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Are these drying green?

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mrthing2000

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One is outside on a wire table--I thought it was right for suncuring. Maybe not.

The other is in a grow tent I made, with a hot plate to maintain about 80deg. Humidity seems better controlled there.

Temps have been all over the place. 50 at night, 70-80 in the day. Humidity outside goes from 30-100 depending on the time of day.

Are either of these drying green? The 'table' ones turned brown sort of fast, like in one day. The 'tent' ones look more even and have been going about a week. Both have been 'curing' about a week. I'm not sure if these are burley or Virginia Gold--I planted both.

IMG_20151021_162833_396.jpgIMG_20151021_162929_852.jpg
 

Brown Thumb

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I know nothing about sun curing. But it looks like you are doing Good.
As long as the green leaf does not crackle like a potato chip you be doing good.
Good Luck,
BT
 

Chicken

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looks like your leaf is curing the way its suppose to,,,

i know they are your babaies and your trying to make them perfect... but your worrying about nothing.

they look fineIMG_20150721_175233499.jpgIMG_20150721_175212031.jpgIMG_20150726_225306920.jpgIMG_20150816_175331859.jpgIMG_20150831_195040802.jpg

curing takes time.. just keep a eye on your heat vs your humidity. and youll be fine,,

is this your first grow ???
 

PeacePipe

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It looks like your doing just fine.. I too have dried them on the rack like that and after a few weeks they were beautiful prime leaves ready to age.
 

Matty

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When I suncured my shirazi last year I picked the leaves and piled them about 20 leaves to a pile (pile curing) and turned each leaf in the pile at least once a day (sometimes twice a day if I was bored) till they were all banana yellow, then I strung them up in the sun. No green but risky for mold when in a pile.
 

mrthing2000

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Yep--this is the first grow. I wondered about the 'alligator' stage since the plants that got primed a few weeks ago look a lot like that now. I'm wondering if I 'primed' them too early. The alligator looks sort of pretty. I'm not sure if all plants do that.

I really wish I hadn't mixed up the types. I can't tell what is what.

I thought the ones in the tent were doing well. It was just the ones that aren't in the tent look a little suspect to me. That one leaf seems to have skipped from green to brown with very little yellow time. I'm tempted to throw it into the tent.

I might try the pile curing since I have quite a few coming in the next week or so. But we'll be up against frost within 2-3 weeks, maybe less, so I'm not sure how well that will work until then. I might just get it going that way and string them in the garage.

Truly, I wish I could just ship these to someone and say 'here, do it right'. :D

I think when resources permit, not only will I do a full kiln, but I'll make a curing/drying chamber as well. I'll pipe in air that is the right temp, right humidity (using inside probes) and dehumidify if possible. Spendy though.

Has anyone seen the prices of sheet metal??!!?!! OMG.

Maybe I can make it out of wood and line it like 20 times with heavy duty foil. Jeez, it would cost me hundreds to build one out of metal that wouldn't rust.
 

mrthing2000

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Only reason I would want to insulate it would be to prevent condensation from being a problem. I figured that would mold things or rot the wood. I didn't think an old refrigerator would make the wifey happy. And I'd like something that could ramp up to 190deg and not catch fire, if I start wanting to do brightleaf.
 

Chicken

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Your on the right path..it all starts by spinning. Crazy ideas around in your head.,..you could acquire a old r.v. camper and gut it and use it as your curing chamber...that's what I used for my.first.2.grows..but had issues with high humidity..and.got mold...this year I used.a.extra.bedroom and framed it.up to.resemble.a.old.school stick barn..it worked perfectly but now I need the bedroom..so over the winter I'm gonna build.a.simple.metal shed..more.taller.than.wide.

It really boils down to your area..I'm in Florida.so humidity is my enemy..as long as its air tight a simple oil filled radiator type heater will rectify that situation... And a l.p . gas heater will supply my heat for the killing process..
 

Smokin Harley

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Yep--this is the first grow. I wondered about the 'alligator' stage since the plants that got primed a few weeks ago look a lot like that now. I'm wondering if I 'primed' them too early. The alligator looks sort of pretty. I'm not sure if all plants do that.

I really wish I hadn't mixed up the types. I can't tell what is what.

I thought the ones in the tent were doing well. It was just the ones that aren't in the tent look a little suspect to me. That one leaf seems to have skipped from green to brown with very little yellow time. I'm tempted to throw it into the tent.

I might try the pile curing since I have quite a few coming in the next week or so. But we'll be up against frost within 2-3 weeks, maybe less, so I'm not sure how well that will work until then. I might just get it going that way and string them in the garage.

Truly, I wish I could just ship these to someone and say 'here, do it right'. :D

I think when resources permit, not only will I do a full kiln, but I'll make a curing/drying chamber as well. I'll pipe in air that is the right temp, right humidity (using inside probes) and dehumidify if possible. Spendy though.

Has anyone seen the prices of sheet metal??!!?!! OMG.

Maybe I can make it out of wood and line it like 20 times with heavy duty foil. Jeez, it would cost me hundreds to build one out of metal that wouldn't rust.
My 32 cu/ft (4ft x 4ft x 2ft)kiln cost me about $200 in material including lumber,hardware(screws,wheels,hinges,draw hasps,and the adjustable wire shelving) ,1" foil faced foam insulation,crock pot,and the digital electronics with a few free computer fans to circulate air. You could probably build something half the size and be fine.
 

