pack is just a fail safe. The oxygen packs are cheap, maybe about $10 for a hundred of them. Oxygen packs are pliable when fresh. As they absorb oxygen, they become hard and brittle. When I open a mason jar and the oxygen pack is still pliable I know that the vacuum seal on the mason jar has not been compromised.

All kinds of dry goods can be preserved for years using this method. It is a favored approach used by emergency preppers to keep food viable long term.

 

[Mr.Sifter]

well, I thought boveda packs 62% were meant for curing.

 

[psychonaut]

I usually air dry any moist cannabis and check it occasionally in a sealed container with a hygrometer, once it hits about 65-67% RH, I will pop in a 62% boveda and it will slowly creep down to 62% RH over the next couple of weeks. Once you get below 70% RH the potential for mold becomes a lot less.

 

[Squiby]

I prefer old school methods like these for handling herb much more than relying on technology to keep herb in perfect condition.

At the end of the day, nothing beats experience.

 

[BabyFacedFinster]

Your bud must be fully dry and cured before introducing bodeva packs for long term storage. If your bud feels damp it has not been dried and cured. The stems should be brittle and snap when bent. Bud should have some give, be dry to the touch without becoming crumbly. Get a cheap $3 hygrometer to test the relative humidity. Dry your bud to about 60%rh BEFORE introducing a bodeva pack. Bodega packs are not meant to dry and cure your bud, but rather to prevent the bud from becoming too dry.

Bud lasts longer when stored at the right humidity, away from light, heat and oxygen. An oxygen pack absorbs oxygen inside the container. I vacuum pack my mason jars of bud so the oxygen pack is just a fail safe. The oxygen packs are cheap, maybe about $10 for a hundred of them. Oxygen packs are pliable when fresh. As they absorb oxygen, they become hard and brittle. When I open a mason jar and the oxygen pack is still pliable I know that the vacuum seal on the mason jar has not been compromised.

All kinds of dry goods can be preserved for years using this method. It is a favored approach used by emergency preppers to keep food viable long term.

+1
Boveda used to sell a 54% pack that was geared for cannabis storage. I used them for a while but never did an actual side-by-side comparison between 54% and 62%. Right now I use all 62% packs (with the little O2 packs) and the buds feel perfect to me.

I then buy the valved mason jar lids that fit the available hand pumps to expel air for a vacuum seal. Then the jars are stored down cellar and out of the light. I feel they sit suspended in a state of hibernation. They give off the most wonderful aroma when you pop the seal.

 

[AJS]

They give off the most wonderful aroma when you pop the seal.

Jesus I can' even imagine...

 

[Babanya]

+1
Boveda used to sell a 54% pack that was geared for cannabis storage. I used them for a while but never did an actual side-by-side comparison between 54% and 62%. Right now I use all 62% packs (with the little O2 packs) and the buds feel perfect to me.

I then buy the valved mason jar lids that fit the available hand pumps to expel air for a vacuum seal. Then the jars are stored down cellar and out of the light. I feel they sit suspended in a state of hibernation. They give off the most wonderful aroma when you pop the seal.

I just bought valved mason jar lids with hand pump. Will the boveda packs be compromised when vacum sealing?? What size jars should I buy for 7g, 14g, and 28g, of dry herb. I also heard that the intergra packs dont give the herb a bit of a loss of smell/taste like some report the boveda does. You also use O2 packs while vacum sealing, insnt the O2 out of the jar due to vacume sealing?

 

[Squiby]

I just bought valved mason jar lids with hand pump. Will the boveda packs be compromised when vacum sealing?? What size jars should I buy for 7g, 14g, and 28g, of dry herb. I also heard that the intergra packs dont give the herb a bit of a loss of smell/taste like some report the boveda does. You also use O2 packs while vacum sealing, insnt the O2 out of the jar due to vacume sealing?

All my mason jars are vacuum sealed and contain a Bodeva pack and an oxygen pack along with my herb. None of my Bodeva packs have been compromised in any way.

Over time the Bodevas need to be refreshed. I place them in a small bowl which is placed in a larger bowl that has a small amount of water in it. This is sealed and in a few days the Bodevas are plumped up like new.

I generally use 125mm jars for 3.5 gms, 250mm for 7gms, 500mm for 14gms and a liter jar for an ounce. Some strains can be more dense than others so they don't always fit neatly into these general guidelines.

I don't know anything about Intergra packs, but I don't feel the vacuum packs jars with Bodeva packs have compromised the long term storage of my herb at all.

 

[Babanya]

thanks for the response and info on the jars. I was wondering if the packs would implode lol. because on a web site where they put a tomato in a jar that had liquid in it when they used the vacum pump the tomato dissolved. Also a balloon that had a small amount of air in it really expanded during the vacum seal process. So I was wondering what could happen to the boveda pack. thriftyvac.com

 

[Squiby]

This is the system I use. There are three items.

