From Harvest to Cure
Harvest day gets most of the attention, but bringing down a healthy crop is only part of the job.
What happens during the next several weeks can have a major effect on the aroma, flavour and overall quality of the finished flower.
At Paradise Compassion Club, we’ve developed our own drying, curing and storage system over the years. It combines a controlled drying room, environmental monitoring and sealed curing containers with timed air exchange. Below, we also share the latest readings from our display-humidor test.
It isn’t a system we built overnight. Like most things in cultivation, it has evolved through experience, observation and experimentation.
Here’s how we’re doing it today.
Step 1 — The Controlled Dry
After harvest and trimming, our flower is spread across large drying screens in a dedicated environmentally controlled room.
Our usual drying period is approximately 10–14 days, although the flower itself ultimately determines when it’s ready to move to the next stage.
We work around a target of approximately 60°F (15–16°C) and 60% relative humidity. The room is equipped with air conditioning, dehumidification, humidification, and air circulation so we’re able to respond as conditions change.
An important point is that the room doesn’t instantly sit at a perfect 60/60 when freshly harvested flower first goes onto the screens.
Fresh flower contains considerable moisture. As that moisture begins moving from the flower into the surrounding air, temperature and humidity readings can temporarily move away from our target.
That’s exactly why we use active environmental control. The A/C, dehumidifier and humidifiers respond as needed and help bring the room back toward the conditions we’re trying to maintain.
Rather than chasing a perfect number every second, we’re looking for a stable, controlled drying environment.
Step 2 — Monitoring the Environment
Environmental control isn’t very useful if you don’t know what’s actually happening.
We use temperature and humidity sensors throughout the drying and curing areas, including individual sensors associated with our curing totes and pails.
A mini hub connects the monitoring system, while cameras give us another way to keep an eye on the rooms.
One of the biggest advantages is that we’re not limited to checking conditions while standing inside the building.
Our Wi-Fi monitoring allows us to check temperature and humidity remotely, and the cameras let us visually check the rooms as well. Whether we’re nearby or away from the shop, we can still see what’s happening.
That doesn’t replace physically inspecting the flower. It simply gives us another layer of information between inspections.
Step 3 — Moving Into the Cure
Once we’re satisfied with the dry, the flower moves into our curing system.
For us, that usually means approximately 3–4 weeks of curing.
Instead of relying entirely on repeatedly opening conventional containers, we’ve developed a sealed system using large totes and pails.
The containers are fitted with seals, and some are secured with ratchet straps. We also use Tuck Tape around the seams as an additional measure to help keep the containers sealed.
Each container has air lines with one-way inlet and outlet valves.
Those lines connect to an air pump and manifold system controlled by a timer. At scheduled intervals, the pump provides a controlled air exchange while the one-way valves maintain the intended direction of airflow.
Between those cycles, the containers remain sealed and their conditions are monitored.
The important part isn’t simply having a pump. It’s being able to monitor what’s happening inside the curing environment and make adjustments when necessary.
You Know When the Pump Turns On
There’s also one part of this system that no temperature or humidity sensor can show you.
You can smell when the air-exchange cycle begins.
When the pump kicks on for its allotted time and air begins exiting the curing containers, the room can suddenly fill with the aroma of the strain being cured.
The terpenes practically assault your nose—in a good way.
After months of growing, followed by harvest and drying, that aroma is a pretty satisfying reminder of what you’re trying to preserve.
Step 4 — Monitoring the Cure
We don’t assume every container is behaving exactly the same simply because they’re sitting in the same room.
Temperature and relative humidity are monitored throughout the curing setup so we can see how conditions are developing.
That’s also why we’ve continued changing and improving the system over time.
Cultivation teaches you quickly that what works well doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t work better.
We observe, measure, make adjustments and keep learning.
Step 5 — Our Display Humidors: From Testing to Everyday Use
Each of our two converted display coolers has a compact dehumidifier inside, selected specifically because its small size and operating characteristics make it well suited to this enclosed application. Unlike a typical room dehumidifier, this unit fits inside the cooler and works with our Inkbird humidity controller to remove excess moisture when needed. Together with the separate temperature controller, it helps bring conditions back toward our storage target. We monitor the readings over time, including the changes that come with opening the doors during the day.
