So last Sunday I harvested my 103 day old White Widow plants (5 of them). I have a drying " closet" where I can keep the temps 60 - 65 degrees and 55 - 60% humidity. Today the buds look and feel dry but the stems still bend. I clipped off a bud and sampled it about 5 mins ago. Damn, another powerful crop (5% amber).
Should I process it into buds and begin the curing process? Last crop the buds got super dry in 9 days, too dry for my taste. What say you?
Thanks in advance.
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I used to harvest too small and found five days would do. Now my buds are more dense and 7 to 10 has become normal. Just saying bud size, density, might be considered too.
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Agree with @Jaysittinback . Denser buds may seem crispy on the outside, but will still be damp on the inside. My experience is 5 to 10 day at 55%rh. Ive dried in a closet and in warddrobe boxes. After im satisfied with the dry, str8 into grove bags it goes for the curing.
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Solid work on getting some product hung. That’s always the most important step. Over here in Oregon we like to take alittle different approach.
I first like to hang the product in 100% darn drying location. It sounds like you got the temp and RH correct. I like to shoot for 7-10 days depending on the density/strain of flower. Once the putter flower is somewhat crisp and the stems is ‘about’ to snap I buck everything.
The bucket product (not 100% trimmed) now goes into plastic totes with lines. I close these up as burp them for a few days. This allows any extra moisture to be pulled to the outer parts of the flower. Remember the product is not completely trimmed at this point. Keeping it in this form is good due to the fact you will be trimming of the putter ‘crispy’ ends of the bucked cannabis.
After I have monitored the product for a good three to four days we will do the final trim. I like to achieve kind of a sticky leather feed to the flower.
This method always allows for proper handing and aids in preserving the resin.
Once the product is 100% than it goes into Grove Bags for curing and storage.
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I usually hang for about 7-10 days, then I’ll clip buds, trimming most leaf material away as well. I put the buds in a box for another 2ish days to “sweat” the moisture out and even out the dry a little better before cure.
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You can pick up a moisture tester from harbor frieght for less than 10 bucks that will let you know exactly when to pull them and prepare for curing. Between 10 to 12% moisture is where you should for and they may seem way too dry at that point. But the moisture retained in the stems will rehydrate and balance everything once set to cure. Plus it helps prevent potential molding from excess moisture. Takes all the guess work out for new growers.
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If you think they feel dry, jar them up with a hygrometer and see what they read. If it goes over 62, take them out and let them dry another day.
I have a moisture meter and I am happy with it. Don’t have to guess anymore
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I’m not an expert ,I have dried enough tho to realize it seems different every time ,depends mostly on bud maturity at harvest ,the less ready the faster it dries ,also smaller plants take less time ,I grew an auto that was a troll ,tiny but the buds were really dense ,took three days to dry ,my last harvest was 4 autos indoors they were about 3&1/2 feet tall nice sized dense buds took about 7 days ,also the amount of air circulation you keep going and the material you are drying in ,a cardboard box will wick more moisture than a tent ,and sort of speed drying up ,I’m also a believer in a wood moisture meter to take some guesswork out ,I’ve also discovered after drying also sweating your buds before curing ,turns out a more desirable outcome in my opinion
Safer to under dry anyway if you ask me ,harder to get moisture back in
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Both of my “partners” think it’s plenty dry after 6 days, we took it out and broke it down into buds, 5 plants (rather small) yielded 9 ounces. My 3 are in a grove bag, and I intend to leave it for 6 - 8 weeks before sampling. Albeit, we all tried it, and it’s extremely strong 
. Next up: Jack Herer × 6.
Thanks for the advice, bodes well for the future:-).
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