I used to dry it in the dark, it comes out looking amazing almost illuminus
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Itās been proven that supplementing UV during flowering can increase thc by an average of 25% over baseline. So a plant that produces 20% without would produce an extra 5% with. This has been tested by universities and private companies. Sola Cure produces UV bulbs that were originally meant for curing epoxies. They got into the grow light market and enlisted growers who were able to control all environmental factors well enough to be able to carry out high quality controlled experiments to test the UV bulbs. They have links to their results on their website. To be clear I have no affiliation with the company and am not trying to promote the. Iām not sure if that sort of thing might violate overgrow TOU so I figured I should put that out there.
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Mold does not need light for it to complete itās cycle. Think of those stinky blue or green cheeseās. They used to be made and cured in caves. Or a moldy bathroom.
A mold needs:
- moisture above 50%
- nutritional source (in this case plant matter, bud)
- and optimum temperatures around 21Ā°C same temperature that most cannabis strains love.
Add all this and the complex structure of nucks and crannies and the stickiness of the bud, you get the perfect recipe for desastre because the spores, like it or not are all around us in the air we breathe. So whether we loke it or not they are there waiting for the ideal conditions.
Stagnant air ,think air that gets trapped when you have very dense buds or a closed container while curing (thatās why itās preferable to use a paper bag or box where there can be some oxidation and perspiration due to water content inside the weed)
Light degrades any chemical ( thatās why most chemicals are kept in some sort of light proof container)
Somebody mentioned tabacco leaf. In the case of tabacco they leave piles of leafs in a sheltered place out of direct sunlight with plenty of air circulation. This aids the slow controlled fermentation and curing of the plant matter.
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I remember seeing a documentary about weed and itās transformation processes in Marroco.
They would and presume still do, cull the plants and hang them to air dry in a shady part of a house but well vented. No dark room no enclosed place. Good ventilation and protected from the weather and direct sunlight. And they grow a lot of the stuff.
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I donāt have any ballasts that would work wOrk a mercury bulb nor do I have even close but what is everyoneās thoughts about blue light? Too much blue light can really be draining on a person closer to daylight spectrum of 5600 keeps you awake and alert as well as various studies done on led street lights and lcd monitors, so, in essence, anyone think I can use white ingan led lights which are heavy in the blue spectrum to similar effect?
Yes. Dry in total darkness or as close to it as possible. Weed smokes harsher dried in the light. You want to get rid of chlorophyll in the plant for good smoking, and chlorophyll needs light. You donāt want to encourage its existence by giving the plant light , trapping
chlorophyll in the leavesā¦edit. for the record I thought I was the first person to reply in this thread. Iām not sure how that happened. Had I known that there were already many wonderful answers, I wouldnāt have even felt the need to chime in! I love O.G.!
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Have you tried water curing?
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Iāve heard of that. Very interesting, but no, I have not tried it. Supposed to get the chlorophyll out of the leaves, correct? Too scared I would mess up . Have you tried it?
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True. But necessity is the mother of all invention. Perhaps they had/have little alternative. And they arenāt smoking the leaves. Theyāre making hash. It probably doesnāt matter as much.
That was such a good answer I felt that it should be moved to the newest part of this thread so more people would read it. Thank you. I had never heard that
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Makes a very smooth smoke
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Youāve tried it? Please do tell. Intrigued.
Thanks for those percent numbers Schmo. How much UV light do you need to use to achieve this percent increase? And for the outdoor Growers out there, I would like to mention that elevations over 1800 ft produce 25% more resin due to the extra UV light. So Iāve read. I never grew any below that altitude to test the theory.
Have been reading this before. Have any proof ? Might as well be an urban myth, no ? Why for Buddha s sake should glucose migrate to the soil at night ? To go home, see his wife and kids after a days work in the plant ? 
In nature no unnecessary things are happening. Why glucose should migrate at night ? Makes no sense to me.
Don t get me wrong. I don t mean to be rude or sarcastic. Just having my doubtsā¦
Iām hoping for some more information on that myself. All I know is maple trees ( all northern hardwoods) do something similar with their sap/glucose. . Glucose is formed by a plant to use as energy to grow. Any extra glucose at the end of the day is stored in the plant as starch. If you were to ask me what part of a pot plant is starchy, I would certainly reply" The Roots". Starch is stored in the plant roots for use in lean times, when it is broken down into glucose and used. Since the roots are responsible for being the heartbeat of the vascular system in a plant, it makes sense that this glucose would be stored there, so it could be transported anywhere needed in the plant. Also I have harvested at all times of day, and right before sunup seems to be the best. Butā¦ no proof. Just an
" oh! That makes sense " moment. Hope that helps.
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Iāve been pondering that question. When are most plant eating Predators out having their snacks? Nighttime right? If a plant gets eaten it has some Reserves stored in the roots to regrow during the daytime.
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Right. But stillā¦ It seems (I have read) that cannabis has other means and strategies to keep off predatorsā¦
However - we are guessing here. No hard facts or proofs whatsoeverā¦ But still - not everything can be explained. I think it possible that plants cut after the dark period are containing less sugar, starkā¦ 
If I remember, I ll cut one plant or some buds after nighttime. And some in the evening.
Then I can compare 
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Plant roots definitely expel a variety of things at night there is a whole variety of soil dwelling microbes that feed from them. There is alot of different literature on the subject as it is a rather basic priniciple of plant biology.
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Yes. All you have to do is get a jar and fill it with water until the weed is covered. Preferably with cold distilled water. Change it every 24h until the water is clear. Do this for a week or two. Keep the jar in a cool place to avoid running the risk of fermentation and out of sunlight (water+sunlight=algae) while the process lasts.
Let the buds dry and then enjoy a smooth smoke 
Donāt worry, the terpnoids and all the goodies arenāt water soluble.
@reikox has a tutorial.
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@ curious cat How dry are buds when this is done? Like the start of any curing? Sounds pretty neat. A bit Similar in approach to burying weed wrapped in plant material. But then againā¦ not so much. What color is finished product?