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How often do you really burp your jars?
Drying and curing properly is definitely an art, and I understand there are many variables that make it hard to “coach” others on proper curing habits, and ultimately, I will probably just match my burping frequency to how wet/dry the buds feel before and after burping (like I always do), but I’m general, how often do you burp your jars during the first two weeks after harvesting? What factors (length of dry hang time; length of trim job, structure of plant, etc.) do you think impact the frequency of burping?
G’s L,
Smokable Johnson
Comments
9 responses to “How often do you really burp your jars?”
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I think of it as a craft more than an art….but I wont get into that right now lol.
You sort of answered your own question…the frequency is determined by the factors you listed. So in general, once a day for about 5 days, once every other day for a few days, once a week then once a month. In general, that doesn’t tell you shit…at least it means nothing to me. It’s really hard to tell you when to open the jars without feeling and seeing the buds and general answers are more of a gage or rule of thumb to ensure you don’t dry too fast or create an environment for mold…..judging by how you worded your question I think you know all of this already. So what do you really want to know? I’m having a hard time answering this aren’t I? haha
I’ll tell you this, from my experience, if you keep up on once a day for a week you wont have to worry about mold. After that point you can check on them every other day and when you get to the point where there is no noticeable difference when you last opened the jars, start checking every 4 days or so….keep this process going and by 2 weeks you should have weed ready to be smoked. The stored buds after that 2 week point will only get better and will require the air to be refreshed no less than 7 days. However, since I’m speaking in general, 7 days might mean 5 days or maybe 9 days….again, if you go off comparing between “burps,” that will determine frequency. You can’t go wrong with once a day, but if they’re feeling extra spongy, you may want to get them out of the jars for 5-15 minutes…..you may want to leave the jars open for an hour or maybe a 1/2 hour……that is all determined by the buds as well.
Man, I hope I’m giving you good info haha…I’m realizing now after typing this why people might call it an art lol!My last harvest is curing now, but also ready to be smoked. I really nailed the slow dry with this batch and in the first 5 days of cure I left jars open once a day for 15 minutes. After that it was every other day for maybe 10 minutes….then once a week. Now, a bit more than 3 weeks later, I’m ready to go 2 weeks between just for good measure. I am by no means an expert at curing, but this harvest is my best dry/cure so far and that’s because of the experiences prior. I started will the “general” rules and now alter those rules per batch.
Hopefully someone gives you a simple answer because I struggle with that haha. Growers Love bro 🙂
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This is such a hot button topic. Some say burp, others say not to seal in airtight container and some say just cure in it’s same environment as the dry. The burp is to move the inner moisture to the edges of the bud slowly without drying out the edges of the bud to fast. To moist equals mold and when to dry the inner moisture won’t disperse equally. Also maintaining fresh oxygen during the cure due to the release of other gases are key. To be honest i pulled a nug out of a trim bin that sat in the bedroom till it dried out and it was very tastey and smoked good without any real cure. If the flavor and smell are there at the end then they usually don’t go anywhere till they get hot enough. Ive heard so many different theories on burping frequency that it makes my head spin. Be curious to hear about how much oxygen is required for a proper cure and the rate at which it is consumed to be able to know when to replenish, main theory of the same environment as dry and unsealed containers for curing. I want to know the answer lol. Also when burping note the ambient environment. You don’t want to burp in humid or very dry rooms and ideally 65f 55%rh.
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Pick up a few small hygrometers made for tobacco humidors. I have 4 that I cycle between curing jars to monitor humidity in the jars. I hang dry my buds in a tent for at least 10 days, preferably longer with controlled humidity at around 60%. Then I put the buds into 1 qt mason jars to cure. Put them loosely into the jar, you want some air movement. They may feel “dry” before being jarred but there is still a lot of hidden humidity in stems and deep in the bud that can take days to equalize within the buds. I monitor the humidity in each jar until it is in the 59-62% range. I do that by opening each jar for a few minutes , closing it up and watching the humidity on the hygrometer in the jar. That process can take another 7-10 days. Once the humidity is stable in a jar I check it weekly for another two weeks and then pretty much leave the jars stored in a cool dark place until I need it. You can’t rush the process. I find with most strains the terp profile and overall smoke can changee quite a bit over two months or more of curing.
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These are really great responses, and I thank all of you for taking the time to generate them. I agree with Memes about using prior experiences and observation to fine tune the general rules of curing. You can’t just use a calendar, you have to assess the product and decide what it needs. I’ve been growing for about 7 years now, and this is the area that I think can have the greatest impact in the quality of the finished product. I was lucky enough to be able to manipulate a room into sitting at 63 degrees F and 58-62% RH. I chopped my laddies at the base of the plant and hung them for 14 days – the longest I’ve ever dried before. Then they were trimmed and put into the jars. I burped once a day for 5-10 minutes for the first three days, but after that, my buds seemed pretty stable, so I started going every other day. I think the shortened burp time is due to the extended hang dry, even though they never became “bone dry.” I guess what I really wanted to know is whether there is a reason other than wetness that I should continue to burp through that first week or two, such as air exchange. Put another way, if my buds seem ready early in the curing process, is there still a benefit in doing tiny air exchange burps so that biological processes can keep happening? What exactly is oxygen’s role in the curing process and what am I giving up if I just focus on wetness-related burping?
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Oxygen is feeding the microbes that live in the air naturally. They go to work on the chlorophyll, sugars, starches and whatever else they find to eat. The issue is they seem to be facultative microbes which means they prefer oxygen but can start to process food anaerobically fermenting the cannabis in the process giving you that funky ammonia smell. Once the jars stabilize at a low enough humidity there is not enough moisture for the microbes to persist or once the food supply is used up cure complete.
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