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WET VS DRY Trimming

SeedsOfFreedom

Member
Veteran
THC123 you got it!I agree with you completely(except I never freeze anything-only glass jars to cure). I have done side by sides with multiple strains drying . If flavor and aroma are important, there is no option other than dry trimming. I First hang plants totally untouched, in the dark, dry slowly, then trim once stems are just about to snap. As hard as it is to believe, we really get less leaf taste with the leafs left on the plant to dry. There is this rough (chlorophyll?) taste in herb when we trim wet, and no matter the amount of curing, this taste is present after a wet trim. That taste will rule over the more subtle and beautiful tastes of herb. Grow your favorite plants and really do a fair side by side.... you will see dry trimming wins every time. I did some Kushes side by side. The wet trim was great herb...skunky,lemon pledge taste but with a roughness to the smoke. The dry trim Kush was a beautiful lemon pledge,fuelly,hashy,sweet, skunky, and none of the roughness of the wet trim. As the two cured longer the result were the same. The dry trim wins with a myriad of different flavors that are easily detectable ,while many of the tastes are nearly unnoticeable in the cured wet trim. The dry trim is where the taste is at!!!
 

noreason

Natural born Grower
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Or it falls down or it sticks to your scissors anyways you lose resin

But the resin on the scissor comes from the leaves, not from the calix, so the entire bud remain untouched. The lost of the resin comes from the trimmed leaves.

I am talking bout the aroma and taste, please try it again bro, just drying no curing , then smell and taste the difference



I thought like this for many years and then i totally changed my mind cuz if you dry it well with leaves on you dont get that "leaf" aroma

I'll try on some branches next harvest bro, reading your and others opinions I have to ;)
 

mtbazz

Member
Im pretty lazy, and really short on free time so I always cheated and cut the plants and trimmed the same day. They would eventually smell and taste good but only after a long cure (i.e. 2-3 months).

Last couple of grows I compromised and let the plants hang for 3-4 days before trimming...its alot more work, but the i notice that the smell and flavor is alot better in a shorter period of time.
 

Bigge

Member
I dry trim for my meds...but only because I don't have a finely tuned drying environment and I need sugar leaf moisture buffer for a slower dry...but IMO if you have drying dialed you can get similar results with wet trim.

Quick point to the person said they freeze their bud....I used to vacuum seal and freeze my buds years ago and many people said not to as tricomes would fall off...but when it got dry and I went to the deep freezer no one had shit to say then :) But those were the days of prohibition....now I don't freeze just because there is a general consensus that it's bad for the tricomes...and because with my garden there are no dry times at least where I live...if its still prohibition for you...freeze away it never stopped the stone for me.
 

St3ve

Member
It is not just me, every breeder-- grower i know that won cups or has good weed dries this way

wet trimming is for the commercial boys trying to make a quick buck

yep, lame response like every one else claiming its a "no brainer". I didn't ask you tell me your OPINION of what people are doing, I asked about what YOU are doing. (just sayin, I'm not trying to be an ass)

this thread is lame anyway. Every one seems to be a pro and know's everything, yet know one wants to take the time to get into details. I have went into lots of detail and asked a specific question several times but no one wants to step up. Yep, all old-school conjecture. Its sad really that people don't want to really try and spread good information.
 

St3ve

Member
THC123 you got it!I agree with you completely(except I never freeze anything-only glass jars to cure). I have done side by sides with multiple strains drying . If flavor and aroma are important, there is no option other than dry trimming. I First hang plants totally untouched, in the dark, dry slowly, then trim once stems are just about to snap. As hard as it is to believe, we really get less leaf taste with the leafs left on the plant to dry. There is this rough (chlorophyll?) taste in herb when we trim wet, and no matter the amount of curing, this taste is present after a wet trim. That taste will rule over the more subtle and beautiful tastes of herb. Grow your favorite plants and really do a fair side by side.... you will see dry trimming wins every time. I did some Kushes side by side. The wet trim was great herb...skunky,lemon pledge taste but with a roughness to the smoke. The dry trim Kush was a beautiful lemon pledge,fuelly,hashy,sweet, skunky, and none of the roughness of the wet trim. As the two cured longer the result were the same. The dry trim wins with a myriad of different flavors that are easily detectable ,while many of the tastes are nearly unnoticeable in the cured wet trim. The dry trim is where the taste is at!!!

How did you perform your side by side? Details please..
 

FlowerFarmer

Active member
Veteran
Used to always trim wet because I thought it was easier.

Started doing tests by cutting/ hang drying/ and then trimming dry. The difference is huge vs. wet trimming and drying slowly on the net.

There is more to it I believe then just drying times. I net dried my wet trimmed buds in another space where humidity could be kept higher to slow drying time. As they start to dry I'll also push them closer together/pile up as to further slow down the period. - then into turkey bags to burp for a few days to ensure nothing it still retaining too much moisture.


The smell from the branch dried/ dry trimmed buds is much more pungent and profound then the others.

I cant tell you exactly the length of time per each required, but I just observed each and jarred/bag at the particular point in which I felt they were ready.

