AMA with Ruben Rascon of Cure Advantage This Wed. Sep 26th 11 AM

Do you want to learn about the Science of Curing and how it affects THC content? Don’t Miss this AMA

  • Who: Ruben Rascon of Cure Advantage
  • What: Curing Science and THC Content
  • When : Wednesday, September 26th at 11 AM PST

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Cure Advantage implements patent-pending technologies in the post-harvest curing process to achieve a higher quality product for our customers. By utilizing expertise in cultivation, engineering, and information technology we design and build custom gas-exchange mechanisms for cultivation sites to enhance the properties of the product as well as augment the efficiency of the curing process itself.

By applying data analysis of key metrics obtained by sensor arrays, Cure Advantage is able to determine the peak of cure and reduce cure time from 16-21 days to 6-8 days. With the automation of the curing process, labor is reduced and time to market is decreased, thus culminating fast returns on investment and maximizing profits, with no up front costs. With the Cure Advantage curing system our clients have enjoyed a 25% increase in THC content, a dramatic increase in flower to popcorn ratio, enhanced security, improved trichome quality and amplified aroma.

Contact info:

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Hello,

I post my questions now, because I may not be able to join the discussion tomorrow. Many Thanks, in advance.
1- Can you explain more on the chemistry of 25% increase in THCA content with a proper curing process.
2- If you monitor trichomes under a microscope, what would be the main difference between trichomes at the harvest time and trichomes after a proper curing process? For example, if you harvest at 80% cloudy trichomes to 10% amber, 10% clear, what would you expect to see after a proper curing process?
3- What are the hints of an incomplete curing process, if you cure traditionally?
3- How a controlled curing process will affect the cannabis burn regarding white/gray ash or black ash? Does curing process affect the excessive nutrients or only sugars and starches?
4- When curing traditionally, for example in buckets, some recommend to fill the container as much as possible, some say 75%. Which one do you recommend? What is the main reason for burping in the first week? Is it for supplying air to aerobic bacteria?

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I just wanted to make a quick shout out to @Cure_Advantage_Ruben and @Cure_Advantage_Jon for Sponsoring the latest episode of Canna Cribs! Without our sponsors, Canna Cribs wouldn’t be possible. Thank you from the entire Growers Network crew!

Here’s CureAdvantage’s segment for our @memberdirectory to watch and ask the man behind the machine anything you’d like about it!

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Great questions.

  1. With a proper curing cycle, trichomes will continue to work, given enough fresh air and residual nutrients in the stem. With proper handling, one should see an increase (results vary depending on cultivar, environmental conditions, plant maturity, etc.) in THCA as metabolic processes continue until resources are exhausted. With that in mind, a proper dry cycle is critical to maximize the cure cycle. This is due to having the moisture level in the plant material at an optimum level, so that the trichomes can continue there work. A quick dry saps the moisture too quickly causing cell death, and therefore ending the metabolic processes of the adjacent trichomes. As for the 20-25% increase that we normally see out of our system, this is due to other factors that are proprietary to our system.

  2. After proper curing, you should see an increase in amber trichomes, and clear trikes becoming cloudy. You should end up with very little clear, 20 to 30 % amber, and remainder cloudy. Eventually all trikes will become amber.

  3. An improper cure will have a darker ash, though most of the black versus white ash is due to processes prior to cure like flushing fertilizer salts and pesticides which are flame retardants. Proper curing allows for the plant material to continue with its metabolic processes. The flower will continue with trichome, cannabinoid, and terpene production, so long as there is sufficient moisture and nutrients to work with. To allow for a smooth transition into cure from the dry cycle, a slow dry is best, where the flowers can continue to pull resources from the stems. This slows down as the material dries.

  4. The material in the container should be filled between 80 and 90 percent. This allows a small supply of oxygen and nitrogen, with which the trichomes continue there work, while limiting the amount of work by other metabolic processes. The burping is necessary to replenish oxygen and nitrogen that has been converted into other gases. Continuing the burping method is key in the curing cycle.

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Ruben,

Without having to burp anymore, do you notice an increase in overall weight?

Maybe due to proper water retention or even from keeping “the hands out of the cookie jar”? I’ve trimmed and cured before, and I know there was always a bit of tomfoolery going on among the employees at the end of a long season… Some weight has definitely disappeared from that, and that can be an inconceivable amount if you think of the scale of that industry-wide.

@growopowners @DispensaryOwners, does this ever concern you?

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Looks like this AMA is off and jamming! I want to thank @Cure_Advantage_Jon for taking the time to be here today. Thanks for answering our questions!

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I just want to say it was so cool to see one of my friends from Southern AZ doing something so big on CannaCribs! I was super stoked! It was a super cool scene too! I think a lot of peoples interest was piqued when they saw this. I know I have heard a lot of folks especially from Down Under in Australia especially interested.

Have you seen an uptick in interest from the Canna Cribs episode, @Cure_Advantage_Jon?

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Thank you for the detailed response! I have another question. What is the chemistry responsible for turning color from clear to cloudy and amber?

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Considering above, how you evaluate this one taken after curing process?
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Edit: Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us.

How do you measure moisture content of flower before it goes into cure? What do you find is the optimal window for moisture content to enter curing, using your technology?

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Yes, water retention weight will increase with proper drying and curing, of course this will be seen as more significant of a gain in the larger cultivation centers.

As for the “hand in the cookie jar” or security, using an automated system that is hands off has definitely helped our customers control product loss. The curing / burping process by tradition is hands on and usually provides the most opportunity to remove product before final weighing.

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Moisture content can easily be measured by a moisture content analyzer, we suggest a couple of models and brands. What we do not suggest is breaking twigs, this is a guessing game that you truly cannot win.

As for our technology, we suggest a range from 10-12% for normal operations. In some extreme cases where a facility is fighting mold issues we have seen up to 30%, though this is NOT a normal practice and the cure time is greatly extended.

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Hey @memberdirectory, c’mon down and join the party at this week’s AMA! We have @Cure_Advantage_Jon with us today and we are discussing the latest curing technology.

You only have this hour to get those questions in while we have the Cure Advantage team here with us. Let’s talk curing!

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When you determine a 20-25% increase in THC, is this based on a control group using more common methods vs your technology?

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As a longtime grower, I feel insufficient precedence has been given to the importance of the cure in the overall process of growing. So often we saw otherwise great product destroyed by an improper cure. Clearly you saw a similar problem.

How did you find your way into the “Curing Niche” of the cannabis industry?

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This is a little more in depth, I would like some time to get you the right answer. Generally speaking, many growers suggest harvesting the crop when half the trichomes on their plants are opaque in order to get the highest level of THC with the lowest level of CBD.

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Looks well cured to me. Seems like you have a fair balance between amber and white trichs. I don’t see any mold or bug feces in this sample. What do you think about this finished product? How did it smell?

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It is based on the independent lab results we conduct after concluding our trial period. During trials we do side by side testing. Results for both are sent out to labs. These results can be viewed on our website.

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Initially, when we started growing we found the burping process to be monotonous. We knew how important it was to the aroma, smoothness, and moisture of the final product, we just had to come up with a way to automate it and make it a repeatable process.

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I am happy with it as well. Trichomes are intact and mostly milky in color and it smells great. My only concern/thought is that I do not see a meaningful difference after curing, which makes me wonder if I should modify my process. Other than that, it smells great.

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