Where am I going wrong?

[mystic_roots]

Ok, so I’d still class myself as a very novice grower as I only do 1 grow per year and it’s never enough to keep the knowledge engrained in my brain but I’ve just received my very first prescription of Medical Cannabis and my god it smells delicious, smooth smoke from my Tiny Might 2 and it tastes lovely, lemon and some citrus. 
 

This begs the question of where the fuck have I been going wrong? I get no taste from my bud, they all have the same taste and a slightly different smell but nothing like this. Do we think it’s my curing method? I grow in BioBizz all mix, she gets fed with intense nutrients but I’ve never been happy with my harvesting and curing. It’ll hang for a week and by then the outside feels crisp and dry and get a hay smell sometimes. Last harvest I tried to cool it down by placing big plastic bottles of ice into the tent which helped but still not a great taste after a slower cure. This doesn’t make me hack up a lung but I am vaping it at a much lower temp than usual. 

Edited May 26, 2023 by mystic_roots

[MindSoup]

Well for a start, whatever your getting on prescription will likely be some sort of "elite clone" so the genetics will be better than your likely to find popping the odd pack of seeds. It's then (hopefully) grown in a perfect environment with a tailor made nutrient schedule thats been formulated  and tweaked over multiple generations to give the best results. So before they've even got to the drying process they're starting out with (what at least should be) A++ grade material. Pair that with a state of the art, drying chamber and you've got something that even a very experienced home grower would struggle to replicate.

 

So one thing you could do to up your game could be to source good quality cuts from a reputable source, even the best seed lines will have variation and although it does happen your unlikely to find a proper unicorn plant in a single ten pack. 

 

As for drying, IME it's definitely equally important to the genetics and the grow itself and is quite often people's weak point. The slower and cooler the better it seems (within reason of course) so a fan you can dial right down and a nice cold part of the house should help alot. If creating that sort of environment is unachievable like it is for me then you could consider building a drying fridge, although it can be quite expensive and ROI would take a while if you don't do many grows. 

 

 

Have to say I'm glad to hear your happy with what your getting on script. I've heard a lot of negative feedback from medical patients who've had everything from bland weed that lacks potency to full on mouldy shite. I guess the quality control has improved. 

Edited May 26, 2023 by MindSoup

[mystic_roots]

Well I guess it’s early days as it’s my first prescription but hopefully it’ll continue that way. 
 

Yes I’m not fully happy with my drying process, I think I could do with buying a 6” fan with dial control so can reduce it right down during curing but I do start to panic about mould if the buds are big, even when growing! 
 

Ive only just popped a few seeds in the hole it’ll be a bit cooler come September when it’s harvesting time. Glad to know it’s not entirely me then, but it’s going to be extremely hard to find anyone to get decent cuts off.

[Shumroom]

What genetics have you been growing @mystic_roots?

 

Atb

 

 

 

[MindSoup]

Yeah mould is always a worry, but you'll learn to trust the process if you push out of your comfort zone with it. As long as your humidity isn't too high you should be fine. A fan controller with a humidity controller would be best, so you can set it to the lowest as default and then ramp up automatically if the humidity gets too high. 

 

It's a bummer about the law, wouldn't it be nice if we could all freely trade cuts over the forum like we do with subbies seeds. One big issue is that even if you find a trustworthy seller there's a lot of "elite" cuts that don't live up to the hype and that's if their not infected with HPV or carrying pests. It's the sort of thing that requires tapping into your local growing community, through hydro shops and cannabis clubs and IG etc, not something everyone feels particularly comfortable with. 

[Military Grade]

1 hour ago, mystic_roots said:

I think I could do with buying a 6” fan with dial control so can reduce it right down during curing

How are you curing your weed that would require a fan? they should be in air tight containers like glass jars.

[The Green Manalishi]

10 -14 days drying depending on size of crop then into grove bags for curing / stowage, no burping required….keeps the smells and flava in 

[ratdog]

2 hours ago, mystic_roots said:

6” fan with dial control

 

 

were you using a fan controller before?

[mystic_roots]

2 hours ago, Shumroom said:

What genetics have you been growing @mystic_roots?

 

Atb

 

 

 

A variety, Blue Kush, Cheesr, Wonder Woman, Bubblelicious, crème de la chem, Samsquanch OG. Don’t get me wrong they’ll hit you but lack taste. 

 

1 hour ago, Military Grade said:

How are you curing your weed that would require a fan? they should be in air tight containers like glass jars.

Yeah I worded that wrong, they’re cured in Kilner jars with hydro packs and a small meter after the initial drying process. 

 

Just now, ratdog said:

 

 

were you using a fan controller before?

No but my 4” fan only has 2 settings, I think a bigger fan with a speed controller would give me more control over the environment when harvesting and hanging them to dry. 

[ratdog]

Just now, mystic_roots said:

No but my 4” fan only has 2 settings

 

 

then that's 70% of your problem mate, i use a 5" on setting 1, and my mate is always drooling over smell and taste.

 

don't worry about bud rot unless it's the depths of winter

[Military Grade]

19 minutes ago, mystic_roots said:

Yeah I worded that wrong, they’re cured in Kilner jars with hydro packs and a small meter after the initial drying process. 

Ah fair enough i thought it might have been a typo but thought i'd check as it would contribute to a poorer end product

 

Have you tried curing without the humidity packs? i found them to be counter productive in the curing process and made my weed bit lack luster in the terp department.

[Herbal Kint]

First what are you growing? Is it smelling nice in flower before chop?

 

Maybe just bad genetics you were growing?

 

I had plenty of bland tasting plants

[Shumroom]

I wouldn’t use any moisture packs in my jars 

 

Get the drying process done correctly and you shouldn’t need anything like that.

 

 

Once dry,

either leave them in jars or Grove bags for a minimum of 3 months,

then enjoy 

 

Keep it simple 

 

Atb

 

 

 

[mystic_roots]

3 hours ago, Shumroom said:

I wouldn’t use any moisture packs in my jars 

 

Get the drying process done correctly and you shouldn’t need anything like that.

 

 

Once dry,

either leave them in jars or Grove bags for a minimum of 3 months,

then enjoy 

 

Keep it simple 

 

Atb

 

 

 

 

I won't be using those again then, but I don't think my current fan is going to be able to give me a controlled enough process to dry them so I guess it now comes down to suggestions for a replacement fan? Not hideously expensive as I only grow once a year and doesn't have to be an all singing and dancing one.

[Shumroom]

A 4” AC Infinity or similar EC type extraction fan would be great,

they’re nice and quiet especially on lower speeds and they come with a speed controller.

 

Atb