HELP!! Do I "trim" all this 1st "as I harvest it & hang to dry?

[Justadad]

This has probably been approached before many times.. sorry for "repeating".

OK folks.... need your knowledge & experience here.

Never harvested before.. Do I "Trim" all my girls 1st "as I harvest" them PRIOR to drying? It's better to hang individual cut branches VS the entire plant whole right?'

Also... without having to buy 1000 or so glass mason jars for storage & curing, can anyone recommend a good way to accomplish this? What would you use to store & cure your herbs? No, I don't have a "vacuum" system. can't afford one just yet.

Attached pics to help ya judge.

 

[leafmold]

Those do not look ripe. I wouldn't harvest just yet. Good looking gals. As far as the trim people like my herb better left untrimmed until dry. I would recommend since its your first to try a few ways to see what you like. The conditions in where their dryed is the most important part post harvest. As far as storage I dont have that task to deal with. Never have enough to store.

 

[Justadad]

I know I have a bit to go yet until harvest, just need to learn the best way. Never thought that "storage" would be an issue.

 

[leafmold]

Well thats a damn good issue to have. Look around theres lots of great info here from peeps way more knowledgable than myself.

 

[urbanfog]

Ive heard more and more recommendations of Rubbermaid tubs with sealable lids for sizeable harvests.....never needed that much though Just keep in dark rubbermaid after hanging and shake daily when burping. Nice looking plants ;)

 

[NewHopeResearch]

I get rubbermaid tubs, start harvesting and just throw your branches in the tubs when the tub is full bring inside and hang dry. call your trimmers in a few days and when they finish trimming just get some Turkey bags or vacuum bags with a cheap 50 sealer works great to keep fresh . For security buy 2 big tool box's that would fit into the bed of a pick truck, bring them inside chain lock them together N store in a dark cool place to keep fresh longer....

 

[paulycali]

Trim once dry

Also use turkey bags

 

[sixstring]

I trim as it comes off the plants and put them directly into a dry rack/screen.you can use 5 gal buckets for curing and burp them daily until they get as dry as you like it.lowes and home depot have the buckets for 2.25-2.30 each and lids for like 4 bucks with seals.i like the lowes buckets because they seem thicker abnd the silver color blocks light much better.gl,looks like it will be a real nice harvest soon.

 

[vaporedout]

im going tubs this year. the grower i trim for keeps them in tubs until i trim them. i like it that way. then once ive finished a LB he puts them in turkey bags (or the one time he couldnt get them he used goose bags) ive started leaving leaves on them when hanging/drying. IMO i get the best smells and tastes from it that way. im a smaller scale grow so i use brown paper bags to finish the dry. then i trim and jar, burping it daily.

 

[royfree2grow]

Trim once dry

Also use turkey bags

do you get better results trimming once dry? i find it to be waaay harder work and i'm not sure if the level of variance in quality is worth it...

 

[Seamaiden]

I pretty much refuse to trim wet because of how sticky things get. I easily spend as much time cleaning as trimming, and my response is fuck that shit.

This has probably been approached before many times.. sorry for "repeating".

OK folks.... need your knowledge & experience here.

Never harvested before.. Do I "Trim" all my girls 1st "as I harvest" them PRIOR to drying? It's better to hang individual cut branches VS the entire plant whole right?'

Better for whom? Not better for me, but better for Blaze. It's really an individual thing. I do the whole plant, or as close to the whole plant as possible. I find it's easier that way for several reasons. Slows down drying, keeps buds protected, makes for easier trimming (for me).

Also... without having to buy 1000 or so glass mason jars for storage & curing, can anyone recommend a good way to accomplish this? What would you use to store & cure your herbs? No, I don't have a "vacuum" system. can't afford one just yet.

Attached pics to help ya judge.

Plastic bins and brown paper grocery bags are your friend here. Once the plants are dried, use the paper bags and bins for curing. Be sure to monitor RH and temps, cooler temps, slightly higher RH (60%-65% for curing).

I personally recommend against turkey bags. I found that, even sealed, they let the bud dry out way too much. If you can't really seal, then I'd suggest getting those RH packs, 62% would be a sweet spot.

 

[paulycali]

do you get better results trimming once dry? i find it to be waaay harder work and i'm not sure if the level of variance in quality is worth it...

Absolutely

 

[Seamaiden]

Pauly, let's see if your experience with wet vs dry trimming mirrors mine. Along with becoming very sticky (I use ARS grape scissors, the black carbon steel is my preferred), you have to actually *cut* the leaves when trimming fresh material. Whereas with dry, you simply put a blade under the area you want to trim away and lift, and if it's at the right point of dryness (not too dry!) then the material will break away.

Of course, if it's too dry you'll be breaking off trichomes that, when wet, would be becoming scissor hash I suppose. There's going to be some loss no matter what, so you have to pick which pain you're going to have in your ass because it's all a pain in the ass to me.

 

[bongstar]

DRY TRIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! through my experiance if you dont want to worry about curring and jarring and burping and bins and all that, and you want a better flavor, dry trim. The leaves help make a enviorment around the herb as it hangs and allow them to dry slowly enough to retain all there flavor. Hang them till they snap off the stem, right to where you think its to dry almost, then trim, jar and done.

 

[CelticEBE]

I know I have a bit to go yet until harvest, just need to learn the best way. Never thought that "storage" would be an issue.

