Finally got around to purchasing some argon from BVV.
I think we are going to give the argon purge a try on this years bounty. Our storage tends to show noticeable oxidation at around 10-11 months when stored at room temperature in humidity monitored and controlled glass containers.
E.g. ~0 months / ~12 months
This oxidation doesn’t really affect taste negatively although there is a decrease in overall terpenes with some terpenes disappearing entirely. It mainly starts picking up a sour/acidic/diaper smell with increasing amber. Unable to determine if the missing terpenes are converted to something not in the test panel. Mrycene and limonene, for instance, increased in the test batch while terpinolene disappeared entirely. Tends to indicate that the terpenes may convert to different terpene forms or that the test panel is wack.
Past lab runs show that the potency remain equivalent with conversion for CBGA to THCA. Or further natural decarb into delta-9. Terpenes have decreased at about 30% while calculated THC stayed about the same. Details on the test results can be found in https://overgrow.com/t/cultivar-laboratory-testing-results/16066/44i
For what it’s worth, the rate of storage decomposition that we’ve experience is much less than what has been reported elsewhere. It also suggests that harvest timing e.g. clear/cloudy/amber only suggests cannabinoid ratios at that specific point in time as the conversion process continues over time. @LD50 makes note of harvest timing here and I tend to agree with that but more specifically focused on natural down-conversion.
So, I’m thinking we’ll set-aside some samples to evaluate a 12+ month result of argon vs no argon storage to produce comparative results for both cannabinoids and terpenes. Probably will put some samples into high vapor barrier bags once moisture has stabilized and purge one of the samples with argon.
With vapor barrier bags, I do have concerns about botulism potential under a no-oxygen environment. I have yet to come across a reference on this for cannabis and, particularly, regarding storage with low-oxygen. Will do a water activity test on the cured product prior to test and storage.