[Steiner]

Another crop coming up shortly, paying some attention to storage. I've got a little vacuum-pack sealer, for foodstuffs really, but great for storing weed long-term.

After crop I'll be drying for 2-3 weeks, then into curing jars. But what if, instead of going into curing jars I put them into these vaccuum sealed pouches? Stored in the dark and cold, without oxygen. Then, at some later date I unpack the bag and put the weed into curing jars. Would the curing process start then? After all, it would have been starved of oxygen, an important part of the process.

Anyone tried it this way? Or will it be a resounding vote for the default position (cure before storage)?

[bhudika]

i have a vac pack machine, if the green is cured and dried properly before you vac it it will end up a mess of crumbled dry bits in a bag , you need a small amount of moisture in there to stop it powdering

[Steiner]

Previously I've dried (2 weeks) and cured (4 weeks) it before vac-packing, and I've opened it 6 months later and it was perfect. Buds were a bit squashed but had enough moisture to fill out again when they were released back into the jar.

I guess no curing was going on while in vac-pack, with the lack of oxygen. Just want to know if that curing will start again when it's exposed to oxygen.

[krok]

When the moisture is gone (less than 55% RH in jars) the cure is over, and there is no way to restart it.
You can make the buds wet again, but that will not restart the curing process.

I guess the same applies to dry buds stored in vacum.

This post has been edited by krok: 29 November 2011 - 02:48 AM

[Snoffle]

I've only a few months ago started storing bud in vacuum bags, and so far so good. I started with some bud fully vacuumed but didn't like the way it got crushed - it looked like dealer weed Photos in this post.

Of course you don't have to suck out all the air - on my very basic model I use the "vacuum and seal" mode, then cancel part way through and hit "seal only". This gives sealed bud which isn't crushed and still has some air for curing to continue. That's the theory anyway not sure how well it works in practice.

Here's some Kushberry/Skunk cross which had about a month cure before going into the vacuum pouch. I also wrap the bud in greaseproof paper to stop trichs sticking to the inside of the pouch.



I'm tempted to try some later today when stealth conditions improve. If I do I'll report back


e2a: 56K811 = 56g Kushberry/Skunk cross, August 2011 harvest

This post has been edited by Snoffle: 03 December 2011 - 11:22 AM

[monkeypig]

Snoffle, on 03 December 2011 - 11:18 AM, said:

. I started with some bud fully vacuumed but didn't like the way it got crushed

put it in an open box and put the box in the vacuum bag - voila - no crushed shrubbery!

[Steiner]

monkeypig, on 05 December 2011 - 05:21 PM, said:

Snoffle, on 03 December 2011 - 11:18 AM, said:

. I started with some bud fully vacuumed but didn't like the way it got crushed

put it in an open box and put the box in the vacuum bag - voila - no crushed shrubbery!

I do something similar - I cut some short lengths of plastic waste pipe (about 2" dia) and pop my bud in there before it goes in the vacuum bag. Handy little packaged pod, with only a slight amount of crushing.

Snoffle, on 03 December 2011 - 11:18 AM, said:

Of course you don't have to suck out all the air - on my very basic model I use the "vacuum and seal" mode, then cancel part way through and hit "seal only". This gives sealed bud which isn't crushed and still has some air for curing to continue.

Now that's very interesting, nice one Snoffle! I'm sure I have the same vaccum model, sounds quite do-able. Maybe 2 or 3 weeks of in-jar-curing, with all the burping and everything, before going to their permanent partial-vacuum.

[Snoffle]

I checked on my two remaining vac-packing experiments yesterday and the results are excellent. [The first which got completely crushed got used up in cooking quite quickly].

Sleestack/Skunk cross went into jars in June 2011, had a couple of months cure then vacuum-packed (slightly crushed) in August. So eight months old and six of those months vacuum-packed with very little air. Very smooth smoke. From the way it absolutely battered me yesterday - far more than the version I smoked in January - I can only assume that something good was going on inside that little plastic pouch.


Kushberry/Skunk cross went into jars in August 2011, had about a month cure before being vacuum-packed using the cancel/seal-only method. So six months old, five of which were vacuum-packed with about as much air as would be in a jar. Again this is a very smooth smoke. Not a complete mind-batterer like the Slee, but an absolutely lovely stone - all pink and fluffy and I want to cuddle the world. Somehow seems a more rounded stone than I remember from 'younger' versions of the KB. Such a shame she hermied so bad.


Sampler of the KB


No pics of the Slee as it was far too scary and was forced back into long-term storage for that mythical special occasion


And finally ... I'm happy enough with the vac-packing that I've moved all the bud that was still in jars into vacuum pouches (double-wrapped in greaseproof paper bags first).



In jars I could only just get the lid on the box, now I could easily get double the amount of bud in there - and that's without crushing the bud. I'm a happy bunny.

This post has been edited by Snoffle: 02 March 2012 - 12:48 PM

[Steiner]

Nice one man, glad it worked out!

I thought it would, that's why I used this method (of leaving some air in) when I vac-packed my Smile last week. After about 8 weeks of dryin' n' curin'.

It will now go into hibernation for at least 8 months. Hopefully.

[johnnyneuro]

Are all vac-pac machines the same? How much do you need to spend on a decent one?

[Snoffle]

There's a bit more info here.

I paid £40 for the machine, £11 for an extra pack of bags and £8 p&p for the Andrew James basic model. There's a link to a cheaper source of bags in the other thread too.

[DutchPassionTony]

some people put the sealed bags in the freezer for long term storage, saying it stores better over several months than it does at room temperature

[farmer boy]

i vac pack my bud after drying but as said before i dont over dry it before it gose in the bags . i only parshauly vaccum the bags other wise it crushes the bud in to one big brick

peace out farmer boy

[dex84]

Snoffle, on 02 March 2012 - 12:46 PM, said:

I checked on my two remaining vac-packing experiments yesterday and the results are excellent. [The first which got completely crushed got used up in cooking quite quickly].

Sleestack/Skunk cross went into jars in June 2011, had a couple of months cure then vacuum-packed (slightly crushed) in August. So eight months old and six of those months vacuum-packed with very little air. Very smooth smoke. From the way it absolutely battered me yesterday - far more than the version I smoked in January - I can only assume that something good was going on inside that little plastic pouch.


Kushberry/Skunk cross went into jars in August 2011, had about a month cure before being vacuum-packed using the cancel/seal-only method. So six months old, five of which were vacuum-packed with about as much air as would be in a jar. Again this is a very smooth smoke. Not a complete mind-batterer like the Slee, but an absolutely lovely stone - all pink and fluffy and I want to cuddle the world. Somehow seems a more rounded stone than I remember from 'younger' versions of the KB. Such a shame she hermied so bad.


Sampler of the KB
k811.jpg

No pics of the Slee as it was far too scary and was forced back into long-term storage for that mythical special occasion


And finally ... I'm happy enough with the vac-packing that I've moved all the bud that was still in jars into vacuum pouches (double-wrapped in greaseproof paper bags first).

vac packed.jpg

In jars I could only just get the lid on the box, now I could easily get double the amount of bud in there - and that's without crushing the bud. I'm a happy bunny.

Lookin good buddy

Apart from the fact that your second picture looks like loads of bags of cocaine.

naughty naughty boy....