Trimming cannabis buds by hand is an art since it takes a lot of skill to make buds look good and appealing once they hit the dispensaries.
#41excludeGlossary #42excludeGlossary “tree defoliation expert”, etc. regardless of which euphemism you’d like to employ, let’s learn how trimmers are an essential component of the modern cannabis industry.
While many cannabis growers treat harvest like the final stage of cultivation, it is far from the end since buds need to be dried and cured before being ready for consumption.
Along with improving their looks, trimming cannabis buds makes for smoother smoking, a greater potency, and reduces any mold formation.
We’ll cover each step of the trimming process, compare and contrast methods, and show you how to do it right.
Now, there’s more to just snipping away at your buds and before you decide to use an automatic trimmer method, you ought to understand how trimming is done by hand first.
Trimming your buds is not just for making the buds look good… we will learn different practical applications behind it, but still optimize cannabis trimming techniques for enhancing cannabinoids and terpene content.
When you harvest your cannabis, you’re going to encounter two (2) kinds of leaves that you need to trim off.
#46excludeGlossary are the leaves that grow directly on the bud.
They have a harsher flavor when smoked but may be used for edibles due to their decent levels of terpenes and cannabinoids.
“Fan Leaves” are the first to develop in the growth cycle and are used as indicators of plant health.
They contain very few cannabinoids, but not enough to give you that high.
Some people use “Fan Leaves” for salads and may also be used for salves using their anti-inflammatory properties.
Begin trimming by clearing out the “Fan Leaves”…
You can dispose of them, or you may turn them into edibles later, depending on your preference.
If you plan to use them later on, separate them from your tray for “Sugar Leaves”, as mixing them will only add to plant matter that needs processing.
When it comes to trimming the “Sugar Leaves”, you don’t need to take out the whole leaf, since it goes deep inside the buds. Trying to dig in and take it out may cause damage to the buds.
Just trim off the “Sugar Leaves” to the best that you can, while avoiding damaging the buds. Go over each bud, giving it a clean look.
Then put the trimmed buds on the designated tray.
In case you accidentally damage a bud while trimming, don’t throw it away. Just add it to your “Sugar Leaves” for processing.
Once you are done trimming your buds, you can begin drying and curing them if you’re “Wet Trimming” or set them aside for extraction later if you are “Dry Trimming”.
One thing you will notice when you are done is that your scissor and gloves will be full of hash. Don’t throw that away yet. Scrape and store them in silicon canisters for use later. You can use your “Sugar Leaves” and “Fan Leaves” for concentrates and edibles, respectively.
For the branches and the remainder of the plant that you just harvested, cut them up and put in a double bag these plant materials for disposal later.
Make sure that they are rendered to an unusable state. Then take them out for disposal on the day that your trash is picked up.
After trimming your entire harvest, your collection tray will be filled or overflowing with stems, stalks, “Fan Leaves”, and “Sugar Leaves”.
Although these components might seem like waste material, you can put this trim to good use. No, you won’t want to smoke them, but all of these parts contain cannabinoids and terpene stores.
You can use them to make all sorts of homemade products that’ll have you feeling those good herbal vibes.
Growers can get especially experimental with “Sugar Leaves” since they aren’t the best to smoke, but you can use them to make some quality cannabutter, some “Sugar Leaf” tea, or even some tasty kief to add to your bud.
Likewise, you can use the stems to make an assortment of extracts and concentrates, but there’s an impact of harvest time and cannabis trimming techniques on total cannabinoid concentration. We believe the best uses for cannabis stems include:
- Charas
- Kief
- Bubble Hash
- Tea and Chai
- Infuse Butter
- Topicals
With trimming over, you’ll need to dry – unless you were “Dry Trimming” – and cure your flowers since drying removes any excess moisture from your flowers, minimizes mold formation, and makes them viable for long-term storage.
Curing your buds will greatly enhance their flavor and contribute to buttery smooth hits since this process forces buds to maintain just the right amount of moisture to make them pleasant to smoke and ideal for storing.
Trimming buds is a relatively easy affair, and it only gets tedious when you have too much to process, but there are plenty of applications that you can do with these buds.
That said, knowing how to trim your buds gives you a full understanding of how a well-manicured bud improves appeal and taste for consumers.
The trimmer’s role is to remove the plant stems, “Fan Leaves” then trim the “Sugar Leaves” which helps expose the buds, which are denser with trichomes that contain cannabinoids.
“Sugar Leaves” also have harsher smoke, which separates them from the buds. This reveals the flowers that will eventually be ground up and smoked, vaped, or otherwise processed in some fashion so it’s ready for human consumption.
Trimming is the most popular entry-level position in the cannabis industry, so there are lots of talented trimmers out there. The best and fastest can trim multiple pounds in a day depending upon the cannabis plant’s genetics while maintaining an acceptable quality level based on the product guidelines.
Traditionally, most cannabis trimming has been done seasonally around the harvest season since in the past cannabis was grown outdoors and it is common for cannabis farms to have “trimming crews” to help harvest.