What's best for one person, may be a nightmare for someone else. I was taught to dry trim, and then I moved from NorCal to SoCal where I was taught to wet trim. I see benefits on either side. If I were taking down a pretty large sized outdoor without a mechanical trimmer, it would be dry trim all the way. If I were taking down a small room where me and my friends could get everything trimmed in a day.....I would go wet.

I actually use a trim pro rotor and hanging baskets. I know I could get a better end product with manual trimming, but I honestly don't want my place flooded with people come trim time. Not to mention how much I have paid out to trimmers over the last few years. Once my buds are slightly crisp, about 6 days at 65 degrees and 55% humidity, they go into Black Magic bags for two weeks of burping. I have heard of some people using contractor bags for burping as well. I'm going to buy some airtight containers and boveda packs soon to give that a shot.

Like Seamaiden said....it's really an individual thing. Just like everything else....there are a million ways to skin a cat.

 

[frebo]

Pauly, let's see if your experience with wet vs dry trimming mirrors mine. Along with becoming very sticky (I use ARS grape scissors, the black carbon steel is my preferred), you have to actually *cut* the leaves when trimming fresh material. Whereas with dry, you simply put a blade under the area you want to trim away and lift, and if it's at the right point of dryness (not too dry!) then the material will break away.

Of course, if it's too dry you'll be breaking off trichomes that, when wet, would be becoming scissor hash I suppose. There's going to be some loss no matter what, so you have to pick which pain you're going to have in your ass because it's all a pain in the ass to me.

First, thank you for mentioning the ARS scissors. We have used the Fiskars and removed the orange lock thing and sometime a hair tie "figure 8'd on the handles. I order a couple to try, but they look better.
Next, I recently heard of someone that dries then sprays the bud with water before trimming. Did he get it too dry or is there another possibility. Anyone?

 

[Cort]

If your drying environment is controlled properly it will be hard to over dry you herb.

65+/- degrees and 50+/- humidity for first few days. Then I take it to 55-60% and slow the drying way down so it takes about a week. Keeping air moving but not blowing directly on the herb.

This means I can do my trimming at a slower pace without the risk of over drying. I did small batches so jars worked for me. Do the bags/rubbermaid like the big time guys suggest.

 

[frebo]

What's best for one person, may be a nightmare for someone else. I was taught to dry trim, and then I moved from NorCal to SoCal where I was taught to wet trim. I see benefits on either side. If I were taking down a pretty large sized outdoor without a mechanical trimmer, it would be dry trim all the way. If I were taking down a small room where me and my friends could get everything trimmed in a day.....I would go wet.

I actually use a trim pro rotor and hanging baskets. I know I could get a better end product with manual trimming, but I honestly don't want my place flooded with people come trim time. Not to mention how much I have paid out to trimmers
over the last few years. Once my buds are slightly crisp, about 6 days at 65 degrees and 55% humidity, they go into Black Magic bags for two weeks of burping. I have heard of some people using contractor bags for burping as well. I'm going to buy some airtight containers and boveda packs soon to give that a shot.

Like Seamaiden said....it's really an individual thing. Just like everything else....there are a million ways to skin a cat.

Trimming is overrated. I use a Chinese copy of the Trimpro to take the big leaf off before hang branches. After drying, I cut the buds loose and throw into a hand cranked Spinpro. If my patients want it trimmed closer they can trim it at home. Why cut all that frosty stuff just to ending up with big jars full of kief that no one uses except for making ear wax(not a big fan). We smoke that stuff the way it comes out of the Spinpro or you can trim it when you smoke it. We do trim a lot of trophy bud but not for the patients. We need to eliminate as much labor as possible(I am old and retard) to lower the price. Take the price and crime out of it and we have no criminals.

 

[baba G]

Trimming is overrated. I use a Chinese copy of the Trimpro to take the big leaf off before hang branches. After drying, I cut the buds loose and throw into a hand cranked Spinpro. If my patients want it trimmed closer they can trim it at home. Why cut all that frosty stuff just to ending up with big jars full of kief that no one uses except for making ear wax(not a big fan). We smoke that stuff the way it comes out of the Spinpro or you can trim it when you smoke it. We do trim a lot of trophy bud but not for the patients. We need to eliminate as much labor as possible(I am old and retard) to lower the price. Take the price and crime out of it and we have no criminals.

I can think of more than just ear wax to use kief/shake for....ime Patients love edibles made with canna butter and oils and kief is good by itself, imo. Can take the price out of it or you can provide a job for a human, two sides to the coin ;)

 

[frebo]

I can think of more than just ear wax to use kief/shake for....ime Patients love edibles made with canna butter and oils and kief is good by itself, imo. Can take the price out of it or you can provide a job for a human, two sides to the coin ;)

True. We do make some really nice butter and my daughter has made some killer baked goods.
SO, I have heard people say you want to get the leaf away for hanging to avoid that " chlorophyll " smell/ taste. Will not trimming so close, as with the Spinpro, affect the aroma/taste after storage?
Next, I use the big mouth Ball/Kerr jars with a seal a
Meal machine that has a vacuum attachment to seal the jars. A year later it is remarkably fresh. The two quart jar is perfect for a 1/4
Lb and the pint for an ounce.(with tight buds)