So it’s that time is it?
You have cut down your pot plants and are ready to start trimming but are not quite sure on what steps to take next. In this article we will be focusing on trimming: what it is, reasons for trimming when to and types of trimming and how to do a dry or wet trim using the correct and most appropriate tools to prevent damage to your cannabis buds.
What is trimming?
Harvesting cultivated cannabis is the most anticipated and rewarding part of the planting, but this not the concluding stage for growers. To prepare your cannabis for sale, there are a few more things you must know. Like I earlier mentioned, trimming the flowers or buds is the next stage for the plant after harvest.
Trimming or manicuring means removing the fan leaves and leaving the buds or flowers. It is to produce and retain a sweet flavour, ensure smoothness of the smoke and if it is for vamping; then it is to prevent a harsh reaction in the throat. After that, you have beautiful looking buds with little sugar leaves.
These buds look amazing beautiful like a decorated ornamental plant as they hang to dry. Manicuring the plant is not always a pleasant experience; it takes practice to get used to properly doing it well and correctly. It is the reason why some growers leave their plants untrimmed because of the time consuming and hectic procedure and processes required.
Why do you trim your cannabis buds?
If you have two buds sitting in front of you and one of them is a beautifully well-trimmed cannabis bud and the other one is untrimmed with gangly looking leaves sticking out every were what will be your choice? I would go for the well-trimmed bud even before considering which one of the two has the flavour, or a high concentration of THC. We all love beautiful things. So, trimming your buds is mostly considered as having a higher quality and potency than an untrimmed one. It is also appealing to the eyes.
A trimmed bud has a strong and better smell when cured, and it doesn’t have the hay smell since all the leaves have been removed, dried, and store for some weeks. It is also not harsh on the throat but smooth by removing the dried leaves, and you get buds that are very rich in trichomes. Thereby leading to buds with a high-quality THC concentration and cannabinoid; since most sugar leaves have been trimmed off.
When to trim your buds
Trimming your buds is an essential part of the harvest period. If you want to do the wet trim method this can be started a few weeks before harvest, but I find it is best to do this on the day of harvest when the buds are on the plant. You can use scissor to remove the leaves which have resins to keep for other purposes. The wet trim should be done up to 4 days after harvesting, the removal of large fan leaves will allow air to get to the buds and start the drying process.
If you are looking to dry trim, cut and hang your plants to dry till the branches snap, at that point your cannabis buds will be ready to trim
Just make sure you maintain the proper temperature and humidity when drying
How to trim your buds
As a grower, you can do the trimming of your buds by hand or machine. Hand trimming has more advantages since persons can trim off only the leaves irrespective of the size or shape of the buds and maintain the crystalline on the buds avoiding over trimming.
First of all you want to set up a comfortable environment where you will be able to work for a long period of time, then find some music or a podcast, documentary something that. This it will not grab or sway your attention away from what you are presently doing, you will also need to wear appropriate clothes and disposable gloves for handling the buds.
Secondly, make sure you remove all the fan leaves from the buds. These leaves do not have many trichomes on them and are not needed to produce premium cannabis. It is when harvesting either from the wet or dry trimming (here, you might pull out the large ones by hand before drying). If these leaves have a small amount of trichome, you can either save for making hash or dispose of them outrightly.
Thirdly, snip buds from the branch, and cut to sizes that can be handled easily without overwhelming you, and lastly fill up your tray to trim to your desired shape. Try cutting off as much sugar leaves as you can. Now you will have perfectly trimmed buds, just like those seen at the dispensary.
The Wet and Dry trimming
There are practically two ways to achieve trimming of your cannabis buds.
They are:
- Wet trim
This process involves trimming your cannabis buds before drying them. Here, the plants are fresh and having wet leaves that must be removed, before hanging them to dry. This process can be very messy due to the resins that stick to your scissors and make it difficult to continue cutting, if this happens grab some alcohol to clean them.
Do a wet trim:
- When you want to dry your buds quickly
- when your environment has high humidity
- When most of the buds dry up at a short space of time and unevenly,
- To prevent molds on your buds.
