Hey all, I am making a first attempt at the Lotus Dry/Cure method which entails slow drying in the fridge. I think this method traditionally calls for bud washing but didn’t go that route this run.
I have my harvest in a card board box with mounted hygrometers on the top and side along with an external and sensor that is placed inside the box.
My RH is around 60% but temps are about 45f degrees.
Does anyone have any experience with this method or any experienced growers out there that could shed some light on any potential issues to watch out for, or am I right on track where I need to be?
I have dried this way for the past few years with success. I live in the desert, it’s very dry here.
The racks are wire for air flow, and I lay the branches on them for a few weeks and start checking on the dryness about 1.5 weeks in. It will take a few weeks to dry 4 plants in a full size fridge.
It took me a few seconds to wake up enough brain cells to image search ‘mold risk chart’…
Interesting doc.
I’ve always shot for 60% RH while drying (doing it right now).
So 65% RH is the limit for mold. That means I could stretch out the drying period, if I wanted…
Also significant is the lower temperature shift of the ‘no risk’ RH from 72% to 66% (60 vs 70 chart). That’s telling me I could slow dry at a higher RH.
I suspect the only way to test for benefits would be A vs B…
I’ll put that on the roundtoit list…
60-65% is the preferred RH used for long term aging and storage of cigars for this reason, some people prefer to smoke at 70% but they taste sour to me when they are that high and they will often get mould. I’ve got cigars in storage at 60%, some for well over a decade and they have never had any mould, even with no airflow.
I dry as low a temp as possible and have gone as low as 55 degrees , it took 22 days, no mold, nothing but tbh I noticed ZERO difference from my 12-14 day 60-64 degree drying, zero. If I had a dedicated fridge I’d give this a shot though
Been pondering this as I am trying to dry but conditions are not perfect currently. Below are the current conditions in my dry box. I can move the location and hit a higher temp at a likely lower humidity or keep it where its at. I can usually keep it at a slightly lower rh but it is what it is. What say you homies?
Upon further review, I could shift the box to an area with the same temps but nearer 50% humidity. Based on the chart, I’m under 70 degrees but right at the 65% limit. Thinking I’ll be ok. Always thought 60% rh was the threshold to not cross. Doesn’t seem to be the case.
I first heard about this in a random youtube video comments and then discovered there are quite a number of gardeners that fridge dry. They even bud wash before hand as well, with no mold issues. The guy that schooled me up said the RH will be sky high initially and it eventually stabilizes as the plant dries.
He said that with fridge temps that low, it reduces mold risk and the low temps within the fridge along with rh around that level actually convert to the traditional 60/60 range we aim for in a typical dry room set up.
This is my first time attempting this, minus the bud washing and so far so good. It’s too hot at the moment and cant afford cooling costs to hit 60/60 so I opted to try this method.
I have a cardboard box the size of a workboot shoe box with bamboo skewers stuffed thru about an inch above the floor of the box in a grid fashion to hold branches.
I have my buds with their main branches still attached to the smaller stems on the buds to help maintain moisture and slow drying.
I have two small hygrometers mounted in the box, one on the top of the lid and one on the side of the box along with a hygrometer with sensor cable dangling inside the box. The box is slightly vented.
