Special Curing Methods

[Absynth420]

So, ive grown a few harvests in my day. Theyve all been getting better and better as I learn more and more. When it comes to drying and curing, I can almost, but not quite achive what im looking for. My question is why does anthying homegrown that I have ever seen look completely different from the bag nugs I get from my dealer?
I use a slow dry and long cure method. And I've talked to folks in Vancouver who grow the nice, dense BC bud, and they dry and cure pretty much the same as I do (they cure in a cardboard box, and I use a paper bag then switch to glass for at least a month). Anyways, they get these super dense buds that reek like the nugs im used to... when i sample any homegrown, or any of mine, it usually doesnt seem to get me as high, i still get blown from a bowl, but it just aint the same. I harvest when the trychomes are 50/50 pale and amber, then dry slow without clipping the fan leaves for the first day or two. I was told that this helps form the buds a little tighter, and slows the drying process a bit, so the smoke is smoother and will expand better in the lungs... when the stems snap instead of folding, i cut out any long stems and clip off any smaller leaves to save for butter or bubble bags. then they go into the brown paper bags until they are slightly more compact. once fully dry, I put them into glass mason jars and keep em in the dark, maybe opening them once a day to check for mold or excess moisture. and I'll keep them in the glass for AT LEAST a month, usually two.

this is from what ive read, one of the best ways to dry and cure, and other growers have said my technique is by the book. so is the shit i get from my dealer just been cured longer, or does all that time being passed from person to person, and in plastic bags usually, somehow enhance flavor and smokeability? should I try curing for 3-5 months to see how it works? I read somewhere that in keif, the crystals will "ferment" together over time and make it more potent (not sure if this is tru, but if it is, it would support my theory on the longer cure time).

so sorry for the rambling, but im just trying to figure out how to get nice, compact, potent as possible buds since i just clipped my babies and they are hanging as i type this....... any help would be awesome as hell

[give]

hello,i was wondering if i could ask you a few questions,and seeing how i cant figure out hot to pm someone this will have to do,lol,anyway,i knew a few that grew and it seems to me that when they were ready to harvest they would remove the whole plant and all,not sure if you are doing this,dident say,anyway,from what i understood most of the good juice is in the roots
then the plants were hung upside down and put into a plastic heafty bagbig one,and then they let them hang for about 2 weeks,then did the drying process,let me know what you think anyway,have a good one

[slunt]

Anything wrapped in plastic runs the risk of going moldy.A screen or cloth drying rack works great as does hanging the plant in a cool dark place. Trim off the fan leaves first as they have little value and are hard as hell to trim away once they are dry and curled up around the buds.

[Absynth420]

i just tried this with my white widow and so far, this has gotten the most pleasing smoke of any of my harvests...

i cut the plant at the base of the stem. then i hung it upside down for 12 hrs. i came back and clipped all the fan leaf stems that i could see. EXACTLY 48 hrs after that, i clipped off any stem, isolated the cola and trimmed them all down further. the aroma is INSANE! and its one little plant!!! was 16" at the time of harvest, but was a full 3 1/2 months old (flowered for exactly 60 days)
i think its already ready to go into glass. its still a little wet, but the aroma of the bud completely overpowers the chlorophyll taste that usually occurs when i dry the plants a tad longer...

ill keep you guys up to date, as im gonna experiment with all the suggestions i get here and a little of my own ideas. i took some pics of the plant at harvest and some of the trimmed final product, which i vaped just now with my fiancee and its kept me baked for an hour, which says a lot with my tolerance!

anyways heres some pics... also check out my thread, "over fert or need K?", in "the Nursery" section to see the results from the entire harvest. ill bump it in a min.

[farmergiles]

I cut the plants, hang them upside down until dryish then manicure them. I find the leaves seem to help preserve the goodness, the longer I leave them the better it seems although it makes it harder to manicure them.
Then I cure them in mason jars, opening them up every now and again. How long usually depends on how desperate I am.

Next time I may try curing in a cardboard box for a while before the jars.

[Absynth420]

thats exactly what the folks in vancouver told me they do...
i think i may leave all the leaf on even a bit longer next time...
got some SS#1 still curing on its 2nd month and its amazing!!!

[Pharm Girl]

I've posted this cure up before.............. .
In a tall vase, pour a couple of ounces of Crown Royal or a real nice Rhum............
Place the end of the branches in the alcohol, not the bud, just the end of the branch.
They should drink all night and in the morning you flip 'em.

Guaranteed, the sweet taste and smell is worth giving this a try......

[Cerebro]

what was the light you used? @ absynth
1000w seems to produce pretty dense buds.

[Absynth420]

Originally Posted by Pharm Girl

I've posted this cure up before.............. .
In a tall vase, pour a couple of ounces of Crown Royal or a real nice Rhum............
Place the end of the branches in the alcohol, not the bud, just the end of the branch.
They should drink all night and in the morning you flip 'em.

Guaranteed, the sweet taste and smell is worth giving this a try......

ill have to give that a try with a few from my next project. soon to be in the works, bigger and better

Originally Posted by Cerebro

what was the light you used? @ absynth
1000w seems to produce pretty dense buds.

i was only growing 4 plants in a 3x3 area, so i calculated that a 250w hps, supplemented with 2 t5 flouro's in each corner, vertically to provide lower canopy light penetration was more than sufficient.