Need help... why doesn't my final product smell very much?

Indoor Growing
1

Hi,

Im new here and I haven’t posted much. Ive mainly kinda been lurking… reading… trying to absorb the vast amount of knowledge all of the long term members are kind enough to share with all of us. I first grew well over 16 years ago before i had my son and started building a family. Now I’m finally able to start back up and get back into a groove. I decided to try growing autos this time around… im growing them in my own mixture of soil, perlite, nutrients, etc. I’m using mamoth lights… I’ve got a C02 system setup to run on them as often as I can, without stressing them out too much. I live in a hot azz tropical rainforest state down south. So the more I’m able to utilize the high temperatures the better. (Or so im thinking…) except I’ve noticed the last few final product/cuts have lacked the smell that traditional cannabis nugs posses. Im having a really hard time slow drying my stuff… I’ve tried hang drying it in a small dedicated 2 by 2 tent with an air scrubber and 2 small fans to keep the air moving vs becoming stagnant. I’ve tried using a wine fridge with a dehumidifier… either the dang things for some reason dry rapidly… like beyond what i am aiming for. Or they are too damp still when i move them over to jars for curing and storage. Its so disappointing… because ive literally finished 7 rounds of 11 auto (Blueberry x Froyo) from seed to harvest. (Seeds that an amazing member here on overgrown was generous/kind enough to share with me to help me get back on my feet and get me finally growing again.) I want nothing more then to repay him for his kindness and his help when he didnt know me from Adam. His kindness has been more then i could have ever expected, asked for or dreamt of.

Everything goes great from germination to veg, from veg to bloom and then bloom to harvest. Then all the sudden i lose the aroma it initially had and i just can’t seem to slow dry it long enough to keep from screwing up these beautiful plants that ive worked so hard to take care of and grow to a level of perfection. Nothing is more frustrating then after all the time and effort… long days and nights baby-ing these ladies. They wind up not reaching their max potential. Instead they wind up being something im not even willing to try and share because im not proud of their end results. Can anyone help me figure out what I’m doing wrong or what i should try that might help me figure out how to dry my ladies slower and maximize the retention of the smell, taste and effects these ladies should and would be producing if it weren’t for my inability to master the last but most tedious and important part of the process? Any suggestions or advice would be so greatly appreciated… I’ve tried doing the research with no luck. I’ve tried numerous different drying methods all to no avail. If someone can help me figure this out. I will forever be in your debt.

Fingers crossed, heres to hoping someone will be able to help me remedy my dilemma. So i can finally start producing something im proud to show off and to share. Any and all help, advice, suggestions… would be greatly greatly appreciated.

10 Likes
2

Welcome. Without being sarcastic, the answer is somewhere between these two points. Haha but really, what settings are you going for? You said you’ve tried it all, but what temp/humidity are you trying to hit? If things dry too fast with two fans in a 2x2, try one fan? I have 1 fan in a 2x4 with a dehu in a cool basement but location matters as I’m sure you know. Break it down just a bit further for us :metal:t2::purple_heart:

6 Likes
3

You are correct in that slow-drying is the most important part to retaining those terpenoids, but also slow-curing – at least 6 weeks, and I aim for 8 for most.

The 3 factors to consider are temperature, humidity and darkness.

To properly slow-dry, I aim for a humidity of 55-60%, and never lower, with cool temperature, around 60-65F. I hang the whole plant upside down, in a dark tent, with the temperature and humidity dialed in with sensors that control appliances to maintain these conditions, for 10-14 days and no less.

I only remove large fan leaves before drying. After drying, I trim the product in this tent, in the same environment, just with the light on, and if I have to take breaks, which is rare, I will turn the light off and maintain those same drying conditions.

After trimming, they go into glass jars which are burped once or twice per day for the first week, and slightly less for the next week or two, depending on the moisture content still present. The curing process really enhances the taste, and I would never go under 6 weeks here, usually longer.

Basically, you have to keep the correct temperature and humidity, and limit the exposure to light, during the whole ~2 weeks of drying and 6+ weeks of curing.

That’s what I do, and what works for me to retain the flavor. I hope this helps.

8 Likes
4

I’ve found that some phenos just don’t care about your drying and curing technique and just reek no matter how bad you mess up. So it could just come down to finding some genetics that work for you and the variables you can work with… otherwise yeah what everyone else said haha

12 Likes
5

Some strain don’t smell much at all. I’ve had strains that absolutely stink and doesn’t effect me much. I’ve also had strains with barely any smell at all and it’s put me on my ass. I agree smell is important for bag appeal.

8 Likes
6

I would argue it is more than just bag appeal, as terpenoids and flavanoids are volatile compounds that have been shown to both have medicinal properties and enhance the cannabinoids, contributing to unique effects with the gestalt of the combination.

3 Likes
7

Taste and smell is definitely a thing. First thing we do when we pick up is smell it.
I’m saying I’ve had weed with no smell fuck me up more than weed that has a potent smell.
If your selling your stuff smell and taste is mega important to get the most amount of money you can BUT the smell doesn’t make it more potent.

