WET VS DRY Trimming

[FlowerFarmer]

I don`t understand FF......What you`re stating as a "Dry" trim is the way I harvied for many many yrs by doin most of the removal of excess foliage before the chop , and then buckin bigger plants into hangable limbs and all remaining fans with stems removed before hung to dry.....then 7-10 days later finishing up the burp , bag/jar and cure.......confused over here....

Smaller plants once all foliage with stems removed hung whole do ok , but the closer limbs/colas are to each other during a proper slow dry , retards airflow around the nuggage and invites airborn nasties with excess condensation during the "slow" evaporation process in a HIGH humidity environment from what I`ve seen over the yrs......anyways......

My 2 cents.....DHF..........

What are you confused about? You say de-fan before hanging, but are you not going back and doing a final trim after dry.. to take off the frosted leaf tips (or un-frosted), etc..?


The method you describe I do believe is the way to go about it for max flavor and aroma. I'm not claiming it is anything new.. just that a lot of people don't do it this way because they believe it to be harder.

Just stating that I didn't always do it this way... because I thought it was easier to trim wet. Meaning cut my garden down plant by plant.. trimming wet as I go and trimming tight (final trim) to be dried either hanging branch by branch (have to go back and clip off later), or take it right off the stem at the wet trim and dry on a net (plant gets trimmed/dealt with in all one step...not in stages). When it is dry.. it is ready to go.. no further trimming or De-stemming.



Nothing new.. but alot of people don't allow the plant to dry before trimming. They wet trim those protruding tips/leaves off right at the time of harvest and I do believe this to be inferior to allowing those frosted tips to fall and encapsulate the flower - resulting in slower drying time and protect the inner goodness.

I however do believe there is more to it then just slowed dry time. Another poster suggested that the plants goes into some defense mode (terpene terminology stuff) when cut on fresh...which can lead to an inferior taste and aroma. I feel this may be true, but I'm just a regular ol' grower with no scientific knowledge of the matter.



Single cola sea of green I can see not really having to do much after the hang, but certainly they still need some touching up after drying if growing larger plants right? (removing further leaves.. the ones without stems)

Honestly.. I think it is all BS to have to meticulous manicure the buds.. I'd rather leave that bit of frosted leaf on there and make it weigh more if necessary. It protects the bud..

 

[Sandnut]

I will defitinetly do dry trim from here and on after reading this thread, thanks

 

[DHF]

What are you confused about? You say de-fan before hanging, but are you not going back and doing a final trim after dry.. to take off the frosted leaf tips (or un-frosted), etc..?


The method you describe I do believe is the way to go about it for max flavor and aroma. I'm not claiming it is anything new.. just that a lot of people don't do it this way because they believe it to be harder.

Just stating that I didn't always do it this way... because I thought it was easier to trim wet. Meaning cut my garden down plant by plant.. trimming wet as I go and trimming tight (final trim) to be dried either hanging branch by branch (have to go back and clip off later), or take it right off the stem at the wet trim and dry on a net (plant gets trimmed/dealt with in all one step...not in stages). When it is dry.. it is ready to go.. no further trimming or De-stemming.



Nothing new.. but alot of people don't allow the plant to dry before trimming. They wet trim those protruding tips/leaves off right at the time of harvest and I do believe this to be inferior to allowing those frosted tips to fall and encapsulate the flower - resulting in slower drying time and protect the inner goodness.

I however do believe there is more to it then just slowed dry time. Another poster suggested that the plants goes into some defense mode (terpene terminology stuff) when cut on fresh...which can lead to an inferior taste and aroma. I feel this may be true, but I'm just a regular ol' grower with no scientific knowledge of the matter.



Single cola sea of green I can see not really having to do much after the hang, but certainly they still need some touching up after drying if growing larger plants right? (removing further leaves.. the ones without stems)

Honestly.. I think it is all BS to have to meticulous manicure the buds.. I'd rather leave that bit of frosted leaf on there and make it weigh more if necessary. It protects the bud..

Ok......I see now Bro......

