eta: Obviously I don't have this poll thingy figured out yet. I'll try again later.
Full Version: How long do you cure and why?
A comment from someone got my wheels turning so I thought I would try the poll option here.
eta: Obviously I don't have this poll thingy figured out yet. I'll try again later.
eta: Obviously I don't have this poll thingy figured out yet. I'll try again later.
For drying, put me down for two weeks, unheated, in a cupboard with the door open at night.
Reason: It just brings out the flavour so well and burns more evenly.
Curing, for me, magnifies that flavour and gives a different, more rounded, stony effect, and seems to increase it's pain-killing effects.
No set time though, the longer I can keep my mitts off it the better.
I cure for as long as it lasts 
Havent managed to get any to last till the next harvest yet.
Havent managed to get any to last till the next harvest yet.
i've got some power plant that has been curing in a jar for nearly 2 years,some red diesel 10 months old and some cheese which is 3 months old,i find it's really at it's optimum after at least a months cure,but gets better the longer you leave it,up to i'd say 10-14 months, the power plants smell and stone seem to be fading now after nearly 2 years in a jar
I dry for anywhere between 2-4 weeks, cure in glass jars for as long as poss. Tastes really sweet after 3mths.
Drfill
Drfill
QUOTE(andyr1rider @ Oct 11 2008, 12:48 PM) 
i've got some power plant that has been curing in a jar for nearly 2 years,some red diesel 10 months old and some cheese which is 3 months old,i find it's really at it's optimum after at least a months cure,but gets better the longer you leave it,up to i'd say 10-14 months, the power plants smell and stone seem to be fading now after nearly 2 years in a jar
Better smoke it then hey!
QUOTE(Archangel @ Oct 11 2008, 12:53 PM)
QUOTE(andyr1rider @ Oct 11 2008, 12:48 PM)
i've got some power plant that has been curing in a jar for nearly 2 years,some red diesel 10 months old and some cheese which is 3 months old,i find it's really at it's optimum after at least a months cure,but gets better the longer you leave it,up to i'd say 10-14 months, the power plants smell and stone seem to be fading now after nearly 2 years in a jar
Better smoke it then hey!
Trouble is the cheese is so much tastier than the diesel,which was in turn nicer than the power plant so the last jar of power plant got forgotten.
would be nice to have a couple of jars each of say 10 strains.like a sweet shop
2-3 months curing
I also reckon it goes downhill after a couple of years - I've got some bits and bobs from 2002 that are in all honesty unsmokeable - though I didn't use very good jars ...
I'm planning to make a hash tumbler for my long-term stash.
I'm planning to make a hash tumbler for my long-term stash.
2002!
Thats nearly 7 years ago hate to say it but that bud sounds as if its been wasted?
Thats nearly 7 years ago hate to say it but that bud sounds as if its been wasted?
After about a year to year and a half i find the weed to be more powerfull and more interesting never had it longer than that but if you smoke it over time you can feel the high changing.
Interesting topic, I like to cure for a good couple of months.
I dry for as long as it takes which is usually between 12 and 21 days.
Cure wise i don't tend to wait a set period of time but usually only smoke from one jar - leaving the rest to gain some flavour while i work through it.
- Kafka
Cure wise i don't tend to wait a set period of time but usually only smoke from one jar - leaving the rest to gain some flavour while i work through it.
- Kafka
QUOTE(peps1 @ Oct 11 2008, 06:03 AM)
Interesting topic, I like to cure for a good couple of months.
If I'm not mistaken, you inspired it peps1.
i dry for 1-2 weeks then jar up to cure burbing everyday for a month or until dry then try to cure for 2-3 months the longer you wait the better
but 7 years is too long
peace
but 7 years is too long
peace
QUOTE(Randalizer @ Oct 12 2008, 03:14 AM)
If I'm not mistaken, you inspired it peps1.
that's why its interesting
but in all seriousness it will be good to know if iv been wasting my time with month+ cures when weeks will do.
If all you're after is 'smooth' then water curing does the job. Taken from the plant Monday, cured and ready to smoke the next Monday. Takes away a lot of the taste but some strains like NL aren't bought for their taste.
Hang up to dry in the dark in my flower room for 2-3 weeks, then in jars for a minimum of 2 months. Much smoother and tastier smoke 
i always looked at the level of how high we are by seperating into rooms, all full of colour and imagination, each door we go through takes us into another room and while we move in a forward direction each room becomes brighter and more mystical. by the time you reach the last room you see pure serenity from the outside in and by that time you know that you and mary jane have blended and we know its good.
I usually cure for approx 1 to 4 months.... Tis all dependant on how much your crop yields 
One thing I always do and that is pack a jar of weed and give it to my non toking Mr PB...he then hides this for me to always guarantee a good cured weed for special occasions.......xmas, visits etc...
