Proper Temperature and Humidity for Drying

I see a TON of variation in the answers that people give to this question, and finding a decently frequented cannabis forum is pretty difficult but I came across this site randomly, so I’m giving it a try. Here are three questions to start things off.

  1. What Temperature and Humidity do you maintain for drying your cannabis indoors?
  2. How long do you usually dry your buds for under those conditions?
  3. Do you actually notice any difference between harvesting in the day vs harvesting at night?
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I try and keep temps 65 - 70 and RH 55 - 60.
I like to hang whole branches with fan leaves removed 10 - 14 days.
I don’t care what time of day it is when I harvest.
Welcome to OG, here’s a thread you might want to visit.
Introduce Yourself @OG

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Harvest branch by branch. Take all big leafs off and turn dehumidifier up as high as possible in about 80 degrees for 24-48 hours then cut everything down into totes with lids off in a cooler room 60-65 degrees with 60%RH to slow dry from there.

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First… Welcome to OG @Emparawr !

I like 60F / 60% rh. I have read that allowing humidity to drop below 52% or so will stop the curing process, and it cannot be restarted (you can dry more, but the bio-activity that performs the cure stops and the stuff that breaks down the chlorophyll is dead).

at 60/60, its about a week of dry time. PLENTY of air circulation as well. i want stems to snap, but not crack, before jarring, if that makes sense.

I have read about a 48 hr darkness period before chopping as well, but not having done it I cant give first hand info…

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many say harvest before the light come on - because once lights are on the plants start to up-take - take this for whats it;s worth

Right now I just hang it in my tents room temp @75 rh @50-60 I’m piecing together a drying tent which will go in the spare room and be completely climate controlled. Portable ac, humidifier, dehumidifier inkbird controllers 60• 60%

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I water only, take off fan leaves and than put into the dry room in the dark for 2-7 days. Cut and hang.

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ive read some about doing the dark period prior to chopping but have seen lots of variation about amount of time of dark hours prior to the chop. from what ive seen it seems like as long as you have good control of your drying process the lights off prior to chopping diff isnt really a deal. that being said ive never chopped after leaving them in the dark for an extended period so im just talking out of my butt and like @EugeneDebs420 im setting up a drying area to really get that 100% controlled… maybe after i might play with dark vs light but my gut tells me i wont notice a diff and really nailing the drying environment is key.

gut != science obviously

I remember Jungle Boys mentioning something about “Drying on the vine” which i may try next time. Basically they get a more consistent drying time by reducing the watering before harvest.

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My method has been whole plant 5-7 days as close to 60/60 as possible… Then chop into branches and let dry another 24-48 hours at the same levels then trim. Tbh my levels sit more around 70°F and 60-70% tho

i setup a dry tent 9 days ago I think i’ll be ready to trim on monday. Could probably trim today or tomorrow lol but gotta work :sweat_smile:

Not exactly easy to keep a super stable temp/humidity but i was pretty close to 60/60

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nice @neb, how big is the tent you are using?
and what app is that?

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It’s a 4x4 tent. Not big enough for the 8 plants I had.( i just chopped and hang the whole plant)

Squeezed 6 of them in. 1 i’m just drying in my veg room it dried in like 4-5 days? The other i threw in the freezer ill make hash with it.

It’s called Home Assistant(It’s more of a tool for DIY automation)

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thnx man, looks nice, and good luck with the dry!

SO 60f =15.6C

I can definitely get cooler temperatures…

How bad would colder temperatures be???

I’m running a panel in my garage Now with a baseboard heater to keep the garage warm for plants during 12/12 and it’s the middle of October’s. My light bill is skyrocketed.

I’ll be sure not to run sativas. At the beginning of summer anymore.

Either way, I don’t want to run that heater for another 2 weeks to dry, and with 24\7 darkness , inna Cold garage, temps will be dropping below 10 Guarentee.

I could transfer my veg plants out to garage and leave on 24/7 lights and then dry innthe basements where’s I can probably keep a 15C temp,no prob , AND run a dehumidifier.

Hell I may even just swap them out now and finish them inside , and put the veg outside, solve that issue right quick

I love these threads… sorry for spit balling in OPS thread :wink: , just saves my self $100+ lol and hopefully Gained Somme well dried magical herb

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Thank you everyone for the commentary. All replies are appreciated :slight_smile:

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Colder shouldn’t hurt so long you’ve got the air flow and humidity in check, might take a bit longer to dry but that’s it.

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I gotta send you my code :wink: I use HA as well, and have a humidifier in my grow tents, thats rock solid control really, other than humidity rising at lights out which is to be expected since theres no dehumidifier in them.

To answer the OP, I like 60F / 60-62RH… faster dry is harsher smoke, and too slow risks mold. I am currently putting the finishing touches on a drying tent, who’s exclusive purpose is to long dry the buds. Using Home Assistant, a mini humidifier, mini dehumidifier, a few TP link switches and a 4" vent fan> carbon, HA will keep that humidity for me to within a percent by controlling both humidifier and dehumidifier, plus “burp” the tent by occasionally turning on the vent fan. Got tired of trying to control the whole room, and humidity swings all over here in the fall.

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Could you link your sensor?

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It’s basically one of these in each area.

and a couple other things that connects everything together on home assistant ill link a video for you.

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