I’ve just chopped yesterday and I’m trying a different drying method than I’m used to… been monitoring temps/RH and I’m not quite able to hit my target RH, and generally I’m seeing swings from 36% to about 72%. Average is about 55%. Temps sitting right at 60F give or take half a degree.
Am I asking for trouble with these RH spikes? I’m trying to avoid using room temperature as summer heat has our place idling around 76-77F. In the past I’ve been using big paper lawn bags to do the drying but it’s gone a bit too fast for my liking and I was losing a lot of aroma during the process. Thanks for any insight!
I would think that too high an RH is conducive to mold and mildew growth while too low of an RH will cause the buds to stop transpiring and make them dry harsh. I believe it would be best if you could somehow keep a more stable RH. I put my nuggs in paper bags and then put the bags in an igloo cooler so they don’t dry out too quickly. When I lived in the high desert I would seal the igloo but put a fan in the igloo that blew out through some ducting. For the first three days the fan turned on whenever the RH got above 50%: It had a sensor so it would turn off at 45% so as to keep the nuggs between 45-50%RH. After 3 days I would bump up the RH sensor to 60% so it keeps the nuggs at 55%-60%RH so the nuggs can dry slower. Now that I live in San Francisco I don’t need the fan any more but I do still use igloo coolers to slow down my dry time when its too warm or dry. Best of luck! I hope you can save your terps and achieve a nice cure on your harvest!
@herojuana.tom laid it out great!
That modified Igloo cooler is an interesting idea. I’m making a note on that, thanks Mr. H!
I shoot for 60F at 60%RH but the buds are really wet initially so lower RH for the first 72Hrs. would certainly help. I find a week plus for the initial drying seems to be about right. (I’ve had less optimal results hanging at 2 weeks).
Just a quick note. Drying at say 55% RH is a pro approach. To achieve desirable results at the perfect RH you need to dry in a dedicated, closed, humidity controlled room. Otherwise it’s mostly just for fun… To achieve a proper dry without a closed room, simply hang the plants in your flower room if you can (like they have all been chopped). Keep the fans on and keep the exhaust on and in 3 days your buds will be perfectly dry and ready to cure. To slow down the drying process simply slow your exhaust fan.
