Hey guys, got another rookie question. I cut and dried some buds for about a week. Put it all in a grove bag 1/2lbs. . It’s been in there a weeks and 3 days. The hydrometer in the bag say its 47%.
Is that too dry? If so is it any way to save it or get the moisture back up?
Thanks in advance.
Unfortunately it is really dry. It happens though. Been there a couple times. You could get an appropriate sized boveda pack or add a fresh leaf to see if that helps bring it up. A lot of people say that boveda packs can rob a plant of its smell and taste, but I have no experience with it. However since it is this dry it wouldn’t hurt. You likely lost some aromatics in the process of getting to that point. I can’t remember for sure but I think once your under 50-55 you start to lose out on terps.
@Low
Thats my luck. My house stays in the low 40’s RH. I guess thats good for a house but not so good for this hobby.
It’s not as bad as you might think. It’ll still smoke and do it’s job. I occasionally over dry during winter here. sometimes its unavoidable. I’d recommend a humidifier with some sort of setting to maintain a set humidity level. Alternatively you could slow dry in paper bags after they hang a couple days.
@Low
How long would you let it cure? I opened it up today and it smelled like a hint of ammonia. Is that part of the curing?
I use a small piece of orange peel, about the size of your fingernail and lay it in the bag. The buds will suck the moisture out of it and your humidity should be back up in range pretty quick, within a day or so. Then remove it to insure no mold occurs over time.
4 weeks but 4 months is the premium sweet spot
I use a cannabis leaf to rehydrate.
Probably the best choice unless like i did chopped and didnt have any leaves left around.
Ammonia is not a good smell for curing. It’s the first thing that I look for when something’s going wrong.
First off you got to get control. Personally I think a half pound cure bag is not a very good idea at this time until you get everything under control. In your bag.
In my opinion I would dump everything out of the bag. I would inspect the buds at this point. If everything looks okay and you don’t have any fan leaves get an orange. Cut a slice of the peel put it back in your bag and watch your hygrometer.
When it gets to 56% n my opinion that’s too low when it gets to 65%, that’s too high. The perfect reading with inside the bag or the jar should be 58 to 62%
If and/or when you ever smell ammonia take everything out of the bag and let it air.
Putting all that bud inside of a bag that big when you don’t have your cure under control yet it’s never a good idea. I generally put them in jars first until a day or so goes by in my readings are 58 to 62% at the point where you have control I’ve been moved them into the groove bags. I monitor them closely for the first week then I kind of back off knowing everything’s okay.
To summarize, take everything out of that half pound bag let it air out inspect it very carefully each bud. Put your bag up to a fan blow it out make sure you get all the nastiness out of it.
Get your orange peel pack your bag back up put the orange peel about Midway in the bag put your high ground back in monitor it closely. I usually say within 2 hours you should have an accurate reading or they’re close.
The orange peel will bring this hydration back into your bag. After approximately 15 hours in the bag check your reading and act appropriately by removing the orange peel if you’re high hygrometer reads 58-62 or leaving it in if it’s below 58.
Once you get into that range of 58 to 62 I would burp it for at least two to three days regardless if it’s in a grove bag
Like she said Solid information @Lostgirl
I’d like to thank everyone in here. Yall are the best. I put the orange peel in the bag for 2 hrs. Now its reading 57%. I’ll put another one in tomorrow for 2 hrs and see how it goes. Ill keep everyone posted on how it ends up.
Thanks again.
@Lostgirl
I noticed this morning it’s back down to 52%.
I guess keep doing the same thing over until it stays where it should be?
You’re correct I would put another piece in and just leave it there for a while until you get back up to your number. Sometimes when you get to your number and take out your orange peel it could drop back down or even go up so just keep a close eye on it
Id let it run up to 62% before removing. Yep, then keep monitoring…
Happy Cake day @Low
Another way to add humidity some do not think about…Breath. Each exhale has 95% Humidity. I cure in OZ bags about half full and if I need to bump up the humidity a bit, one breath into the bag and close it up and watch. Works for me. I have also used peel, small paper towel, recent cuttings etc…
Thanks!
Happy day @Low
Fresh cannabis leaves work awesome if you have another grow going already ,
They taste pretty good too
I prefer the rolled up kind of frosted ones close to the calyx
So by all means try to just use fan leaves
Happy cake day @Low