Properly storing bud and the relationship with humidity inside the jar

[Dagmar]

I just finished reading an article in Nebula's weekly newsletter and need a little more information on long term storage. I'm curing 5 different strains from 4 different harvests. One has been curing for 4 months and has 66% humidity inside the jar - I'm still opening that jar once a week - when can/should I stop? One has been curing for 2 months and has 71% humidity inside the jar - I'm opening this twice a week. I have two strains harvested at the same time, one month ago, and one is at 81% and the other at 62% in side of the jar (different size and density of bud). Should I stop opening the jar when it gets to 62% and store? At what point should I seal the jar and place it in a cool, dark place and stop opening the jar? And should I use the humidity packets (62%), placing them in the jars for long term storage to maintain the correct level of humidity?

 

[desertdan]

You folks with humidity are so lucky. I am always fighting the dry. Most days I can barely wet my whistle around here. It is a struggle for me to keep any moisture in my buds.

 

[9fingerleafs]

You should keep the humidity inside the jars at 62. So any jar with higher RH than 62 must be keept open until right humidity is reached and then close again. The meter is gonna measure moisture in the air. So as the buds release humidity to the air this increases. So if any jar goes above 62 open it until it gets back down. If they're 62. Keep them closed.

 

[Dagmar]

Your answer is what I have thought made the most sense but have not found a source that supports this, until you. I know that you are one of the Community experts so I give a lot of weight to your answer. So, is 62% the most important marker in deciding to lock down the lid and place in a cool, dark place? Even thought one jar is 66% after four months of curing it should continue to have the lid removed and another is at 62% after only a month and is ready to be put in storage?

 

[Dagmar]

We want what we don't have. I wish I could grow outdoors but stealth is the issue for me. You've said that's not an issue for you. Lucky, lucky, lucky!

 

[insomniaczzz]

Absolutely, use the 62% boveda humidity packets for long term storage. Get extras because your jars that are now over 70% with absorb the excess and become hard and need to be replaced. So once you start using them, keep checking weekly until the desired humidity is reached. Then put in a fresh boveda and no need to open so often.

 

[Dagmar]

I thought the boveda packets were just to keep the bud from drying out? If I place a packet in a jar with 70% humidity, this will help lower the humidity?

 

[9fingerleafs]

Yes. The curing process occurs the same in a jar at 62 than in one at 66. It's just that 62 is the "right" humidity to smoke. The curing happens as fast as it cans. And the risk of mold is reduced as much as it can. At 66 you just have a little more risk of mold and maybe not a perfect burn. You can see for yourself. After 4 months at 66 there's still no mold. So there's a lot of room to be safe. Try to smoke from the different jars and you will realize it's more about the perfect burn.

The main thing to remember is that the RH is the humidity in the air. So when you put your buds in a closed space they tend to release humidity to the air. This is why we seal the buds. So this process happens slow. I don't know if it makes a lot of sense but I see it as a balance between the moisture inside the bud. The moisture in the air. And how fast the buds release the moisture to the air

 

[Weasel]

9fingers pretty much covered it. 62 isn't a magic number. Anywhere between 55 and 65 may be your preference for how moist you like your bud. I got the impression that 62 was just the lowest number boveda had on hand when they got discovered by the cannabis market. They were talking about coming out with a lower one.
I'd get drying the stuff you have in there at 80 RH - get it lower to get it out of the mold danger zone. I consider anything under 70 to be pretty safe from mold.


my buds generally come out of my drier around 65ish and then I just open the jars and mess with them now and then till they're down around 60.