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WET VS DRY Trimming

nikolajmorozov

Active member
imho - wet trimming sucks! i wanted to taste a few buds in 47 days light dep.. wet trimming buds are full of resin and it remains on your hands during trimming (if you don't have gloves), in the final you rob yourself of higher production of resin and terpenes.. it's like preparing your favorite meal, but removing previous item with each subsequent step.. u know?!
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Wet trim with nitrile gloves.
Place gloves in freezer.
Break off scissor hash. :)

Though... scissor hash is rather nasty if you're not using filtered air. A quick wash and filtration does wonders for that stuff. :)

Remember, when your flowers are fire they *always* taste great. ;)
 
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Bro you need to cure you bud with silkworm saliva to keep the chlorophyll terp away.



Or spend 1600 on a hacked wine cooler.

Harvesting weed is super complicated. Or it's a real good excuse for shitty growing at least.
 

Hiddenjems

Well-known member
Bro you need to cure you bud with silkworm saliva to keep the chlorophyll terp away.



Or spend 1600 on a hacked wine cooler.

Harvesting weed is super complicated. Or it's a real good excuse for shitty growing at least.

It’s a good excuse. I hear people all the time. “How do I get that grassy chlorophyll smell/taste out of my bud”? At no point does any of my weed ever smell like grass. I’ve literally thrown a fresh cut bud in the microwave and it still tasted like skunk piss.
 

Farmer John

Old and in the way.
Veteran
Fresh scissor hash is divine. I trim only the largest leaves, throw them away and hang whole plants to dry to a certain point when they are dry enough to trim rest of the small trichome covered leaves and then I cut everything off the stems and into the buckets they go to sweat for a while and then into jars. And cure on or smoke when needed. Someone one said "if your weed tastes like shit once its dried then probably something has gone terribly wrong.
 

FellaAndrene

Well-known member
I do most of the trimming by gradually defoliating the plants during flowering.

When I harvest, I hang them whole and remove all the remaining large leaves. I also try to remove those sugar leaves that have started to wither (but I try to prevent this from happening in the first place).

I separate the bigger colas from the stems, leaving the smallers intact in the whole plant - I've found that this way the moisture of the buds stays more even, and the bigger colas stop bending at the same time the smalls snap right off the stem.

I might remove a few sugar leaves here and there or cut the non-frosty tips off them when I jar the buds, but mostly I just leave them on.

I brush the leaves off when I take the buds out and start breaking them up. And usually, I just mix the sugar leaves in with the flowers.

I for sure remember the agony of smoking nutrient-laden ganja leaves in my teenage years. But in vape it actually doesn't matter that much if you use flower or leaves. And in my experience, if you grew great flower, the sugar leaves taste great too (in vape). Some of the sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, etc. are mostly expressed in the leaves, too.
 
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phatkidgenetics

Active member
i started dry trimming in like 2009 because i have carpal tunnel and i can't operate scissors for a long period of time, but i realized it was way better for terps. back then wet trimming was the standard in america but the rest of the world trimmed dry. wet trimming is brutal to the buds, and the clorophyll leaks out of the open wounds and it ruins the smell and taste. like i said, i initially did it partially out of "laziness" but imo dry trimming is the superior way, and now it seems like the industry agrees. it also helps you know when your buds are dry because when the leaves just fall off with your hands with minimal need for scissors, it means the buds are almost dry enough for the jar.
 

BerryManilow

Well-known member
I must be one of the few who is still on the wet trim train. I've done side by sides with numerous strains of mine and I still prefer wet trim. Finished buds smell dank af, never any hay smell, and the taste is always top notch.

I like wet trimming for numerous reasons.

Extra leaf means extra moisture, which could create mold easier.

I trim as close as possible so all of the trim can be used for concentrates. It will be ready to process before the flower is dry.

If there's any pests or diseases, like powdery mildew or bud rot, you're actively scouring the buds and branches while trimming. Luckily I havent had any issues in a while, but I'd much rather see them before the plant hangs for 2 weeks.

I personally feel like dry trimming knocks off way more trichromes. You see the piles of kief in trim bins. Never any piles of kief during wet trimming. Lots of scissor hash though.

Granted I usually run around 99 plants or less, which is about the limit of being able to successfully wet trim everything.

On a commercial scale, wet trimming isn't very feasible, so then I can understand and would use dry trimming.

As long as the flower comes out good, it doesn't matter to me if it's wet or dry trimmed. Just a personal preference.
 

Hiddenjems

Well-known member
i started dry trimming in like 2009 because i have carpal tunnel and i can't operate scissors for a long period of time, but i realized it was way better for terps. back then wet trimming was the standard in america but the rest of the world trimmed dry. wet trimming is brutal to the buds, and the clorophyll leaks out of the open wounds and it ruins the smell and taste. like i said, i initially did it partially out of "laziness" but imo dry trimming is the superior way, and now it seems like the industry agrees. it also helps you know when your buds are dry because when the leaves just fall off with your hands with minimal need for scissors, it means the buds are almost dry enough for the jar.
I wet trim and at no time does my product smell like chlorophyll or grass. Packing your swollen calyx flowers in wet leaves until they dry doesn’t sound good to me.

To be clear, when I trim I trim to top shelf level. 80-90% of the leaves i remove by cutting a stem, not a leaf.
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
IME... overfed cannabis has issues when wet trimmed.

I try to err on the underfeeding side and I'm in the "wet/dry/whatever, it tastes freaking awesome" camp with my cannabis.
 

phatkidgenetics

Active member
IME... overfed cannabis has issues when wet trimmed.

I try to err on the underfeeding side and I'm in the "wet/dry/whatever, it tastes freaking awesome" camp with my cannabis.
i havent wet trimmed in 15 years, so i don't have any way to compare nowadays, but my conclusion 15 years ago was dry trim comes out smelling and tasting better.
 

FellaAndrene

Well-known member
i havent wet trimmed in 15 years, so i don't have any way to compare nowadays, but my conclusion 15 years ago was dry trim comes out smelling and tasting better.
Yeah, the plant is still alive after it's cut (or uprooted).

If we let those leaves be, and leave the buds on the stalk, the sugars in the leaves will be used as the remaining fuel the plant has. That's the hypothesis, at least.

Removing the leaves will most probably trigger jasmonate signalling, boosting the formation of glandular trichome cells.

It's a two-edged sword.

But I've found it's more positively impactful to remove the leaves already during flowering.

Just be wary of leaving any dead parts hanging between the buds! A dried leaf petiole will rehydrate and start to mold.
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Highly unlikely you were growing very close to underfed, seeing as the vast majority of us overfed as newbies.

Makes perfect sense your dry trim would have come out better.

Crazy how our newb experiences can be the toughest to shake. ;)
 

Hiddenjems

Well-known member
Wet trim with nitrile gloves.
Place gloves in freezer.
Break off scissor hash. :)

Though... scissor hash is rather nasty if you're not using filtered air. A quick wash and filtration does wonders for that stuff. :)

Remember, when your flowers are fire they *always* taste great. ;)
This. Weed that tastes like hay sucked to start with.

This is my wet trim almost done with the drying process. No way this bud could ever smell and taste like grass or hay.
IMG_1630.jpeg
 
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