Smokin Harley

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Your on the right path..it all starts by spinning. Crazy ideas around in your head.,..you could acquire a old r.v. camper and gut it and use it as your curing chamber...that's what I used for my.first.2.grows..but had issues with high humidity..and.got mold...this year I used.a.extra.bedroom and framed it.up to.resemble.a.old.school stick barn..it worked perfectly but now I need the bedroom..so over the winter I'm gonna build.a.simple.metal shed..more.taller.than.wide.

It really boils down to your area..I'm in Florida.so humidity is my enemy..as long as its air tight a simple oil filled radiator type heater will rectify that situation... And a l.p . gas heater will supply my heat for the killing process..
Chicken ,heres the drawback to building out of metal...with your high humidity in mind. Metal is great in the sun and it heats up. BUT, once the sun goes down and the metal cools quickly it causes condensation and may contribute to mold. Wood absorbs moisture and has a better natural R value than metal.
 

mrthing2000

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Would using a particular kind of wood help (solid/ply/etc/oak, etc.)? I wasn't sure if rotting from the condensate would be an issue, or off-gassing from plywoods, resins from softwoods (pine, fir, etc.) would be problematic. That's why I thought to use metal, but jeez--its prohibitive. Might not matter with the foil-covered insulation.

Sorry, sort of a dumb followup question--but in the kiln designs I never see an exhaust or vent. Some people open them occasionally. I get the impression the leaves 'stew in their own juices' until they are done. Is that basically right? They don't vent them?
 

mrthing2000

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My apologies--I thought these were separate issues so I didn't want to ask too much in one thread. If it makes sense to combine them, please do to prevent forum clutter
 

mrthing2000

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I might have already asked this in a different thread--but what causes it to dry green? Too much heat and too little humidity?

So far things are going quite well. I think.
 

mrthing2000

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The leaves look like they are done curing from what I can tell. Most are shades of tan, some lighter and some darker. I only notice hints of green in a few of them, mainly on the stem. They are dry as heck.

But they are brittle like a potato chip. They'll easily shatter in my hand if I smash them. I was thinking of how to revive these if they are 'mad' or whatnot, or if I even need to.

Should I bring these back into a medium case and keep drying them? Did I just screw these up? Will kilning or aging help? I'm lost on how brittle these should be.
 

buck

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Green on the stem is fine, green on the leaf is not desirable but you say only a little and on a few so don't worry about it.
The more humidity the darker the leaf gets and it's normal to have different shades of brown, green is no good.
If they are really as dry as you say then bringing them back to case won't work if you want to color cure more, once they dry green then that's it can't do much about them.
From what you say most are brown which is good but brittle which is okay but you dried them too much, bring them back to case so you can handle them for kilning if you are doing that if not you still need to bring them back to case to store them so they can age naturally. Leaves need moisture (not too much = mold) to age. Make sure the Midrib is very dry snap dry before you store them or you'll get mold, or remove the midrib once they are brought to medium case. Mold is your enemy once your leaf has browned, lack of humidity is your enemy when drying your green leaf.

Kilning will speed up the aging process 1 month kiln = 1year natural aging and may help with very slightly green tinted leaves.

You need to spend a few more hours reading through posts and blogs on this site, you'll get most of the info you need.

< Edit> If your midrib is green means there is a lot of moisture in it and since you are having issues with humidity and such I would suggest you remove it once you bring the leaves back to medium case.
What I do is control humidity until the stem is dry but leaf is still flexible and never let the leaf dry brittle, then off to the kiln or sometimes I may remove the larger stems
 

mrthing2000

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Thanks for the info--really appreciate it.

About how much case would you shoot for, for aging? I'm thinking I might pull off any of the leaves that don't look fully colored--none are straight up green but a few have a very slight tint of it.

I have a few empty plastic containers that are clear so I could check mold, etc. I'm guessing if I bring these indoors, that room temp is probably safe? Keep it sealed and that's about it?

Temps at night are hitting upper 20deg F, so I'm debating on HOW to bring them into case. I have a humidifier and some painter's drop cloth plastic wrap--I thought this might be better than misting it. I figure if I overdo it I can always get it back down overnight.

Looks like humidity has been my enemy on this one. Assuming I can salvage any of these, I'll be happy for that. If not, oh well--a bit disappointed, but better luck next year. Growing was definitely the easy part.

Next year I'm adding a humdistat and controlling humidity precisely.
 

buck

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From the pics you posted your leaf looks good and has cured nicely so don't worry about that. Above 70 humidity mold will grow so your goal is to keep it below that while stored, but I don't know the minimum % that will stall aging but as long as it is not crisp dry you should be okay. Room temperature is fine as well and you'll need to make sure it doesn't dry to a crisp again but it shouldn't unless you store it in a dry place so check on it every couple of days for a few weeks to make sure they stay in reasonable case, then check up on them ever so often. Some people put their leaf in cardboard boxes and store them in a closet.

I've only been doing this for two years so maybe others can chime in and provide more info.
 
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