Once I bucked and de-fanned limbs for hangin , they were finished and never touched again as far as the lil sugar leaves are/were concerned.......they stayed on finished product to protect the meat of the nugs like you were sayin , but I ain`t in med-ville where competition is/was an issue.....anyways.....

Folks.....whatever works for you is what works , and I`m not so sure bout those terpene profiles changing for the better by not getting rid of excess foliage before trimming FF........regardless....IME....

Chlorophyll bad.......Properly dried and cured nuggage WITHOUT excess chlorophyll during said process good......

Peace....DHF...........

 

[KAT]

I dry trim only now.beeen dry trimming now for a year and I think smoother smoke.happy trails....

 

[MildeStoner]

It seems that people who have tried both extensively always end up choosing dry, it's industry standard where I come from..

 

[HellaFella420]

...were outfitted with active intakes and exhaust/scrubber combo`s exchanging room air twice per minute WITH dehueys runnin 24/7...

It still blows my mind that people that seem to have a lot of experience and knowledge do things like this.

:facepalm:

Don't you realize that those fans are sucking out and replacing the expensively dehumidified air faster then the dehum can even produce it?

I have a friend here running a 10 ton A/C into a fully ventilated system, every time I'm over there i try and talk some sense into him, but "it 'works fine' so I'm just gonna leave it how it is...."

Meanwhile he's milking the CARE program so as to still be able to turn a profit!

My drying room has a single 40pint Kenmore, two wall mount circulation fans, and NO VENTILATION.. Within 2 hours of closing the door and turning on dehum it will be at a rock solid 40%RH.


Why? Because I'm not DRAWING IN FRESH 80%RH AMBIENT
ATMOSPHERE


Much respect for you from all our combined years on here, but wise up your electricity usage brah







ANYWAY:
wet trim with a 48hr 40%RH quick dry every time.

And that was BEFORE we started using The Triminator!

Not a single person has asked if it was machine trimmed.....

 

[whatthe215]

i wanna setup a lil warehouse with the specific purpose of dry trimming. have the place bumping 5 days a week cause the quality and odors that i get from dry trimming are well worth $200/lb.

but i really wanna try a machine after seeing what my buddies weed looked like all machine trimmed. i'm guessing it's somewhat strain dependent. i don't think my bubba would fair well going through a machine considering the stupid amount of leaves. recently got 3lbs sugar trim from 4lbs of dried meds LOL

 

[FlowerFarmer]

How does this Triminator compare in price to the Twister Machine?


I ran the Twister Machine and wasn't overly impressed. Maybe for massive grows, but ran 10lbs through it and feel like I could have done the same job easier (with the Rotor) without the noise/cleanup of the twister. Secondly I had to keep feeding it product to keep it coming out of the other end. My measly 10lb haul wasn't up to the task and I'd have to slightly prop it to keep it moving through.



Now, this isnt going to be popular and I'll likely get some hate for it, but I did some experimenting on my last haul.

I always trimpro rotor my mids-smalls. These obviously get done wet and then dried on a net slowly. It works, but flavor and aroma are hindered. This last time, I de-fan'd and hung to dry, but rather then hand trimming dry I de-stemmed everything and toss'd it into the trimpro rotor dry. A quick ~30-40 sec run and all of the sugar leaves were broke off and I was left with a nice bud that looked hand trimmed, but was way more odorous and flavorful then the stuff that was originally machine trimmed wet.

I'm sure I lost a a bit of resin heads, but the buds were still nicer then the wet trimmed flowers despite being bumped around through the machine for half minute or so.

 

[HellaFella420]

Triminator is about 18k i believe. Delivered and trained on its operation

It is 90%-100% strain dependent, the chunkier, more filled in nugs def yield a more desirable result.

It took to our 3rd harvest with it to get a feel for its operation and workflow... turns out we dont even used it till LATE in the day.

We have EVERYONE just bucking down the plants and putting all the fresh inflorescence's in lots of rubbermaid totes, then at the very end of things we sent it all through the trimminator in one fell swoop, takes like 60 min total to send it all through. As long as the totes dont sit in the sun or a hot room everything stays fresh and plenty turgid for the machine to work properly.

