cut off fan leaves before harvest?

[AceStone]

do you guys prefer to cut off all the fan leaves, days or even weeks before harvesting?

 

[grapeman]

do you guys prefer to cut off all the fan leaves, days or even weeks before harvesting?

No. Leave them alone.

 

[Huey69]

Eh, I might start taking them off the day before harvest as they're easier to get off at that point, but not any time before that (unless there yellowed up and falling off).

 

[bakekingRB]

Does that help, taking the fan leaves off the day before?

 

[GreenBizzle]

I take em off as im harvesting each plant...remove fan leaves...hang upside down. Note: i do NOT wait till after i cut the plant down, that is a pain in the ass. And as everyone keeps saying, yellow/dying leaves can be removed before harvest.
Bless

 

[Greyskull]

i like to remove them a 4-5days before i chop them down... kind of a pre harvest ritual. makes the harvest much faster, too.

BUT ONLY THE FAN LEAVES THAT HAVE EXPOSED STEM...

but thats what worls for me

 

[willostat]

no, I leave all fans alone (from start to finish) aside from dead crispy ones which come off with a gentle tug and are about to fall off anyway. They rest come off a few days after hanging as they dry out. Im no botanist but it strikes me as the proper way to do things as it seems to have a higher quality overall with slow dry. Chopping off fans and quick drying is a recipe for sub par weed with heavy chlorophyll taste and a fast rushing 20 minute buzz from high thc plant which wasnt allowed time for a slow decarboxylation

 

[dubwise]

I take 'em off at harvest time unless they are already dried and crispy...then they come off as needed.

 

[Red Swan]

I start trimming the fan leaves and popcorn if any during flush. The buds are not getting any bigger at this time and it saves hours of work. A little every day. No affect on sativas or sativa hybrids. Pure indicas , I don't know so much about as I don't enjoy them.

 

[opt1c]

No; i like to leave em on so they slow down the drying curing process. If you trim dry they protect the trichs on the buds while they sit; especially if you like using paper bags like myself.

 

[kweezy]

never cut.. the buds suck up the sugars from the fan leaves... i learned not to cut the fan leaves the hard way, really spacy nugs =[

 

[Stone]

no, I leave all fans alone (from start to finish) aside from dead crispy ones which come off with a gentle tug and are about to fall off anyway. They rest come off a few days after hanging as they dry out. Im no botanist but it strikes me as the proper way to do things as it seems to have a higher quality overall with slow dry. Chopping off fans and quick drying is a recipe for sub par weed with heavy chlorophyll taste and a fast rushing 20 minute buzz from high thc plant which wasnt allowed time for a slow decarboxylation

Great advice.

The plant will actually consume the fans and eventually other leaves when chopped and hung upside down immediately. This gives the plant more available sugars to create terpenes w/, and more time do it in (b/c the drying process as a whole is slowed).
The calyxes that were white will orange or redden, and they'll puff up a bit & curl more.

Cut leaves off as they brown and dry. Giving the plant a shake
while you do it can air it out/check development & squeeze a bit of osmotic pressure in.

Watch more carefully for mold, as it can hide easier in necrotic tissue.

Drying like this can keep that hay smell, which results from chlorophyll drying too quickly in the leaves, from ever occurring.

What percentage humidity do you find best for all stages (drying, curing, & storing)? This makes a big difference.

 

[TriIron]

Every day I pick through all my plants and give a very gentle pull on fan leaves that are yellowing considerably. If they put up any resistance I let them bet. You get to a point where you realize the leaves that no longer are beneficial and are only blocking light. I could be way wrong in my approach, but it seems to work for me. It also insures that I spend lots of quality time with the ladies.

 

[MeanBean]

i like to remove them a 4-5days before i chop them down... kind of a pre harvest ritual. makes the harvest much faster, too.

BUT ONLY THE FAN LEAVES THAT HAVE EXPOSED STEM...

but thats what worls for me

agreeeee

I pulled them all off last time like 3 days before harvest. You could tell all the green less lighted buds got to harden off and fill with more color.

The strain I got doesn't seem to grow much after the 7th week, just grow trichs n change color...

 

[MickTheBrag]

yea. say the bottom foot of fan leaves say one week before harvest. this also lets fresh air up too the colas, speeding up the ripening process.
and increacing your yeild.

its also called lollypopping.




peace. mick.

 

[Red Swan]

It also depends on how big your buds are. I grew some massive strains and tried that leave the leaves on for the slow cure method. Ended up with lots of mold. My main concern is for the buds to cure without getting moldy. I tried it a few times and noticed no difference except that it was a bigger pain in the ass to cut the leaves off 2 weeks later.

Keep a fan going no matter what. Every time I try to slow it down, I got mold. Learned that lesson.

 

[tinman]

aawww shit! well........for many reasons,i guess,ya aint suposed ta cut 'em off,eh? i,too,have spacy buds! now i know why and can see the dif. where i didnt get to the fans on other stalks. i cut them to make more light available but seems that threory aint right! next grow,no cuttin of the fans!

 

[dunkybones]

Fan leaves are the plant's big old solar panels, there is nothing to be gained by pulling them off while the plant is still using them.

 

[chuckyoufarley]

surprized there is not a poll for this since it seems there is a poll for something every other day

 

[Grass Lands]

I remove the fan leaves around 5-7 days prior to the chop. everyone has their own preference...