So I harvested yesterday. I have my rh between 45-55% at a vpd of around 1.0-1.3 and a temp range of 70-74f. I. In Arizona so anything less Is not easy to afford.
I have a 4x4x8 tent using a ac infinity system.
My exhaust I have set to 2 and my two circulating fans I have on level 4.
I got in there today and have the hay smell… Why? These specs should all be good…
I have them in a 2 tier net and have then spaced out hanging at the top.
Only off thing is my grow light is still in there. But I don’t have an easy way to take it out as it’s heavy and big.
Do you have an inkbird? You can set it to whatever humidity you want and it will turn on the exhaust. Good way to keep numbers up in a dry environment.
the company hillfire in wv all has a hay smell that never goes away. i always understood it when the chlorophyll didn’t dissipate during curing. one of the bud tenders told me it could have come from not flushing properly. either way i don’t buy that brand any more, can’t tell the difference between strains by smelling it.
I do have a pid controller, that’s a good idea. But actually I’d more likely use it for humidity control (original plan), I have the exhaust set to turn on at high Temps or humidity above 60% rh. But it idles at lvl 3-4 exhaust (of 10).
I’ve just been waiting on ac infinity to hopefully update their firmware to include a pid algorithm. But it’s been up in the air.
I think on my next grow I’ll be running humidity independently. Won’t be as easy as a wifi app if I want to make changes, but I hadn’t givin it much thought
I read it’s caused by mildew or bacteria?
So does the smell only come during curing and not drying?
I see. I cut it up into branches and trimmed just the brown dead sugar leaves and fan leaves. Is removing brown leaves a bad idea right before drying?
I had a 2 tier net, I had it at 45-55% but after 3 days, I checked on it to put it into 60%rh and it was already fully dried and branches snapped which tells me it’s done - _- I’m not sure why it dried out so fast again… Maybe my rh sensors are off??
Oh ok cool. So many Google sources say it’s the end of the world if it does smell of hay… Glad it is normal. Mine dried out completely by day 3…i don’t get how it dries so fast… My numbers should of been ideal…
My experience: Im in central AZ and had struggles with the drying and hay smell. Tough to stretch out dry time at <20% relative humidity but doable.
Gotten much better results leaving the plants mostly whole except any remaining large fans and anything that may have gotten too gnarly/crispy. I have an ac infinity exhaust set kick on at 62% (right where i personally would begin cure). Hard to even maintain that so I added a humidifier right next to my tent with the door just slightly open and fan sucking humidified air in but not on the plants. This gets me to about 10 days with minor adjustments here and there. I always get a little bit of gras/hay smell for a day or two but goes away.
If it’s fully drying in 3 days it can lock in the hay smell and there’s nothing you can do to get rid of it. either your relative humidity is really low(~10%) or the temp is high(80+F) or both.
You want as close to 60 degrees faranheit and 60% humidity as you can get. ~75 degrees is fine if humidity is 60% or 65%, but if it’s 50% or less you’re drying too fast.
It is tough in the desert. My first grow in az turned out crappy. Had some really nice sour diesel buds @ 9 oz that dried in 3 days. Tasted awful, harsh. Didnt think about it at the time.
Can barely get the house below 72-73f when outdoor temps are still hitting 100 in october with 12% humidity. Throw a portable ac in there and it sucks any remaining moisture out, humidifiers struggle to keep up, costs rise. Unless you throw down many dollars on more equipment just have to tinker with things. Much easirer to dry in the winter/early spring here when at least temps cooperate. Can get 10-12 days max doing what i do.
I’m in az too and my biggest trick is to chop in bulk and cluster them as close together as possible, don’t even consider a wet trim cuz it will only work against u and absolutely no fans, seems against everything we know but in az it’s the only way, I’ve been able to get an 8-10 day dry doing that
Agreed! I hang whole plants in a 2x4 (I live in the Phoenix Valley, so low desert), with a humidifier, exhaust fan, and portable a/c unit. 8-9 days is my standard dry.
Exhaust should only come on when rh climbs over 60-65%, otherwise it shouldn’t be running. Circulating air is okay, but you only need 1 fan, on low, and it needs to not blow directly on the buds.
Too low for the desert
Slightly too high given the low humidity.
So, to fix this I also recommend an Inkbird hygrostat running your humidifier/exhaust differential. The temp is tricky without an a/c, which is expensive, but an inkbird and humidifier will be maybe $75 total.
Unfortunately, with a 3 day dry, that hay smell will lessen, but you’re gonna be pretty much stuck with it.
Buy some blunt wraps!
