Question about trimming/drying/curing process.

[growsomebuds]

Hello, I have a question about the trimming/drying/curing process. My plant is cut down. I'm about done with the trimming phase, but when I trim, I find it easier to trim down to individual buds. This means I'm unable to hang them to dry. Plus, I'm dealing with <20%RH. This makes my buds dry too fast leaving them out in the open. So, I put them straight into jars, where each jar is filled ~1/2 way. I think my jars are 24 ounces, not the quart sized jars recommended in the Original Drying & Curing Marijuana Buds tutorial on this site. With my humidity so low, I figure my buds will dry too quickly in my jars unless I add a moistened towel place in a small zip-lock back w/ puncture holes in order to dry my buds in 3-7 days as instructed in the aforementioned guide.

In the attached chart from this site, steps 1 and 2 can be considered done. Steps 3 & 4 can't be done the way the chart says, because of the aforementioned way I trim and the very low humidity. Which already puts me at step 5.
What I'm asking is if my plan of dealing with the low ass humidity is a reasonable one. So, can I add a moistened towel placed in a small zip-lock back w/ puncture holes in order to dry my buds in a slower 3-7 days as instructed in the aforementioned guide?

[420Cndee]

I'm new to all of this and no where near drying and curing but I don't know about the paper they do make the humidity packs I think 62% that I have seen people recommend so they don't dry too much in the jars. But someone more knowledgeable may be able to help us both out.

[growsomebuds]

Thanks, I did read about those. For this year's grow, I'd like to improvise by using my moistened paper towel idea. Next year, I'll consider buying those if my plan doesn't work so well.

[UndergroundFarmer]

It might help. Hanging each plant whole would help them to dry more slowly. Since that's not an option, try your plan and if you can, dry in an enclosed space with only enough ventilation to keep them from molding.

[growsomebuds]

It might help. Hanging each plant whole would help them to dry more slowly. Since that's not an option, try your plan and if you can, dry in an enclosed space with only enough ventilation to keep them from molding.

Part of that plan will be to dry them in the jars I talked about, using my paper towel idea. They would be going into those jars under the <55%RH conditions of that chart from my original post. I would also be "burping" them daily.

Does that seem like a reasonable plan to you, given the environmental conditions I'm dealing with.

[UndergroundFarmer]

I think so. I've always lived in places where the humidity never leaves so another desert grower would know. I was envisioning more of a drying tent/hanging basket setup.

[grouchyoldman]

I agree with growsomebuds that you would be better off hanging the whole plant rather than trimming down to the buds. Once the bids snap off cleanly, do a dry trim, then into the jars. The idea is that the more stem and leaf on the stalk when you hang it, the slower the drying process will go. That should give you at least a week of drying even in your low humidity.

I have the opposite problem, high humidity, and my solution is to do a wet trim down to the buds and then dry them on racks. That speeds up drying in my humid environment and minimizes the chance of mold. I turn the individual buds over daily and rotate the trays so everything dries evenly. Once the individual buds snap off, it's into jars with Bovida 62.

Cheers,

-Grouchy

[growsomebuds]

You're confused, grouchy. I am the chap that started this thread.

[Matriumcauthon]

still a novice myself but im in the american southwest with the same kinda super low humidity problems. Additionally because smell is an issue here ive had to use a wedryer with the fan pushing odors through the filter. So far the two harvests what I've done is done very little wet trimming keeping them in as large of buds as i could stems and all. Then I'd kept them in the wedryer for about 3-4 days until they felt dry on the outside, pull then out and dry trim them, then id toss them into jars with humidity meter they suggested in the guides, again with as much stem as I could leave and still fit them. After a couple hours if they are still below 63% ill toss in the cut stems into the jars to help bring it up, im not sure but id assume damp towelettes might work but id wring all the water I could out first. And once they stabilize at or even above the 63 ill add humidipacks to the jars. After a few days of stable humidity I trim the excess stems off and remove them.

For the 7 small plants ive harvested so far its worked quite well for me in spite of the low rh here.

[growsomebuds]

Yep, I'm living in the SW, too.

[growsomebuds]

What is a 'wedryer'?

[Matriumcauthon]

Brand of enclosed drying rack that has a 6" pc fan and a carbon filter. Nifty little contraption if you cant dry in your grow area and need to keep smells down.