2. Dry trim
In this process, the buds are dry before trimming or taking out the sugar leaves, that is if the fan leaves were cut-off before drying the buds. Here, the process is not messy because the plant is already dried.
Do a dry trim:
- If you don’t want the hay smell and you want an improved aroma due to breakdown of the chlorophyll.
- If the loss of colour does not matter to you, because dry trimming makes the buds to lose the green/ purple colour turning into dried brown colourations,
- If you want it to hang and dry gradually,
- If you want a tight, dense, and uniformly dried bud, and
- If your environment has a low humidity or you can monitor it.
- If you do not mind the molds due to trapped moisture while drying.
Whatever the method used, you should ensure that a higher THC and a strong aroma or flavour is maintained and required. There is no wrong or right way to do the trimming of your cannabis buds. It all depends on your preference and what produces results for you. But always note that too much light, air, moisture and heat can make your terpenes evaporate and this will lead to a low potency of THC and reduction in its flavour.
Tools used for trimming.
There are appropriate tools to be used for trimming. If inappropriate tools are used, it can lead to damage of the buds and mess up the expected results.
Below are tools:
- Sterilized pair of scissors or snips for trimming and the shearer for cutting buds from the branch.
- Three trays or containers; one for the untrimmed, one for trimming (holding leaves and other trimmed particles), and one for the trimmed buds.
- A good apron or appropriate clothing, especially if it is wet trimming since it will take time to get the sticky resins off.
- Disposable hand gloves for holding the branch.
Conclusion
Picking the method for trimming is always the first step when harvesting. Considering the attributes of both the wet and dry trimming will guide you in making this choice. But for convenience, I always dry trim and I get a good result in terms of flavour and potency. You must remember that practice makes perfect if you were not able to achieve the perfectly trimmed bud the first time take your time and grab another bud… Remember practice is the only way to perfection, also using the appropriate tools will help make the task easy.
Learning is always an everyday event. I will be glad to see your comments and hear your stories regarding trimming.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to use the comment section.
Thanks for reading.
So it’s that time is it?
You have cut down your pot plants and are ready to start trimming but are not quite sure on what steps to take next. In this article we will be focusing on trimming: what it is, reasons for trimming when to and types of trimming and how to do a dry or wet trim using the correct and most appropriate tools to prevent damage to your cannabis buds.
What is trimming?
Harvesting cultivated cannabis is the most anticipated and rewarding part of the planting, but this not the concluding stage for growers. To prepare your cannabis for sale, there are a few more things you must know. Like I earlier mentioned, trimming the flowers or buds is the next stage for the plant after harvest.
Trimming or manicuring means removing the fan leaves and leaving the buds or flowers. It is to produce and retain a sweet flavour, ensure smoothness of the smoke and if it is for vamping; then it is to prevent a harsh reaction in the throat. After that, you have beautiful looking buds with little sugar leaves.
These buds look amazing beautiful like a decorated ornamental plant as they hang to dry. Manicuring the plant is not always a pleasant experience; it takes practice to get used to properly doing it well and correctly. It is the reason why some growers leave their plants untrimmed because of the time consuming and hectic procedure and processes required.
Why do you trim your cannabis buds?
If you have two buds sitting in front of you and one of them is a beautifully well-trimmed cannabis bud and the other one is untrimmed with gangly looking leaves sticking out every were what will be your choice? I would go for the well-trimmed bud even before considering which one of the two has the flavour, or a high concentration of THC. We all love beautiful things. So, trimming your buds is mostly considered as having a higher quality and potency than an untrimmed one. It is also appealing to the eyes.
A trimmed bud has a strong and better smell when cured, and it doesn’t have the hay smell since all the leaves have been removed, dried, and store for some weeks. It is also not harsh on the throat but smooth by removing the dried leaves, and you get buds that are very rich in trichomes. Thereby leading to buds with a high-quality THC concentration and cannabinoid; since most sugar leaves have been trimmed off.
