DRYING bud with SILICA sand????

has anyone heard of silica sand? or has anyone used it? it is cheap and can get it at hardware stores for cheap and it is used to dry oil spills on pavement or lots of growers use them to dry their flowers so they can save the flowers as decoration.

i was thinking if you put the buds in this silica sand, it may help the process of drying it and there would be no heat to dry it too fast that way. so not sure if this process would cause harsh smoke or not. i may have to try this method soon. any comments/???

not to sure actually...

silica is non toxic to humans (it's only a choking hazard)

find out for sure or try it with a small portion of your harvest.. never attempt a new method with your entire crop.

Seems to me that it would rub off a lot of the glands and you would end up with sand in your weed...:confused:

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Originally Posted by Bender

and you would end up with sand in your weed

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i think this would be the problem, wouldnt feel good having sand going down ur throat
:p

yes i think now it is not a good idea. it did before. oh well, thank you

Silica is a very effective dessicant, It absorbs alot of moisture from the surrounding air. I suppose it can help the drying process. Its mainly used to preserve seeds and bud for a long period of time. Seeds can be stored for up to 10 years when stored with silica. I dont know what silica sand is but i use silica gel.

You wanna dry your bud slow, so the chloraphyll breaks down and you don't get that grassy smelling and tasting weed. I hang for a few days till the outside is somewhat dry but the inside is moist and spongy then I put them in paper bags (keeps higher humidity so it takes longer to dry) and air them out once a day (still on large branches) until the stem almost snaps then I put them in jars and open them once or twice a day, then once a week, and then I'll seal em.

actually this is a very good idea, i think i am going to give it a try as well......silica is being used to absorb moisture.....ie there was a small bag with silica balls in the box contained my hard disk when i bought it.....you do not have to rub the buds with silica sand.....i suppose all you have to do is, hang the buds upside down in a cool dark room with silica gel/sand/balls around and that substance will absorb the moisture coming of the buds.....in theory should work.....will definately give it a shot when the time comes...yet, i am still far away from harvesting my ladies :(

No, I think it's a bad idea. All you're doing is lowering humidity by using desiccant. Your buds will dry faster but will be of lower quality. Quality takes time, it should take a week to dry and 3-5 week cure. If you're aiming for speed then yeah it'll work, so will sticking it in the oven for a short time, or putting a fan on it to speed dry, but the weed will end up with a grassy smell and taste since the chloraphyll won't have time to break down. You can do it quick and end up with smokables but if I'm gonna take the time and risk to grow and the money to buy quality strains, I'm gonna take the time to do it right.

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Originally Posted by newgroweroldsmoker

actually this is a very good idea, i think i am going to give it a try as well......silica is being used to absorb moisture.....ie there was a small bag with silica balls in the box contained my hard disk when i bought it.....you do not have to rub the buds with silica sand.....i suppose all you have to do is, hang the buds upside down in a cool dark room with silica gel/sand/balls around and that substance will absorb the moisture coming of the buds.....in theory should work.....will definately give it a shot when the time comes...yet, i am still far away from harvesting my ladies :(

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That would be a bad idea. You want to dry the buds slowly, so that the sugars convert into starches, which creates a smooth, quality smoke. Using silica, would not be beneficial at all.

thank you both for your input. i agree with ALL of you, even the people who would use it. i plan on 'trying' the idea on one or two of my harvestings as to speed up the process and let the others dry and cure the slow natural way. thank you all for your input. it gives me pros and cons to make my OWN decision. thank yoiu

dont do it you might end up smoking that silica and get you real sick

well for me the idea of using silica is not rubbing it on the buds or something.....just leaving it on the same room with the buds hanging upside down so as to have one more mean/thing to absorb the humidity that the buds expell....i would only use it as a means to avoid mold in case i would not be able to attend to the whole drying process and not because i would like to speed it up....personally speaking i am going on holiday shortly after harvesting so my buds are going to enjoy a 3 week period in a dark room with ventilation and low humidity hanging upside down, till i return from my holidays that is :)

well i just dried some bud using silica type stuff. you know thost small packets in your pill bottles? or packets in some bags of rice crackers? the stuff that tell you not to eat it? well those are sometimes filled with silica or silica type stuff and i just placed it in a paper bag along with my bud and it dried it fine.

yeah, i know which ones you're refering to.....i have some of those little baggies....they come with every computer component i buy......so it's good huh?
the other day i came up to a new product.....it's like glade.....it profumes the ambient and dehumidifies it as the same time......i will propably buy a couple of those as well if the plants smell a lot so as to keep the smell levels down while i'm away :)

i've opened up my ona block in the closet now and it really helps with the smell and the ona doesn't stink up the room like i thought it may have. and a couple scented tea light candles in the room and the smell is good.

those baggies do work, but don't use too much and maybe not every day as it may dry it up too fast.

tried one with a young bud that was about 4 1/2 weeks and just tried, it... wow, it got me baked. can't wait to see what a fully formed and cured bud does. :

I believe that your all thinking of silca gel. That is what is in those packets. But no reason it shouldn't work

The whole idea is to dry and cure in a controlled inviornment.To dry too fast is not good.It will ruin your quality bud and could produce harsh schwag.-usdi Agaluga