From a production standpoint.. I still trimpro rotor my small mids-lowers and net dry slowly, but hang everything substantial (large colas, tops and large mids)... let it dry on branch until stem snap, then gets final trimmed (can practically do with fingers)..and into jar/bag.

I blend it all together so there can be really no complaints, but the dry trimmed stuff is superior without a doubt in my opinion...I don't care how long/slow one drys their wet trimmed stuff.
 

THC123

Active member
Veteran
How did you perform your side by side? Details please..

Dude the information is out there and I dont feel like writing everything down 10 times especially not with that tone

I have done so many side by sides and i am too fucking lazy to write down all the details again. The info is out there even on the first harvesting nad processing page you can find one topic that deals with this

hastalapasta!

now I don't freeze just because there is a general consensus that it's bad for the tricomes...

well thats another story:) and I do not agree, i freeze AND cure cuz i get different results with each method, one is better for vaping the other for smoking, also depends from strain to strain

Freezing is just great to retain the original aromas and effects

as soon as harvest is done you can push the herb in many directions
I didn't ask you tell me your OPINION of what people are doing, I asked about what YOU are doing

And who the fuck are you again?

I'm not trying to be an ass
really? :) wow I wonder how it must be if you ARE trying to be one
 
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St3ve

Member
Dude the information is out there and I dont feel like writing everything down 10 times especially not with that tone

I have done so many side by sides and i am too fucking lazy to write down all the details again. The info is out there even on the first harvesting nad processing page you can find one topic that deals with this

hastalapasta!



well thats another story:) and I do not agree, i freeze AND cure cuz i get different results with each method, one is better for vaping the other for smoking, also depends from strain to strain

Freezing is just great to retain the original aromas and effects

as soon as harvest is done you can push the herb in many directions


And who the fuck are you again?

really? :) wow I wonder how it must be if you ARE trying to be one

I can see how it would appear that I am being an ass. I'm sorry.. I am not trying to be. Its just frustrating when people like you come in with a lot to say but nothing to back it up. You say "the info is out there".. then please post it for me.. if its not too much trouble. I didn't ask you to write anything ten times, once is fine so if you can at least tell me where you posted your details I will search for it on my own.

Who am I? I am no one. You don't have anything to prove to me.. I was simply asking you to back up your statements. I took the time to back up mine several times and was only asking for the same courtesy. If you want to make your statements and run, that is fine I guess. I was just hoping for more.. my bad
 

St3ve

Member
Used to always trim wet because I thought it was easier.

Started doing tests by cutting/ hang drying/ and then trimming dry. The difference is huge vs. wet trimming and drying slowly on the net.

There is more to it I believe then just drying times. I net dried my wet trimmed buds in another space where humidity could be kept higher to slow drying time. As they start to dry I'll also push them closer together/pile up as to further slow down the period. - then into turkey bags to burp for a few days to ensure nothing it still retaining too much moisture.


The smell from the branch dried/ dry trimmed buds is much more pungent and profound then the others.

I cant tell you exactly the length of time per each required, but I just observed each and jarred/bag at the particular point in which I felt they were ready.

From a production standpoint.. I still trimpro rotor my small mids-lowers and net dry slowly, but hang everything substantial (large colas, tops and large mids)... let it dry on branch until stem snap, then gets final trimmed (can practically do with fingers)..and into jar/bag.

I blend it all together so there can be really no complaints, but the dry trimmed stuff is superior without a doubt in my opinion...I don't care how long/slow one drys their wet trimmed stuff.

Thank you for taking the time to write your experiences.

Would you say that you took an equal amount of days to dry the untrimmed stuff compared to the rototrim'd stuff?
 

FlowerFarmer

Active member
Veteran
Yes - about the same. ~1 week I'd say.

A few days (or just as soon as things start to dry to the point where they would not mold piled up) into the net dry I pull everything to the middle of the net in a pile. This seems to help me maintain that "spongy" feel while they slowly dry as opposed to everything getting crisp fast.
 

SeedsOfFreedom

Member
Veteran
How did you perform your side by side? Details please..
For this comparison I used 6 plants(identical clones).3 dry trim,3 wet trim. the clones were OG #18. The dry trim was hung as whole plants totally untouched dried slowly 60% RH. The Wet trim was put onto a drying net and dried in a heap to slow it down a bit. Also 60% RH, both had steady but slow cool airflow. I have done other side by sides with other strains too . I have tried wet trimming then drying in multiple ways(slow to fast. cool to warm,arid to humid). The slower the better. No matter the trim, the slower the better,the cooler the better, and 60% RH works best for me. With dry trimming I have found a huge difference in my favorite plants(Kandy Kush,Sour Kush,F-13,LA Confidential, MK Ultra), but I have found certain strains there is not a big difference. I found my Sensistar or Northern Lights doesn't really lose much if wet trimmed, but I never did think of those as a really tasty plants. It's more important to dry trim the more flavorful strains . I used to wet trim everything, and when I regrow my old strains they taste better than ever with this dry trimming method. Now I always dry trim everything, but I am speaking from a personal growers perspective. I could see why production guys would not dry trim. Anyway lets all remember these forums are to help each other out! Lets all get along , we are all brothers and sister here!
 

