Drying stubborn buds, whats your solution?

Indoor Growing
#1

I’ve bee here before but this is the worst yet. OG Kush CBD, about 5oz or so and i dont want to fuck it up. It’s been drying for 12 days but a couple of days ago when i checked it was crip on the outside but it’s still a bit too damp inside. So i’ve been trying to sweat it, i tried some in a glass jar but nothing changed, next i tried sealing it in a big plastic tub but that made no difference. Last night it was in poly bags overnight but it’s still the same today. If i leave it like this for much longer i know it will mold internally. I’ve been here before and i’m not sure it’s a good idea to try re-humidifying bud that’s still damp inside. It’s bound to rot if i do that so before i try freezing or other drastic measures can anyone suggest something that doesn’t involve an oven?

I’m about to put some in a jar and place it on a heater to see if that does anything to sweat it out a bit.

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#2

5 days is still on the low end of drying time. What is your RH in the drying environment? How dense is the bud? How clean would you say the air is? Are you using a fan to move air over the plant material or is it in still air?

When all else fails you can consider breaking the bud down into smaller portions to create more surface area for drying.

If you are as dilligent in checking like you seem, you shouldn’t have mold issues. Do a smell and visual inspection whenever possible but I’ve never had mold issues and I’ve dried my weed in some pretty sketchy places.

The worst thing you could do is jar it/sweat it, you’re just asking for mold problems there. Get it to a homogeneous state (ish) before locking it away.

Sounds like a first world problem to me :wink: hehe

Edit: just realized you have been drying for 12 days. That is quite long. Consider using a dessicant and/or breaking the bud down a little bit. Could also lay some flat and spread out on a cardboard box and have some air lightly moving over it.

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#3

Hi Lucy it’s been drying for 10 days and i just cant get it to homogenize now. It’s gone crisp dry on the outside but still too damp internally. I’ve had this issue before and If i cant get it to dry out inside it will mold for certain. I’ll probably try freeze drying some tomorrow because i cant stand the thought of my mrs meds becoming ounces of rotten bud :fearful:

#4

you could buck everything up really well and break nugs down…

whoops didnt read all of lucys post

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#5

Dessicant would be a good option. Full a tray with about a half inch of the stuff, cover it with a dry paper towel, place herb on paper towel and let the dessicant do it’s thing.

As mentioned if it’s a huge concern for you I’d break the bud down into smaller bits. Won’t be as pretty but you’ll have piece of mind.

Freeze/flash drying will get you there too but I’ve no experience with the process, and have been told that it dulls flavonoids so it won’t taste as strong.

But we do what we gotta do!

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#6

Put it in a room with a dehumidifier set on 55% and a fan blowing.
It will finish drying in 6 hours.
Do NOT freeze undried buds.

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#7

Thanks for the tips folks, if the moisture was evenly distributed it would be perfect. We have just broken up all the larger buds and i tried putting some buds on a baking sheet at 70C in the oven for 20mins. It’s over dry now so a little harsh but tasty and still very potent. the rest is going in front of a fan for a few hours as @Scissor-Hanz suggested. The room is currently around 50% RH so that should do the trick. I’m kicking myself for taking my eye off the ball and letting it get to crisp externally cos it was going well for the first week.

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#8

Mine always goes dry on the outside before the inner-core, green stem is last to dry?

When you gotta dry them fast, a small room with a 50-70 pint dehumidifier is perfect. I set mine at 65% for a slow-dry, or 55% if I need some fast.

Sometimes if I want a tester bud, I cut one off and set it on the warm part of a CFL fixture or my TV’s cooling fan. Drys fast and not toooo harsh. :wink:

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#9

My trick when it’s too dry out and damp inside is to sweat them in a jar like you were doing, but I stick them somewhere slightly warmer than I normally would. Not hot, but warmer. This seems to aid in pulling the moisture to the outside. I haven’t had an issue with mold yet but I understand your concern.
You could also try to vacuum seal them for a bit…

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#10

I sometimes use the heat from the sat box to dry small bits :thumbsup:

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#11

it was like this in Jamaica, the herb never dries out, I had to leave the weed in my motel room with the AC cranked to max for the day to get it smoke-able.

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#12

I always thought that jaring them like this to sweat them was to get an even moisture from inward to outward movement of course it’s important to leave the lids off for an hour or so a day then recap to equalize the plant.

At what point is the stem snap? Still bendy or almost to a cracking sound?

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#13

Stems still bend without snapping inside the buds so they cant be sealed up for long at a time but the dam things are too crisp externally. If bud goes too crisp on the outside it wont properly sweat. It closes it’s pores or whatever to retain moisture inside and it’s dam good at it. I’ve had externally crisp buds that are still well above 60% in the middle 5 weeks after cropping and they are often going brown inside and taste like crap. The weather is usually so wet here that it’s not wise to take too long drying buds. We want them down to around 60% within a week preferably so they can cure on for a bit without rotting.

What catches me out is they can still feel quite damp on the 4th night but when you get up next morning they have gone crisp dry on the outside. If i’d checked at 3am they would probably have been put in a box :weary:

I wish drying buds was as easy as growing them :joy:

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#14

Do you whole plant hang or individual branches ? I’d think if ya hung branches they’d dry more evenly not sure of your technique!

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#15

I usually hang the trimmed limbs for 4 or 5 days, just left them a bit too long before boxing them up this time.

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#16

Wish I could help you, but I have the opposite problem here in the desert.

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#17

All your rain falls here bro! we’re not greedy though so why not put some by for a rainy day :grin:

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#18

We had a crazy storm last night headed your way @ReikoX if it doesnt disperse before it gets there you might get some rain

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