Harvesting and processing big plants QUESTION

[Max21]

Hi growers,

my question is for the ones used to harvest big quality plants (pure F1 genetics) and process them the best way to obtain the best smoke.

I know aromas and smokability is very dependant on the way you dry and cure your buds ; I know potency is dependant on the way you dry and manicure your buds.

Thus being said, I must add we want optimum smokability and taste with a great potency.

The problem is we'll be two or three workers to manicure 4 pounds of sugar buds...

They're very resinous genetics (blockheads) and I wonder if we should :

- Cut them and manicure fresh before drying ?

The drying closet is in the basement. it shall not get moldy and plants have already been drying there without no mold.

Or
- Cut them and let them dry before manicuring over a glass piece ;

Or
- Cut them, trim biggest leaves off, and let them plants dry before manicuring


Thanks in advance
Max

 

[CsfRaziel]

here is my ,

first off, i would not recommend hanging the whole plant upside down. when you are talking outdoor, you have to break that down into branches. if it were me, i would trim all the large fan leaves, but just the ones without trichromes. this will save you a day or two or three in drying. once at least 90% of those stems will snap when bent, you are ready to manicure and take all the close leaves off.
have fun buddy
peace

 

[CarharttKidd]

Start taking fan leaves off in the garden before you cut the plant down. Trim it while it's fresh. Set up an assembly line of sorts where everyone is busting their ass all the time and a job that size should be able to get done in one really long day. Wait until the work is done before you get stoned or things will come to a crawl.

 

[Babbabud]

Yup I agree with CK. Leave all the fan leaves in the patch. Trim your plants while they are fresh and then make your bubblehash as soon as your done trimming. The hash from the fresh trim comes out with much less impurities . We do one strain at a time and keep going till the hash and the buds are all trimmed and drying.

 

[Max21]

@csfR ; dry manicure would produce a lot of lost trichs wouldn't it ?
Even if we do it over a big marble table, I'm so afraid to lose any u no...

@JJScorpio : "Fresh, dry leaves trim the easiest and cleanest. " what do you mean ? fresh or dry ?

@CK : "trim it while it's fresh" you mean trimming AND manicuring white it's fresh ?
"Wait until the work is done before you get stoned or things will come to a crawl." yeah you may be right lol

BBB, thanks for the advice.. One strain at a time... we should be careful.
so, you agree with the idea of "fresh trim and manicure " ? would you cut the plant into branches before you hang it upside down on strings ?
I wouldn't like them to dehydrate too quickly.. would you ?
I won't make hash I'm not equipped...

thanks everyone for the input
Max

 

[CarharttKidd]

Yes. Trim it as close as you can while it is fresh. In order to do this, you will need to break the plant down into branches and most likely sections of branches. You don't need to worry about it drying too quick. I'd be about 100x more worried about bud rot from drying it too damn slow without correct circulation. If you don't have hash making gear right now, still dry and save your trim. You can build a kif box for dirt cheap or buy a set of bubble bags after you get a little extra cash. Oil pipes are also very very cheap to make.

 

[JJScorpio]

When I say fresh, dry leaves I mean try to trim them when they are dry of water and not after it has rained.

 

[WAMEN]

^^^^^ yes, this is another important thing.

really nice plants Max.. they look awsome..

keep the good work up man

W

 

[Max21]

Thanks for the comments and precisions, growers ;
Wamen, they ARE awesome :=) thx
Ahh if only I could make some bubble or tumble hash...
trim is a good stuff to smoke when you don't have anything left, anyway...

 

[GreenOgre]

I would say hash is a lot better to smoke then trim.
Nice plants ya got there.

 

[Max21]

Thank you GO ; I must admit : some particular phenos only produce tasty trim ;
most of the time it's quite harsh.
I would love to get some bubble bags and make it with a fellow grower who knows the stuff... :friends:

 

[Smurf]

Try this max....

Try this max....

