So when I was doing the final manicure they seemed a bit too dry.
I put them in 2 Grove bags, intentionally mixing small and large buds in each bag to promote equalization.
Sealed the bags and checked 2 hours later. The humidity in the bags was around 58%. Too low for comfort on the first day of a cure so I peeled a Grapefruit and split the peels between the 2 bags. Let it sit over night at about 50F and this morning the humidity was up around 70%. The buds felt slightly moist and spongy and sticky. So I removed the peels and left the bags open until the humidity dropped to about 67%. I then zipped the bags back up. The humidity has now settled at 68%. I am going to leave the bags sealed and watch them. I suspect that permeability of the Grove bags will allow excess moisture to escape and then maintain the humidity level between 58% and 63%. At least that is the hype, my SmartPush sensors will tell me if the hype is valid.
The reason I felt it important to get the humidity back up in the 60s is that I have read anecdotal reports from people who say if the water activity gets too low it will halt the microbial process that enables the cure, and that the microbial activity can NOT be restarted if allowed to get too dry. Now, I have not seen any "published and peer reviewed " studies to back this up, but it does feel intuitive. I long for a proper study that can confirm/debunk this phenomena, and identify exact humidity ranges to maintain viable water activity in cannabis to enable the cure.
I am thinking that maybe I need to get a moisture meter for my next grow. If I understand correctly, if you cure the buds when they reach 11% water content then you are golden. I really like the idea of a meter vs me guessing by feel. After I “touch” 11% moisture then I can develop the “feel memory”. In the meantime, I like cold hard numbers. My career was largely in Industrial Instrumentation and Control, I lived by the numbers, of course calibration/validation of the sensors is also crucial.
- Initial fill of bags
- Introduction of citrus peel
- Removal of citrus peel and resealing the bag
Now I wait…
ETA:
Looks like it worked. Both bags are stable at 67%(ish) for the last 8 hours. I am hoping it will start decreasing shortly as moisture permeates the bag membrane.
