How to wet trim WITHOUT loss of quality

[GrundleGrow]

The age old debate... I haven't tested it yet but I think I may have figured out a way to wet trim without losing any goodies. Hear me out.

If drying times are kept equal, trimming before drying loses aroma because the large open wounds on the plant not only allow water to escape faster, but essential oils and terpenes. This is because when water travels via osmotic pressure towards the dry, open wound, the flow carries our precious terpenes with it. Without wet trimming, water is only free to escape through the cut stems and through pores in the leaves and bud calyxes, which are small and allow fewer essential oils to escape. Some may argue that dry trimming is beneficial also because the sugar leaves create a "protective layer" around the buds, but you can remedy this by simply not blowing air directly on the buds, increasing RH, or doing anything to reduce resin sublimation/evaporation - so I don't think this plays as much of a role in aroma loss as the open wounds and osmotic flow. Moving on...

So how could we trim the plant wet to reap the benefits of a faster trim, less allergens, and less handling of dry/fragile trichomes, but without sacrificing quality? I think one could trim the plant entirely while its still alive with its roots in the medium, the night before harvest.

Here's my reasoning: if you trim it while its still alive, the plant will naturally heal the wounds shut within a few hours. During that time, some water will evaporate, yes, but it WONT be carrying any of our precious goodies out with it. This is because water follows the path of least resistance when subjected to osmotic pressure. In this case, since the plant still has its roots in water, the wounds will pull water from there, up through the phloem. This is just what plants do when they are still alive and moving water.

What do you all think? Open to critique and discussion. I'll be testing this side by side

 

[Timbo0716]

Very interesting post indeed, I hope to see your results posted in the future. I just harvested a grow and trimmed them as they were still in the pots, had 3 of them that were ripe to my liking. After a few hours of trimming and smoking a bowl here and there, then getting munchies looking for a better position to get in. They stayed in the pots for a few hours after a clip. They were hung for 9-14 days hanging and got the usual grass smell as they hung. The grow was Geleto#33, Sour D and Amnesia. The funny thing was the buds for the Sour D had no smell, but now after being in the jars curing, the are now smelling like a gasoline smell to it now and the other 2 are very punget smell to them. Hoping to see how the final result of them will be.

 

[GrundleGrow]

Very interesting post indeed, I hope to see your results posted in the future. I just harvested a grow and trimmed them as they were still in the pots, had 3 of them that were ripe to my liking. After a few hours of trimming and smoking a bowl here and there, then getting munchies looking for a better position to get in. They stayed in the pots for a few hours after a clip. They were hung for 9-14 days hanging and got the usual grass smell as they hung. The grow was Geleto#33, Sour D and Amnesia. The funny thing was the buds for the Sour D had no smell, but now after being in the jars curing, the are now smelling like a gasoline smell to it now and the other 2 are very punget smell to them. Hoping to see how the final result of them will be.

Cool, also hoping you report back on your final result!

 

[Dirtbag]

Seems like it would be a real pain to wet trim everything while it's still in a pot.
I was a wet trimmer for years until recently and will never go back. Dry trimming is easier, faster, less messy, and produces a better product without any hassle of trying to trim while the plant is still potted and growing... But it's an interesting theory. And I like interesting theories.
Friends of mine have a theory that one of the reasons dry trim is superior, is the high brix sap in the stems is drawn into the flowers as it evaporates through the stoma, increasing the brix of the flower. And most people are aware that higher brix is correlated with a higher level of terpenes and essential oils.

 

[GrundleGrow]

Seems like it would be a real pain to wet trim everything while it's still in a pot.
I was a wet trimmer for years until recently and will never go back. Dry trimming is easier, faster, less messy, and produces a better product without any hassle of trying to trim while the plant is still potted and growing... But it's an interesting theory. And I like interesting theories.
Friends of mine have a theory that one of the reasons dry trim is superior, is the high brix sap in the stems is drawn into the flowers as it evaporates through the stoma, increasing the brix of the flower. And most people are aware that higher brix is correlated with a higher level of terpenes and essential oils.

Interesting, i think ill be trying multiple methods of trimming and drying this round. Sounds like your friends theory is the same as mine - instead of the brix content evaporating out through the open wounds, it becomes concentrated in the calyxes as the water evaporates.

 

[quirk]

My personal preference is to start trimming 7-10 days before harvest and tidy up in the trim bin.
That being said I grow autos and don't have much to trim.

 

[PipeCarver]

My personal preference is to start trimming 7-10 days before harvest and tidy up in the trim bin.
That being said I grow autos and don't have much to trim.