The pump. This can be used with mason jars and bags.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002...AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=foodsaver

The adapter sealers for wide mouth and regular mouth mason jars.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B016...AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=foodsaver

You just place the snap lid that came with the mason jar on top of the jar. Place the sealer over top of it. Align the pump over the sealer, press the button to begin the vacuum process. Twist the sealer off of the mason jar. The snap lid is now vacuum sealed to the jar. Screw on the mason jar ring over the snap ring and you're done.

 

[ginolicious]

Usually store my buds in a mason jar. Never an issue. Then again I only house 2-3 grams tops at a time. I don't vape nearly as much as I use to or when I smoked. 2 grams from a dispensary lasts me a good month depending on how much I vape.

 

[stinkytofus]

What hydrometer and oxygen packa do u guys recommend, should i dry out all my buds again and then reintroduce the bovedas then ?

 

[Squiby]

What hydrometer and oxygen packa do u guys recommend, should i dry out all my buds again and then reintroduce the bovedas then ?

I dry out my bud on screens until the small stems snap. Then I jar them to even out the moisture that is still present in the bud. I put one of these hygrometers inside the mason jar along with the bud.

https://www.amazon.ca/ZHUOTOP-Power...TF8&qid=1512529850&sr=8-9&keywords=Hygrometer

The rh will likely rise above 60%. When it does, open the jars to burb them. If the rh is above 75% dump out the bud to dry out for a half hour or so assuming the rooms rh is lower. Then return the bud to the jar with the hygrometer.

Continue this routine until the rh stays at a steady 60% or so. At this point you can add a Bodeva pack and an oxygen pack. I cure my bud in this state for about 6 months. Sometimes I smear a bit of honey on the lid for a honey cure that seems to smooth out the bud even more. Yummy!

https://www.amazon.ca/Oxy-Sorb-100-...8&qid=1512529990&sr=1-1&keywords=Oxygen+packs

 

[Hogni]

Care of cheap hygrometers! I've ordered 10 for around 3 € pp and they show all different readings which differ up to 20%. They only can be used if you have one for reference readings.

 

[shredder]

Just a note to say that I've stored herb for up to two years in a vacume sealed jar. When I moved a few years back I knew it would be a while before I could grow again so I vacume sealed buds in canning jars. Most were used within 14 months, but I misplaced one jar for another year.

It was jack herer, and even though it's had darkened, it smelled great and smoked/ vaped mellow. A slight drop off maybe but not a lot.

Kind of off topic but old herb can decarboliize itself. Ive read it before and decided to try it. Eating a two year old jack herer bud really surprised me. Actually stronger and longer acting than smoking or vaping on the same size type and so on.

 

[psychonaut]

11-hydroxy THC is some potent stuff, I dont understand how some people dont feel the effects but I guess we're all different. I look at anything over 60mg with extreme caution!

 

[jds]

I never bothered with boveda packs or any of that stuff. It just feels like very diminishing returns at that point, and wasted money for me.

I've stored weed in mason jars hidden in a dark part of my closet for up to 3 years with very minimal loss in potency. The buds do get a bit drier over time, especially past the 1 year mark, but I find that makes them even easier to vape. A bit harsher to smoke if you still smoke, but nothing too unusual.

I always make sure to fill the jars at least 3/4 so there is not too much head room in there, but still enough for the buds to breathe a bit. I burp them once every few months or whenever I remember to, just in case.

 

[psychonaut]

I'm curious on the oxygen packets. Has anyone taken macro shots of the trichomes heads to see if amber production slows or halts?

 

[Baron23]

Care of cheap hygrometers! I've ordered 10 for around 3 € pp and they show all different readings which differ up to 20%. They only can be used if you have one for reference readings.

During my time as a cigar affeciando...particularly those of the Cuban variety....I educated myself on temp/humidity control to an extent.

You are right....most of those cheaper hygrometers are junk and need to be calibrated and I used the salt slurry procedure described in below link.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+calibrate+a+hygrometer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1

I just keep mine in bail type lid canning jars and Boveda 62%. I've kept herb stored this way for up to a year without any discernible degradation. Jars go in cabinet, out of light and heat. Works for me.

 

[throwawaytre3s]

I just keep mine in bail type lid canning jars and Boveda 62%. I've kept herb stored this way for up to a year without any discernible degradation. Jars go in cabinet, out of light and heat. Works for me.

This is pretty much the standard I believe, I've seen people keep pounds in the big 1 gallon jars for a year or so with a few of the 62% boveda's. They're actually made to maintain a lower humidity explicitly for herb to prevent mold growth. I would say that for 99% of consumers who have long term storage questions, a proper curing and storage with a boveda pack will be enough for most, barring any extenuating circumstances.