Harvest Problem

Hi All
I have a question about Harvesting my buds.
I am an inexperienced grower having only grown 2 crops and both times i've had the same problem.
After hanging my buds to dry for a couple of days they always become dry, brittle and weightless even when the stems stay soft instead of snapping.
I have tried putting my buds in jars for curing but they just crumble and become dryer.
The temp in my drying closet is 75F and humidty at 40% which according to what ive read is perfect.

What am I doing wrong???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dellamorte

Hi All
I have a question about Harvesting my buds.
I am an inexperienced grower having only grown 2 crops and both times i've had the same problem.
After hanging my buds to dry for a couple of days they always become dry, brittle and weightless even when the stems stay soft instead of snapping.
I have tried putting my buds in jars for curing but they just crumble and become dryer.
The temp in my drying closet is 75F and humidty at 40% which according to what ive read is perfect.

What am I doing wrong???

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Do you have a fan in your drying closet?

The closet that I am using to dry my plants is also the room i grew them in
I have 2 fans one on the ground and one on the wall
both on low and neither are blowing directly at the buds
I also have a small bathroom exhaust fan expelling air outside

When do you stop watering your plants? Also you realize it takes more than a couple of days to properly dry out your plants right?

Most people hang them for at least a week.

I would cut off your fans and just let your exhaust do all the work. your exhaust fan will exchange the air and provide some circulation alone.

Let them hang until your stems snap.. also it is worth mentioning that very large branches/stems may not get dry before the buds that sit on them are.

Your buds are also attached by another stem to these big branches.. cut them off these big branches, there is no need to wait for these larger stems to dry out if your buds have dried enough to be put into mason jars.

Remember we're harvesting buds, not branches/stalks.

I gave my plants their final watering about 1 week before harvest and allowed my soil to slightly dry up.
Also I realize it should take longer than a couple of days for my plants to dry out but im finding that after 2 or 3 days of hanging they are very dry to the touch and even the small stems do not snap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dellamorte

I gave my plants their final watering about 1 week before harvest and allowed my soil to slightly dry up.
Also I realize it should take longer than a couple of days for my plants to dry out but im finding that after 2 or 3 days of hanging they are very dry to the touch and even the small stems do not snap.

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Turn off your fans and leave just the exhaust on..

Also do you have a picture of your buds before and after

FYI, last harvest my buds dried out bone dry. I allowed them to keep drying until the stems snapped.. then I cured them in jars.. after the curing process I put a fresh leaf in there with them to restore some moisture to the bud.

There is nothing wrong with having bone dry buds IMO as long as it's been kept away from sunlight (UV light). That's just me though.

Here are a few photos I just took.
these plants have been hanging up for 3 days.
unfortunately I do not have any photos of the buds before harvest

Dellamorte Your crop looks real nice !!!

You said they hang where you grew them, you are not still growing in that room are you ?

My opinion is keep them in the dark, in a cool spot.
Exausting the air shouldnt hurt, but as mentioned before loose the fans.

But thats just how I rollitup. :hippy:

Those are very nice buds. Yeah turn off the fans,keep them in the dark. Move them to plastic bags or jaes before they dry out that much. Then just leave the bags or jars open for about a half hour everyday to let them finish drying slowly. About a week in the bags and they should be good.

also keep in mind that drying times vary greatly depending on climate. The humidity in the air will speed up or slow down the dry time. Buds dry quicker in the dessert and a lot longer in rainforests!

So I put my buds into mason jars and closed the lids overnight
and since have noticed that my buds are getting slightly sticky and starting to smell nice and sweet but they are still very loose and "fluffy". Would it damage any of the buds or thc if I put them in a plastic ziplock bag and pressed them together to tighten and add weight?
Also how long should I keep them in the jars before smoking?

Thank you to everyone for your great comments and responses!!

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