Pick out a nice sized top bud/cola (just one) take off the fan leaves and then dry it upside down without any more trimming and cure as usual.
By doing this you will be providing a protective cover/wrapping for the delicate trichomes.
This is a good way for storing your own personal smoke because it stops the glands from rubbing off....especially when you store it for long periods of time.
This is only an experiment for YOU to try out, hence only one bud....so YOU can judge the end product.....comparing it to the rest of your stash.
You got some awesome buds there mate!

 

[Max21]

thanks for the advice, Smurf ; reminds me of Connell Clarke's trimming method ; the small sugar leaves are removed just before smoking to protect the precious glands...

 

[Max21]

Bad news,

we've got grey mold on some buds ; the earliest genetic is slightly harmed ;

incriminated branches are being cut and cleaned...
I guess we should go for a fresh manicure, finally.

 

[WAMEN]

awww man.. shit thats no good..
well you know shit happens but hey.. a few branches are nothing compared to the rest you have left

good luck dude

wam

 

[Max21]

I'll be checkin the grow in the following days... may have to harvest the blockheads.. They were showing yummy cristally 1.5 foot long colas 2-3 weeks ago.. May be alright now
thanks

>Edit :
We decided to harvest the whole patch ; cut all the plants today, a great manicuring session, now...
they're on the ground in small patches per plant ; we only lost 0.5% due to mold ;
Blockheads were ready ; some photos next week, as soon as I come back home. On the other hand, the HB were a bit "young", 80% white pistils, very cristally, should be yummy too.
We decided to cut bacause meteorology here is subjetc to rain in the following weeks, we were very afraid about a suddden mold development.
more later

 

[kov]

Hi Max, sorry to hear about the mold, I got a very similar situation now. Well, that's what happens to tight, rockhard buds primarily not too suited to outdoor.

As to drying, i'd go Smurf's way, it's the way I always do it. Just trim the fan leaves, the the smaller leaves will be sorted out when I take a bud to smoke it some time in the future. Actually I don't mind smoking smaller leaves together with my bud.

Also I just hang the plants upside down to dry, no special philosophy involved here maybe just a bit of hippyness , I just don't bother. The buds taste delicious anyway.

Happy harvest to you!

rgds, kov

 

[Max21]

Hi Kov,

We not only hung the plants, we slightly manicured them ;

Mold is a stake indeed ; we also setup a vent in the drying room.

3 big lines (>3m long) !! !

 

[ej2012usa]

Hi growers,

my question is for the ones used to harvest big quality plants (pure F1 genetics) and process them the best way to obtain the best smoke.

I know aromas and smokability is very dependant on the way you dry and cure your buds ; I know potency is dependant on the way you dry and manicure your buds.

Thus being said, I must add we want optimum smokability and taste with a great potency.

The problem is we'll be two or three workers to manicure 4 pounds of sugar buds...

They're very resinous genetics (blockheads) and I wonder if we should :

- Cut them and manicure fresh before drying ?

The drying closet is in the basement. it shall not get moldy and plants have already been drying there without no mold.

Or
- Cut them and let them dry before manicuring over a glass piece ;

Or
- Cut them, trim biggest leaves off, and let them plants dry before manicuring


Thanks in advance
Max
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/89anotherbunchofthem-thumb.jpg]View Image[/url]

Some buds are finished Faster then others,,only cut the ripest buds,and let the rest finish,, HAPPY..GROWING

 

[ej2012usa]

Just before harvesting

Just before harvesting

Only clip off the buds that are ready,some buds mature faster then others depending on the lighting,,after clipping of the buds that are finished,,allow the other buds to fully ripen,,2 to 5 days before pulling plant,,water with ICE WATER,,this forces all the oils and resin from the stock straight to the buds,,,after watering with ice water ,also,cover entire plant,for 3 to 5 days,,this causes the sugars, to kick into high gear,,and create lots of tricombs,,and crystals,combining these teqniques properly, will turn the cheapest strain into some great cannabis,,HAPPY GROWING..