First time i’ve gotten to the drying stage in a grow. I hung my GSCE Auto in my basement bathroom to dry. Temp is 70degrees Fahrenheit, 52% Humidity. It’s been drying for a week now. I weighed it at start and it was about 56grams, full stem and everything. Weighed it today it’s at about 21grams. It’s still somewhat moist as the stems don’t snap when i try to bend them. My concern is the smell. It smells just like grass or hay. I read online that’s the chlorophyll breaking down but I’m wondering if it’s drying too fast? I also read it should get to about 25% of the start weight(56 grams) which would be about 14 grams but i thought buds need to dry for 2+ weeks before starting curing. Any advice or am I overthinking this?
Probably. Relax and give it time. It takes all of us a couple of times before we start to be confident.
Got any pictures of the plant when or right before you cut it?
Maybe a little. Think of it like this. There is alot more chloraphyll per square inch of plant then there is THC and terps. A 10 lb bag of cow manure gonna overpower the smell from a rose bush. That hay smell is the exact reason I do nute restriction the last 2 weeks. Your lady will cannabilize her chloraphyll to facilitate the ripening. It begins the breakdown before you even put her in drying conditions.
Your dry is a lil fast, I dry at 65% RH and shoot for 10 to 14 days in those conditions. While I dont know about weighing them as a means to know when they are dry. I do know thatbyou can get a wood moisture meter on amazon for less then 30 bucks ajd it will tell you when they are dry. Think 15% is the marker I have seen most.
I did the same as you. Bend the small stems. Do they bend or crack? I feel the outside of the bud. Dry to a little crispy or still soft. I also use a moisture meter on the small stems. I think I can start the next phase tomorrow. For me this is to clean off any remaining fan leaves (small ones around the bud) and lay them in totes with lids to continue drying for a couple more days.
The grass smell will dissipate. Actually there may be very little smell.
@beardless They still bend and the buds are still a bit soft. I know it still has some more dry time. I gotta invest in the wood moisture meter you and @Docnraq mentioned.
It basically confirms what you see and feel. The stems I checked ranged from 12 - 15%. I know I’m close. I like using the totes because I gives them a couple more days in a more controlled environment.
When you were ready to harvest, how soon did you water before? Did you put them in the dark for 40 hours before chopping? That seemed to help me. Ive got a climate controlled room and im on day 4 of drying amd it smells like Peepi Le Poo done took a dump with his buddies in my drying room…
I watered it heavy and then put it in the dark for 3 days prior to the picture above. My bathroom isn’t climate controlled sadly but i’m monitoring the temp and humidity every couple of hours. I’ve got another plant flowering in my grow tent otherwise i would’ve dried in there.
Next time, when you are getting ready to harvest, cut the watering off 3 or 4 days prior, then throw in the dark for 40 hours. That helped me tremendously
Nice, appreciate the tip! I have a Blue Dream plant that’s at 5 weeks of flower as of yesterday. I’m seeing the flowering is about 9-10 weeks, so at week 7.5/8 I should stop feeding nutrients then follow this portion like middle of week 9?
I wouldnt base it of such a rigid schedule. Start restriction when trichomes get mostly cloudy if you want no amber and tottaly cloudy if wanting amber