Have always thought a curing bank is a good option for those of us who just cant wait!
Ms Powerband
One thing I always do and that is pack a jar of weed and give it to my non toking Mr PB...he then hides this for me to always guarantee a good cured weed for special occasions.......xmas, visits etc...
Have always thought a curing bank is a good option for those of us who just cant wait!
Ms Powerband
I never seem to grow enough to make it to months of cure. Something i have noticed though is everything i have grown has needed to be cured to taste ok where as when i run out and have to buy damp dealer weed it generally tastes acceptable straight away. If i was to smoke mine with the same level of moisture it would taste rough, anyone know why?
This is taken from another website so all credit goes to lkdj2003 this article really explains why you cure , i know it gets a bit technical but you should get the jist of it .
TL;DR Curing is all about keeping the cells alive for aslong as possible so more chlorophyl gets broken down .
QUOTE
In mature cannabis plants, the onset of senescence occurs before the plant is harvested. When the plant is harvested, individual cells do not die immediately. Cellular metabolism continues for some time; starches and sugars are broken down to CO2, water, and energy. Most of the weight reduction in drying bud is far and away due to water loss from the vasculature and cytosol, but some loss also occurs from breakdown of sugars and subsequent gassing off of water vapor and CO2. Cell death eventually occurs, either as a result of apoptosis, or when respiration can no longer proceed because of lack of one (or more) of the inputs (sugar, water, O2). Supplying exogenous sugar (and water) post-harvest may allow cells to live longer than they would ordinarily, but I'd want to see some controlled tests before committing to that idea.
Even after cell death, biochemical reactions still continue well into the curing process, but reactions that are catalyzed by enzymes grind to a halt as enzymes break down and are not repaired or replaced. Synthesis of cannabinoids is one of the processes that stops after cell death. Synthesis of terpenoids is one of the processes that continues well into curing. Breakdown of THC to CBN is another process that does not require enzymes and continues indefinitely.
One of the processes that occurs in plants from the onset of senescence is that chlorophyll gets broken down. Chloroform is not part of that pathway (see attached diagram). In a nutshell, chlorophyll gets enzymatically broken down to primary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (pFCCs), which in turn get non-enzymatically broken down to colourless non-fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs), which get stored in cell vacuoles, and may eventually be oxidized. Because the first phase of this process requires enzymes, it is one of the processes that stops after cell death occurs. A slow drying process keeps cells alive longer and allows more chlorophyll to be broken down, which is why slow-dried cannabis tastes better than quick-dried cannabis, and rehydrating bud that was dried too quickly does nothing to improve the flavour.
Even after cell death, biochemical reactions still continue well into the curing process, but reactions that are catalyzed by enzymes grind to a halt as enzymes break down and are not repaired or replaced. Synthesis of cannabinoids is one of the processes that stops after cell death. Synthesis of terpenoids is one of the processes that continues well into curing. Breakdown of THC to CBN is another process that does not require enzymes and continues indefinitely.
One of the processes that occurs in plants from the onset of senescence is that chlorophyll gets broken down. Chloroform is not part of that pathway (see attached diagram). In a nutshell, chlorophyll gets enzymatically broken down to primary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (pFCCs), which in turn get non-enzymatically broken down to colourless non-fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs), which get stored in cell vacuoles, and may eventually be oxidized. Because the first phase of this process requires enzymes, it is one of the processes that stops after cell death occurs. A slow drying process keeps cells alive longer and allows more chlorophyll to be broken down, which is why slow-dried cannabis tastes better than quick-dried cannabis, and rehydrating bud that was dried too quickly does nothing to improve the flavour.
TL;DR Curing is all about keeping the cells alive for aslong as possible so more chlorophyl gets broken down .
Good stuff Ragemonkey,
This should really be stickied - important info which is perhaps missing from the guides. Certainly gets my vote!
Z.
This should really be stickied - important info which is perhaps missing from the guides. Certainly gets my vote!
Z.
Gets my vote as well. 
Thank you RageMonkey! 
Can you pm me that other site please? I would deeply appreciate it.
So I guess I should chime in. While it is good to have goals (IMO) one does, I believe, need to take into account available options and current situations one finds oneself in.
I cure for about 7-9 days in total dark with a constant fan (very quiet bathroom fan) drawing air out of the drying room and into me flower room (where there is a proper extraction system with a cf). I generally don't cure (as I understand curing, I should crack open the jars the bud is stored in for a few minutes every day for anywhere from a month to 6 months). But I believe that the rubber gaskets on me jars do allow for a very slight vapor leak and the jars do get opened occasionally as I dip into them to fill my (much smaller) daily jars.