When to trim your buds
Trimming your buds is an essential part of the harvest period. If you want to do the wet trim method this can be started a few weeks before harvest, but I find it is best to do this on the day of harvest when the buds are on the plant. You can use scissor to remove the leaves which have resins to keep for other purposes. The wet trim should be done up to 4 days after harvesting, the removal of large fan leaves will allow air to get to the buds and start the drying process.
If you are looking to dry trim, cut and hang your plants to dry till the branches snap, at that point your cannabis buds will be ready to trim
Just make sure you maintain the proper temperature and humidity when drying
How to trim your buds
As a grower, you can do the trimming of your buds by hand or machine. Hand trimming has more advantages since persons can trim off only the leaves irrespective of the size or shape of the buds and maintain the crystalline on the buds avoiding over trimming.
First of all you want to set up a comfortable environment where you will be able to work for a long period of time, you will also need to wear appropriate clothes and disposable gloves for handling the buds.
Secondly, make sure you remove all the fan leaves from the buds. These leaves do not have many trichomes on them and are not needed to produce premium cannabis. It is when harvesting either from the wet or dry trimming (here, you might pull out the large ones by hand before drying). If these leaves have a small amount of trichome, you can either save for making hash or dispose of them outrightly.
Thirdly, snip buds from the branch, and cut to sizes that can be handled easily without overwhelming you, and lastly fill up your tray to trim to your desired shape. Try cutting off as much sugar leaves as you can. Now you will have perfectly trimmed buds, just like those seen at the dispensary.
The Wet and Dry trimming
There are practically two ways to achieve trimming of your cannabis buds.
They are:
- Wet trim
This process involves trimming your cannabis buds before drying them. Here, the plants are fresh and having wet leaves that must be removed, before hanging them to dry. This process can be very messy due to the resins that stick to your scissors and make it stressful to continue cutting with the scissors. It is an advantage, in case you got tired while working, you will only trim the stem that reaped leaving the others on the plant to continue growing and have good exposure to light.
Do a wet trim:
- When you want to dry your buds quickly
- when your environment has high humidity
- When most of the buds dry up at a short space of time and unevenly,
- To prevent molds on your buds.
2. Dry trim
In this process, the buds are dry before trimming or taking out the sugar leaves, that is if the fan leaves were cut-off before drying the buds. Here, the process is not messy because the plant is already dried.
Do a dry trim:
- If you don’t want the hay smell and you want an improved aroma due to breakdown of the chlorophyll.
- If the loss of colour does not matter to you, because dry trimming makes the buds to lose the green/ purple colour turning into dried brown colourations,
- If you want it to hang and dry gradually,
- If you want a tight, dense, and uniformly dried bud, and
- If your environment has a low humidity or you can monitor it.
- If you do not mind the molds due to trapped moisture while drying.
Whatever the method used, you should ensure that a higher THC and a strong aroma or flavour is maintained and required. There is no wrong or right way to do the trimming of your cannabis buds. It all depends on your preference and what produces results for you. But always note that too much light, air, moisture and heat can make your terpenes evaporate and this will lead to a low potency of THC and reduction in its flavour.
Tools used for trimming.
There are appropriate tools to be used for trimming. If inappropriate tools are used, it can lead to damage of the buds and mess up the expected results.
Below are tools:
- Sterilized pair of scissors for trimming and the shearer for cutting buds from the branch.
- Three trays or containers; one for the untrimmed, one for trimming (holding leaves and other trimmed particles), and one for the trimmed buds.
- A good apron or appropriate clothing, especially if it is wet trimming since it will take time to get the sticky resins off.
- Disposable hand gloves for holding the branch.
Conclusion
Picking the method for trimming is always the first step when harvesting. Considering the attributes of both the wet and dry trimming will guide you in making this choice. But for convenience, I always dry trim and I get a good result in terms of flavour and potency. You must remember that practice makes perfect if you were not able to achieve the perfectly trimmed bud the first time take your time and grab another bud… Remember practice is the only way to perfection, also using the appropriate tools will help make the task easy.
Learning is always an everyday event. I will be glad to see your comments and hear your stories regarding trimming.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to use the comment section.
Thanks for reading.