Drying / Curing

I just harvested one of my plants with the most pungent smell of them all. This is my first grow and tried to follow everything by the book. Made a few mistakes, but was able to recover and complete strong. I have pictures for proofâ?¦..

Iâ??ve lost the smell. Iâ??m drying within a cardboard box and was recommended to close the flaps to increase humidity to 45%. When I open the box I smell a strong smell of fresh cut grass. Is this normal? After I complete drying and curing will I get the smell back?

..I tried that cardboard box thing also...and laying on a screen too....I didn't like the results that much...I only used a small amount..to try it...the smell thing...is a gradual change...

..the main harvest went into a dark, cool room...hanging on a clothesline..for 1-2 weeks....much better results...then into glass quart jars...for final cure...it's still good....17 months later.....enjoy....:pimp: ....

well, my buds smell like hay also while drying. They don't really get that putrid stank until they are cured.

it will normally smell like that always, after a good dry and cure they smell like sweet MJ again :)

That is some useful info.. :jointsmile: Thanks Buds.
Although I am only 2 weeks into 12/12. The more knowledge aquired the better the show.. So Harvest happens after 60 % of the white hairs have turned red ??
And flush/ water only for the last 2-3 weeks ?? :cool:

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Originally Posted by Anaconda64sq

That is some useful info.. :jointsmile: Thanks Buds.
Although I am only 2 weeks into 12/12. The more knowledge aquired the better the show.. So Harvest happens after 60 % of the white hairs have turned red ??
And flush/ water only for the last 2-3 weeks ?? :cool:

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no no my friend. Get yourself some kind of magnification (jeweler's loupe, pocket microscope, etc. at least 20x) and look at your trichomes. They will go from clear to cloudy to amber. When 10% of them are amber, it is time to harvest.

Thanks guys... I was worried I was doing something wrong.

I pulled when 100% of trichomes were cloudy. I will wait on the rest and look for the amber color.

I'll post pictures soon.

If someone already said this I'm sorry. I found the best method for drying and curing is as follows:

After you have harvested, hang the buds upside down in a cardboard box that has strings attached. Put a few holes for air and presto. A dark, cool place you can put just about anywhere. I'd leave them to dry in there for a week. Every other day, if you take them out and very gently compress the buds along with the grain, essentially making them more dense, rather than fat and fluffy. After a week, PUT THE BUD IN MASON JARS! Leave it there for another week 1/2 to 2 weeks, opening occasionally to allow them to breathe. The Jars are by far the best method I've used, or heard of anyone else using. They are fairly inexpensive as well.

drying rack from the hydro shop , that s wat they r made 4 , many thanx

i am sorry , but when i dry i neber loose any smell , u want a dark room with the temp around 21c, u need good air flow and u also need a fan moving the air around ( do no point the fan at the weed when its drying) at these tamps and conditions weed shud have stems that snap in about 9/12 days, u then want to trim ur bud and manicure it , what ever size of container u use u only want to fill it about one third of the way up . remove the lid every day for about 30 minutes or so , giving the buds a gentle move around to make sure the fresh air gets to it . do this for a min of 3 weeks and a max of 10, weed is best smoke between 4 and 8 monthes after harvesting and curing.

Glad I found this thread, if my harvest smelled like hay I would have been disappointed lol. I'd dry and cure anyways but I thought they'd always remain smelling like an MJ plant.