Dry & Curing Science

Indoor Growing
#1

Hello, Im trying to horde science based info on dry and cure.

for ex, it is my understanding that during this period CO2 breaks apart effectively decarboxylating slowly (and thus why they say you can decarb a flower with no heat, in a 4 or 5 month cure ), and that moisture leaves the plant which also kills bacteria etc.

But I hear a lot that if humidity goes below 55% for an extended period (lets say 12 to 24 hours) then curing is completely stopped, and you cannot go back to curing, all you can do is rehydrate the plant (in case it dried up) which is not the sameā€¦ and my question is, why?

and thus, if anyone knows the science behind this or can point me to source, Iā€™d be really thankful.

is it because CO2 will not break apart anymore? or why/what happens if humidity was not maintained?

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#2

I red that below 55% humidity the bacterias in charge of curing die, so if you rehidrate they donā€™t come back and the process stops ā€¦ beer3|nullxnull

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#3

I think the 55% is the humidity of the bud not the room. You could run 55 for two days and kick it up to 60-65% for the rest of the time. Heat is the worst for making terpenes boil off as they say.

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How to know went to go from dry to cure
#4

I dunnoā€¦ my first plant i grew we over dried the hell out of itā€¦ think turns to dust when touched. Before trimming it got left in the bathroom with a hot shower running for awhile to re moisturize it. Then into jars. It cured into one of my most flavored plants yet. Reaks of pineapple candy

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#5

I once left for a week and had no choice but to let my harvest dry out at 50%. Boveda after the fact and good as new.

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#6

yup got them with bovedas 62 actually right now, but that is mainly to rehydrate them, which I understand just adds moisture back, but doesnt restart the curing process.

lol, i have to admit that just happened to one of mine. they-re rehydrating right now.

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#7

I have not found much in the way of science on how to dry and cure pot. If anyone knows of any papers it would be more than welcome. Even the name of the type of bacteria that is suppose to cure the weed and gets shut down if the humidity gets below 55%.

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#8

Once rehydrated the buds matured in the jars just fine.

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#9

I also use lettuce if a jar or bag drys out too much

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#10

Found a page that looks to be useful. There is a 40 minute presentation I need to view later.

"Water activity controls mold and microbial growth. Thatā€™s the scientific fact that makes water activity a key part of food and pharmaceutical regulations. Different species of mold (and microbes) have specific water activity limits below which they will not grow. Watch the video to see why.

Water is essential for all living organisms, including bacteria and mold. Microbial cells need it to remain viable. Cells bring in water via passive transport. When the water activity gets low enough outside the cell, the cells canā€™t transport water in through the cell membrane. They starve and go dormant.

Itā€™s important to note that these cells are not dead. if the water activity outside the cell goes above the growth limit, they can start to grow again. However, cannabis can be processed, packaged, and stored below water activity limits to ensure that microbes and molds will not grow on or in it. Learn more about water activity and microbial growth in the following 30-minute webinar. Learn:

what you need to know about how water activity predicts microbial growth
how to use specific organism aw limits relevant to cannabis in setting your specs"

Looking for more but need to tend to my plants.

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#11

The video is very technical and informative, except they want to harvest your name and email address half way though. I basically sum it up as ā€œwater activity < .6 everything is goodā€.

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#12

I have not watched it yet, I did give my email (rarely used one) to get their ā€˜guideā€™. Skimmed it and less than I was really expecting.

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All at once Decarboxylation vs Wait until needed
#13

My weed smokes like freshly cut lawnmower mulch and smells of the horse barn hay. I tink some ting wong!!?!1!!11

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#15

lol, actually it smells quite nice.

im just trying to get a better understanding of the process - Ive found research data on this is scarce, i know Utah State has info on it for $245ā€¦

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#16

Are you only searching for cannabis curing? I would include searches for drying and curing tobacco as well. I canā€™t imagine the process is much different.

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#17

I was wondering about that too, the only reason i didnt consider it its because of the resin glandsā€¦ but yeah, i should be looking for tobacco as well just in general. thanks!

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#18

For me personally I feel the slower you can dry the cannabis the better quality product it will produceā€¦for the most part! You donā€™t want it to dry too slowly it can smell like a damp basement or worse!

I usually dry at 65 degrees and 60% RHā€¦finish at 55% after a few weeks.

For me I find it gives the best results with a ash that burns completely white, with a sticky smooth texture.

I also only remove shade leaves and hang the plants whole as it slow down the drying processā€¦I feel this adds to a more enjoyable quality smoke!

Forgot to addā€¦for storage and to finish curing Iā€™ve been using large turkey oven bags inside 5 gallon buckets with ā€œair tight gamaā€ lids. Opened once a day to exchange the airā€¦this is important for a proper cure!! And thatā€™s it, unless you want long term storage for which I use a vacuum packer and store in the freezerā€¦

Be well

Alaskagrown

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#20

@Alaskagrown
15 yrs ago or there were tutorials from sub lbc
An a couple others that woukd use a process like that but cut 1 hole on 1 side to place a computer fan for circulation
Becouse big runs were a bitch back in tge day for a single person

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#21

It still IS lol

Interesting read on everyoneā€™s thoughts about this process. I feel that @Alaskagrown pretty much has a handle on thingsā€¦

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#22

You are wrong about plant cells not being able to absorb moisture after being dried. As an example, wood absorbs and gives off moisture depending on the Relative Humidity in the air. Here is two layers of wood, glued to each other at 90 degrees from each other. It was glued together flat when the RH was lower, the wood bends with the change in humidity. It actually was bent more but we are in heating season here and the air is drying out. I disagree with some other points you make but will leave it at that.

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I looked up tobacco drying and curing to try to find a parallel to our drying, slow going.

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