I am soon to be harvesting my first plant. I cannot afford a dehumidifier and live on the wet coast lol I plan to use a large cardboard box and hang buds on fishline to dry. I have a 6" desk fan to move a little air through it for ventilation. Are there any other ways that I can help lower humidity?
theres a good deal https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CTL6FFQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 theres even a smaller unit for 50, no there is no other way ime
Humidity control is crucial for late flowering phase. I canāt see any other option but dehumidifier (preferably with large water tank or DIY hack it to make tank bigger). Desk fan itself wonāt help here.
But if you donāt have any mold problems currently, I think you are lucky and donāt need to botherā¦
For drying buds after harvest unless you donāt have some ridiculous humidity like >65% I donāt see a problem because the slower is the drying process the better it tastes after. Sometimes when I harvest around rain season here Iāve got humidity like 55-60% and it takes 10 days to dry first phase. (First phase for me is whole branches / stems without leaves, second phase is to cut down buds from stems and put them into closed jar - then vent out regularly).
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I wouldnāt recommend using refill bags (http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Ilmankuivain/36-6050). It is based on silica gel or similar desiccant. It is very uneconomic solution if you compare amount absorbed to price. These āpassiveā absorber of moisture are meant to small and closed environments where it is hard to get electricity (e.g. interior of a car parked in garage).
Try to use cat-sand, which is using like toilet for cats. May help ā¦ 
Well just had 2 months of rain and the buds are doing great, no signs of mold and about 2 weeks left to go. On the other hand lol, these are only my second attempt at growing and I am not sure I would recognise mold if I had it but there is no alien looking growths on the buds and they smell nice and spicy so I may be lucky. I sure hope so anyways, my first plant was a complete flop, either to very poor genetics or what I do not know but it was an unknown high CBD strain that has all the effects of smoking tree leaves. Now I have these 2 Green Crack and it is great from the one sample bud I tried and now have to wait for harvest to enjoy my efforts, lol a Christmas present to myself.
Damp Rid in a small room works well, its calcium chloride and sucks the moisture from the air, costs around 10-15 bucks for a small pail of it.
Another way is salt, a friend of mine uses road salt in a small enclosed area to help dry out flowers, He uses a layer a few inches thick and the flowers are in a rack suspended above the salt. Roughly 10 -20 for the salt, and is reusable,
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I guess that Calcium Chloride is also reusable after it is left to evaporate back to its concentration?
I just wanted to warn you that using salt Iāve seen it working also the opposite way. It probably has to do something with its dew point, but last summer temperature got so high one time that salt used to catch humidity released all the water instead. There was extreme puddle and we was surprised how much water it can hold.
Interesting, Iāve seen it get clumpy and water form but Iām already changing out the bucket for new stuff. The salt is more used for drying flowers. Cal Chloride for dehumidifying rooms.
Its possible, the problem is the CaCl (Cackle) kinda melts into a mess so you get a chunk when doneā¦ Its commonly known as ice melt, so if you live in cool weather areas its easy to find the stuff, if not damp rid is found everywhere.
It works but I prefer a peltier style dehumidifier over using cackle. But if cost is an issue, you get alot of humidity control for 15-20 bucks.
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Go to local grow shop see what they doin but dehumidifier gonna be your best bet
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Go to an Arts & Crafts store and locate flower drying silica beads. Itās roughly $20 for 5 Lbs and it is very reusable. When the blue indicating beads turn purple/pink, put the beads on a cookie sheet and bake on low heat for an hour, or until the beads return to blue, then reuse.
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I use a dehumidifier plus air conditioning.
I just read this. Some of you in the market for a new dehumidifier may find it usefulš
See:
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I know this is an old thread about drying flowers, but because of the subject title still relevant I think. @Calyxander What were the best dehumidifiers from the article (itās behind a paywall) . I just bought a Frigidaire/electrolux from Amazon. It was very highly rated there, so weāll see how it performs. What does CR have to say? Help us NorthWetters out!
Being from the high desert, I tend to have the opposite problem. I need a good humidifier.
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Sorry about that link dead ending. When I first posted it I am fairly certain that it worked. If I remember, a Frigidaire model was recommended. I had purchased (in early 2013) CRās highest rated model based on the previous report on dehumidifiers in late 2012.
Sorry, I do not remember the specific model Frigidaire from the 2017 report.
This is the one I bought 4 1/2 years ago.
Still works great. Very satisfied.
I live in South Floridaā¦I need it to work well!
No Problem, That is the older version of the one I just got. As far as I can tell they are the same except the new one has a different fan and digital controls.