St3ve

Member
Thanks for your responses fellas. And I agree SoF that we are are brothers and sisters striving for the same thing.

In my opinion though that is not a fair comparison. The reason I say that is because with less plant matter, the wet trimmed will always dry faster than the non trimmed. So if you dry them in the same atmosphere, the trimmed will dry first making the test invalid. (in the spirit of this conversation anyway)

How I would measure the wetness of the product is how the RH stabilizes in the curing container after 24hr. If I were to leave a wet trimmed product on the drying racks in a pile for a full week at 60% it would be over dried. My hanging stuff would not quite be dry. When I leave a full plant to dry it takes around 10-14 days. To slow the drying process that much for wet trimmed product it takes far more effort in controlling the atmosphere.

Next time you want to try a side by side, if you actually want to, is to test the RH after 24hrs in the curing bin. If you were to do it as you mentioned, I would bet that the wet trimmed stuff is far lower than the dry trimmed.

The reason I am being stubborn about this is because I have actually done all of these tests myself. I will say though, I have only actually done this with about 5 different stains. So to SoF's point, there may be stains out there that are effected much more than others.
 

Hammerhead

Disabled Farmer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
the time you take to flush your plants will also have a impact on final product smells/taste. Its called senescence. This is the process that tells the plant im dying. when this happens its starts taking all the nutrients out of the leaves and stems sending it all to the flowers. You need to get the plants to this stage for the best product. I have found some strains that don't fade easy like Cookies. I don't harvest anything that has not been flushed for 3 weeks this includes Organics. You still need to get the pant into senescence. Its very easy to tell with all the yellow leaves.

This with the dry trim has produced the best product I can offer.
 

Sunnyvale

Member
Seriously though, If you are after flavors and aromas in your bud dry trim is where its at. If you are growing a strain, like say a big bud, that isn't exactly known for its flavor and smell then the ease of wet trim might be worth it. Any stinky, tasty buds are 100% worth the pain in the ass of dry trim.
 

THC123

Active member
Veteran
Next time you want to try a side by side, if you actually want to, is to test the RH after 24hrs in the curing bin. If you were to do it as you mentioned, I would bet that the wet trimmed stuff is far lower than the dry trimmed.

I now have 2 jars of sssdh at 65%r one trimmed dry the other trimmed wet, 5 days into the cure the dry trimmed one already smells dank, the wet trimmed one still smells hayish

eventually also the wet trimmed one will get a nice smell, but the dry trimmed one will be fuller and tastier
 

St3ve

Member
I now have 2 jars of sssdh at 65%r one trimmed dry the other trimmed wet, 5 days into the cure the dry trimmed one already smells dank, the wet trimmed one still smells hayish

eventually also the wet trimmed one will get a nice smell, but the dry trimmed one will be fuller and tastier
Thank you for not dismissing our discussion on the subject.

How many days did it take the wet trimmed to get to a stable 65%?
How many days did it take for the dry trimmed to get to a stable 65%?
 

SeedsOfFreedom

Member
Veteran
Thanks for your responses fellas. And I agree SoF that we are are brothers and sisters striving for the same thing.

In my opinion though that is not a fair comparison. The reason I say that is because with less plant matter, the wet trimmed will always dry faster than the non trimmed. So if you dry them in the same atmosphere, the trimmed will dry first making the test invalid. (in the spirit of this conversation anyway)

How I would measure the wetness of the product is how the RH stabilizes in the curing container after 24hr. If I were to leave a wet trimmed product on the drying racks in a pile for a full week at 60% it would be over dried. My hanging stuff would not quite be dry. When I leave a full plant to dry it takes around 10-14 days. To slow the drying process that much for wet trimmed product it takes far more effort in controlling the atmosphere.

Next time you want to try a side by side, if you actually want to, is to test the RH after 24hrs in the curing bin. If you were to do it as you mentioned, I would bet that the wet trimmed stuff is far lower than the dry trimmed.

The reason I am being stubborn about this is because I have actually done all of these tests myself. I will say though, I have only actually done this with about 5 different stains. So to SoF's point, there may be stains out there that are effected much more than others.

St3ve , my side by sides of dry trim vs wet trim are done. Dry trim 100% in my mind. We do all agree drying slower helps. The best way to slow down drying is to hang dry plants whole and trim after drying. I use a grow tent to dry, with a dehumidifier,and a 4 inch fan on a speed control at minimum speed. Everyone can take what they want from this thread. Anyone who really wonders should try it out anyway.
 

St3ve

Member
St3ve , my side by sides of dry trim vs wet trim are done. Dry trim 100% in my mind. We do all agree drying slower helps. The best way to slow down drying is to hang dry plants whole and try once trim. I use a grow tent to dry, with a dehumidifier,and a 4 inch fan on a speed control at minimum speed. Everyone can take what they want from this thread. Anyone who really wonders should try it out anyway.

Thanks for your response about your drying method. And if you are satisfied in your mind than that is great. It would be nice to know how you did the test though..
 

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