 

[DHF]

Just saw this HF , and you`ve got valid points concerning your friend on the "CARE" program , and even though I failed to describe in detail "how" my intake and exhaust fans functioned in my drying areas , there was only low rh air being pumped in from the controlled environment of my lung rooms I assure you.......so.....

Not exactly the way you perceived it to be as in your friend`s setup , since my drying areas were exhausted via scrubber out into the main part of the basements so as not to be remixed with ambient rh behind the walls of said lung/flip rooms.....anyways...

Worked well for me right at 20 yrs , so as I stated above wet trimming was the only way for me to reduce the amount of plant material in my drying areas to prevent airborn pathogens during the drying process in an already high ambient rh environment , and make shit work in a timely manner with 5-6 lbs hangin and curing every 4 1/2-5 weeks for rotations.....regardless....

Many ways ta skin a mule....and for the record once again as stated above , I never removed the small sugar leaves wrapped around colas for a "dry trim" finish up down here in Hell....wasn`t required in a non-med state with no market competition other than mexican brick weed.......

Peace....DHF.........

 

[OrganicOzarks]

I have done both, and I wet trim. I am in a very humid area. Just now One of my rooms was 73%, and that is with the A/C helping keep it down. Dry trimming did not help out at all. I don't have problems with the hay smell, and you can smell me coming a mile a way when I have a nug in my pocket.

 

[HellaFella420]

Many ways ta skin a mule....and for the record once again as stated above , I never removed the small sugar leaves wrapped around colas for a "dry trim" finish up down here in Hell....wasn`t required in a non-med state with no market competition other than mexican brick weed.......

gah, that made my soul hurt for you!

I wish that was my market (chuckle) but your description as "hell" is sad....

I just dragged my buddy outta Mississippi and his mind has blown being out here!

 

[DHF]

gah, that made my soul hurt for you!

I wish that was my market (chuckle) but your description as "hell" is sad....

I just dragged my buddy outta Mississippi and his mind has blown being out here!

The only thing bad about growin dope down here is the attitude we`re criminals , and punishment is severe if you get caught....

The way around that is to insulate yourself from the market and wholesale product to 1 person and let him assume the risk.....and....I wholesaled all my shit out @ 2K per lb every few weeks , and he was told I had family on the left coast that brought me the shit and nobody knew I grew...ever.....that said....

The sugar leaves left on all the colas were most likely removed by my sell guy , but again...not my cross to bear givin the shit away at crazy ass deflated prices , but insulating me from the street sales end of things.....and....

I`ve been to Med-ville many times over the yrs helpin old growbro`s from SoCal all the way up the coast into B.C , and I wouldn`t trade what I have for a legal med scrip of 99 plants cuz this is home and I`m retired from croppin , so....

You guys with all the OD plants HAVETA be bucked and readied for the trimming machines so yas won`t rot a buncha nuggage , so you can relate to my earlier posts of gettin rid of as much foliage before drying begins so "dehumidification" can begin in a timely orderly fashion...now....

These "standard of the industry" dry trimming posts I read have to be coming from "low RH environment" setups with low plant counts and still aren`t reading the above posts about how to "slowly" remove moisture either in a low rh place OR a high rh place.....

Wet trim/Dry trim is at best relative to where you live.....bet on it......Ran my OD plants in the 70`s-mid 80`s for 12 solid yrs in the same Hell and only knew how to dry trim cuz I was ignorant , and .....

It was immortal Hell to keep airborn pathogens from proliferating while trying to dehumidify a whole 50 x150' room above our barn full of "Sativa-zilla`s" back in the day.....aight....

WT215......What you witnessed with leavin the sugar leaves on the plants and in bins that were actually "curing" for that 3 week process before you got em to the trimming crew , was exactly what I did for yrs and yrs by putting em in buckets once @ 62% and letting em sit for a month and more for that mellow taste , excellent flavor , and smell profile .....I just never dry trimmed the residuals...so Bro......

Don`t set up no "dryin facility" based on not knowin what actually occurred , even though it produced a superior product that all us old heads have always known.....that said....

Just tryin ta help guys......No haters....Please.....