4 Likes
8

your temps. hot ass rain forest isn’t going to leave a lot volatile compounds. i am not sure i am in the same camp about quick drying or over drying leading to product that doesn’t have terps, but if you are fighting hay smell, maybe that has something to do with it. i have a few strains/cuts that i can dry in 3 or 4 days and they are smelly and smokeable immediately…they just have a lot of terps no matter what. even in a hot grow, over 90f, i tried this year they smelled pretty good, but not nearly as good as when harvested at under 75f. the temp during dry/cure also is important imo.

2 Likes
9

I live just north of your swamp in SWVA. I bought a Cannatrol.

People have their opinions and they are entitled to them. For me, I don’t want to play around with drying. I mess it up all the time. I like to grow plants and smoke weed. The cost was absolutely worth it for me to not have to fuss.

8 Likes
10

Get a mini split or window AC unit for whichever room your dry tent is in. for a week or two you gotta blast that AC and cool the room down.l while drying.

Or drop the $1500 for a cannatrol.

2 Likes
11

I can tell you what I found that works and seen work for a commercial friend. Dry it out slow but dry it all the way out to 50% humidity. Then bump the humidity up to 60% and leave for another week hanging. Then jar it or better yet put it in a grove bag. I try and get out 30% of moisture the first 24 hours then go as slow as I can. I let the humidity fluctuate 50-65. The worst thing you can do is jar it up damp still. Dry it out to a crisp, then re introduce it to the 60% and it will absorb the moisture back up. Then jar. Let me know if this works better. It works great for me and is way easier and no guess work.

Also try and keep the temps in the tent around 70 or lower the last week. Some terpenes start to volitize at 68F

1 Like
12

You might be wasting your time unless you are using maximum dli,room is nice and cool 70-75* and grow room should be air tight.
Unless you have all 3 boxes mark you are not getting any use out of a co2 setup.

I had the same issue when I first started growing about 10 years ago.
The truth is I pretty much didn’t know what I was doing.
And come to find out I was drying not at the right temperature and not at the right humidity.
And on top of that because of temps and humidity my bud was drying in 2-3 days :joy:
Always ended up with hay smelling weed at the end.
But I also was not curing correctly at all and everything else you can think of lol
I now dry my buds at 70•F and 60% humidity.
I hang from anywhere from 5-10 days just depends on what I have going on.
What I can say is I have seemed to fix that problem which seems like you’re dealing with the same issue.
Happy growing and good luck…:+1::+1:

1 Like
13

Just keep it simple, hang them in a room with AC to 20-26c and leave the window a bit open, if humidity is high put a dehumidifier inside the room but don’t let the hot air touch the buds
Don’t blow so much wind on the buds, slow moving air if RH is right is all you need
At these conditions it should take 7-10 days to have nice dry buds
For curing you need to be more in spec but I never cure, if my product isn’t fire after 7-10 days when it’s dry, even Jesus won’t save it.
Curing weed is no different than meat, if the cut is good it will only get better when cured, if the cut is lame, no cure will turn it around.
Wish you good luck, try to not go under 7 days at least, anything under that if it’s dry you probably gonna end up with a lot less terps.

14

Aaand now my DIY cheap ass is looking into making my own cannatrol… Hmmmmm

15

I can’t personally comment to the accuracy. I’ve had people tell me the hay smell is from too much K at the end?

16

After reading this, I’d have to say it’s all in the cure brotha!
By cure, I mean from the point of harvest.
(The dry and the jar)
I live in a dry mountainous climate, and still struggle with it to this day on occasion.
Yes, sometimes it’s the bud.
But long story short - the slower the better.
I’ve found doing a sometimes painful dry trim is the ticket. If done well, it ain’t painful. That’s my best indicator.
I also have a cellar that can hold 60°F/60% RH most days.
10-20 days in there hung, depending on many factors, and she’s golden. But! I can still totally fuck it up. Gotta do the trim and the jar thing right.
Like I said, theres one every round that I eff up. :joy:
You got a cellar? Bury a barrel? Hell idk, lol.

Best of luck bud.
:slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
18

Man your problem is my goal as I am always in a rush to smoke my stash.

Now usually when driwd and cured the smell should be some but when you grind or tear the bud appart much more smell come.

I had plants with less smell and taste and very nice high, but it’s also a strain dependent factor.

I would like to be able to dry buds in 3 days, that would be awesome but without compromising the quality.

I usuallywet trim to remove most water from the buds, and leave them hanging in the wine cellar for 3 days and the I have them inside cardboxes for another 4-7days until they dry and then jars.

Good luck with it!

19

Genetics, hang entire plant to dry, dark room basement. 10 -14 days. Then trim put in jars, open jars while you brush your teeth every day for weeks. Most cannabis cup high terp have been curing for about 4-6 months.

3 Likes
20

Some plants just don’t smell.

I just grew a strain that doesn’t really smell at all beside one that stinks. Both dried the same (poorly.) not cured at all.

If it gets you high but you really hate it then make hash. Problem solved.

Best of luck.

2 Likes
21

What a great informative post!

:green_heart: :seedling:

1 Like