As the cannabis industry has expanded, so have indoor growing and greenhouse operations that are capable of ‘perpetual harvests’. Meaning they can harvest more often by controlling the light and dark cycles to grow year-round.
This means many operations can plan to harvest plants monthly, weekly, or daily if they choose so this demand for trimmers is largely “seasonal” per individual harvest but now year-round demand, increasing the trimmers’ likelihood of repetitive motion injuries.
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Most growers agree that harvest time is the most rewarding part of the growing cycle, but there are potential hazards during harvesting and trimming cannabis.
After months of raising cannabis seedlings into mature, bud-laden plants, you’re finally able to harvest the fruits of your labor.
However, there is still more work to do since there are days of trimming, drying, and curing to prepare your flowers for the next stage properly.
When done correctly, you’ll have buds that look, taste, and smoke better so it’s worth your time and effort.
The plant’s trichomes are responsible for producing protective, therapeutic, psychoactive, and intoxicating properties, but they are at their most vulnerable when it comes to harvest time.
Yet, if you harvest too late, it can cause the trichomes to become extra-brittle when they are dried and cured, making them break off easily.
Harvesting at the optimal time is crucial in ensuring you get the largest possible yield that’s of the highest quality.
Remember those pristine and nugget-like buds at your local dispensary?
Those are the result of manicuring – another word for trimming – and it’s the step that happens after clipping branches off the plant is to trim the “Sugar Leaves” off those cannabis buds.
This is what consumers look for, but moving past aesthetics, these buds will also smell better, smoke better, and stay fresher after a good trim.
Trimming those “Sugar Leaves” off will help ensure your flowers are free of mold and excess plant material, but let’s break down the main reasons to trim:
- Aesthetics: Taste, aroma, and effects are the most important aspects of cannabis, and looks don’t fall far behind so trimming your flowers will transform them from rugged buds into the type of product consumers demand.
- Aroma: Every type of cannabis genetics offers a unique blend of terpenes that underpin its aroma. With the “Sugar Leaves” being trimmed, terpenes will be that much more front and center. Trimming at the right time is essential too so you can avoid dislodging trichomes – the glands that produce these aromatic molecules.
- Smooth Smoke: Lingering “Sugar Leaves” are harsh on the lungs when smoked and they have far less Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) so it’s best to keep them separate once you trim buds.
- Cannabinoid Content: Most of the trichomes that produce cannabinoids and terpenes reside on the buds or flowers so “Sugar Leaves’’ do produce trichomes but in much fewer numbers. By trimming your cannabis buds, the ratio of plant material to cannabinoids will result in a higher content concentration of trichomes.
Most often, harvest time comes when trichomes are milky white and a few are amber, which is the most reliable method for determining if your plant is ready for harvest.
If trichomes are still clear, then it’s too early because the clarity is a direct sign of how much resin is stored in the gland.
Clear trichomes mean there hasn’t been enough resin production, but if the majority of trichomes are amber, the buds have over-ripened and should have been harvested sooner.
During the flowering stage, the top of the cannabis plant will grow a bud with white hairs, or pistils, growing out of it.
A couple of weeks into this stage, you will notice that the trichomes will become dewy with a clear liquid.
A magnifying glass or jeweler’s loupe is a handy tool to get a closer inspection of the pistils and trichomes.
Then the hairs will start to curl in, and the trichomes will turn milky.
That’s a visual cue that the plant is about ready to be harvested.
Start harvesting when seventy percent (70%) of the hairs have darkened.
If harvested at this time, the resulting harvest will have an “up” effect when smoked.
The plant will continue to mature, the trichomes will turn into a light amber, and the pistils will curl in even more.
Harvesting at this stage will have a “down” effect when smoked.
If all the pistils are reddish brown, then the plant is past prime harvesting time.
Always check with a breeder on how to care for a particular cannabis plant genetics (ex. indica, sativa, hybrid, etc.) since some may need to be harvested when pistils are white or have other indicators on when they should be harvested.
Now that you know why you need to do it and how to do it right, timing is key when it comes to trimming cannabis flowers.
But before you can even harvest to start trimming buds, there are important steps taken during cultivation to help maximize the benefits of trimming.
These steps include flushing, which involves cutting out nutrients and administering pure water to your plant’s growing medium before harvest.
Flushing encourages cannabis plants to utilize stored nutrients before harvest time, resulting in smoother and more flavorful flowers and most growers flush their crop for around two (2) weeks during the tail-end of the flowering stage.
This flushing has to happen at the end of the plant’s life cycle before you’re able to harvest, then start trimming, drying, and curing your cannabis flowers to enhance their aromatic properties.
Some growers prefer to trim immediately after harvesting their flowers, whereas others like to dry out their buds beforehand and both of these techniques feature their own benefits.
Peak harvest time has a short window of opportunity, around five (5) days to one (1) week so you have to get the timing right because if done too early, the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) won’t be potent enough and if you wait too long then there’s little to no THC left.
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