Drying/Curing HG Gift

[Polarbearboy]

I was at a family event yesterday when my sister-in-law, matron of the house and gardener extraordinaire, pulled me aside. She had grown two plants from quality seed but doesn't use it and isn't planning to. She had cut the plants down because she was concerned about people seeing it at the wedding in their large yard surrounded by her gardens. So she cut it down a week a half ago. She had hung it upside down on the enclosed porch for the week, but said it stank every time she opened the door, and she had been concerned about kids and uptight adults smelling it today. So she tried putting it in the attic, but since my niece and her partner were going to stay up there, down the basement it went. I couldn't believe that she locked both basement doors so no one could wander in by mistake.

Well she cut off two long buds for me, which today I trimmed. Put a bit in a SB dosing cap and tried it in my Crafty. Not the high end(tested high THC and focused terpenes) commercial stuff I've been getting but actually seems fine. But its still got too much moisture. How should I make it drier and do I have to cure it?

 

[pxl_jockey]

Yes, you need to cure that bud. It’ll taste better and more potent if you’ll just do a jar cure for a few weeks. Nice story, love that your sis-in-law grew it just because she could! Take care and let us know what you do.

 

[Ramahs]

Why did she grow it in the first place if she has no use for it?
What did she plan to do with it? Just destroy it?

 

[Hippie]

I would put it in a paper bag to finish off the drying process then transfer to glass containers to cure, when it's dry enough.

 

[TheThriftDrifter]

Never look a gift bud in the trichome?

 

[pxl_jockey]

Why did she grow it in the first place if she has no use for it?
What did she plan to do with it? Just destroy it?

A few plants each season would be a great way to pay for her gardening habit!

 

[Polarbearboy]

Why does a gardener grow anything, except edible plants? For the fun of it. Especially now that pot is legal in Mass. Another buddy spent nearly $1k building an indoor grow system and then grew six plants and harvested 18 oz. of very good bud. He's given away about half, and himself vaped(I convinced him vaping rather than smoking was the way to go) probably less than a dozen times in the two subsequent years. Its just a fun thing to experiment with.

Thanks for the input. I'm trying to be patient and will try the jar cure. Later today I'll head over to Maine to buy some good stuff from a medical provider who has quietly opened his doors for retail--to keep me occupied while I wait for the jar cure.

PS: When I was down in Mass. for that family wedding, I came early and stopped at one of the big new retail outlets, thinking I'd get some high quality stuff while I was in a retail legal state. After driving around looking for a parking space, I walked up to the building and discovered a line around the corner. An hour or more wait. So I said: Fuck it.

 

[Brewervapesalot]

But its still got too much moisture. How should I make it drier and do I have to cure it?

It helps to clearly understand what your goal is to get this task done. Wet weed has a lot of water in it. From first cut to final product, if you have 4 pounds of wet herb, you'll end up with 1 pound cured, dried, and trimmed herb. It then likes to stay in a jar, dry enough, so that the humidity in the jar stays around 62%, with bovida or other disposable humidity control packet. So, understand weed has to dry a lot. But at the same token, a slow dry is best, 5-14 days works. Over drying or drying too quick will permanently stunt curing.

Anyway, just hang your buds. Room temp around 55-70f is fine. A cheap device to measure humidity is helpful, u can get em for like $5. Ideally, humidity at 50% is pretty good. If more humid add a light fan. Air conditioners help lower humidity too. If less humid, air flow can be slight.

Once the buds start to feel much drier, and have shrunk considerably, you can put in a grocery bag, loosely, with the top open, or other such techniques. I like to put the buds in a clear plastic bin with a removable lid. I put a humidy meter on the inside reading out. I open and close the lid and even use a fan blowing across the top of bin, as necessary, to control the humidity.

Once the buds stems are breaking with a snap rather than bending--humidty will be hanging around the mid-60% mark--you can put in jars, may have to open the lid that's all, and don't pack buds in tight.

Put a small cheap humidity meter in a jar and put the lid on. Once humidity, after a day or two with the lid closed, hangs around 62%, you're good. Buds will be best after 5 or 6 months IMO.