I'm with you I trim while they're still in the pot and back in for a night or 2 to let some of the inner buds get more light and ripen up a bit more. I also find it easier to trim while they're living. I stand them on my plant bench sit in a chair and spin the plant as needed. I can cut the leaves off closer to the stem while they're still standing straight out and when drying they don't hide moisture behind them allowing mold to form.

 

[Dirtbag]

I'm with you I trim while they're still in the pot and back in for a night or 2 to let some of the inner buds get more light and ripen up a bit more. I also find it easier to trim while they're living. I stand them on my plant bench sit in a chair and spin the plant as needed. I can cut the leaves off closer to the stem while they're still standing straight out and when drying they don't hide moisture behind them allowing mold to form.View attachment 973389

Sweet looking Bush man, looks like some kinda bonsai tree.lol

 

[GrundleGrow]

I'm with you I trim while they're still in the pot and back in for a night or 2 to let some of the inner buds get more light and ripen up a bit more. I also find it easier to trim while they're living. I stand them on my plant bench sit in a chair and spin the plant as needed. I can cut the leaves off closer to the stem while they're still standing straight out and when drying they don't hide moisture behind them allowing mold to form.View attachment 973389

awesome info man thanks. definite a great bush too.

 

[PipeCarver]

Sweet looking Bush man, looks like some kinda bonsai tree.lol

That was a Chemdog finished a couple months ago. almost all smoked now,

 

[BogartAmungus]

That was a Chemdog finished a couple months ago. almost all smoked now,

DAAAAAAAM that's a lot of tokin' HA

 

[BogartAmungus]

I'm with you I trim while they're still in the pot and back in for a night or 2 to let some of the inner buds get more light and ripen up a bit more. I also find it easier to trim while they're living. I stand them on my plant bench sit in a chair and spin the plant as needed. I can cut the leaves off closer to the stem while they're still standing straight out and when drying they don't hide moisture behind them allowing mold to form.View attachment 973389

Gorgeous man!

 

[RippedTorn]

Op offers a loaded statement. "Since we all know pigs are gay, why are pigs gay". No pigs are not gay so you can't get a valid answer. Wet trimming loses quality because fatty acids in the plant produce pest injury signals rather than human desirable derivatives.


Here's a proposed question that's NOT loaded with a false statement: Hay/grass doesn't smell stronger than skunk/armpit /sewer/rotting corpse, so why do so many growers of such strains have a hay smell for some weeks after harvest? Answer: Injuring the plant changes composition of fatty acid derivatives to produce pest predator attracting signals rather than pothead attracting signals.

 

[mancorn]

[

Op offers a loaded statement. "Since we all know pigs are gay, why are pigs gay". No pigs are not gay so you can't get a valid answer. Wet trimming loses quality because fatty acids in the plant produce pest injury signals rather than human desirable derivatives.


Here's a proposed question that's NOT loaded with a false statement: Hay/grass doesn't smell stronger than skunk/armpit /sewer/rotting corpse, so why do so many growers of such strains have a hay smell for some weeks after harvest? Answer: Injuring the plant changes composition of fatty acid derivatives to produce pest predator attracting signals rather than pothead attracting signals.

Probably not.

"In all plants reported thus far, there are notable similarities in the structure of the volatile compounds that are emitted from insect-damaged leaves and from leaves distal to the site of damage. The structural uniformity in the chemical emissions from different plants with insect feeding suggests the activation of a common set of biosynthetic pathways shared by a wide range of plant families, and that the products are detectable to a broad spectrum of insect parasitoids and predators (Fig. 2). The ability of host-seeking insects to recognize and respond to such chemical cues and differentiate them from background odors indicates that insect-damaged plants emit volatile chemicals that are clearly distinguishable from those released in response to other types of damage or those released from undamaged plants. The plant's ability to differentiate between herbivore damage and a general wound response suggests the presence of elicitors associated with insect feeding that are absent from other types of leaf damage."

 

[Terpz719]

I think there is a problem with your hypothesis. It's my understanding that the cannabinoids and terpenes are located in the trichomes out on the surface of the plant, and are not part of the sap that circulates within the xylem. So none of the "goodies" escape from open wounds due to trimming or otherwise.

Maybe someone with a better understanding of plant science can weigh in.

 

[BogartAmungus]

Great as if I wasn't cornfused enough! Ha! I hope to have some good stuff to cure and cut. I was thinking about setting up a tent with an infinity fan and filfer to hang my monster nugzzzz lol that way I can control the smell as I don't want it permeating through out the house. Then dry trim. Does that sound like a good idea? My neighbor has a couple tents he said I can have. Anybody else hang/dry in a tent?

 

[RealFarmer]

If you homegrow you should do both. Trim a little while wet then finish when dry. If you are a larfer scale or commercial grower get a good trimmer and it really doesn't matter. Drying is more important