My buds are about ready to be cut. My issue is where to put them to dry and cure. I happen to have an unused wine fridge, would that work for either the drying or curing? I assume a wine fridge is low humidity however I really have no idea. Assuming it can be used, do I just leave everything in there? If so, for how long? Sorry for all the questions this is my first time and I don’t want to destroy my little buddies that I spent the summer growing!
Your outdoor plant is already done. Damn, I thought mine was ahead of the season. Anyhow, the ideal drying conditions are 60 degrees, 60% humidity. As close as you can to keep that is best. As far as how long, depends on your buds. The denser, the longer. Generally around 7 days is good before jarring up.
Ok good to know, thank you. Can I cure it in the fridge as well? Also, any idea if the fridge will emit odor when drying? If so I need to think about where to put it during the drying process.
Do you have any pictures of your plants?
Of course. I like to call these my “midget” autoflowers as they are only about a foot tall! Apparently I made some mistakes early in the process which stunted their growth, which is all the more reason why I don’t want to mess up the harvesting/drying part. For a laugh, I expect the yield will be measured in grams per plant. They do look and smell great however and I am looking forward to giving them a taste test.
I’ve read some not so favorable things about fridge curing. I’d do some research on it before trying. I’ve never tried it.
Hi! I just asked the same questions for my second grow. Here’s what my guy @Newt has to say about it - hope it’s helpful!
Let us know how that taste test goes, they look delicious.
I can’t offer much direction in the way of refrigerator curing. But those are some frosty looking buds. Nice work
If in a pinch, dry in a warddrobe box.
I know pictures dont do our girls justice, but im not seeing any ambering in the trichomes at all. Many still look clear. Are you sure you’re ready to harvest?
As for drying, the wine cellar should be fine, just make sure you have good airflow in there to avoid molding. A fan oscillating under the plants will help. Not on the plants as that will cause them to dry too quickly.
Length of dry time varies with different conditions. Choose a stem about the size of a pencil lead and bend it. If it cracks, not snaps, then you should be dry enough to proceed.
I, personally, finish drying my buds in a paper bag after trimming them off the plant. That helps distribute moisture evenly through the buds as some will be dryer than others while hanging on the plant. Twice a day i open the bag and tumble the buds for a few minutes. That releases excess moisture and does an air exchange. Normally the buds are in the bag 3 to 4 days before i put them in jars.
Once jarred they begin the curing process. Dont pack the jars tightly. For the first week you want to open the jars for about 30mins for air exchange. Twice a day.
Second week you can usually just do an air exchange once a day for about 15mins.
Third week do the same air exchange, but only twice a week. The next week, only one air exchange should be necessary.
From that point on you should be at the point that you can leave the jars sealed until you pull from them to smoke. At this point you will notice the smoke mellowing nicely and the flavors should be what they are meant to be. I find a 6wk minimum for best results.
All that to say, find what works best for you. That process is what works best for me. It may not be for you. I know autos dont tend to yield much, but if you can hold off to enjoy the fruits of your labor, it will be well worth the wait.
Hope this helps instead of being a waste of your time reading a long winded response.
Great response, thank you. Good info as well. I “think” they are ready to harvest but I am not 100% sure as this is my first time doing it. Would you suggest drying them in bags the whole time or just at the end?
Just at the end. They have to air dry before going into the bag or you WILL get mold or mildew.
The paper bag is really just to get the remaining moisture distributed evenly throughout the buds as some will dry quicker than others. You could actually skip the bag step if you wanted to, but I prefer to include that step before jarring for the cure.
Minor update. I cut them down on Monday and put them in the wine fridge with a hygrometer. The temperature is around 50F and the humidity is around 40%. Oddly the humidity went down a bit when I put everything in there. Is the general consensus that I leave them in there for about 5 to 6 days to sufficiently dry out?