Drying and curing timing question

[azbassist]

Finished my 2nd grow. I dried my Maui Wowie for 11 days at 66 to 68 degrees F and 50-55% humidity in a dark room with a low circulating ceiling fan. I checked them every day and when the buds snapped off the main stem I determined it was time to cure. No snap in the main stems, but most buds snapped off so I thought I was right on target. I trimmed and jarred and am burping for about 10 minutes 2 times a day. I put Boveda packs in all but 1 jar just to see how close I was 'getting it right'. The Boveda ones are at the correct humidity level as expected, but the jar without Boveda are at 40% humidity and it has been like this for the past 2 weeks. I am wondering what I did wrong with the snap test? I am assuming if I dried it under the proper conditions the non Bodeda jar would be at or close to a better humidity. Should I have harvested before the buds snapped off? I figured if anything I started the cure too soon since the only snap I got was on the stem connecting the buds but no other stems down the branch. I want to get this dialed in better for my next grow but I am absolutely missing something on the snap test lol. My LA Confidential and New York Diesel I only dried for 9 days and they smell great now. The Maui still doesn't smell great yet- not grassy, not ammonia, but not like weed lol. I know it's going to take time and experience, but curious of what I did wrong.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Did you dry the whole plant by hanging it upside down?

At that drying temperature and humidity, I would expect the plant to be very dry, and apparently it is. I'm not sure there is a precise way to know when a plant is done drying. I also doubt a plant dries evenly when it's dried whole. We use a drying rack and cut the branches into sections 6 to 8 inches long. We just go be their feel and our intuition to decide when to move them to Grove bags for curing. Those bags adjust the humidity well. We cure them for 4 to 6 weeks, then trim and store them in jars.

 

[hawkman]

FYI -- Maui needs a long cure time - at least 3 months - just un-jarred some at 6mos in jars - GREAT Stuff (process cut/dry - then "sweat" in plastic tubs - THEN jar for the cure ( whole process can take up to 2-3 weeks)

 

[JKash]

I had boveda packs RUIN my whole harvest... they took flavor right out of buds... it was worst thing to happen because they were great smelling and great sex appeal by looks before I used them....

I prefer my glass jars and to accommodate humidity... I'll tape a gauze pad to top of Mason jar... wet or dry out as needed to achieve humidity

 

[GNick55]

i’ve never had problems with boveda in any way,.
it’s either the drying time was too short or too long,. my afghanica took 21 days to hang dry (branches) in perfect controlled environment of temps between 55-68, humidity 55-65,.. depending on stage of drying,.. and it could of hung another week easily,..
or your environment conditions weren’t ideal in one way or another, position of fan etc etc,..
maybe you over fed the plants or stressed them out, could be mostly immatures trichomes etc etc,. sooo many factors,..

 

[JKash]

i’ve never had problems with boveda in any way,.
it’s either the drying time was too short or too long,. my afghanica took 21 days to hang dry (branches) in perfect controlled environment of temps between 55-68, humidity 55-65,.. depending on stage of drying,.. and it could of hung another week easily,..
or your environment conditions weren’t ideal in one way or another, position of fan etc etc,..
maybe you over fed the plants or stressed them out, could be mostly immatures trichomes etc etc,. sooo many factors,..

Good to know... I don't know if it was a fluke but usually my cured buds are spot on... the 1 time I tried adding boveda packs it ruined the whole harvest.... maybe It was due to having 3 or 4 of the 1oz size mixed in with my qp curing jars

 

[GNick55]

Good to know... I don't know if it was a fluke but usually my cured buds are spot on... the 1 time I tried adding boveda packs it ruined the whole harvest.... maybe It was due to having 3 or 4 of the 1oz size mixed in with my qp curing jars

i find though you definitely need to have the jar mostly filled with buds so not much room for air, too much air or half filled jars seem to lose some of the smell,.
the thread at the start said he had a ceiling fan? which probably contributed to his issue,..

 

[PlumberSoCal2]

I wouldn't open them twice a day, once is usually plenty. You'll get to know the feeling of dry when they're ready for jarring and won't need the humidity packs

 

[GNick55]

I wouldn't open them twice a day, once is usually plenty. You'll get to know the feeling of dry when they're ready for jarring and won't need the humidity packs

yes exactly this^^^.
i rarely if ever open my jars especially after just jarring, maybe a week or two after to sneak a smell but usually it’s my friends opening to get doobies or to take some,..

 

[azbassist]

FYI -- Maui needs a long cure time - at least 3 months - just un-jarred some at 6mos in jars - GREAT Stuff (process cut/dry - then "sweat" in plastic tubs - THEN jar for the cure ( whole process can take up to 2-3 weeks)

Wow! I guess my grow I'll give that all a try. Great to know, thanks!

 

[JKash]

yes exactly this^^^.
i rarely if ever open my jars especially after just jarring, maybe a week or two after to sneak a smell but usually it’s my friends opening to get doobies or to take some,..

I have found for the way I cure... I usually have to burp 2x a day the 1st week... 2nd week 1x time a day...3rd week every few days... week 4 or longer... 1x a week to 1x a month...

 

[JKash]

I have found for the way I cure... I usually have to burp 2x a day the 1st week... 2nd week 1x time a day...3rd week every few days... week 4 or longer... 1x a week to 1x a month...

Maybe having to burn 2x a day the 1st week... think that's a sign it was too early???

 

[GNick55]

I have found for the way I cure... I usually have to burp 2x a day the 1st week... 2nd week 1x time a day...3rd week every few days... week 4 or longer... 1x a week to 1x a month...

i feel i’m just lazy and i hang my buds more than long enough so when jarring there’s no need for burping,.
the pail of afghan im about to sift, i only opened the pail twice in the last month,, smells great even after a week sitting out to dry out further for sifting,..

 

[JKash]

i feel i’m just lazy and i hang my buds more than long enough so when jarring there’s no need for burping,.
the pail of afghan im about to sift, i only opened the pail twice in the last month,, smells great even after a week sitting out to dry out further for sifting,..

Ok ok...many ways to skin a cat... hearing that I thought maybe I needed to rethink my dry and cure methods