Wet trimming
Some growers prefer to trim their weed before drying it.
In my opinion, the biggest disadvantage of this method is that the plant won’t develop the buds during the drying stage any further, so you’ll end up with a lower quality and a smaller yield.
But it does have many advantages. For instance, you can trim your marijuana with a tumble trimmer, a tool that saves you a ton of work.
Furthermore, wet trimming takes up much less room and you can dry your weed in a small cabinet or drying tent.
In this way, you can fill your growing room with new plants right away and start a new cycle.
Shopping List
Supplies for trimming marijuana plants
- Scissors
- Surgical gloves
- Old clothes
- Tray
- Folding chair
- Bin or cardboard box
- Drying net or garbage bags
Always use small scissors with a sharp tip and large handles.
The sharp tip is needed to cut off all small leaves between the buds. And we prefer large handles because your fingers could start to hurt otherwise.
Your buds are currently very sticky, so it’s a good idea to wear gloves. I always use those white or black, latex surgical gloves.
You can still move your hands freely, without them becoming sticky. The THC that accumulates on your fingertips can be saved and rolled into a ball of hash. Smoking this is delicious.
Always use old clothes when trimming, because of the very strong smell.
Don’t wash the clothes you wore when trimming together with other clothes, because they would start to smell as well.
You’ll have to wash the clothes at least twice to get the stench out.
Since the marijuana is very sticky, it’s best to wear something with long sleeves and long pants. If not, your arms and legs will become sticky and itchy.
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I always put a tray on my lap to catch the cutting waste and to collect the buds I trim because cutting waste also has value.
Smoking it is not ideal, but you can make hash from it or bake a cake with it. It’s a fun part of a birthday party ?
Don’t use your nice dining room chairs for cutting, because they’ll become crazy sticky and smelly.
You can still clean plastic or wood, but cleaning fabrics is a nightmare. Just buy a cheap folding chair you use specially for cutting.
Use a plastic bin or a cardboard box to put your buds in. And use multiple bins if you have too much
Step by Step – How to trim marijuana plants
- Cut 1 plant from the root, at the stem
- Remove all large leaves from the plant
- Cut 1 branch off the plant and remove all leaves between the buds
- Once you trimmed 1 plant, put the buds in the drying net
Make sure you only work 1 plant at a time. This is because the leaves of the plant will start to hang very quickly, making it very difficult to cut.
If you first chop down all your plants, you’ll be in trouble an hour from now.
Removing the big leaves doesn’t require much accuracy and can be done by hand.
They’ll easily break off by pulling them towards the bottom side of the plant. The big leaves barely contain any THC, so there’s no need to save them.
I usually cut 1 branch off the plant and start working on all its buds. Cut off all leaves coming out of the top and let them fall on the tray on your lap.
These smaller leaves contain a lot of THC and are perfect to make hash or butter with.
Once you’ve done 1 plant, you have to place the buds in the drying net.
This is because they require air from underneath as well. Just make sure they’re not stacked on top of each
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How to dry
Always dry your plants in a dark room, preferably the room you grew them in, because you can influence the climate of this room a bit.
THC is broken down by light and heat and then decays into oxidation products, such as CBC and CBN. This leads to a very dull high instead of a nice high.
The temperature has to be around 64 degrees, preferably no colder than 59 and no warmer than 68.
If it’s too cold, the drying process will be too slow, and there will be a bigger chance of fungi.
And if it’s too warm, the weed will dry too quickly, so not all of the chlorophyll will be broken down.
There’s a chance your buds become moldy if your humidity is very high.
If your humidity is too low, the plant can dry out too quickly. Keep the humidity around 45 percent. You could increase the air extraction if the humidity gets too high, or lower it if it gets too low.
Another advantage of drying your plants in your growing room is that it has an air extractor with a carbon filter.
The scent will become even stronger when you start drying your weed. If you just cut your plants, it possibly smells a bit like freshly mowed grass, but the smell of weed will become stronger and stronger during the drying process.
You can turn the extractor up and down to influence the temperature and humidity.
A bit of ventilation in the room is also nice. This prevents fungi and enables you to create an equal climate for the entire room.
Make sure your fan doesn’t directly blow on the buds, because this causes them to dry out too quickly, and they’ll become too dry on the outside, while still being wet on the inside.
Drying time
It’s best to let your buds dry well by letting them sit for 7 to 10 days.
If you have a good climate in your drying room, it’ll take this long for them to dry. Don’t try to rush this, because it will negatively affect taste and quality.
During drying, starch is converted into sugars, and chlorophyll is broken down.
If you dry it too quickly, the plant doesn’t have enough time to break down all of the chlorophyll, giving your marijuana a sharp and bitter taste.
Your marijuana will also start to smell better and better because of the breakdown of chlorophyll.
When is it done?
Your marijuana should be dry in just over a week. If your buds are nice and sticky and the twig in the bud snaps and doesn’t bend when you’re trying to break it, it’s properly dry.
And if the twigs don’t snap yet, your weed isn’t dry enough and you run a risk of fungi if you pack it airtight.
Possible causes are a temperature that’s too low, a humidity that’s too high or the plants were hanging too close to each other.
Therefore you should always have a thermometer and hygrometer in your drying room and make sure you plants have enough space.
Check your plants every other day to see if there’s any fungi present, but try to touch them as little as possible.
The dryer a plant, the easier the resin can fall off. You could carefully turn them over once a day though, to let them dry equally.
Regularly check your temperature and humidity, so you’ll continue to have a good climate. Good luck!!!
