Anyone here use silica gel packs to accelerate the drying process? I live in an extremely humid area and my main concern with my first grow is developing mold issues. I know a long, slow cure is preferred but, if it gets moldy I would lose a lot, if not all, of the harvest. Everything I’ve researched on the subject claims that it helps. Just looking for anyone that’s used this method and might be able to provide any pointers.
You don’t want to accelerate the drying process with silica. You won’t be happy with the results. Low and slow is best at a RH of ~60% and temps in the high 60s.
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In a humid environment, it is best to do a full wet trim, and then dry your buds minus the trim. This should speed up the drying process and help prevent any mold.
I would also recommend a H2O2/Distilled water wash, and then a final distilled water wash. Doing the H2O2 wash will kill any spores that may be hiding. After the wash, hang the buds with a fan on them util they don’t drip, and then proceed with your drying.
Also maybe consider a WeDryer Xl as it will provide a nice controlled drying environment, and has a fan that will help the process in a humid area.
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I would suggest Boveda packs if you’re terribly concerned that the humidity may rise - they’re designed to release moisture if needed and absorb moisture if needed to keep the container around the RH designated on the pack. For cannabis they have 58% and 62% packs - I’d go for the 58% if i lived in a humid area to help encourage the moisture levels to stay below mold territory.
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@theoutsider this is one time you need to air dry and not use the silica to help dry out your harvest, low and slow like smoking a brisket @MidwestGuy knows it…after harvest and when you put in your jar is when Boveda comes into play like @Graysin mentions
so invest in a room de-humidifier to take care of your humidity issue
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Only with seeds. I put one pack in each bottle.
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I understand the importance of a low and slow dry as I mentioned in the original post. I can’t achieve those ideal humidity levels because of the environment I’m in which is why I brought this subject up. I’m hoping the silica packs and a wet trim will shorten the dry time to prevent mold issues. Since this is an outdoor grow, I’ll definitely be doing a H2O2 wash. If nothing else to get the dirt, bugs and bug “stuff” out of the buds. I don’t think the boveda packs will do any good helping the dry procedure. Maybe I’m wrong about that but I understand that those are used for curing. My other thought on this is that the cure is much more important than the dry relative to taste and smell so I’ll be using grove Bags for the cure.
@theoutsider Where are you hanging your plants at? If your inside and it’s still humid a small fan blowing indirectly under can keep the air movement up enough to reduce the chances of mold developing. And don’t let the branches touch one another. Defoliate the hell out of the plant before you hang it also. Could you add a dehumidifier to the room to pull excess moisture from the air??
The wet trim and cutting of the main stalk. So you are drying individual buds or colas will speed it up some.
Oh and keep that air moving. When the outside of them get real dry put them in a sealed container for a couple hours then rehang after the outside gets moist again. When the outside gets dry putting them in a ssealed container draws the moisture from inside the bud back to the outside. Then back in the air movement for a day will dry the outside faster again you can go back and forth like that to help get the moisture out of the middle.
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I appreciate all of the replies. Being new to this but having done a bunch of reading here and other places I’d like to explore ways of preventing any disasters.As I said, this is going to be an outdoor grow so the odds are already slightly stacked against me.