As I understand (and it seems reinforced with the post above) curing is primarily a vapor exchange process. If keeping your buds in jars for several months is considered "curing" then I guess I "cure" for several months.
eta: If I can figure out how to slow down my drying room fan (or just get a slower one) I will probably do that in order to slow down the drying time.
Thank you RageMonkey! Can you pm me that other site please? I would deeply appreciate it.So I guess I should chime in. While it is good to have goals (IMO) one does, I believe, need to take into account available options and current situations one finds oneself in.
I cure for about 7-9 days in total dark with a constant fan (very quiet bathroom fan) drawing air out of the drying room and into me flower room (where there is a proper extraction system with a cf). I generally don't cure (as I understand curing, I should crack open the jars the bud is stored in for a few minutes every day for anywhere from a month to 6 months). But I believe that the rubber gaskets on me jars do allow for a very slight vapor leak and the jars do get opened occasionally as I dip into them to fill my (much smaller) daily jars.
As I understand (and it seems reinforced with the post above) curing is primarily a vapor exchange process. If keeping your buds in jars for several months is considered "curing" then I guess I "cure" for several months.
eta: If I can figure out how to slow down my drying room fan (or just get a slower one) I will probably do that in order to slow down the drying time.
QUOTE(grandad @ Oct 12 2008, 08:50 AM)
i always looked at the level of how high we are by seperating into rooms, all full of colour and imagination, each door we go through takes us into another room and while we move in a forward direction each room becomes brighter and more mystical. by the time you reach the last room you see pure serenity from the outside in and by that time you know that you and mary jane have blended and we know its good.
Always love your replies Grandad but thats your best yet
I take off all the big fan leaves & hang the whole thing for 3-4 days. Then i do the 1st trim, i will cut the branchs off the main part of the plant & take off the biggestthat i can get to the base of, then hang the branch. After another 3-4 days most of the leafs have dried & look like a protective shell around the buds. I take all these leafs off but still leave the ones that areinside the buds. After another 3-4 days (9 to 12 in total) i will do the final trim & take the buds off the branch. I then put all the buds in a browm paper bag for a day of 2, by then the buds should be nice & crisp. Once they are i put them in my glass bud jar, burping it once a day.
I was thinking about curing and came to this hypothetical idea. I'm not completely sure of all the appropriate timing conditions, but I wanted to throw this out there for comments and suggestions.
Let's say I have a very nice plant that is ready for harvest or close to harvest. It is in it's own pot and can me moved out of the flowering room. I take the entire pot/plant and put in in a 100% dark room. Maybe even all/most of the largest leaves can be taken off at this time too? I can establish a small pump and water reservour to keep it moist for the duration and to elliminate any light exposure. For an entire week or two the plant continues to grow in complete darkness. They go through the standard curing process.
I would think that the plant would begin to loose much of it's chlorophyll and almost turn a very light green/yellowish/white. Has anyone tried anything like this? Possibly by accident even?
Let's say I have a very nice plant that is ready for harvest or close to harvest. It is in it's own pot and can me moved out of the flowering room. I take the entire pot/plant and put in in a 100% dark room. Maybe even all/most of the largest leaves can be taken off at this time too? I can establish a small pump and water reservour to keep it moist for the duration and to elliminate any light exposure. For an entire week or two the plant continues to grow in complete darkness. They go through the standard curing process.
I would think that the plant would begin to loose much of it's chlorophyll and almost turn a very light green/yellowish/white. Has anyone tried anything like this? Possibly by accident even?
QUOTE(Randalizer @ Oct 12 2008, 11:23 AM)
I cure for about 7-9 days in total dark with a constant fan
whoops! That should be "dry" not "cure" for about 7-9 days.
Ziggy, in answer to your question, I have not tried that but it sounds intriguing. One thing I do do that I didn't mention is that when my plants are done, I strip off all of the fan leaves and put them in total dark for a few days before cutting. This may contribute (due to chlorophyll breakdown) to the smoothness of my smoke despite their being no real cure, other than sitting in jars for a long time. And welcome to UK420 m8y!
After being in complete dark for a few days I chop the branches off and trim right there and then before hanging back in total dark for the 9 day dry.
seems like a few people have the right ideas without knowing why. the relevant bit of the scientific piece is the last sentence -
drying should be as long as convenient to allow the sugars and chlorophyll to break down to produce a smoother smoke. water "curing" is very effective at this but the finished product looks crap.
curing itself is a chemical reaction called carboxylation where the THC molecule looses a CO group (edge of understanding here). it makes no difference to the taste of the smoke and is totally unnecessary anyway since the heat of your spliff provides the cure as you smoke it. same principle for cooking, vapourizers, hot knives etc.
once the weed is dry and past about 6 weeks old it's naturally cured and it's loosing quality. you might make it last longer in the dark in the fridge but your best bet is to smoke it and grow some more.
