You have to dry it first before putting it in the mason jar for curing @HighDesertFarmer… It has to be around 55-65% of RH before “jarring” them
If you done that (let it dry before “jarring”), then yes, it’s propably powder mildew… I just hope that wasn’t the case… Otherwise, it may come from your plant… If you did not pre-dry them, it’s a kind of mold, fungi that you have…
Here’s a YouTube tutorial from Jorge Cervantes that explain how to wash your plants if it’s been affected by this plague…
My apologize @bob31, I just saw your reply on the other topic that HighDesertFarmer post…
The drying for me is going to be a challenge…am worried.
2 weeks ago it was 115 F max in my cabin and 95 F by 9am.
Today it was 70 at 11am and got down to 55 at night. Max temp of 80. 2 rains…still at 32% RH though.
The problems I am facing are:
Cabin is not insulated and subject to temperature swings of the seasons.
Extreme arid environment with LOW humidity (high desert)
How can I slow down the drying but not cause mold like I have with my trim?
I dried my first trim out. It is harsh and headach-y. I believe the bud dried too fast causing this issue.
The solutions on this one are very slow coming to my brain.
How can I increase humidity of a small area to the proper drying range of 45% RH while allowing overage of humidity to escape? The boveda packs cant handle this extreme of a swing. A mason jar with a paper towel was death.
How can I control temperature of drying zone when I am off grid with no power that is reliable? I can run a fan for air and maybe a heating mat.
Is there a way for me to possibly calculate how long to hang the buds to dry at my current humidity so I know how long to leave them with out over drying?
The stem snap or bend test for doneness is messy to me. Different stems have different diameters and therefore will dry at different rates. My worry is I pick the wrong stem to go by and it ends up being too wet or dry.
After going over all of this and reading bob31 reply about RH being over 75 by plant it makes me realize that possibly the overly arid environment is only bad if I hang to dry in a 32RH environment. But if I bag them the environment shrinks to the size of container where humidity will be fluctuating…hence the opening of bags to cycle the air. This was a big issue in my understanding. It isnt “dry them in 45RH environment” but rather “maintain RH of 45 in environment” slightly different but big difference in outcome (mold or dry)
At this juncture I don’t enjoy the problems presented as I feel I am under the gun and there are issues without exact solutions to me.
I was pondering a grow tent with a fan to move air through it but I may just say scrub it and go with bags or cardboard boxes. Only issue is I ruined all my trim so nothing else to test on.
Today at 10am it is 60F and 46%RH. Temps and humidity are all over the place. Also grabbed a "crispy bud to smoke and it had improved a bit in texture being inside jar. Not bad. Overly dry weed is definitely better than moldy weed.
If you put a hygrometer and a boveda 62% in the bag, it gone a slow down the evaporation processus and it gone a tell you when your plant material is gone a be ready Aim for a 55-65% RH reading … The “snap” trick is for the buds stems and give you a general idea for when to “jarred”…
@HighDesertFarmer I guess we need to understand how much you will be drying at any given time. I can use two brown grocery bags and dry about an ounce with one bag and the trim in a second bag.
My last dry the humidity was very high and I couldn’t get my bud to dry so I put three of the 62 boveda packs in the bags and the bud finally got down to about 65 and then I removed them and another few hours they were down to about 58, close enough.
The boveda packs are two way and I also used a small hygrometer.
I think if I was gonna do more than an ounce I would get a cardboard box big enough to string wire or string from side to side then hang the trimmed buds in that box. Open the box as needed and ventilate with fan and then close the box.
Do you have a hygrometer? If not I can link up a small one that works nice and even works well in jars to monitor them while jarred.
I just harvested a bba a couple weeks ago and took a small sample out of the jar on day 2 and it knocked my socks off!
If you are doing a larger amount than feasible for a box then a drying tent might be the ticket but I think you are going to need a couple fans .
Thanks @bob31
I will likely harvest all at once and judging from what my plants look like I may end up with a few ounces dry not sure really.
I don’t have a hydrometer it think I should get one for sure. I had an old analog one that wasn’t very reliable.
When you put 3 boveda in the bag, were they the 8g packs or the 60g? And they really were able to absorb the extra humidity? Hmm…i think I can get more boveda then. Also saw you mention grow tent as dry room in the other post…I think that’s a great one!
Paper bag seems pretty foolproof though as the entire bud is surrounded by something that absorbs excess moisture.
I just want to get the process down so when I grow and dont have 75% failure and have a decent harvest it isnt stressing me out. Tryin to do this to help with my stress
I guess I could get my herb dry rack which is 24" diameter and hang it in a grow tent with a full pack of boveda or some fans running first then biveda…not sure yet but I have a col weeks to figure it which isnt a lot.
next order I’m getting another of the small ones. Being off the grid does present other challenges so I expect you will have it figures out pretty quickly. Most of it for me is just wrapping my brain around the process! lol! Keep us posted as things progress! I think I am following your grow journal!
They like in much better at 70 - 80 though! At 40 I think they are tolerating but not liking it so much! lol. In other words they will survive but not really happy!
Was out inspecting the garden today when fedex showed up and promptly got stuck…cant believe they drive out in the middle of nowhere! I just hear this girls voice like “hello hello sir” on the wind. Thought I was going insane for a second.
No visitors here…ever.
Specs on $6 computer fan I am installing for exhaust. I plan to run it for a minute at a time when bud is first added and excess moisture builds based on future hygrometer.
All that’s left is for my hygrometer to arrive and be installed. Would love to have it kick on the exhaust automagically when humidity reaches a certain level…pipe dreams.
I have a blank cut to put over the intake when humidity reaches a certain level to mostly seal the interior after a few days.