Good day all. Got a couple curing questions for you guys please feel free to answer some or all as it pertains to your experience.
The what’s
I’ve recently dried some Girl scout cookie extreme. The drying happened over a 10-day period under very precise environmental conditions that were consistently 60° Fahrenheit and 60% relative humidity for 10 full days until the bud reads 11% on a moisture meter.
The plants/buds were perfectly dried and very dank with mixed smells of pungent onion, pine, an mint. I put the buds in both jars and Grove bags basically to see what I like best. Each bag and or jar had recently calibrated accurate hygrometers. When placing them into the jars and bags the smell was so dank that it would literally make my eyes burn slightly. It’s approximately day 10 of curing. Hygrometers range from 58 to 63%, which I have no problem with whatsoever and typically is what you’re actually looking for.
The questions
1.) I noticed each day when burping that the smell inside the jar was getting fainter and fainter each day. Burping twice a day (for 15 minutes) for a week and started once a day on Monday. Even in the bags the smell is almost dissipated by 95% why would that be and will it ever come back?
2.) Is it totally necessary to seal the groove bag? (I don’t see personally the importance of a seal when there’s a ziplock) you ask why do I feel it’s not necessary.
A: a ziplocs should prevent any leakage or intake of significant air that would cause a moisture issue.
B: they claim to have evaporation capability straight through the bag to release and draw gases directly through the plastic. To me this totally contradicts the need for sealing the bags
I don’t want to debate this matter I’m simply looking for your opinion on the contradiction that I’ve pointed out above
3.) Since the bags have proven to stay between 58 and 63% Rh consistent through the 10 days that I’ve monitored them would it be safe to say that if I were to seal the bag I could take the highgrometer out for elsewhere usage?
As always thank you in advance for your comments and opinions I truly appreciate everyone’s input.
I made the switch to groves from masons too.
The smell for me only gets better with a longer cure. I too have experienced the smell coming and going in the beginning but once I get to about a month it doesn’t change much and is usually pretty potent.
I do not heat seal my groves. As you said they have a ziploc and I have not had a humidity drop below 58% when just zipping them even after 4 months in the bags.
Nice on the perfect targets for a 10 day slodry. I would think in a few weeks in the bags the strong tear creating smell should return.
Let us know how it turns out in a few weeks.
The zippers don’t have the “terp loc tech”, so according to Grove on their website:
Without a heat sealer, a Grove Bag loses around one to two percent of its protective and preservative properties.
(very first item on their faq page)
It’s been passed around on the forums here, to tape over the mouth with some masking tape instead of heat sealing. Some don’t do anything.
Grove also has 2 other zipper options (dual track and 5 track) for different uses, but I’m only trying the regular single track for the first time myself. I’m also undecided about the whole zipper thing. I taped them shut at first as others suggest, but I’m just too curious for that to last. I’d never make it if I heat sealed them
I sure hope it comes back. The pine smell is wonderful and very appetizing. I basically googled the onion smell as it’s not very often you’ll find an onion smell. The results was that onion normally represents just like diesel or gasoline smell
It’s funny you say to put masking tape over the mouth as that’s exactly what I did 5 days ago rather than sealing. I’m not opposed to stealing the bag it’s just I like to check the physical texture with my fingers and smell the actual bud. Periodically through the time in the bag. What’s the old saying, curiosity killed the cat well, meow
So here’s the deal… The smell your nose perceives is from the evaporation of terpenes. As the outermost terpenes evaporate the odor diminishes because the remaining terps are deeper in the buds. As the cure progresses everything will even out, and the smell will return. If you bust open a bud now and smell the inside, I’ll bet you find your dankness.
Onion, fuel, and burned rubber too. All remind me of sulphur. One I got now has the burned rubber smell and when faint its a bit like onion. I looked it up first time I heard of it, from @Hoppiefrog and found 3 or 4 terps (forget) combined give sulfur smell. I think we’re getting variations of that. Personally I like it and it still taste fruity thru the tire smoke
The scent comes and goes with some of mine earlier on in the curing process, so far all have come back and stayed after a bit, but not always the exact same scent as before curing. I dont heat seal mine, the oldest i have in grove bags is a bit over 3 months and its held steady in the preferred range.
Generally speaking, maybe this has already been mentioned.
Loss of smell in the beginning of curing means you have done it well. The terps are evaporating at a lesser rate.
I agree about the smell being there once you start handling it or breaking it up. I am smoking stuff from 2 years ago stored in a grove bag, it is very smooth smoking although it has lost some of it’s potency after 2 years. It has also dried out some. I just finished trimming 2 plants and have those Grove bags inside a plastic bin and am hoping to figure out how to keep the RH up around 62% inside the bin, not sure if it will help or not.
Exactly what’s @Newt just said. Sorry I’ll read comments before I message lol.
I read an article about 8 months ago or so, if I find it I’ll tag it. It stated less smell means you did it right.
Drying and curing are not two different processes, it’s one process of breaking down chlorophyll and enhancing smells and flavors, this is why longer dry times are so important. Give chlorophyll enough time to break down while preserving as many terpenes as possible.
I think you did a good job, give it a few weeks and you will me happy!
@Lostgirl , this is Godfather OG from last year.Dried then cured in grove bags.Smells great and smokes as smooth can be.Absolutely no coughing.Trust what most have said,you will be very happy come Christmas:New Years.
the thing about grove bags is that they still have to be stored in the correct environment.
to hot, to dry, to damp, etc, etc and just a waste of money.
they work great if you can have a good spot to store them.
been there done that.
not bragging, but i did a perfect dry and perfect cure in jars and the smoke was great.
so happy with myself and then put them in grove bags in the wrong temps/humidity and the buds turned out drier and harsher.
I got that also, a burnt rubber smell. I mentioned it here and no one had a clue. Your the first person i heard from that got that burnt rubber odor at the beginning of the cure, right? Mine went away. I am getting a faint smell also @Lostgirl but i notice that after curing for a month, i took some out of the Grove bag and put it in another container with a 62% humid pack and ot smells like normal weed after a few hours. Break a bud up and stick it in a dark container with a humid pack. Its going to be fine.
I noticed this also. I brought a couple Grove bags up from my basement and into a bedroom furniture drawer and blaaaaa… to hot upstairs so i keep them all in the cold basement in brown paper bags… i got that early on…