QUOTE
A slow drying process keeps cells alive longer and allows more chlorophyll to be broken down, which is why slow-dried cannabis tastes better than quick-dried cannabis, and rehydrating bud that was dried too quickly does nothing to improve the flavour.
drying should be as long as convenient to allow the sugars and chlorophyll to break down to produce a smoother smoke. water "curing" is very effective at this but the finished product looks crap.
curing itself is a chemical reaction called carboxylation where the THC molecule looses a CO group (edge of understanding here). it makes no difference to the taste of the smoke and is totally unnecessary anyway since the heat of your spliff provides the cure as you smoke it. same principle for cooking, vapourizers, hot knives etc.
once the weed is dry and past about 6 weeks old it's naturally cured and it's loosing quality. you might make it last longer in the dark in the fridge but your best bet is to smoke it and grow some more.
I decided to take a chance, I'm crazy like that. I like to experiment, and I think I'm on to something here. I got the idea from white asparagus. I'm going to take a very nice plant that is 90-95% ready to harvest and let it continue to grow for another week to two weeks in complete 100% darkness. It depends on which variety I decide to use. I'm currently about 3 weeks away from harvesting some nice strains like, Original Misty, Amazing Haze, & Genie of the Lamp. All of these were started from seeds that were bought in Amsterdam at the Homegrown Fantaseed shop. I'll follow-up once I get started. Check back in around 6 weeks and I'll let you know what I find.
I might do some side experimentation as well. I might just put a thick black plastic bag over the entire plant. It will retain the moisture as well as be kept in darkness.
One fear is that the plant will begin to develop herme male parts, but I don't think I care since it may take all of a week to begin to develop but then there will be no time left to polinate anything anyway since it will be harvested directly after that and begin a standard drying step.
I might do some side experimentation as well. I might just put a thick black plastic bag over the entire plant. It will retain the moisture as well as be kept in darkness.
One fear is that the plant will begin to develop herme male parts, but I don't think I care since it may take all of a week to begin to develop but then there will be no time left to polinate anything anyway since it will be harvested directly after that and begin a standard drying step.
Dry for a week plus unless it's too hot and dries out to quick, which has happened a few times now. Cure for 2 weeks to 1 month. I'd cure longer but my stash doesn't last very long usually, so a bit of it is lucky to get any cure at all after drying. It all goes in the jars, best buds in the last jar, which is consumed between 1-2 months after chop. For me it seems to make the smoke smoother, which is the reason I do it apart from the fact everyone who knows more than me does it and has good reason, which was the reason and were the reasons I started doing it.
QUOTE(compostverte @ Oct 11 2008, 01:17 PM)
I also reckon it goes downhill after a couple of years - I've got some bits and bobs from 2002 that are in all honesty unsmokeable - though I didn't use very good jars ...
I'm planning to make a hash tumbler for my long-term stash.
I'm planning to make a hash tumbler for my long-term stash.
You mentioned that you used glass jars is that the rule of thumb to use glass only, im in 1st week of dryingon my 1st harvest and i have bought steel jars that have a glass air tight lid on them, they look to me as if they would do the job for my curing which im prepared to wait, or is that to optimistic!!
Temptation is too great!!
when i have to smoke bud thats not quite dry i always noticed the daily improvement, i smoke from 6am untill 10.30pm everyday, and once i sit here i just smoke my pipe and listen to sounds. how the fuck could i remember the difference with a 3 month gap, i lose thought control weekly, hourly. by the minute.
i always dry it in cardboard boxes , i cut a hole in the back to let air in and put it against a wall , i also cover it for a few hours each day with a towel as it helps with the moist , after a week or 2 its jard up and cured till it runs out , maybe 2 - 3 months
I'm a week into my first cure, i've been nervously burping the jars twice daily and checking on my buds but i've noticed the taste is getting more harsh as the weed dries, it also seems to have a slight drying effect on my mouth.
When you crumble the weed its a nice spongy texture that leaves a really pungent resin slick on your fingers, all seems good from that perspective so i'm wondering does the cure go through a harsh stage? Its just that up until this point it was pretty smooth and tasty, i've noticed this same taste from uncured weed after a few weeks in my usual stash bag.
Peace
When you crumble the weed its a nice spongy texture that leaves a really pungent resin slick on your fingers, all seems good from that perspective so i'm wondering does the cure go through a harsh stage? Its just that up until this point it was pretty smooth and tasty, i've noticed this same taste from uncured weed after a few weeks in my usual stash bag.
Peace
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