During my learning process, i came across something that i found interesting. I researched the potency of freshly dried flower. Is it true that freshly dried flower really has no potency ? This is something im haveing a hard finding out. Personally i have yet to be able to hold on to anything i grow long enough to tell. I dry my buds on average of 10 days at 58 rh and around 65 f. Then jar them at 60 rh 65f. In about 3 weeks i can start to smoke but has no flavor and smell is minimal. Sometimes the effects are decent but never like what i expect. However i can only guess because i dont cure long enough . So i reckon my question is on average how long should one cure before smells and flavor and effects are there? I ask because what i read says the the thca has to break down and convert to thc and then the flavors and smells begin to come out. I know you can really mess up during dry and cure. Which ive done in past. But know i feel i have a good system but just no dam patience… lol . Any truth to all this or am i reaching ?
Curing has virtually nothing to do with potency and the AI overview is incorrect. THC-A is not converted to THC during the curing process. THC-A is converted to THC when heat is applied.
That makes sense. That would explain why i experience weak flower. I think. Not fully cured would equally technically not fully dry correct? Which would explain dark ash and sometimes harshness or did i miss the mark again ?
Weak flower is most often due to grow conditions that are inadequate. The potency at harvest is the same potency the flower will have months later, independent of drying and curing.
Curing does not affect potency. It only affects smoothness, taste, and smell.
This right there ///\ hammer on the nail head… 
The winners of the High Times Cannabis cup cure their weed for no less than 6 months as a point of reference. I have cured weed for as long as 8 and it keeps getting better. With a good slodry 10 days is ideal, and then into the grove bags or mason jars for the cure, the smell, flavors and smoothness really come out after a few months.
@MidwestGuy got you covered. I’m not saying that you CAN’T lose potency and smell over time. Because if it’s not stored well or exposed to a lot of sunlight or heat like a car trunk in summer, it will. But if stored correctly and kept out of the light, I have 18 month old vacuum sealed bud that’s just as good as the day it was packaged. My personal cure time is 8-weeks after drying. Then, into the vacuum sealed bags. Just enough vacuum to remove the air, not crush the buds. Also, you can decarb your weed at 225 for an hour to convert the THCA into THC. At that point, you can take some of the bud, eat it directly and get a good buzz in about 30 minutes. Or use it to make infused oil, cannabutter, etc… Hope that helps.
Wow @Bonjoyle , I didn’t know that about the Cup winners. That’s a cool fact. Talk about planning ahead…
Not surprising at all.
I fall down alot of rabbit holes. Call me Alice…
Try jarring at around 65% rh. Check rh once jars equalize and if its higher than 65% dump out for a little bit and try again. If jars are at or around 65% burp daily for week or so. If you see rh falling you can lengthen period between burps.
When we were cash cropping we would dry until small stems would lose memory when bent. Then sweat for a day in trash bags. This would be loud but still have a lot of moisture in it and get you high. Save a couple nugs per zip and nobody would complain. If you let get too dry though there wasn’t much coming back.
I was always told to wait til stems snap. This itime i didnt. I started drying them once the stem stayed bent.
Harvesting too early is a huge cause of poor potency
Im pretty sure i wasnt early. I was at about 15 % amber at 14 weeks
15% is what I shoot for too 