Freeze dried flowers

[Old fox]

Bro in law pulled out some freeze dried buds from freezer last night. The buds were harvested 4 months ago. Light trim straight off the plant back then, and immediately onto ( frost free) freezer rack, sitting on top of a paper towel. NO plastic bag - just open on the rack. Result was outstanding. Buds were dry but retained, shape, smell, colour and potency. Anyone got an upright freezer for sale?

 

[Old fox]

Has anyone else freezer dried buds this same way ( i.e. not in a plastic bag)? I'll be drying, curing and storing a fair whack of next summer's outdoor run with this method. An extended power outage could ruin a crop, so I won't put all my eggs in one basket.

 

[Deleted member cpr]

Has anyone else freezer dried buds this same way ( i.e. not in a plastic bag)? I'll be drying, curing and storing a fair whack of next summer's outdoor run with this method. An extended power outage could ruin a crop, so I won't put all my eggs in one basket.

I can't get my head around how it works. Interesting stuff.

 

[Old fox]

I can't get my head around how it works. Interesting stuff.

Simple. Put the entire freshly picked bud( on stem) after a wet trim, inside a frost free freezer. The freezer dries and preserves the bud. I think it takes about 28 days for freezer to properly dry the bud. I forgot about them for 4 months, and buds look, smell and feel exactly the same as harvest day - except they're dry!!!! I've read that some of the Yankee dispensaries are now using this technique, and of course specialist fridges have been built specific for the Canna industry.

 

[itchybro]

you can buy a freeze dryer , between 2 & $4000 i think , ( i think potato chips are freeze dried ) , work slightly diff to ya standard home freezer but basically , above zero degrees the lower the temp the higher the humidity but as you move below zero into minus degrees the humidity go's the opposite direction & decreases drying out the air & removing moisture from flowers , the benefits i hear are as you say fox flower size does not shrink as much as standard drying methods , preservation of terpenes is another benefit as some monoterpenes are volatile at quite low temperatures when doing standard bud drying
maybe you did but would have been nice if you had done both drying methods , freeze & standard to compare apples with apples , you would need to have at least some control over the standard drying method though , as to try & keep monoterpens intact as much as poss , so your apples are both pink ladies & not a PL vs a granny smith , would def like to try it one day

 

[Mellow oldfark]

Dunno if this is the same thing I've found that fresh frozen material as opposed to air dried material in the bubble bag produces are far superior product .
Good to see you on here itchy️

 

[Old fox]

No science from me Itchi...just experiment for an anecdote I used buds from 2 different strains in freezer. My stoner friends comments on comparison of efficacy would lack objectivity. I can only say they liked it a lot. But, as you say, flowers definitely retained much better bag appeal when frozen. Smell and taste was also improved during freezing, versus standard curing in glass jars. Small sample, but enough to convince me. Maybe someone else might try a fresh picked bud in freezer, and reply here in 28 days !

 

[Mellow oldfark]

always freeze all me trim but will try the flower thing next round. Noticed hash comes out more like sticky hand rubbed than the typical dry style.
Was lucky and picked up nice little washing machine ( caravan camping type) new for $20 had it a few years works a treat with bubble bags
Might try frozen flower see what happens️

 

[mlg]

Interesting topic. So just cut up or grind as normal and away you go or need to let them "thaw" out?!

 

[Old fox]

Interesting topic. So just cut up or grind as normal and away you go or need to let them "thaw" out?!

Just pick some bud off the stem and grind away. Only takes a few minutes to thaw, and it thaws out dry.

 

[Defsnotacop]

What are bubble bags?

 

[itchybro]

What are bubble bags?

used for ice water extraction

 

[Indy]

What are bubble bags?

Basically a great way of processing you're 2nd grade buds 'n trim, and harvest the remaining trichomes. The bags come in various micron* grades. the finer the grade the pure the grade hash you harvest.

Best/Easiest way to process it is the method used in the video that itchy linked. The method i go with is to make your icy slurry up in a 20 litre bucket, and bung one of these Large Paint Drill Mixer on me 1000w drill (750w minimum), and blend it for 10-15 minutes.

Then drain that back into another bucket where i screen (using flyscreen) and wash the bulk of the rubbish, and ditch it. And drain the water back into another bucket with the bubble bags fitted in it (lowest micron on top to highest micron count to the bottom of bucket). Lift the bags out slowly, while squeezing it back into bucket. Once all the bags are fully drained you should see the various grades of hash in the bottom of each one.

Biggest rookie mistake seems to be buying a cheaper version of bags. Some reports say the cheaper bags are stuffed after half a dozen uses. So most serious bubble hash folks seem to go with this mob.. https://bubblebagshop.com.au/

This set of bags would get most punters over the line.. https://bubblebagshop.com.au/product/medium-5pc-bubble-bags/

* filament count per inch/cm

 

[frankreynolds]

Can confirm don't buy cheap bubblebags mine didn't last all that long.

Need to get a new set.

 

[Dotts]

used for ice water extraction

King of Hash makin ol Frenchy!

 

[Mellow oldfark]

Can't go past the little washing machines their great , much safer and easier than solvent hash .️

 

[Defsnotacop]

Oh yeah sweet. Thanks guys.

 

[Billygoat]

may have to jump on the freezer brigade.

I have a small branch I put in the freezer from the last indoor. so likely around 10 weeks ago.

Forgot about it, found it squished behind some frozen veggies.

Well, it is in much better shape than the traditionally dried buds. It actually was almost too moist to the touch, given how long it has been there..

But geez, the smoke was great. And the buds presented like you had just cut them off the plant.

will be trying this next harvest..

 

[Old fox]

may have to jump on the freezer brigade.

I have a small branch I put in the freezer from the last indoor. so likely around 10 weeks ago.

Forgot about it, found it squished behind some frozen veggies.

Well, it is in much better shape than the traditionally dried buds. It actually was almost too moist to the touch, given how long it has been there..

But geez, the smoke was great. And the buds presented like you had just cut them off the plant.

will be trying this next harvest..

Good stuff.

 

[Sugar]

I'm going to try this method too Fox.
My ice trays run dry after a while so I can see this working.
Also, I googled about it and Ed Rosenthal, a well respected cannabis person recommends this method too