Humidity control matters at home, too. Properly sized humidity-control packs can help maintain a suitable relative humidity inside an appropriately sealed storage container. Paradise Gardens Hydroponics carries humidity packs for anyone who wants to help keep their own ounces in good condition. Keep the flower protected from excess heat and light, and follow the pack manufacturer’s instructions.
We’ve now completed the main testing phase of our glass-door display coolers converted into temperature- and humidity-controlled cannabis humidors. The goal is to keep stored flower close to 60°F and 60% RH while allowing it to be displayed clearly and monitored remotely through Wi-Fi controllers.
The coolers’ original temperature readout and control did not give us the close monitoring we wanted. We use both Inkbird Wi-Fi temperature controllers and separate Inkbird Wi-Fi humidity controllers. The temperature controllers monitor and regulate cooling, while the humidity controllers monitor moisture levels and operate the compact dehumidifiers when needed. For temperature monitoring, we switched to Inkbird Wi-Fi temperature controllers, which let us follow the probe readings and temperature history instead of relying on a single reading from the factory thermometer. That makes it easier to see how each cooler cycles when the compressor runs and whether the temperature returns to its setpoint. If a built-in thermometer seems to show a temperature problem, a logged trend can help show whether it is a lasting drift or a short cycle-related change.
Our latest photographs show the Inkbird controllers and separate shelf meters in use. The shelf meters read 61.0°F with 64% RH and 61.3°F with 66% RH in the two photographs. The October 8 app snapshots show Cooler 1 at 61.3% RH and Cooler 2 at 63.4% RH, both with a 60% humidity setpoint. These readings were taken at different times and positions, so they are spot checks rather than a calibration test. The October 7–8 history charts generally return toward the low 60s, but also record pronounced dips and a larger rise into roughly the upper 80s to low 90s. We observe changes around door openings and equipment cycles; the charts alone cannot identify the cause of every spike. This is why we look at the full history rather than claim the coolers stay at exactly 60/60 every moment. The sealed-container layer is now in place, giving each labelled batch an additional buffer during normal shop use.
The controllers also let us see how the coolers respond to real use instead of relying on a single spot reading. We continue checking the logged readings and comparing how both units perform during everyday use. We have now installed individual plastic containers with sealing lids for the strains we keep in the humidors, with each ounce in its own sealed zipper bag. Each outer container will have a 62% Boveda pack to help buffer the air surrounding the bags. It is one controlled environment backing up another: the humidor maintains overall conditions close to 60°F and 60% RH, while the sealed containers provide an additional humidity buffer against brief changes from door openings and cooling or dehumidifier cycles. The Boveda packs act on the air inside the outer containers; we are not claiming that the humidity inside every sealed bag stays exactly at 62%. We will continue monitoring conditions and inspecting the flower.
The new photographs below show how the finished storage arrangement works in daily shop use. We continue monitoring the controllers and making practical adjustments as needed.
Inside Our Finished Display Humidors
These photographs were taken at the shop when we first arrived. They show the two converted Pepsi coolers alongside our regular display cooler, the individually sealed containers, and the controls that keep the storage environment close to our target of 60°F and 60% relative humidity. The black coverings block light from the stored flower whenever the doors are closed.
Our testing has shown that the combination of the controlled cooler environment and sealed individual containers works well during normal shop use, even with doors being opened throughout the day. We still monitor the temperature and humidity histories rather than judging the system by one reading.
Why We Monitor So Much
You’ll notice one common theme running through the entire process:
We measure things.
Temperature, humidity, drying-room conditions, curing-container conditions and storage conditions all give us information.
A single reading doesn’t tell the entire story. Conditions change—especially when a large amount of freshly harvested flower enters a room.
What matters to us is knowing when those changes occur and having equipment in place to bring the environment back under control.
Harvest Isn’t the Finish Line
Months of work go into producing a crop.
For us, it doesn’t make sense to stop paying attention once the plants are cut down.
Drying, curing and storage are all part of protecting what was produced during the grow.
Our system will probably continue evolving as we experiment, learn and find ways to improve it.
That’s part of cultivation.
You never really stop learning.
Paradise Compassion Club
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