It’s marijuana harvest day and you are cutting your marijuana buds to trim before drying and curing them. But why do marijuana growers have to trim their newly harvested marijuana buds? And, why do every grower need to learn how to trim marijuana?
Reasons Why Growers Should Know How to Trim Cannabis
- Trimmed cannabis looks more appealing that can be considered as good weeds.
- Trimming the extra leaves of the cannabis can provide smokers with a smooth smoke because the harshness that it can cause to your lungs and throat will be lessened.
- Trimming can help you get more THC from your cannabis. The leaves on your buds have lower THC concentration than those in bud. Yes, even the trichome-encrusted ones. If you don’t trim your buds then you’ll be getting less THC by grams than with pure buds. Some growers who don’t want to waste any THC, extract the THC from the leaves separately and leave the buds perfectly trimmed.
Wet Trim or Dry Trim?
Growers can have two option of trimming their cannabis. They can either trim the cannabis while wet or trim them when dried. When going for the dry trim, you’ll have to remove the fan leaves wherein there is only little trimming required. On the other hand, for wet trim, buds appear to be tidier and it will also be easier for the growers to remove the leaves.
Steps on How to Trim Marijuana
It is important for growers to become aware of the proper way of trimming the cannabis if they wanted the weeds to have a better appearance, provides users with smooth smoke, and be assured that the cannabis contains excellent THC content. So for those who have not yet tried trimming cannabis, here is a step y by step guide that can help you do it the right way.
Step 1. You have to prepare the area where you will trim your cannabis buds.
Looking for a comfortable place where you can trim the cannabis is important before you cut them down. You have to remember that it will surely take time for you to finish trimming the plants so you really have to find a place where you can do it with ease. There should be enough space and clean table, and you also have to take note that it would be better that you trim the plants in a floor with no carpet because you’ll have to pick up the pieces of leaves that you have removed once you’re done. Having a source of entertainment like a TV or a radio can be of a great help.
Step 2. Wear gloves before washing your hands.
Because the cannabis will be full of resins, you have to wear your gloves if you don’t want your hands to get sticky. If you don’t have your gloves then you need to use rubbing alcohol to get rid of the resins because soap and water are of no use.
Step 3. Cut a branch of the cannabis by using scissors.
Try to cut a single branch of the plant before you cutting them all at the same time. This can give you an idea how long you need to cut the branch. You have to keep in mind that when cutting the branches, you have to make sure that you’ll cut them in a comfortable size to prevent difficulties when handling them.
Step 4. By using your fingers, you will need to remove the large fan leaves.
Fan leaves are the ones that you can easily pull off from the stem. Gather the fan leaves and try to dispose of them later. Removing the fan leaves will make your cannabis look neat and appealing. It is just okay that you take away these leaves because they don’t add much THC content.
Step 5. Trim the sugar leaves of the cannabis.
Sugar leaves are the small leaves that you can see coming out of the buds. No need to remove them instead, you just have to do a little trimming if you see them stick out. This can help you produce pure buds. However, if you wanted to save the THC that the sugar leaves have then you can set them aside so you can extract the trichomes that you can use for making extracts.
Step 6. Dispose of the cannabis.
After cutting all the branches of your cannabis plants, then you can now throw away what’s left from the plants. Cut them into pieces and place them in a double bag. Because you don’t want other people to find out about your cannabis.
Or if you don’t want to waste every THC as the leaves have small amount of THC in them, then you can make use of it like edibles, butter, and many others.
Trimming cannabis properly can be an essential part if you want to get a successful harvest. This will allow you to cure the flowers correctly and will provide you the assurance of producing potent marijuana. You just have to identify if your marijuana plants are ready for trimming by checking the buds and the trichomes. The buds should look fuller and trichomes will turn from clear to a milky appearance. When almost 50 percent of the trichomes become amber in color then the plants are ready for harvest.
Got some questions about how to trim marijuana? Please do ask in the comment section.