Peace....DHF.........

 

[HellaFella420]

....nailed it!

 

[dansbuds]

I have done both, and I wet trim. I am in a very humid area. Just now One of my rooms was 73%, and that is with the A/C helping keep it down. Dry trimming did not help out at all. I don't have problems with the hay smell, and you can smell me coming a mile a way when I have a nug in my pocket.

same here .... to humid most of the time to dry trim . if i wet trim it still takes over a week to dry the buds . with AC & a small dehuey & a circulation fan ..... my temps are 70 & 50% RH & usually take a week or more with 0 leaf left on the buds . only once during the winter when the humidity is considerably lower did they dry to fast & the buds suffered from it .

 

[RadiationSnow]

How much leaf matter are you leaving on the plants when dry trimming ? are ya all just taking off fans ? or leaving everything ?

Well this wouldn't be called "Trimming" then would it? lol




My understanding is the reason why it doesn't have a smell if you trim first is because there is no where for the chlorophyll to escape.


When you keep the leaves on the chlorophyll goes from the bud to the leaves, I assume because the plant is still alive and wants to put the chlorophyll into the leaves over the bud.

At least that's my idea of it.

 

[Mochalope_Oat]

Well ill let this be my first post on here....

Well ill let this be my first post on here....

i prefer wet trim because i can really clean the buds up nicely giving them A+ bag appeal

I agree with him^^^. I'm pretty anal when it comes to trimming and depending on what strain it is I like to get every damn leaf or close to it. I never have a problem with my buds not smelling right due to trimming wet. I have tried drying with leaves on as well and found that there is initially a bit more of a pungent/skunky smell, but after a week in the jar you can't tell the difference between the two. Trimming wet works wells for me because I live in a high humidity climate taking anywhere from 5-10 days for my buds to dry, depending on what strain it is and the current weather. I would also worry about Mold and PM on certain strains if I dried with the leaf on.

Trimming wet results in a more pristine end product while trimming after hanging with leaf on causes some sugar leaves to stick to the bud and wrap around calyxes hiding them. If you want to get these flattened leaves off its not so hard but it would require digging into the bud a bit and potentially scraping of some trichs especially because they are dry and brittle. Furthermore trimming dry knocks trichs into the air which is irritating to some people with plant allergies or asthma.

Personally, once the buds are dry and curing I handle them as little as possible keeping them as perfect as I can. No shake no beat up buds no bullshit.


MY 2 cents

~Oat

 

[killermoats]

This seems to really be based on preference, environmental control, and plant characteristics.

My primary strain (Ripped Bubba, TGA) sits for a day in the dark after flush, then straight to the auto trimmer. I know a lot of people say take your time with the trimming process but I have had situations where by myself It would have taken literally hundreds of hours to trim. My auto trimmer gave great results and did all that work in a day.

Now I continue to use the trimmer and rack dry my final product. Even with a 3-4 day dry and less than a week in the jar I have gotten flying colors from my buddy who works at a local shop. He is not the type to say "it's good" when it's not. lol hell he will make a point to say it sucks or does not compare to other strains in the shop if it did.

I am changing my drying racks to reduce air flow so I can get closer to a 7-10 day dry time. I believe it will make the final results even better.

 

[Jbomber79]

You most likely live in a humid climate.

This seems to really be based on preference, environmental control, and plant characteristics.

My primary strain (Ripped Bubba, TGA) sits for a day in the dark after flush, then straight to the auto trimmer. I know a lot of people say take your time with the trimming process but I have had situations where by myself It would have taken literally hundreds of hours to trim. My auto trimmer gave great results and did all that work in a day.

Now I continue to use the trimmer and rack dry my final product. Even with a 3-4 day dry and less than a week in the jar I have gotten flying colors from my buddy who works at a local shop. He is not the type to say "it's good" when it's not. lol hell he will make a point to say it sucks or does not compare to other strains in the shop if it did.

I am changing my drying racks to reduce air flow so I can get closer to a 7-10 day dry time. I believe it will make the final results even better.

 

[killermoats]

Northwest Washington, so a bit.